Thursday February 10, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

Political analysts say that the recent split in the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the disarray in the Congress of the People (Cope) is disastrous for South Africa's multiparty democracy. Analyst Prince Mashele said that: "This does not serve to strengthen democracy, rather it weakens it considerably". "The vibrancy of any democracy depends on the competitiveness of that system, the disarray in the opposition parties diminishes that competitiveness," he added. The IFP recently split – after a power struggle between its president Mangosuthu Buthelezi and national chairperson Zanele Magwaza-Msibi, who went on to form the National Freedom Party. Cope is split by a leadership tussle between its founders, Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa, with both claiming to be the party's rightful president.

Resource-rich African governments risk unrest if they hold back the benefits of soaring global commodity prices from their own people, delegates to a major mining conference were told on Wednesday. With Africa facing as many as 17 elections this year against the backdrop of seismic political upheaval in Tunisia and Egypt, there is a high chance of voters taking to the streets or using the ballot box to demand a decent share of the pie. "Unfortunately, as commodities prices rise, so does the desire of some governments to grab as much of the perceived increase as possible for themselves with little thought of sharing their wealth with their people," said Mark Bristow, CE of West Africa-focused miner Randgold Resources.

South African President Jacob Zuma will use a major policy speech this evening to lay out his plans to create jobs in the regional economic power where unemployment has lingered at about 25% for years. Zuma, in his State of the Nation Address, is also expected to touch on his concerns about the rand currency, which is hurting exporters as it hovers near three-year highs, and an education system ranked among the worst in the world. But analysts do not expect the speech to result in any major changes to Africa's largest economy, especially after Zuma has spent his nearly two years in office placing a higher priority on the internal politics of his ruling African National Congress than pushing through new policies.

Also making headlines:

The number of South Africans who will be able to cast their votes in the local government elections has topped the 23,1-million mark, the Independent Electoral Commission has announced.
South Sudan will confront the endemic corruption that it has ignored until now, its President Salva Kiir said, a day after official referendum results set the region on course to become a separate nation on July 9.
And, Egypt's army could step in to protect national security if "adventurers" try to take power, the foreign minister said, in an apparent reference to protesters seeking an overhaul of the ruling system.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.