Friday, May 21, 2010

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

Making headlines:

Participants at the Green Economy summit in Johannesburg yesterday committed to drawing up a ‘Green Economy Plan' by the end of July, which will outline the work required to develop the key elements of a green-economy strategy.
A draft statement of conclusion was drawn up at the end of the three-day summit, outlining commitments to ensure that South Africa's growth path is more resource efficient, less carbon intensive, and more labour absorbing.
In closing the summit, Water and Environmental portfolio committee Member of Parliament Maggie Sotyu said that the summit delegates committed themselves to taking the process forward, as the environmental impact of economies and enterprises needed to be reduced. Sotyu further emphasised that government and business needed to question how green their future investment plans are.

There could be material consequences for both business and political relations within Southern Africa should there be any move by the five members of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) to "downgrade" the relationship, which some believe has become an impediment to true regional integration, a trade expert warns.
It is an open secret that tensions are running high within the customs union. These internal strains came into sharp relief last year when Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland signed the controversial Interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, while South Africa and Namibia refused to do so. Apart from disagreements over Sacu's extraregional strategy and vision, there is also unhappiness over the revenue-sharing formula - hitherto the glue that has held Sacu together.
South African Institute of International Affairs trade programme head Peter Draper warned on Thursday that too little analysis has been conducted into the costs and benefits of the current Sacu agreement and that any move to change the arrangement should be preceded by better information. He urged Sacu members to move towards establishing a "true" understanding of the value, or otherwise, of the customs union before "blowing the lid" on the longstanding formation.

South Africa's economic outlook has improved, although growth should stay below its potential output for "some time", posing little threat to domestic inflation, said the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in its latest Monetary Policy Review on Thursday.
Africa's biggest economy pulled out of recession in the third quarter of last year and the recovery appears to be gathering pace. However, the SARB says that developments in the euro area - a major trading partner where sovereign debt worries are growing, sparking global risk aversion - are a risk to growth and may also hit the rand currency.
The SARB forecast that the economy would grow by 3,7% on a quarter-on-quarter and annualised basis in the first three months of this year, and by 3,2% in the second quarter.

Also making headlines:

Niger raises its severe hunger forecast and seeks more food aid.
South African transport unions seem split over a proposed wage deal with Transnet.
The US and Libya cement their new friendship with a trade deal.
And, Nigerian militants dismiss a renewed peace drive in the Niger Delta.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.