Friday April 13, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

The appeal hearing of three ANC Youth League leaders was postponed yesterday, ANC national disciplinary committee of appeals (NDCA) chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa said. League president Julius Malema, spokesperson Floyd Shivambu and secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa were scheduled to submit their appeal presentations to the NDCA at the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg. Ramaphosa said the three asked for the hearing to be postponed because their lawyer was not available.

The UN Security Council demanded that Sudan and South Sudan stop border clashes which it said threatened to return the East African neighbors to a full-scale war. A statement from the 15-nation body also insisted that Khartoum stop air strikes and Juba withdraw troops from a vital oil field. Fighting along the ill-defined border between the former civil-war foes has led to a standoff over Heglig oil field after it was seized on Tuesday by troops from South Sudan, which declared independence last year.

The finding of an IMF working paper that the rapid growth of real wages in South Africa, which outpaced labour productivity growth in most sectors, was suppressing employment creation was concerning, said the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday. The paper, titled ‘Real wages, labour productivity and employment trends in South Africa: A closer look’, which was released earlier this month, examined the dynamics of employment in South Africa, as well as the factors contributing to job losses during the financial crisis. IMF author Nir Klein commented that during 2009 and 2010, South Africa experienced job losses equating to 5% of the employed in 2008, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to 25%.

Also making headlines:

Sanral has moved to reassure Gauteng motorists who have already registered for the e-toll system that they will not be required to re-register after new terms and conditions were announced.

And, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau attacked the residence of former Prime Minister and presidential election front-runner Carlos Gomes Junior in what regional ministers condemned as an attempted coup in the small West African State.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.