Friday April 15, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Jessica Hannah

Making headlines:

South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday added his voice to criticism of the US for pursuing loose policies that he said are putting the world economy at risk. Speaking at a business forum forming part of the Brics summit, on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Zuma said the global financial crisis had exposed the inadequacies and shortcomings of the international monetary system, which has the dollar at its core.
"In this regard, South Africa joins the call on major reserve currency-issuing economies to adopt responsible macroeconomic policies. They must take into account the ramifications of their monetary policies for both the domestic economy and the world economy," he said.

In a strongly worded, jointly written article published in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama said leaving Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in power would be an "unconscionable betrayal" of the Libyan people. "It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government," the leaders wrote. "So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," they said.

Voter satisfaction with South Africa's democracy declined slightly over the past decade, according to the Independent Electoral Commission's 2010/2011 voter participation survey released on Thursday. 42% of people surveyed this year said they were satisfied with the way democracy was working in South Africa, down from 63% in 2003. 30% said they were dissatisfied, up from 25% in 2003. A total of 3 214 people countrywide were interviewed for the survey. Interest in politics increased from 2004, but remains low at 42%. Political disinterest and disillusionment are the primary reasons for not intending to vote.

Also making headlines:
An additional hate speech charge will be brought against African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema and another against spokesman Floyd Shivambu, AfriForum said on Thursday.
The World Bank will activate development projects worth $100 million in the Côte d’Ivoire over the next two weeks if security conditions permit after months of violence, the bank's president said.
And, North Africa will drag down growth in the continent this year to below 5% for the first time in more than 20 years, the chief economist at the African Development Bank said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.