South Africa

PRETORIA – As the sun rose on Friday morning, two days after the country’s fourth democratic local government elections, the results showed the African National Congress’ (ANC’s) support seemed stable, while the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) may be set for its best performance yet. At about 7 am data showed the gap between the number of votes obtained by the ANC and the DA had widened nationally. The ANC garnered 61.7%, with the DA lagging at number two by 24.3% of counted votes so far. The third spot was occupied by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 3.6%, followed by the new kid on the block, the National Freedom Party (NFP) with 2.3% of the votes. Embattled Congress of the People (Cope) came in fifth with 2.2%. In Gauteng, the ANC received 60.13% of the votes, with the DA at 33.11% followed by COPE with 1.08%. Other smaller parties were not making any impact. In the City of Johannesburg, the ANC was leading with 58.56% followed by the DA with 34.62%. In Tshwane, the ANC had 55.11% of the votes while the DA had 38.87%. The DA continues to cling onto the Western Cape – the only province that is led by the party. The DA garnered 57.79% of the votes in the province. It’s a two-horse race between the ANC and the DA while other parties contesting the elections are hardly making an impact. The ANC tried to breakthrough the Western Cape but its 33.22% makes it second followed by Cope with 1.97%. The Independent Electoral Commission hopes to declare the final results by Saturday.

JOHANNESBURG – Government plans to spend over R14.2-billion over the next three years vamping up dams and water distributions systems to ensure the country maintains a sustainable water-supply, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa says. She singled out several mega infrastructure projects, in reply to a parliamentary question raised in the National Assembly on whether the department had identified any urgent projects as part of the government’s R846-billion infrastructure upgrade plan over the next three years. So far the department has spent R5.9-billion, of the R29.2-billion budgeted, on several projects, ranging from water services projects to mega infrastructure projects, she adds. The projected expenditure on water and wastewater infrastructure projects is expected to rise from R2.7-billion in 2010/11 to R13.6-billion in 2013/14. “The spending focus over the medium term (MTEF 2011/12 to 2013/14) will be on bulk raw water resource infrastructure to meet sustainable demand for South Africa,” says Molewa, pointing out that the details are outlined in Vote 38 in the National Treasury’s Estimates of National Expenditure for 2011. The mega infrastructure projects include R16-billion for the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project in Limpopo – which includes over R3-billion to be spent on the De Hoop dam and a further R13.1-billion on distribution systems. So far, over R2.5-billion has been spent on the project – the bulk (over R2.1-billion) on revamping the dam. A further R2.8-billion will be spent on the project over the next three years.

JOHANNESBURG – The African National Congress (ANC) says it is “extremely disappointed and puzzled” by a High Court decision refusing it leave to appeal an earlier finding on the singing of a controversial struggle song containing the lyrics dubula ibhunu (shoot the boer). It will now take the matter to a higher court. “We are perturbed and shocked by the acting judge’s decision as we believe that he appears to have misunderstood the nature of the relief which was sought by the ANC,” the ruling party says. Earlier, the High Court in Johannesburg ruled that the lyrics dubula ibhunu were prima facie incitement to murder. In his order, Acting Judge Leon Halgryn says that “. . . the publication and chanting of the words dubula ibhunu, prima facie satisfies the crime of incitement to murder”. This is an amendment to his original order that only contained the word “incitement” and formed part of a judgment that dismisses an attempt by the ANC to intervene in the matter and appeal his order. The ANC says it will now take the matter to a higher court. “The African National Congress is extremely disappointed and puzzled with the ruling of the South Gauteng High Court to refuse our request for leave to appeal an earlier finding by the same court relating to the singing of a freedom song (dubula ibhunu).”

JOHANNESBURG – Multinational real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest report ranks South Africa as having the most transparent real estate market of all the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. Overall, South Africa is ranked 23 out of 81 countries in the ‘World’s Most Transparent Real Estate Markets’ report. Factors that contribute to the country’s high transparency ranking include its robust listed-vehicle governance, strong auditing and reporting standards, a highly developed legal system and the fairness and efficiency of its regulatory framework in the real estate sector. “In the few weeks since entering the South African market, Jones Lang LaSalle is enthusiastic about the potential this country has to offer in the real estate sector,” says Andrew Bradford, of Jones Lang LaSalle South Africa. The firm acquired South African corporate property services provider Bradford McCormack & Associates at the end of March. Bradford says that the outlook for local commercial real estate places the country in a position to offer international investors a compelling real estate investment case. South Africa’s office stock of 14,5-million square metres in its four main cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban – is comparable to cities such as Madrid, Brussels and Moscow.

Africa & the world

WASHINGTON – Muammar Gaddafi will inevitably leave power, US President Barack Obama says, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) intensifies its weeks-long bombing of government targets and says that it has sunk eight Libyan warships. Obama was speaking in an address on the Middle East, where a series of uprisings occurred this year in governments in Tunisia and Egypt, and inspired a three-month-old revolt in Libya that aims to overthrow Gaddafi. "Time is working against Gaddafi. He does not have control over his country. The opposition has organised a legitimate and credible Interim Council," Obama says in Washington. "When Gaddafi inevitably leaves or is forced from power, decades of provocation will come to an end and the transition to a democratic Libya can proceed," he says, defending his decision to take military action against the Libyan leader's government. His comments echo Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who says that military and political pressure are weakening Gaddafi and will eventually topple him. The Libyan leader remains defiant. "Obama is still delusional," Libyan government spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim says. "He believes the lies that his own government and media spread around the world . . . . It's not Obama who decides whether Muammar Gaddafi leaves Libya or not. It's the Libyan people." Acting under a United Nations mandate, Nato allies including France, Britain and the US are conducting air strikes that aim to stop Gaddafi using military force against civilians.

TRIPOLI – The European Union (EU) is considering tightening sanctions on the government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi by blacklisting ports to prevent exports of oil and imports of fuel, a Western diplomatic source says. The source says t EU experts have reached an agreement over putting the Libyan ports of Tripoli, Zuara, Zawiyah, Al-Khoms, Ras Lanuf and Brega on the sanctions list and proposals could be submitted to the EU sanctions committee next week. Gaddafi's government is seeking to raise fuel imports by using a loophole in international sanctions after two months of Western air strikes against Libya. Civil war has crippled the refining industry and Gaddafi urgently needs fuel imports for his military and to keep civilian vehicles running in the areas he controls. "West Libya's supply of refined products is still sufficient. Western powers want a lot more control over supplies to Libya," the source says. "The concern is that a stalemate will ensue in the war." The discussions will likely take place at the level of the EU sanctions committee next week and could become law by early June if it is successful, he says. The discussions may also involve the Libyan State-owned shipping company General National Maritime Transport Company, which is not on the sanctions list and has managed to bring at least one fuel cargo into west Libya.

PARIS – The Group of Eight leading industrial nations delivered only 61% of the increased aid they promised to sub-Saharan Africa by 2010 in their 2005 summit, a study shows. Antipoverty group ONE has criticised France, led by President Nichos Sarkozy, Germany and Italy for failing to meet targets set for them at the 2005 G8 Gleneagles summit. It commends Britain for progress on an ambitious target and says that the US, Japan and Canada have surpassed their relatively modest targets. “The failure of the G8 to keep their promises deprived the world’s poorest people of $7-billion in financing for effective and life-changing programmes in 2010 alone,” the group says. ONE executive director Jamie Drummond says that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has “abjectly failed” to deliver on aid promises for Africa, while Germany’s performance is “hugely disappointing” for a country that weathered the global financial crisis so well.

ABIDJAN – Fighting in western Côte d’Ivoire between Ivorian troops and militia loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo is over; however, the militia killed a total of 220 people as they fled to Liberia, the government says. West Africa’s former economic star is still reeling from a violent five-month power struggle between Gbagbo and President Alassane Ouattara that killed at least 3 000 people, displaced more than a million and brought the economy to a standstill. “It’s over. The militia have fled to Liberia,” government spokesperson Patrick Achi says. “In total, they killed 220,” he adds, a toll much higher than the last count of 120 on May 11. He adds that most were civilians, killed by the militia as they fled from Abidjan westwards to the Liberian border.