Thursday, April 15, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.

Making headlines:

There is no political interference in any prosecutorial proceedings of any case in the country, said National Director of Public Prosecutions Menzi Simelane last night.

Speaking during a public lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand's graduate school of public and development management, Simelane said that a crime is a crime and "people need to do their jobs", but that the public could ask questions when it does not understand decisions that are taken. Simelane said that South Africa is "very far" from a Zimbabwe situation because it has a strong judiciary and a political will to ensure that justice is done.

The old concept of "Third World" no longer applies and rich countries cannot impose their will on developing nations that are now major sources of global growth, said World Bank chief Robert Zoellick yesterday.
In a speech setting the stage for World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington next week, where emerging economies will play a bigger role, Zoellick cautioned against falling back into patterns of self-interest. He said that economic progress in developing countries has profound implications for global cooperation, multilateralism and the work of institutions such as the World Bank.
Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, Zoellick said that "economic and political tectonic plates are shifting".
The meetings next week are expected to approve the first capital increase for the World Bank in 20 years. While rich industrial countries have been the biggest contributors to the World Bank and long dictated how the money is spent, emerging market countries will have a bigger role.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan yesterday called on Chancellor House's shareholders to "do the right thing" and deal with any conflict of interest arising from the business dealings of the African National Congress's (ANC's) investment arm. But he added that the full facts of the ANC's involvement in Chancellor House, and through it, in Hitachi Power Africa, are unclear, even to the Treasury.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Treasury briefing to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Finance, Gordhan said that all the facts must be put "on the table, so we can understand what the proportions are before we wildly wave flags about it".
The ANC is a "responsible organisation" with a long history of ethical standards, he said. Chancellor House apparently has its own board, own chief executive and is independent of the ANC.

Also making headlines:

The United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur reports that four South African peacekeepers have been kidnapped.
Djibouti's Parliament approves the removal of Presidential term limits ahead of the 2011 elections.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says that the Treasury will continue to help the South African Reserve Bank to acquire foreign reserves for the sake of stabilising the rand.
And, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that aid to the world's poorest countries rose marginally in 2009, but fell short of the $130-billion promise made by the Group of Eight in 2005.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.