News this week

South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) releases the long-awaited 146-page acid mine drainage (AMD) report, which was compiled by a team of water and geology experts and presented to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on AMD in December. After assessing the situation in the Witwatersrand area, the experts recommend that AMD intervention and management measures be undertaken “as a matter of urgency” to “avert impending crises and stabilise the situation”. Contamination of shallow groundwater resources required for agricultural use and human consumption, geotechnical impacts, such as the flooding of underground infrastructure in areas where water rises close to urban areas, and increased seismic activity, were some of the risks identified in the report. A generic approach to the risks is put forward for the priority areas, namely the Western, Central and Eastern basins. Cabinet approved the report at its meeting and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that R225-million had been set aside for dealing with AMD. Independent environmental adviser Anthony Turton describes the report as a good one and he commends the acceptance of the science by political leaders, which will go a long way to re-establishing investor confidence. “The report also makes it clear that, given the complexity, we will have to learn as we go along. This is a good approach because it moves away from the one size fits all,” he adds.

CAPE TOWN – Government departments, forming part of the Economic Sectors and Employment Cluster, will present their employment strategies to Parliament on March 9, Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, who chairs the cluster, says. With only 41% of South Africa’s working-age adults employed, government is moving to step up job-growth efforts, with a goal of creating five-million jobs by 2020, as set out in the New Growth Path. Speaking at the cluster briefing on the implementation of employment strategies, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel describes 2011 as “year one” where the government will focus on building a strong basis to support its employment drive. He adds that government will concentrate on enhancing and expanding the country’s skill base and building the right infrastructure to set up the correct platform for increasing South Africa’s production capacity and creating a sustainable employment environment. Nkwinti also points out that, although public employment schemes and subsidies will be important to create job opportunities in the short term, private sector employment will be critical in the long run. “For this reason, the cluster’s proposals will centre largely on how government policies and programmes can do more to encourage growth in sectors that can generate employment on a large scale and create an enabling policy environment to accommodate such growth.” Job-driving sectors that will be focused on include infrastructure, manufacturing, the mining value chain, the agricultural value chain, the green economy, tourism and other services.

PRETORIA – South Africa has concluded a deal to farm 172 000 ha of land in the Republic of Congo but has stalled similar talks with northern African States shaken by political unrest, a farmers group says. Africa’s largest economy has one of the most developed agricultural sectors on the continent and its farmers are looking to expand into other countries. “We took note of what’s happening in northern Africa – in Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia – and the deliberations with those countries have been put on the backburner for a while, simply because we don’t know where it’s going,” Agri SA deputy president Theo de Jager says. He says that a deal to farm some 172 000 ha of State-owned land in the Republic of Congo for up to 105 years was finalised in December. The deal is part of ten-million hectares of vacant land the Congolese government earmarked for crop and livestock farming. He says that the first group of farmers could depart in March to the Nieri valley, located halfway between the two biggest cities, Brazzaville and Ponte-Noire. He adds that there are 150 to 180 South African farmers currently trying to tie up land deals in the Republic of Congo, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and other countries that invited them. “But, at this stage, we have closed the deals only with the Republic of Congo and with Mozambique.” De Jager said in December that more South African commercial farmers were expected to receive land offers in neighbouring Mozambique, mainly to grow grains and sugar for bio- fuels as well as for livestock farming. “At this stage, there are just over 800 farmers who have already established interests in Mozambique and seemingly another 800 are in the process of trying to secure land under a deal that is being closed with Gaza province,” says De Jager. He adds that Gabon and Guinea are two new countries interested in attracting South African farmers.

JOHANNESBURG – Gauteng’s new infrastructure programme is set to create “at least” 130 000 jobs in 2011, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane says. Delivering her state of the province address, Mokonyane said that the programme would centre on the construction and maintenance of education and health infrastructure. “We will deliver four new schools during 2011 for the 2012 school year and will initiate plans for the building of 13 new schools to be delivered in the 2012/13 financial year,” she said. A total of 30 schools will be renovated. “The community works programme will generate at least 6 000 jobs in six sites in Metsweding, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, with 40% of the jobs reserved for young people.” She said that a youth employability programme would target more than 2 000 school leavers and would provide support, training and placement in private- and public-sector jobs. The national youth service would train 4 000 young people to help them enter the job market. Mokonyane said that the provincial government, an employer of over 180 000 people, would fill its “funded vacant posts” within six months. The provincial road construction and maintenance programme would create over 5 000 jobs, she added. Tourism was expected to yield 15 000 jobs. The provincial government hoped to support 3 000 small businesses through its small-business development programme. Mokonyane also said that the Gautrain would be up and running by July.

Africa & the world

TRIPOLI – The US seeks to drum up international backing for ways to stem the bloodshed in Libya as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi wage fierce gun battles with opposition rebels holding cities near the capital. US President Barack Obama has consulted the French, British and Italian leaders on immediate steps against Gaddafi over his bloody crackdown on a popular uprising in which up to 2 000 people may have died, according to French estimates. As oil prices leapt towards $120, stoking fears that the fragile global economic recovery could be threatened, Washington, which once branded Gaddafi a "mad dog", says it is keeping all options open, including sanctions and military action. However, coordinated international action against Gaddafi, who has ruled the oil-rich desert nation of six-million for 41 years, still seemed some way off, as foreign governments focus on evacuating thousands of their citizens trapped by the unrest. With the Middle East still absorbing the aftershocks from the overthrow of veteran, Western-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt by people power, Western governments are also concerned not to be seen to be imposing neocolonial solutions on Libya. Disparate opposition forces are already in control of major centres in the east including the second-largest city Benghazi. Reports of the third-largest city Misrata, as well as Zuara, in the west, also falling brought the tide of rebellion closer to Gaddafi's power base – though information from western Libya remains patchy.

TUNIS – Tunisia's interim government is on the right track towards democracy but the former ruling party, security apparatus or corrupt elite could reverse precarious gains, the United Nations (UN) warns. Senior UN human rights officials called for extensive reforms in the North African country ahead of free and fair elections, which they said should be held in several months and be open to all political parties. At least 147 people were killed and 510 injured in unrest, which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last month after 23 years of rule marked by repression and corruption, they say. "Destabilising forces must not be allowed to reverse the situation," UN human rights officials say in a report on their January 26 to February 2 mission to Tunisia. "Some elements in society, suspected to be loyal to former President Ben Ali, have sought to sow instability, to create chaos, and to discredit the peaceful demonstrations and calls for reform. Their activities continue to jeopardise the gains." Tunisia's Interior Ministry has filed for the dissolution of Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) after accusations that its members sought to destabilise the country, State media reports. The powerful security services, blamed for many abuses, and a corrupt elite that still controls much of the country's economic life also pose risks, according to Mona Rishmawi, chief of the rule of law branch of the UN human rights office.

LAGOS – The main opposition candidate in Nigeria’s Presidential election says that he is optimistic it will be a more credible race than in the past but warns that events in North Africa show people will no longer accept a rigged vote. Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari says that there is widespread disillusionment with the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which has dominated politics in Nigeria since its return to democracy in 1999. The PDP candidate has won every vote since the end of military rule, all of them elections marred by intimidation and fraud. Buhari, who lost two of those races, faces another tough battle against President Goodluck Jonathan. “Having been the biggest casualty of election rigging from 2003 through to 2007, I think this [election commission] is better led and has, therefore, raised our hope that the election will be free and fair,” Buhari says in the gardens of a villa in the commercial capital, Lagos. “More important . . . is the awareness among Nigerians that, this time around, they want their vote to count,” he adds.