South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – No ANC member is bigger than the organisation's constitution, the party says in welcoming Julius Malema's latest suspension. "We welcome and respect the decision, as we do with all decisions arrived at by constitutional structures of the ANC," spokesperson Jackson Mthembu says. The African National Congress's national disciplinary committee (NDC) announced it had temporarily suspended the ANC Youth League president from the party, to investigate charges relating to comments he made on Friday. "The decision of the NDC derives from the constitution of the ANC, section 25.12 (c), which empowers the NDC and the national working committee, under extraordinary circumstances, to temporarily suspend any member of the ANC with a view to investigate possible charges," Mthembu says. Malema's ANC membership was suspended with immediate effect. Malema called Jacob Zuma a dictator and accused him of suppressing the ANCYL. "After due consideration, the NDC was satisfied that this utterance constitutes a very serious violation of the ANC constitution and that the institution of disciplinary action . . . as outlined in the ANC constitution is warranted," NDC chairperson Derek Hanekom says. "[The NDC] concluded that such utterance could bring the ANC into disrepute." Malema was informed on Wednesday morning of his immediate temporary suspension and that disciplinary proceedings would be instituted against him. Consequently Malema will not be allowed to exercise his duties as an ANC member, as president of the ANCYL, or member of the Limpopo ANC's provincial executive committee, says Hanekom.

PRETORIA – The National Skills Fund and the Sector Education and Training Authorities are to allocate R2.5-billion towards the refurbishment and construction of new further education and training (FET) college campuses over the next three years, President Jacob Zuma says. The money will be used for expanding and improving the FET college infrastructure, in keeping with the strategic priorities of the National Skills Development Strategy III. “This is yet another demonstration of the value we attach to FET colleges,” Zuma says at a skills development summit with FET college principals, near Pretoria. Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande will provide further details of this project at a later stage, Zuma adds. The high-level summit with FET college principals is meant to send a strong message that universities, universities of technology and FET colleges are equally important to develop a strong economy. The country has a network of 264 campuses in 50 FET colleges nationwide, including rural towns. The President points to the example of Germany as being a successful industrial economy, highlighting the importance of vocational training, rooted in an apprenticeship model that enables the building of a strong manufacturing base and productive economy. “To achieve prosperity for all, we need to tackle head on the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Education and skills development are the most powerful tools we can use to achieve this goal,” he says.

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Jobs Fund, which has been allocated R9-billion to support job creation initiatives over three years, has issued its second call for proposals, having approved 26 projects and granted funding to the value of R1.5-billion during the first window, which closed on July 31, 2011. For 2012/13, R4.5-billion has been set aside for the fund, which is administered by the State-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The second of four bidding windows opened officially on April 2 and will remain open for eight weeks. During the initial bidding round, the matching-grant scheme facilitated the release of financial resources worth R3.3-billion for employment creation projects across the private, public and nongovernmental sectors. Chief investment officer Dumisa Hlatshwayo indicates that the approved projects, which were selected from 2 651 applications, are expected to create 162 040 jobs. He also says the DBSA systems have been improved since the first manually administered bidding round and that second-round applications will have to be submitted online.

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma did not interfere in a probe into fraud and corruption claims against reinstated crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, his office says. “The President has nothing to do with the Mdluli investigation – it is an internal matter within the SA Police Service,” the Presidency says. Earlier, the Mail & Guardian reported that information in a secret document shows Zuma played a role in getting Mdluli’s job back after he was suspended last year. Allegations include that Zuma personally called Inspector-General of Intelligence Faith Radebe to question her decision to refer criminal charges to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to investigate Mdluli. It also alleges that Zuma attended a celebratory party that Mdluli allegedly hosted to celebrate the withdrawal of charges against him in December last year. “These reports are a complete fabrication. The President never called Radebe at any point, and anyone who says he did must produce evidence,” the Presidency says. “The President knows nothing about a Mdluli celebratory party and never attended such a party.” Mdluli was suspended in May last year after murder charges were laid against him.

Africa & the world

KHARTOUM – South Sudan accuses Sudan of launching air strikes in the border region, hours after the postponement of talks aimed at defusing the worst clashes since the South seceded. The Sudanese army denies any attack. The neighbours have fought repeatedly in the past few days along the poorly marked 1 800 km border, the worst direct confrontation since the South split away in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war. Western nations fear the clashes could reignite a full-blown war between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist South, with rival claims on oil resources a key part of the conflict. South Sudan's top negotiator, Pagan Amum, says Sudanese MiG-29 jets bombed the garrison town of Panakuach, in Unity state, after talks sponsored by the African Union (AU) had been postponed with no deal signed and no indication of progress. "One (jet) has been shot down in Panakuach. This is very clear, it's war-mongering that made them not to sign," he says. Sudanese army spokesperson Sawarmi Khalid Saad denies there has been an air strike or that a plane has been lost. "Today it was quiet," he says. The charges came as talks between the two countries are postponed after Khartoum asked for more time to consider an AU proposal to ease tensions. The proposal calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of armed forces from each other's territories and preparations for a meeting of the two Presidents.

WASHINGON – The World Bank says it will conduct interviews with the three candidates for the bank presidency this month as previously planned. The Washington-based global financial organisation says the Bank's Board of Executive Directors will conduct interviews with the three candidates in Washington, and the schedules of interviews have been agreed with the candidates based on their availability. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, currently the Nigerian Finance Minister, who was endorsed by South Africa, Angola and Nigeria, will be interviewed on 9 April. "She would be a candidate of choice not just on the African continent but well beyond as well," says South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan of her candidature. Okonjo-Iweala is equally optimistic about her chances. "I consider the World Bank [as] a very important institution for the world, particularly developing countries deserving of the best leadership. I look forward to a contest of very strong candidates. Am I confident? Absolutely." José Antonio Ocampo, a professor at Columbia University, who was nominated by Brazil, will be interviewed on April 10. US-nominated Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American global health expert and president of Dartmouth College, will be interviewed on April 11. The bank plans to pick a candidate at its annual meeting in late April to replace American Robert Zoellick, whose term finishes at the end of June.

KHARTOUM – Sudan and South Sudan have accused each other of launching attacks in the oil-producing area straddling their border after talks aimed at ending the worst hostilities since Juba declared its independence were delayed. The United Nations and the US fear the border clashes could escalate and reignite a civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the south, where most adhere to Christian and animist beliefs. Sudan says South Sudan’s army had attacked the Sudan side of the disputed Heglig oilfield area, the scene of several clashes in the past days, State news agency SUNA says. “The [Sudanese] armed forces are now dealing with the enemy forces,” army spokesperson Sawarmi Khalid Saad told SUNA. There was no immediate response from South Sudan, which accuses Khartoum of having bombed two areas on the oil-producing southern side of the border. “The government of Sudan attacked Manga today at two in the morning,” Pagan Amum, head of South Sudan’s negotiating team, told reporters in Addis Ababa.

PORT LOUIS – Mauritian President Anerood Jugnauth says he will step down from his ceremonial position and return to party politics to challenge Prime Minister Navinchndra Ramgoolam and his governing coalition. Jugnauth says his resignation was with effect from March 31, and it could rock the usually placid political arena in one of Africa’s most stable countries. Ramgoolam’s coalition has accused Jugnauth of meddling in the running of the Indian Ocean island. “I have said that, if the country needed me, I wouldn’t hesitate to leave the State House and to embark on a new fight,” Jugnauth says. “The future is bleak and the country is waiting for a renewal.” Jugnauth’s return to party politics has stoked expectations of a political showdown with the coalition. A prolonged spat risks unsettling investors at a time when economic growth is already slowing, owing mainly to external shocks, even though the row over his alleged interference in governance has so far left markets unscathed.