Tuesday July 12, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Jessica Hannah

Making headlines:

Thousands of workers in South Africa's petroleum, pharmaceutical and chemical industries began a strike over wages yesterday, but the supply of fuel was unaffected so far because of stockpiles at pump stations. Reggie Sibiya, the CEO of the Fuel Retailers' Association, said member companies had not yet felt any major impact from the strike, although that might change. The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union, which represents 70 000 employees, is seeking a 13% wage increase, almost triple the inflation rate, for 2011/12 and a minimum wage of R6 000 a month.

Governments in Africa need to adopt new policies to ramp up manufacturing if the continent is to eliminate widespread poverty and create jobs to avoid conflict, a UN official said. Africa accounts for 1% of global manufacturing, and its labour-intensive manufacturing – seen as a vital first step in early industrialising economies – is in decline, the UN Economic Development in Africa Report 2011 said. "The process of deindustrialisation is actually gaining ground in Africa more so than the other way round," Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, told a news briefing.

Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyr is the latest crime fighter being probed, The Star newspaper reported on Monday.
The investigation was over procurement issues relating to the SIU, after its former CFO, Veronica Marshsmit, was suspended and later resigned.
Asked why he was being probed, Hofmeyr said: "It is to be expected that there will be efforts to discredit those dealing with serious corruption, and this has happened in the past. One just has to be tough enough to deal with it when it happens.”

Also making headlines:
It was unlikely that the R20-billion debt incurred to build the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project would be recovered through an increase in the fuel levy said Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin.
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said he would reshuffle his Cabinet within a week, but crowds protesting at slow reforms and foot-dragging in prosecuting the ex-president said they were not satisfied.
And, a criminal case number that appears on a police memo that was leaked to the media that implicated the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in fraud and corruption has nothing to do with her, Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.