Tuesday, July 7, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
South Africa's powerful trade unions will continue to escalate strike action, endangering key sectors in an economy already in recession, unless President Jacob Zuma's government meets its demands for pro poor policies.
Increased strike action from unions under the Congress of South African Trade Unions is a sign that they are starting to force their agenda in the absence of a strong stand by Zuma.
Leon Myburgh, sub-Saharan Africa specialist at Citigroup, says that increased strike action is all about the power to determine policy.
While the African National Congress's Communist party and trade union allies are pushing for a policy shift to the left to benefit workers and the poor, Zuma has assured investors that long-term, market-friendly policies will not change.
Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets economist at Nomura, says that there is some struggle within the tripartite alliance to change policy direction, for payback of what the left sees as its dues for getting Zuma to power.

Botswana Vice-President Mompati Merafhe has strongly criticised last week's summit of the African Union in Libya.
Speaking at a media briefing in Gaborone, Merafhe said that the AU "chair", Muammar Gaddafi, had no respect for established procedures and processes of the AU. This may be motivated by Gaddafi's desire to coerce African States into the premature establishment of an AU government, Merafhe said.
The summit's theme was investment in agriculture for economic growth and food security. Merafhe said that it was hoped the summit would come up with proposals for a concrete plan of action in this regard, but it missed the opportunity to do so.
Merafhe added that the summit had failed Africans. "Until we can all appreciate what democracy, rule of law, respect for fellow Africans and the dignity of others mean in practice, Africa has a very long way to go," he said.

President Jacob Zuma said yesterday that a call to reform South Africa's judiciary does not mean that the independence of judges will be compromised.
Zuma caused a stir before he was elected President in April when he said that the judiciary needs to change and that judges should not be above criticism.
Speaking at a judicial conference yesterday, he emphasised that the transformation of the judiciary should be advanced and undertaken without interfering with the principle of judicial independence.
He added that criticism of judicial institutions is accepted in a democratic society, but it should be fair and informed.

Also making headlines:
The new Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, is launched.
President Jacob Zuma is to lead the South African delegation to the Group of Eight summit in Italy this week.
Calls for the nationalisation of mines may resurface for debate in Parliament.
And, United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon states that the global recession has pushed another 6% of the world's population into poverty.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.