Friday December 09, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Jessica Hannah

Making headlines:

Support grew yesterday for an EU plan to agree to a global climate change pact with binding targets by 2015, after poor nations vulnerable to climate change forged alliances with developed countries. The EU says that it is encouraged its "road map" to legally binding commitments to cut greenhouse-gas emissions is gaining traction at the talks, which are due to wrap up in Durban today. US climate change envoy Todd Stern says Washington supports the EU roadmap to a new treaty, and Canadian Environmental Minister Peter Kent says Ottawa has forged a partnership with small island states which could be swamped by the rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe called for elections next year to end a fragile coalition with rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and said he would not back down in forcing foreign firms to sell majority stakes to local blacks. The 87-year-old leader told supporters at an annual Zanu-PF conference that the unity government that has ended a decade of economic collapse and seen a thawing in political tensions was dysfunctional. Mugabe, whose Zanu-PF party is accused of political violence in past elections, told his supporters to renounce violence, saying the party could win any vote with better policies such as the empowerment drive.

Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has reaffirmed that the Department of Energy is considering changes to the electricity pricing policy (EPP), which could affect the methodology used by the regulator to determine power utility Eskom’s tariffs. The current method used by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is premised on rate-of-return methodology and based on the replacement cost of the assets. Nersa has adopted the depreciated replacement cost method for asset valuation. Under the prevailing EPP the tariff is required to move towards the long run marginal cost within five years of its adoption.

Also making headlines:

Election authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo delayed the announcement of a winner in the country's Presidential election for the second time this week, citing the need to cross-check results.

And, Madagascar's interim leader wants to hold elections on the Indian Ocean island as early as May to end political and economic instability, but warned the return of its exiled former president risked stoking tensions.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.