South Africa

PRETORIA – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela did not break any laws when her company offered services to the Department of Justice while she was the South African Law reform Commissioner (SALRC). In a statement, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe says his department had, at the request of the National Treasury, investigated if there had been a conflict of interest when her company, Waweth, rendered services to the department. Radebe was reacting to reports published in The Star and Pretoria newspapers published on Wednesday. The reports alleged that Madonsela faced imminent arrest for fraud and corruption in connection with her work at the SALRC several years ago. According to the report, which cites confidential documents, companies that Madonsela owned had done work for the SALRC worth R1.8-million while she was a commissioner there. At a press conference on Wednesday, Madonsela denied the claims and by late Thursday she had still not been arrested. Radebe says that the outcome of that investigation had determined that, because Madonsela was not appointed as commissioner to the SALRC in terms of the Public Service Act and Public Service Regulations, she was not bound by those regulations. "On the basis of all that has been considered, I am satisfied that conduct of the Public Protector in relation to what had to be investigated, that is, whether or not there was a duty to disclose or that she was operating a profitable business entity, did not constitute a violation of any prescripts or laws." He says that the enquiry is closed and at no stage was the enquiry reported by the Department of Justice to any law enforcement agencies for investigation.

JOHANNESBURG – The persistent call from the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) for the nationalisation of South Africa’s banks and mines threatens economic growth and employment, economists and industry players warn. Standard Bank of South Africa CEO Sim Tshabalala says in an opinion piece, published in financial daily Business Day, that the league’s campaign for nationalisation is billed to cause a “great deal of unnecessary damage” to South Africa’s growth and job creation prospects. “If the nationalisation debate grinds on for many more months, there will be fewer new businesses, fewer new jobs, more poverty and less development for decades to come,” he comments. This, in a country, saddled with an unemployment rate of 25% and 65% of its population living on less than R550 a month. The ANCYL, under the leadership of Julius Malema, wants the government to take over mines and banks, and has also called for the expropriation of land without compensation. Business Unity South Africa also says it is inconsistent to try and implement South Africa’s New Growth Path, which aims to create five-million new jobs, while the nationalisation debate continues to create uncertainty. It adds that the debate is not conducive to the promotion of investor confidence. Tshabalala points out that South Africa is in “ferocious competition” with dozens of other developing countries for capital. “While South Africa has been drifting down the international competitiveness rankings, many of our competitor nations are becoming very attractive to investors, thanks to their fast growth and their clear, consistent and socially sensitive market-orientated economic policies.”

JOHANNESBURG – The Black Management Forum (BMF) has withdrawn from Business Unity South Africa (Busa), stating: “Amongst the reasons cited was the fundamentally flawed structure of Busa, where the black business voice is permanently outnumbered and suppressed.” The BMF, which came to this decision at a board meeting on June 25, says, of the around 50 organisations making up Busa, only ten votes went to black business. “With one organisation:one vote, there is no way black business could even have its voice heard on transformation issues.” The BMF says Busa’s recent comments on labour law reforms, labour brokers and its stance on good governance in the process of appointing its new CEO are examples of “how far behind Busa is on embracing transformation and good governance”. Busa says, in response, that it notes the decision with regret. “Busa remains open to meeting with the BMF to further engage on the challenges being faced in securing business unity in South Africa,” it adds. Last month, Busa denied it was under pressure from BMF president Jimmy Manyi to appoint a CEO recommended by him.

JOHANNESBURG – The African National Congress Youth League’s (ANCYL’s) position on nationalisation and land reform is in line with that of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim, says. “What emerged in the ANCYL conference was the sum total of what Cosatu and Numsa have been talking about,” he says. The ANCYL adopted resolutions favouring the nationalisation of mines and the expropriation of land without compensation, at its national conference in June, to an outcry from opposition parties, civil society and business. At its central committee meeting, Cosatu failed to concretise its position on nationalisation, but took a resolution to scrap constitutional provisions on the expropriation of land with compensation. At that meeting, it was contended that elements within the ANC, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party (SACP) are endangering their alliance. President Jacob Zuma attributes the crisis to ill discipline, a lack of respect, the circumventing of normal channels to push forward policies and the use of money to promote self-interest. Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande bemoaned the existence in the movement of politicians acting in their own interests, and a powerful, corrupt, predatory elite.

Africa & the world

ROME – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he was against North Atlantic Treaty organisation (Nato) intervention in Libya but has to go along with it, an admission that exposed the fragility of the alliance trying to unseat Muammar Gaddafi. Nato warplanes have been bombing Libya under a United Nations mandate, but the alliance is under mounting strain because of the cost of the operation and the failure, after more than three months, to produce a decisive outcome. "I was against this measure," Berlusconi says. "I had my hands tied by the vote of the parliament of my country. But, I was against and I am against this intervention, which will end in a way that no-one knows." Some of the alliance bombing missions over Libya take off from military airbases in Italy. There is no suggestion, following Berlusconi's comments, that Rome will withdraw the use of the bases. But, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa says the cost to Italy of the Libya operation will fall from €142-million in the first half of the year to less than €60-million in the second half as part of general defence spending cuts. He says the aircraft carrier Garibaldi with three aircraft on board has been withdrawn, and their tasks will be taken on by land-based aircraft. The comments from Rome come just a day after Libyan rebels made a big push toward Tripoli on two fronts.

HARARE – Foreign companies in Zimbabwe will not be seized but bought out under a black economic empowerment scheme sponsored by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, a government minister says. However, destitute Zimbabwe, the world's second-largest platinum producer, does not have enough money to purchase majority stakes in the foreign firms and could be trying to ease the concerns of overseas investors, analysts say. Speaking at the launch of a five-year economic development plan, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister Tapiwa Mashakada says the drive will take time and will not destroy the country's fragile economy. "Indigenisation and empowerment need not be the elephant in the room," says Mashakada, a senior member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's rival Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which joined Zanu-PF in a unity government over two years ago. "It is there to make sure the majority of our people are broadly empowered. The 51% is not going to be expropriated. It's going to be funded and there's going to be a time frame for that," he says. Mugabe, 87 and in power since Zimbabwe's since independence from Britain in 1980, signed the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act in 2008, which forces foreign-owned companies worth over $500 000 to achieve at least 51% black ownership within five years.

MALABO – Rising labour costs will push over 80-million Chinese jobs in light manufacturing abroad over the next three to five years, with African nations well placed to lure many of them their way, the World Bank says. Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank VP for Africa, also hails recent local efforts to bolster the continent’s farming sector after decades of neglect, but warns that the region remains overly exposed to food and fuel price shocks. China’s economic success and hunger for resources have helped boost African growth, but Ezekwesili cites a World Bank forecast that rising Chinese wages will lead to manufacturing firms going elsewhere, taking with them 83-million to 85-million jobs. “They are going to be looking to move – Africa is going to be an important destination for that,” she said in an interview, calling on African countries to “step up their game” to improve the business environment to lure jobs their way.

ASMARA – An East African bloc has asked the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) to impose sanctions on Eritrea’s booming mining sector for its alleged support of rebels seeking to overthrow Somalia’s government. AU peacekeepers have gained ground in recent months against the Somali insurgents, al-Shabaab, who claim ties with al-Qaeda, but neighbouring States and Western security forces fear the nation could become a haven for militants unless they are completely flushed out. President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s UN-backed administration is the fifteenth attempt in two decades to set up central rule in Somalia, which has been mired in violence and awash with weapons since the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.