Thursday, April 29, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Brad Dubbelman.

Making headlines:

The nationalisation of South Africa's mines "is not supported by strong enough evidence", a senior African National Congress (ANC) leader argues in an article that is about to be published in the ANC journal, Umrabulo.
Mining Weekly Online revealed that the article is the work of ANC national executive committee member Joel Netshitenzhe, who is also a member of the party's economic transformation and political education subcommittees.
In what is the most comprehensive response to date by a senior ANC leader to its Youth League's strident advocacy of mine nationalisation, Netshitenzhe arrives at the conclusion that the "balance of evidence" is against mine nationalisation. He says that the ANC has adopted an approach to State ownership, which is different from an earlier interpretation of the Freedom Charter, in which nationalisation was a given. While the Youth League may be factually correct in its interpretation of the Freedom Charter in years gone by, Netshitenzhe says that the ANC's current approach to State ownership is to "weigh the balance of evidence" - a process that is informed by the impact that State ownership has on the ability of the economy to address poverty and inequality and to encourage growth and competiveness.

Iran and Egypt are gearing up for battle against the US and its allies over Israel and developing countries' rights to atomic technology at a major meeting on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to attend the conference, which opens in New York next week. Diplomats expect Ahmadinejad to take a defiant stand against the US and its Western allies, accusing them of trying to deprive developing States of nuclear technology while turning a blind eye toward Israel's nuclear capability.
The last NPT review conference in 2005 was widely considered a disaster. After weeks of procedural bickering led by the former US administration, Egypt and Iran, the meeting ended with no agreement on a final declaration.
Analysts and United Nations diplomats hope that things will be different this time and that the conference can breathe new life into a treaty that has failed to prevent North Korea from building a nuclear bomb or force Iran to stop uranium enrichment. A Pakistani-led illicit nuclear supply network and slow progress on disarmament have also highlighted the NPT's weaknesses.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) are to establish a joint commission to decide on its approach to the current political environment. This follows bilateral talks between the African National Congress's alliance partners, held last week.

The commission will also foster class unity and build a broad left front for socialism. It is to be led by Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande.

During the talks, the SACP and Cosatu agreed that little had been done in recent years to transform the "colonial features" of the country's economy. The leadership of the SACP and Cosatu have thus agreed to pay attention to the debate within the alliance on the need for an alternative growth path.

Also making headlines:

Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota's call for a forensic investigation into possible fraud in his party's finances "ruffles a few feathers".
United Nations peacekeepers airlift endangered baby gorillas from a conflict zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The South African Reserve Bank says that the country's financial system has been fairly resilient to the global financial crisis.
And, pressure group Global Witness says that Zimbabwe should not auction diamonds from its controversial Marange fields without approval from the Kimberley Process.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.