South Africa

HAINAN ISLAND – Africa needs $480-billion for infrastructure development over the next ten years, President Jacob Zuma says. "Over the next ten years, Africa will need $480-billion for infrastructure development, which should interest the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) business communities," he says in an address for delivery at the third Brics leaders meeting at China’s Hainan island. "Already, Africa is projected as the third-fastest growing economy in the world, while the Brics countries now constitute the largest trading partners for Africa and largest new investors. "This economic relationship will be further strengthened as Africa forges ahead towards regional economic integration. This move will open up opportunities for more foreign direct investment and expanding trade relations with Brics countries." He adds that the African Union (AU) appreciates the Brics support of its road map "towards a viable political solution to the Libyan situation". "The roadmap calls, amongst others, for the cessation of all hostilities, implementation of political reforms to eliminate the causes of the current crisis, and an inclusive dialogue among the Libyan parties." Commenting on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, Zuma says the AU recognised Alassane Outtara as the leader of the country. "With regards to Côte d'Ivoire, the AU, has taken a position that the recognises winner of the elections, Alassane Outtara, should be given an opportunity to lead the country. South Africa officially joined Brics in December. The group offers a lucrative market for South Africa's goods and services, and opportunities to implement the New Growth Path framework.

PRETORIA – The South African Police Service (SAPS) distances itself from a top secret intelligence report that allegedly reveals plots by a string of senior African National Congress (ANC) members to oust President Jacob Zuma as the party's president at its elective conference next year. "The senior management of the SAPS would like to assure South Africans that the mandate of the SAPS to fight crime will never be perverted to serve any self-serving personal agenda or political interest under their watch," says deputy national commissioner Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya. "The work of the SAPS is underpinned by such a rigorous system of checks and balances that this document would not have passed even a single of the many verification tests that documents of its nature have to go through for them to be entered into the organisation's official register," he adds. Hawks spokesperson Colonel McIntosh Polela says that the document has no status in the police department and has never been registered with any of its units for any purpose. "The SAPS would like to record the fact that it neither commissioned nor compiled the document titled 'Ground Coverage Intelligence Report –Alleged Corruption and Related Activities KwaZulu-Natal'. The SAPS would, therefore, like to urge the media to desist from associating it with this document or any purpose for which it may have been compiled and/or distributed." The 22-page report allegedly emanated from an investigation into national police commissioner General Bheki Cele.

CAPE TOWN – State-owned development finance institution the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has already approved R140-million in new investments as part of its R10-billion scheme to facilitate job creation. The bulk of the R140-million will be invested in businesses and projects within the metals fabrication and component manufacturing sectors, as well as the agroprocessing industry, IDC regional director for the Western Cape Lizo Ntloko says. He adds the IDC has a pipeline of projects that could qualify for funding from the R10-billion scheme and it will make a number of new investments within the next two months. The IDC is currently in the midst of a national roadshow to explain the scheme and to generate more interest, which Ntloko says has been lacking in certain sectors. The scheme, which became effective on April 1, was established as a mechanism to tackle the country’s unemployment challenges.

JOHANNESBURG – A healthy economic recovery in South Africa requires more than the consumer, and business investment will be needed to create some symmetry, Absa Capital head of research Jeff Gable says. Speaking at Absa Capital’s economic forum, Gable points out household consumers are the driving force behind the 2,8% gross domestic product (GDP) growth achieved in 2010, and adds that the recovery will remain consumer-led for much of 2011. “Consumers’ [buying power has] been boosted by wage growth, while lower interest rates have also eased the burden of past debt. Now we are searching for some kind of symmetry, as consumers and businesses are currently pulling in different directions,” he notes. Corporate South Africa has been saving in near-record amounts in the early phases of the economic recovery, but it is not necessarily a virtue, as it led to decreased investment. Household borrowing is not as heavily impacted on in recent years as is corporate borrowing, as can be seen in the recovery in passenger vehicle sales rather than commercial vehicle sales. Gable notes business confidence is key to the economic recovery, as it leads investment, inventory rebuild and employment. Although business confidence is returning, diverse experiences were recorded across different sectors. “We expect some improvement in fixed investment spending through 2011, but the real boost to GDP from investment only comes in early 2012 to generate more broadly-spread GDP growth.”

JOHANNESBURG – It will cost commuters R49 to travel on the Gautrain between Hatfield station, in Pretoria, and Park station, in central Johannesburg. This is the longest possible trip on the 80 km rapid rail system, set to become operational on July 1. However, should a Gautrain user buy a weekly ticket, the price for the same trip will drop to R43, decreasing further to R39 with the use of a monthly ticket. The monthly ticket will only be activated on first use, and will be valid for five weeks. The R49 is significantly up from the R20 anticipated when the system was conceived in the early 2000s. Announcing the fares in Sandton, Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi says that these prices compare favourably with the cost of a single trip between Hatfield and Johannesburg using a 1,6 l car, at R61. That price excludes the toll fees to be levied on the freeway between the two cities later this year.

Africa & the world

ABIDJAN – The Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara pledges to quickly restore security and prosperity to a nation broken by civil war as life in the main city slowly returns to a normality of sorts. In his first news conference since his rival Laurent Gbagbo was arrested, ending a power struggle which descended into all-out war, Ouattara promises to bring to justice all those responsible for atrocities, including his own forces. "I say to my countrymen, in a few months Ivory Coast will have come out of this crisis. Trust me," Ouattara says. "We are still in a delicate situation. We still need to secure the country, especially Abidjan . . . I will do everything I can so that all Ivorians, everywhere in the country, can live safely." He says a new republican army will be formed and urges militias and mercenaries who took part in the fighting to lay down their weapons. He says everything is in place to immediately resume cocoa exports – the West African State's main foreign revenue generator – and that branches of the regional central bank, shut for months, will likely reopen, paving the way for private banks to do the same. Ouattara also says he will ask the International Criminal Court to investigate reported massacres since the power struggle began in the wake of a disputed November election, which United Nations-certified results showed he had won but which Gbagbo rejected.

TRIPOLI – Britain pressured other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members to step up ground attacks in Libya but cracks appeared in the alliance as foreign ministers met in Qatar to try to break the deadlock in the civil war. Nato divisions surfaced at the international "contact group" meeting, not only over arming the rebels and increasing air strikes but also on creating a fund from frozen Libyan assets to help the opposition trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined the humanitarian disaster caused by the war, telling the meeting that up to 3,6-million people, or more than half the population, could need assistance. Paris and London are increasingly frustrated that air strikes have neither tipped the balance of the war in favour of rebels trying to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule nor even ended devastating shelling of the besieged city of Misrata. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has criticised Nato for not doing enough to stop the bombardment of the rebel-held port town, where hundreds of civilians are said to have died in more than six weeks of siege. Libyan State television says that Nato planes had bombed Misrata's main Tripoli street, scene of repeated battles between rebels and government troops. It says people were killed, without giving details. It says alliance planes also attacked Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte, east of Misrata, and Aziziyah, south of Tripoli. British Foreign Minister William Hague says other coalition aircraft must join ground attacks.

SUDAN – Sudan’s security forces have confiscated copies of an opposition newspaper, the latest crackdown on press freedom in Africa’s largest country ahead of the looming split of its oil-producing south. Sudan’s Constitution guarantees press freedom but several journalists have been detained without charge in recent months and papers are often subject to direct censorship. “They confiscated all the copies of the paper at the printing press after we printed,” Faiz al-Silaik, deputy editor-in-chief of daily Ajras al-Huriya, says. Al-Silaik, whose newspaper is linked to the south’s dominant SPLM party, says the move may have been sparked by its coverage of an attack in Sudan’s east, blamed by Khartoum on Israel, and long-delayed May elections in South Kordofan state. Elections in the state, a region containing much of north Sudan’s future oil production but where the SPLM has strong support, have provoked security fears for the north’s dominant National Congress Party.