Friday February 10, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

South Africa’s multibillion-rand public infrastructure programme, including those projects that would unlock key mineral resources and exports, were given strong emphasis by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address, delivered in Parliament yesterday evening. Effectively declaring 2012 the year of infrastructure delivery, Zuma used the occasion to unveil a list of five major geographically focused programmes, as well as a host of infrastructure initiatives designed to support health and education, the upscaling of information and communication technologies, as well as to accelerate regional integration. He also committed to convening a ‘Presidential infrastructure summit’ to discuss the implementation of the plan with potential investors and social partners.

Egypt's religious authorities called on unions and youth groups to scrap plans for a wave of strikes aimed at forcing the ruling generals from power, saying the people must show duty to the nation and spare its tattered economy fresh damage. The first strike planned from tomorrow - the anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's overthrow - would close universities and factories, cancel trains and slash public services. Analysts say Egypt is in desperate need of foreign support to avert a financial crisis caused by a year of economic and political turmoil. Investment and tourism have shriveled, unemployment has grown and foreign reserves are at danger level.

South Africa is in need of increased high-level integration of the country’s multiple programmes, policies and strategies to better align skills development initiatives with workplace demand, Production Management Institute executive director for strategy John Botha said. Botha, who was commenting on Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande’s Green Paper for post school education and training, said integration was critical, as all government programmes fed into the national development goals in some way. Programmes such as the National Skills Development Strategy 3, the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa, the New Growth Path, the National Development Plan, the Artisan Development Technical Task Team and others already have their own targets, and all these should be aligned and incorporated into one comprehensive plan.

Also making headlines:

The mining industry should do more to implement sustainable practices and empower local communities, as resource nationalism is evolving into a “tidal wave that threatened" mining, Gold Fields chairperson Dr Mamphela Ramphele said.

And, Al Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahri said Somalia's militant group al Shabaab had joined the global network, in a video posted on Islamist forums.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.