Tuesday, August 11, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
Four opposition leaders have accused President Jacob Zuma of abuse of power following his nomination of Sandile Ngcobo as Chief Justice.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the Congress of the People (Cope), the Independent Democrats (ID) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) released a joint statement on Monday, following up on their complaint issued on Friday. The leaders of these parties are charging that Ngcobo's nomination was unconstitutional, as Zuma announced his nomination before consulting opposition parties, as required by the Constitution.
Zuma's office has denied that there was anything unconstitutional in nominating Ngcobo. The Presidency stated that it was only a nomination, and not an appointment, and the President's announcement is only the beginning of a constitutional process.

Outgoing Central Bank Governor Tito Mboweni says that many have tried to undermine the independence of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
In an address at his farewell dinner at the SARB's headquarters in Pretoria, Mboweni said that a Central Bank should be able to perform its function without "fear, favour or prejudice".
Mboweni noted that his time at the SARB had shown him the importance of price stability, which benefits "the poor, the entrepreneur and those who seek credit".
There has been widespread speculation that President Jacob Zuma's decision to replace Mboweni was prompted by calls from trade unions to scrap the policy of inflation targeting and to continue to cut interest rates. Mboweni maintains that price stability is very important for ordinary people, but quipped that he has not yet seen a "Viva inflation-targeting T-shirt".

The African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary caucus says that it will ask Parliament to investigate the Democratic Alliance (DA) for putting national security at risk after disclosing details of allegedly "dodgy" government arms deals.
The office of the ANC chief whip states that the DA's disclosure of the details of government's arms deals with other countries may contravene the National Conventional Arms Control Act, according to which, "no person may disclose any classified document ... except with the permission of a competent authority or as required in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000".
But, DA Member of Parliament David Maynier says that there are "no credible grounds for any such investigation", and that it would be "nothing more than a witch hunt, as opposed to a legitimate inquiry".

Also making headlines:
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says that he may reconsider ties with West.
The New Vision party merges with the Congress of the People in a new move for change in the South African political landscape.
Analysts think that Madagascar's power sharing deal is fragile.
And, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushes the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Nations to stop atrocities on women in warfare.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.