Monday June 13, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

The Department of Public Works has instituted a six-month moratorium on all new tenders while it undertakes an internal assessment to improve efficiency, Minister of Public Works Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde said.
External experts have been hired by the department to look at inefficiencies on both a national and provincial level. It was time to “clean up the department” and ensure that it could deliver better service, Mahlangu-Nkabinde said at a Property Sector Charter Council seminar, in Johannesburg.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, agreed to pull northern troops out of the disputed Abyei border region before the south secedes on July 9, diplomats said, signalling possible progress in talks before the split.
Fighting in border states Abyei and Southern Kordofan, has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict. The border's exact position has yet to be defined. Khartoum seized control of Abyei on May 21, provoking an international outcry and complicating talks over other sensitive issues such as how to divide oil revenue and how to split national debt after secession, opted for in a January vote.

The Property Charter, once gazetted, would seek to promote development and investment in rural areas through a new economic development code, Property Sector Charter Council chairperson Saul Gumede said.
The Charter would provide a statement of commitment from all of the key role players in the sector to a growth strategy based on empowering a broad group of previously disadvantaged South Africans. The economic development code would equate to 15 points out of the possible 107 points of the Property Charter scorecard, which also included elements of employment equity, socioeconomic development, enterprise development, preferential procurement, as well as ownership and control of enterprises and economic assets.

Also making headlines:
Somalia's Prime Minister said he would not resign unless the country's Parliament endorses an agreement signed by the country's President and speaker that stipulates he leaves office within 30 days.
Rebels fighting against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi say they were repulsed by his forces in a battle to retake the eastern oil town of Brega, suffering at least four dead.
And, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Africa to sell the benefits of US economic partnership to a continent where China has built strong aid and investment ties.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.