September 22, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

The ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe  says his party will deal with factionalism.

The IMF says it could resume Zimbabwe funding as early as 2016. 

And, The eThekwini Municipality hopes to increase Durban’s visitor numbers. 

 

The African National Congress (or ANC) secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the ruling party would deal with factionalism and the use of money in the election of leaders.

The party had commissioned a review of its internal electoral system, he said.

The organisation must be consumed with the restoration of discipline within its ranks and ensure there are consequences for deviant behaviour, he told reporters in Johannesburg, following a national executive committee meeting at the weekend.

Manatashe’s announcement follows allegations of interference in the ANC Women's League and ANC Youth League congresses by a strong lobby group in the ANC dubbed the "premier league" which wanted to advance certain leadership ambitions in the mother body.

Mantashe said the matter of the so-called "premier league" would be dealt with in the broader debate on factionalism.

 

The International Monetary Fund (or IMF) might resume financial support to Zimbabwe as early as 2016.

That was if foreign creditors accepted Harare's plans to clear arrears of international financial institutions and implement economic reforms to boost growth, an IMF official said on Monday.

Zimbabwe’s government owes foreign creditors about $7-billion, but it had to table acceptable plans to first clear $1.8-billion arrears to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank before financiers could resume lending to the country.

Christian Beddies, the IMF representative in Zimbabwe said the country had developed a "sensible strategy" to clear the arrears with international financial institutions.

Zimbabwe last received funding from the IMF in 1999. The IMF in February 2010 restored Zimbabwe's voting rights after a seven-year suspension.

 

The eThekwini municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal (or KZN) provincial government is aiming to increase the number of international arrivals in Durban by at least two-million visitors a year. 

This was a target that was likely to be boosted by the announcement that Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways planned to introduce flights to Durban before year-end.

Speaking at the 2015 World Routes Summit in Durban, eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo said passenger numbers at King Shaka International Airport were steadily rising.

Nxumalo said that was over and above the arrivals for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He added that the city was already well prepared to handle the expected increase in visitors attending the sporting event.

Meanwhile, KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Michael Mabuyakhulu and Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom formally announced that Qatar Airways would be flying to Durban, with the first flight to touch down at King Shaka International Airport on December 17.

Also making headlines:

South Africa was ranked 54 out of 60 of the world's largest economies on the latest Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index.

Burkina Faso soldiers marched into the capital Ouagadougou as army leaders began to surrender talks with the elite presidential guard that staged a coup against the government last week.

Senior officials from the ruling Zanu-PF party said that President Robert Mugabe might be forced to quit before his current tenure ends in 2018 due to "explosive succession and economic problems".

And, the Human Rights Watch said Egyptian forces had evicted at least 3 200 families in a campaign of mass demolitions on the border with the Gaza Strip in violation of international law.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today