Wednesday, April 21, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Schalk Burger.

Making headlines:

Hitachi Power Africa (HPA) will "gladly" entertain an offer from Chancellor House to sell its 25% interest in the company, but no such offer has been made to date, said CEO Johannes Musel yesterday. The company also indicated that it had not been aware that Chancellor House was an African National Congress (ANC) "front company" when it entered into a shareholders agreement with the entity in October 2005. Chancellor House has since been shown to have direct associations with the governing ANC, and has also been described as the party's investment arm. However, CFO Robin Duff stressed that HPA had subsequently done what it could, from a governance perspective, to ensure that no funding flowed to the political party. Efforts had been made, for instance, to seek guarantees that the beneficiaries were indeed previously disadvantaged South Africans, in line with South Africa's black economic-empowerment rules. Musel added that HPA can only ensure that the legal conditions are correct in terms of what the trust deed states, but that there might be a disconnect between what is legally allowable and what is proper from a moral standpoint.

Developing countries will this week demand a greater say in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), now that they are contributing more funds and it is a euro zone country, Greece, that is in need of a rescue plan.
Brazil and other developing countries have been calling for a 6% shift in voting power at the World Bank. This would bring the representation between developing and developed countries at the institution to parity. South African President Jacob Zuma said during a recent visit to Brazil that a situation in which the majority of the world's people remain inadequately represented in the financial bodies, can no longer be accepted.
But Europe and other rich countries are concerned about shifting voting power. Europe has long dominated the IMF and selects its leader. Many in Europe see a dilution of voting power as equal to losing sway over global economic issues. Analysts argue, however, that the longer emerging economic powers are denied a greater say in the institutions, the more likely it is that these institutions will become irrelevant and ineffective.

The mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is urgent and cannot be delayed, as lags in the climate and physical systems of the Earth mean that the effects of such cuts will only be realised in years to come, said South African National Biodiversity Institute climate change and bioadaptation chief director Guy Midgley yesterday. He noted that adaptation to the effects of climate change is more of a "slow motion emergency". University of Cape Town Energy Research Centre professor Harald Winkler asserted that South Africa's commitment to a 34% deviation below the ‘business as usual' emissions growth trajectory and the need to mitigate GHGs, open up significant opportunities for South Africa to join the race to the future of the so-called ‘green economy'. In this regard, Department of Environmental Affairs Director-General Joanne Yawitch noted that there is a strong focus on a green economy in the second Industrial Policy Action Plan, which was recently released by the Department of Trade and Industry. She added that work needed to be aligned so that the two departments work in tandem on these issues.

Also making headlines:

Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda says that South Africa is making progress in reducing the cost of communication.
East Sudan political parties concede defeat in the country's election, but accuse President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of fraud and intimidation.
Minister in the Presidency responsible for national planning Trevor Manuel says that Statistics South Africa will adjust the consumer price inflation basket more regularly to track social and economic trends.
And, Zimbabwe's controversial policy of transferring majority control of foreign-owned firms to black Zimbabweans will begin in the key mining sector.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.