Monday, September 13, 2010

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

Making headlines:

The debate and decisions on the nationalisation of the mines should not be based on ideological or emotional feelings, said African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on Saturday.
Speaking at the ANC provincial general council meeting in Gauteng province, he said that "The ANC as a government party cannot pretend like [it is] a resistance movement in the running of the country and the economy.... [it] must run the economy successfully."
Mantashe added that there should be a way to ensure that important policy debates like the nationalisation of mines are not reduced to lobbying instruments. The argument is not about being against nationalisation but about making the right decisions, he said.

Rich countries should pay for African governments to get advice on negotiating the best deals for exploiting their natural resources, says a panel set up by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Commission for Africa, which includes serving and former African leaders and financial figures among its 17 members, also called on donor governments to provide an extra $10-billion to $20-billion a year to help Africa adapt to climate change.
Five years after the commission's initial report helped focus international efforts to boost development in Africa, the panel issued a new report praising the progress that African countries have made on the economy and increasing spending on health, education and agriculture. However, much remains to be done. The commission advised African governments to ensure that strong growth reduced poverty among ordinary Africans. The commission also urged donor countries to support a fund to help African governments get access to the best legal and technical advice so they could "negotiate deals on the exploitation of their countries' natural resources that will be of greatest benefit to their population."

The acquisition of a R4-million residence for National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele is "thought to have been above board", his office said on Sunday.
Cele's spokesperson Nonkululeko Mbatha explained that the Department of Public Works did not have accommodation available when Cele was appointed Commissioner, but it was able to "facilitate the acquisition of a house" for him.
Mbatha was responding to a Sunday Times article stating that government spent R4,2-million buying and furnishing a home for Cele in the upmarket Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof. The house cost R3-million with transfer costs, and the police spent R1,2-million on luxury furnishings, including a home gym.
Mbatha described the article as "slander" and said that Cele had nothing to sign that pertained to the house, and that all inventory was procured through a division belonging to the State.

Also making headlines:

South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande brushes off calls for him to step down after the Congress of South African Trade Unions said it felt that the party needs more visible leaders.
Zimbabwean police arrest four US health workers on suspicion of dispensing HIV/Aids drugs without a licence.
Businessperson and son of President Jacob Zuma, Duduzane Zuma, defends his involvement in black economic empowerment deals and vows to give away 70% of his stake in an ArcelorMittal South Africa deal.
The International Monetary Fund is to reaffirm its call to extend fiscal stimulus and boost job growth when it meets labour groups and government officials to discuss the weak global economic recovery this week.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.