Thursday May 12, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Shannon De Ryhove

Making headlines:

A media report indicating that Cabinet ordered the National Treasury to "repackage" an audit report on municipalities is untrue, Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said. "There was no uproar of any sort when it was presented, nor was there any instruction to the National Treasury, or the Auditor-General for that matter, to "repackage" the report," Manyi said in a statement. He was reacting to a Beeld newspaper article that said: "Ministers were so worried about the impact of the report during its tabling, taking place as it was shortly before next week's local government elections, that they told the Treasury to 'repackage' the findings".
Earlier, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille called on President Jacob Zuma to make the full report public before local government elections next week.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that it would look into expanding its mandate beyond its original remit of Eastern and Central Europe in order to start investing in the fledging democracies of North Africa. The London-based development bank, which was set up to help former Soviet economies transform to market economies, said it could start assessing Morocco's suitability as a country of operations as it nears a decision on formal applicant Egypt. "This bank was created when the Iron Curtain fell to help countries with an authoritarian legacy make the transition to free-market democracy. With respect to differences, this is what it's about in North Africa and the Middle East," EBRD President Thomas Mirow told Reuters Insider in an interview.

Libyan rebels were reported to have taken control of Misrata airport on Wednesday after heavy fighting with forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, while a United Nations call for a ceasefire was rejected. A correspondent for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, speaking from Benghazi, quoted a rebel spokesman as saying "the rebels have taken complete control of the airport about half an hour ago". There was no independent confirmation. The rebels are fighting to end Gaddafi's 41 years in power but the war has reached stalemate with Gaddafi in control of the capital and almost all of the west of the country, while rebels control Benghazi and other towns in the oil-producing east.

Also making headlines:
Militiamen loyal to former Côte d’Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo killed 120 people during a "scorched earth" retreat from Abidjan last week, the Defence Ministry said.
And, after more than 30 years in power, Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has set up a panel to study constitutional reforms that may include presidential term limits.
That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.