Thursday, February 18, 2010

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

Making headlines:
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's maiden budget address in Parliament yesterday included a prediction of a rise in gross domestic product (GDP) growth from an estimated 2,3% in 2010 to 3,2% in 2011. South Africa's budget deficit is estimated at 7,3% for 2009/10, declining to 6,2% in 2010/11, while the current account deficit is expected to increase to 4,9% of GDP in 2010.
Consumer price inflation is seen as averaging 5,8% in 2010, while Gordhan said that the inflation target would remain at between 3% and 6% as the Reserve Bank's mandate would remain unchanged.
The Treasury has decided on a total public infrastructure investment of R846-billion, with an additional R3,6-billion being allocated to support a new industrial action policy plan. Additional allocations amounting to R112-billion were proposed for high-priority areas, including health, crime and rural development over next three years.
Gordhan announced personal income tax relief for individuals of R6,5-billion, mostly in the lower income bracket. There will also be a flat rate carbon emissions tax on new motor vehicles, effective from September 1 this year, while South Africa's fuel levy will rise 25,5c/l.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe yesterday defended his government's drive to transfer majority control of foreign-owned firms to local blacks, saying that wise investors will continue to put money into the country.
Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment Saviour Kasukuwere, a Mugabe ally in Zimbabwe's fractious unity government, told foreign firms last week to present plans on how they would transfer 51% shareholdings to local blacks from March 1. Mugabe rejected suggestions that implementation of an indigenisation law passed in 2007 would frighten off foreign investors, saying that they can still hold large stakes in local companies.
Mugabe's political rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, however, said last week that the regulations were null and void because they were published without being reviewed by him or the Cabinet.
Analysts say that the dispute shows rising tension in the year-old coalition government, which has failed to attract much-needed foreign aid and investment owing to frequent wrangles over reforms.

The South African Treasury's 2010 budget has been largely positively received, with the ruling African National Congress saying that it is biased towards the poor, and welcoming Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's clarification of a "sticky point" in the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB's) mandate and independence.
The Congress of the People's Parliamentary leader Mvume Dandala congratulated Gordhan for "sticking to a formula that had worked" in the SARB, but expressed concern about debt levels. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said that "there was much more to welcome than to criticise" in Gordhan's speech, but called for the government to consider privatising State-owned enterprises. African Christian Democratic Party Member of Parliament Steve Swart welcomed Gordhan's "fair and balanced" budget presented under difficult economic conditions, both globally and domestically, while Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi welcomed Gordhan's honesty, saying that he had not tried to bluff people and paint a rosy picture. The United Democratic Movement's Stanley Ntapane said that it was regrettable Gordhan had chosen to talk about "starting today" on job creation, as the "government should've started 15 years ago."
Also making headlines:

Department of Water and Environmental Affairs DDG Joanne Yawitch urges South African business to take climate action early.
Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina delays widely criticised Parliamentary elections until May.
Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Dianne Kohler-Barnard is suspended after admitting to swearing during a walkout from Parliament on Tuesday.
And, the Nigerian Cabinet rejects a motion calling for absent President Umaru Yar'Adua to be declared unfit to govern.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.