May 8,  2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Western Cape Economic Opportunities Minister, Alan Winde says visa regulations could cost South Africa R10-billion.

At least five people were killed in a Boko Haram attack on a Niger village.

And, Gauteng premier David Makhura says e-tolls are critical for Johannesburg’s roads.

The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape on Thursday welcomed home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba’s announcement that he was considering extending the 10-year multiple-entry visa for businesspeople to other markets outside Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (or Brics).

Western Cape Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde said in the case of the new visa regulations‚ an independent study found that the economic cost of the new laws to South Africa could run as high as R10-billion‚ and place 21 000 jobs on the line.

In the Western Cape‚ Red Tape Reduction Unit has been working to streamline the visa applications of investors to ensure they can do business in the Western Cape.

 

 

At least five people were killed when militants from Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group attacked a village in southwestern Niger.

The attack occurred overnight  from Tuesday to Wednesday in the village of Koukodou near the Nigerian border in Niger's Dosso region.

The terrorists killed five villagers and burned houses and two vehicles, looted homes and shops before withdrawing back across the border into Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which is seeking to establish an Islamist emirate in northeast Nigeria, has killed thousands of people during a six-year insurgency, but attacks in Niger are relatively rare.

A coalition including Nigeria and neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon has recorded a string of significant military victories against the Islamist group in recent months.

 

 

Gauteng premier David Makhura said the money collected from e-tolls was essential in upgrading Johannesburg’s transport infrastructure.

He said the expansion of public transport infrastructure was critical to his vision for Gauteng to be the leading city of choice in Africa and that “building new highways was also part of the plan.”

Financing of infrastructure was important, as well as contributions by residents. However, he noted that there was always an issue of affordability … so consumers are not over burdened with debt.

It was for this reason that the provincial governement had been looking at the issue of e-tolls to reduce the burden and make it more affordable for people to be able to pay, he noted.

 

Also making headlines:

The decision to grant South African Airways an extension of a government guarantee was supported by the Constitution, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday. 

Power utility Eskom will implement stage 1 load-shedding from 10 am to 10 pm tonight.

And, youths in Guinea's capital blocked roads with burning tyres and clashed with security forces, raising pressure on President Alpha Conde ahead of talks with the opposition aimed at resolving a dispute over the timing of elections.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.