Tuesday, May 25, 2010

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

Making headlines:

Africa is slowly emerging from the global recession and should grow 4,5% this year and just over 5% in 2011, a report by the African Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecasts. The rate of growth is an improvement on the average 2,5% experienced by the continent's 53 States in 2009, but still short of the 6% annual rise achieved before the global financial crisis hit in 2008.
The report noted that growth rates are likely to be uneven, with the economies of East Africa faring best with an average 6% growth this year and next, while North Africa and West Africa are expected to post gross domestic product gains of 5%, Central Africa 4% and Southern Africa, which was worst hit by the global downturn, 4% for this year and next.

The world's seven industrialised nations have fallen short on their promises to double aid to Africa by 2010, according to a report by ONE Campaign against poverty.
ONE Campaign has provided an annual scorecard of the Group of Seven (G7) nations' progress in meeting pledges that they made at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. This summit promised to increase aid by up to $50-billion from $25-billion, write off the debts of 18 of the world's poorest countries and cut trade subsidies and tariffs under the Doha Round of global trade negotiations.
The report said that Italy was "an utter failure" as a G7 member, saying that it had retreated on its promises by cutting aid from 2004 levels, which brought down the G7 average. However, ONE Campaign declared Britain "the indisputable overall leader" in meeting the Gleneagles commitments and said that the US, Canada and Japan delivered on, and surpassed, modest targets. France and Germany both set ambitious targets but are on course to deliver on only one- quarter of them.

South Africa has much to offer and gain from emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, and China, dubbed the Bric countries, which currently make up around 42% of the world's economy, said Old Mutual CEO Kuseni Dlamini on Monday.

Speaking at a Swiss Chamber function in Johannesburg, Dlamini noted that even though South Africa does not share certain characteristics with the Bric countries, such as close-to-double digit growth numbers and large populations, the country still has a great deal to offer the emerging economies. Dlamini said that South Africa ‘punches above its weight' and boasts parity with globally competitive companies that are leaders in their fields. Further, Dlamini said that South Africa could learn a great deal by engaging with the Bric nations and make some strides to alleviating a number of its social ills, such as its high unemployment rate.

Also making headlines:

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele says that South Africa requires R75-billion over the next five years to maintain its road network.
US President Barack Obama signs the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, aimed at helping Uganda and its neighbours to combat the rebel group.
Sex work researchers dismiss fears of a massive rise in human trafficking during the FIFA World Cup.
And, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's ruling party is set for a landslide victory in a national election fought amid opposition accusations that the government has stifled dissent.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.