DAILY NEWS BULLETIN – NO 231 THURSDAY – AUGUST 19, 2010 | South Africa

Looking afresh at China’s role in Africa by Steve Davis and Jonathan Woetzel. Davis
Arch: always thinking ahead By Jonathan Jansen
‘Fantasy’ system could end atavistic politics in SA by Tim Cohen

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Find common ground for a win-win deal
Mining legislation: Min Shabangu begins to turn it around
Big business finally speaks up
Party battles to COPE with endless battles in court

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET STATISTICS

SOUTH AFRICAN NEWSPAPER WEBSITES

The contents, wording and terminology of all items are those of the credited sources and do not reflect departmental or governmental policy. Stories may be edited for clarity and length.

THE PRESIDENCY

President Zuma lauds Mr Mbeki’s role in Cup success (Pretoria News online, 20100819) – President Jacob Zuma acknowledged the role and paid tribute to his predecessor Thabo Mbeki for South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup. Mr Zuma said Mr Mbeki had laid the basis for all the planning of the tournament – working with the Local Organising Committee (LOC). Mention of Mr Mbeki is a rarity in Mr Zuma speeches. Mr Zuma was addressing the joint sitting of Parliament for the debate on the hosting of the tournament. The country’s performance, said Mr Zuma, had been outstanding and had changed afro-pessimist stereotypes about the continent. “Nobody can tell us that nothing good can come from Africa, or that we are continent of wars, conflict and poverty. Wherever we go in the continent these days, our African brothers and sisters thank South Africa for proving Africa’s capability,” said Zuma. The tournament, said Mr Zuma, had made stalwarts like former President Nelson Mandela very proud. “We are indebted to Madiba who worked so tirelessly to make this dream come true. We congratulate Safa and the LOC they are the pioneers of this first World Cup tournament on South African soil,” he said. While it was still too early to quantify the economic benefits of the cup, indication were that they were positive, said Mr Zuma. “It is estimated the tournament will add 0.4 percent to the country’s real gross domestic product,” he said. Mr Zuma thanked the more than 30 African heads of state who graced the event. Fifa president Sepp Blatter also received special mention for his “unwavering support”. He also extended his gratitude to the millions of South Africans who rallied behind Bafana Bafana, “and flew their flags with pride”. “The tournament has ended, but the legacy must live on and inspire us and the way we work. Let us take the spirit forward, and use the lessons to build a better South Africa and a greater Africa,” said Mr Zuma. (Back to INDEX)

South Africans stars of Cup: President Zuma (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – South Africans, black and white, are the true stars of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday. “The proud display of our rainbow nation flags did not only demonstrate that we have the brightest and most beautiful flag in the world, but it also demonstrated amazing patriotism,” he told a joint sitting of Parliament’s two Houses during a special debate. The World Cup tournament revealed that South Africans were capable of working together in unity. They also proved that they were proud to be South Africans. “When our people were asked to wear Bafana Bafana jerseys on Fridays, to promote the team and the tournament, they responded in an overwhelming manner,” President Zuma said. “Indeed FIFA remarked that South Africans were the best hosts ever, given the manner in which they actively participated in the tournament.” President Zuma said South Africans truly defied stereotypes during the tournament. “We saw young white South Africans, proudly wearing their national colours, walking around singing and blowing their vuvuzelas outside Soccer City.” This was the Soccer City near Soweto that could, in the past, have been said to be a no-go zone, due to the compartmentalisation of residential areas, and even sports, as a legacy of apartheid. “And then the Blue Bulls went to Soweto, crushing even more stereotypes.” The support of the national team, Bafana Bafana, until it bowed out fighting in Bloemfontein, was a powerful lesson in national solidarity. “We are making great progress in achieving social cohesion. We must celebrate, and build on this mood and spirit. As political representatives, we must not fail our people,” Pres Zuma said. (Back to INDEX)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Zambia’s road construction to benefit SA retailers (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – SA’s retail industry is one of the most likely sectors to realise increased benefits from an impending R262m road construction project in Zambia. The development of transportation infrastructure will stimulate trade within Zambia and between neighbouring countries, making the movement of goods and people easier. The board of the Development Bank of Southern Africa last month approved a grant to the Zambian government for road construction. “This deal is all about facilitating regional integration on the continent,” the bank’s communications manager, Jacky Mashapu, said on Wednesday. Zambia shares borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This grant will open up Zambia’s western Mtwara and Nacala regional corridors, which link the country to neighbouring states. The 850km Mtwara corridor connects Zamibia to Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, according to the Tanzania’s National Development Corporation. The Nacala corridor is a 1033km stretch of land situated between Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, information from the African Development Bank shows. Several of SA’s top retailers are active in Zambia and other neighbouring countries. Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Massmart, through its Game franchise, have a presence in Zambia, while South African telecommunications firm MTN also has a footprint in the region. Tamra Veley, spokesman for PicknPay , said yesterday that the road construction would assist the group in realising its ambition to open seven stores in Zambia over the next five years and a further 13 within 10 years. She said the southern African region was an increasingly attractive market for Pick n Pay. Massdiscounters, a subsidiary of the Massmart group which operates a Game store in Zambia, also welcomed the efforts to improve transportation facilities in the region. “Any improvement to infrastructure in Africa is welcomed by retailers, particularly given that we transport goods through Zambia,” Massmart’s director for Africa, Mark Turner, said on Wednesday. The World Bank recently released a study that singled out the lack of modern infrastructure as an impediment to trade and regional integration in Africa. The continent needed to invest up to R93bn a year to upgrade its poor infrastructure facilities, the report said. Zambia is a member of two influential regional trade bodies: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc). Comesa, which consists of 19 states, says it includes 430-million people and, according to 2008 figures, has an annual import bill of about 152bn and an export bill of more than R157bn. Sadc, on the other hand, has 15 member states, claiming a total of R257,7-million inhabitants with a combined annual gross domestic product of R471,1bn. (Back to INDEX)

Gift of the Givers aids Pakistan (Pretoria News online, 20100819) - Charity organisation the Gift of the Givers has dispatched aid worth R10 million to Pakistan’s flood survivors after an appeal for international assistance from Pakistan’s prime minister. Imtiaz Sooliman, chairman and founder of the organisation, said a 20-man team had been deployed to the flood-ravaged area. He said the first of 5 000 specially prepared food packs consisting of cooking utensils, bottled water and food items that could feed a family of five for 15 days had already been delivered. Sooliman said the supplies would be delivered in rotation to the army, navy and air force, as each of these components was responsible for distribution to areas that were impassable by road and covered an area of 160 000 square km. “Excellent co-ordination exists between these three elements to prevent duplication,” he said. Contributions can be made to Gift of the Givers, Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg, a/c 052278611, branch code 057525. More details available at www.giftofthegivers.org or call 080 078 6777 toll-free. (Back to INDEX)

AFRICAN UNION (AU) & REGIONAL (SADC)

Zimbabwe Prime Minister’s party welcomes regional leaders’ deadline (Sapa, 20100819) – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party on Wednesday applauded calls by regional leaders for partners in Zimbabwe’s unity government to iron out their differences within a month. Movement For Democratic Change Secretary General Tendai Biti said the MDC was “reasonably pleased” with this week’s summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which called Tuesday for Zimbabwe’s strained power-sharing government to resolve outstanding issues within a month. “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if SADC and the people of Zimbabwe are able to implement the recommendations of the facilitator and are able to stay within the parameters of the broad road map. We can achieve the transformation of the transition to legitimacy,” Mr Biti told a news conference in the capital Harare. “With some kind of caution we are reasonably pleased with the

outcome of the summit,” he said. The statement came after heads of state met for SADC’s annual summit in Windhoek, Namibia. SADC facilitated the formation of a unity government between Pres Mugabe and long-time rival Mr Tsvangirai in 2009 in the aftermath of a bloody presidential run-off election. The work of the power-sharing government has been hampered by haggling over the allocation of key posts and Mugabe’s unilateral appointments of attorney general Johannes Tomana and central bank governor Gideon Gono. Regional leaders avoided taking decisive action on Zimbabwe at the summit. They delayed making a decision on Zimbabwe’s defiance of verdicts by a regional court that ruled in favour of white farmers whose properties were seized under President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reforms. The leaders gave themselves six months to review a stand-off between Harare and the SADC tribunal. They also raised the issue of organising fresh elections in Zimbabwe, but without giving dates. Mr Biti said Wednesday the question of elections could not be rushed. “Let’s not treat elections mechanically,” he said. “Elections are a process. There are so many things that have to be done before the elections and after the elections.” (Back to INDEX)

Mozambique approves new hydroelectric dam (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – Mozambique has approved the construction of a $2bn hydroelectric dam in a bid to increase power generation and attract foreign investments, the state-run Noticias newspaper reported on Wednesday. The paper quoted Energy Minister Salvador Namburete as saying the new Mphanda Nkuwa dam will be built 60km downstream from the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River and will produce 1500MW of power. Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries, is experiencing a commodities boom, with international companies racing to exploit a range of minerals and metals, notably the largest untapped coal reserves in the world, estimated at 15-billion tons. Mr Namburete said ownership of the dam will be split 20% by state-run Electricidade de Mocambique and 80% by a 50- 50 joint venture by local company Energia Capital and Brazil’s Camargo Correia. “It’s an infrastructure that will bring quality investments that will contribute to industrialisation and economic and social development of the country.” Four turbines each with a capacity of 375MW will be built in phase one of the project, expected to start next year, said Mr Namburete. (Back to INDEX)

Foreign investment in Zambia tops $2bn (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – Foreign direct investment in Zambia, Africa’s top copper producer, hit a record $2,4bn in the first half of this year from $959m last year due to a mining and manufacturing boom, an official said on Wednesday. Glyne Michelo, an export director at the Zambia Development Agency, said the country’s recovery from last year’s global financial and economic crisis was set to continue. “In the first half of 2010, investment pledges amounting to $2,4bn and pledged employment of 33140 were recorded in various sectors of the economy. This was the highest amount ever recorded in the country’s history,” he said. Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale said last week that the future of copper mining appeared very promising as the price of the metal, used extensively in construction and wiring, should remain high over the long-term due to increasing demand. Mr Michelo said between January and June this year, foreign direct investment flows into manufacturing, much of it from fast-growing China, totalled $768m, followed by mining with $593m and the energy sector with $565m. The outlook for the rest of the year was that foreign direct investment inflows would continue to increase, mainly because of big investments in the mining sector given the recovery in the copper prices, Mr Michelo said. Zambian authorities have in the past year awarded several new mining licences to foreign companies, seeking to hit a target of 1-million tons of copper output by 2012 from slightly below 700 000 tons last year. Canadian, Swiss and South African mining companies are operating in Zambia. But the country has most eagerly been courted by Chinese investors in recent years. (Back to INDEX)

Japanese delegation eyes African resources (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Marubeni are among more than 10 companies joining a Japanese delegation to SA, Namibia and Angola to boost trade and secure resources, the three governments said on Wednesday. The group, led by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Osamu Fujimura, will meet representatives of the three African countries during a one-week visit from August 28 to promote Japanese investment in resources, power and transport projects, said the officials who are involved in organising the trip and who declined to be named before a public announcement. Japan, whose economy dropped to third place behind China’s last quarter, is competing with China and India as they race to secure African energy and commodities assets to fuel expansion at home. Japan’s trade with the continent was 34,4bn in 2008, according to the finance ministry, compared with China’s 107bn, according to Chinese government data. “China has started ‘resource diplomacy’ much earlier than Japan, supplying cheap labour and even weapons to Africa to secure natural resources,” said Masayuki Nagano, an analyst covering trading houses at Deutsche Bank in Tokyo. Spokesmen for Mitsubishi Heavy and Sumitomo confirmed the visit. Trading companies Sojitz and Sumitomo and state-run Japan Bank for International Co-operation, Japan International Co-operation Agency and Nippon Export & Investment Insurance (Nexi) also said they will send representatives. As many as 50 Japanese bureaucrats and company representatives will join the delegation, the officials said. (Back to INDEX)

32 charged for Cup bombs (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100819) – Uganda had charged 32 people in connection with the 11 July bomb attacks in Kampala that killed 76 people as they watched the World Cup final, the country’s chief prosecutor said on Wednesday. ‘Bombing mastermind motivated by rage against Americans’ Four Ugandan alleged masterminds were among the 32 charged with 76 counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and committing acts of terrorism, said the Director of Public Prosecutions, Richard Butera. The four Ugandan men were paraded before the media last week, and described how they had orchestrated the attacks at two sites on the evening of football’s World Cup final. Mr Butera said all the defendants were charged with the same offences, and would be tried together in one case. “We have a very strong case. All these people will go to trial, but we may add others later. The investigations are still ongoing.” Among the defendants are 14 Ugandans, 10 Kenyans, six Somalis, one Rwandan and one Pakistani, according to a list published on Tuesday by the state-owned New Vision newspaper. Pakistan’s honorary consul, Boney Katatumba, said the charged Pakistani national was not registered with the consulate. Last Thursday, the head of Uganda’s military intelligence, James Mugira, produced the four Ugandans for the media, and instructed them to describe their roles in the bombings. (Back to INDEX)

PARLIAMENT & LEGISLATION

Information Bill dangerous: Bar Council (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – The Protection of Information Bill was unnecessary, unconstitutional and undesirable, the General Council of the Bar submitted to Parliament on Wednesday adding its voice to the widely held view that the bill would not pass constitutional muster. Parliament’s ad-hoc committee on the bill has received and heard public submissions on it, but State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele has yet to respond to them. The Bar Council’s submission said the bill had “a number of dangerous features, which are inimical to the very constitutional values and rights which the bill purports to be safeguarding”. It was also unnecessary because the information covered by the bill, and that “should genuinely be kept confidential”, was protected from disclosure under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). “In light of the provisions of PAIA it is accordingly difficult to discern a legitimate state reason for wanting to introduce a second protective layer,” the Bar Council said. It also argued that the bill would have a confusing effect on how the PAIA would be applied: what would happen in a situation where the PAIA gave discretion to an information officer to disclose information classified under the bill? The Bar Council referred to the founding values of the constitution, which include “accountability, responsiveness and openness”. Then there were the constitutional rights of freedom of expression (section 16) and access to information held by the state (section 32). The PAIA was introduced to give effect to section 32. To the extent that the Protection of Information Bill would lead to more information being withheld than what could be withheld under the PAIA, the bill was “contrary to the constitutional scheme and therefore an unjustifiable limitation of section 32”. The Bar Council said the bill would also unjustifiably infringe on the right to freedom of expression because the restrictions on access to information and the “draconian custodial sentences” were “out of proportion to any purported benefit derived from the shielding of classified information”. The b ill could also prejudice litigants in court. Restricting litigants’ access to state documents was “not only undesirable but could also be contrary to the right of access to courts”. (Back to INDEX)

POLITICS & ELECTIONS

ANC hits out at KZN youth league (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday lambasted its provincial youth league for calling for two MECs to resign. “The African National Congress noted with great shock and dismay, pronouncements by the provincial ANC Youth League that some MEC’s should step down,” said ANC Provincial Secretary, Sihle Zikalala. The ANCYL resolved during its provincial general congress in Pinetown at the weekend that there should be a provincial reshuffle. Delegates reportedly resolved That Social Development MEC, Mishack Radebe and Human Settlement MEC Maggie Govender should be sacked because they failed to develop specific youth empowerment programmes. Mr Zikalala said the ANC still had confidence in the MECs. “It is very unfortunate that the ANCYL has decided to go public about the names of other leaders without good course and substance,” he said. He said it was the ANC that appointed MECs, and that the youth league should approach the ANC leadership first before making pronouncements. “The ANC has repeatedly called on all its members to refrain from public smears and character assassination of its leaders and members.” (Back to INDEX)

Gauteng ANCYL league chairman Maile urges league to focus on elections (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – As speculation continues that newly elected Gauteng African National Congress (ANC) youth league chairman Lebogang Maile might challenge Julius Malema for the league presidency next year, Mr Maile this week downplayed such talk, saying the youth league should rather focus on next year’s local government elections. Leadership squabbles in any of its structures leading to next year’s local government elections could cost the ANC as the opposition Democratic Alliance has identified metros where the ruling party was weak. Two of those metros, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, are in Gauteng. Last year’s general election figures showed the ANC’s support in Ekurhuleni dropped to 67% from 69,67% in 2004 while the party’s support in Tshwane grew from 60,63% in 2004 to 61% last year. Mr Maile said it was important for the youth league to work tirelessly to make sure the ANC retained control of these municipalities. “We don’t think people should focus on leadership issues because it will divert our focus. Our focus should be on local government issues. “Even in national conference discussion documents, we must not start with leadership but we must look at what challenges are facing us as the youth.” However, his allies said although Mr Maile is considering challenging Mr Malema, he is cautious not to come out too early for fear of being victimised. The league in Gauteng will hold a Provincial General Council on Saturday in preparation for the all important National General Council next Tuesday. (Back to INDEX)

Cope President Mosiuoa Lekota back in Parliament (Sapa, 20100818) – Cope President Mosiuoa Lekota was sworn in as a Member of Parliament by National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu on Wednesday. This followed Wednesday morning’s court ruling clearing the way for him to take up a seat in the Assembly. Mr Lekota replaced Cope’s former parliamentary leader Mvume Dandala. Mr Moosa said the CNC decision was not in contempt of an earlier court order obtained by Mr Lekota himself interdicting Cope from changing its representation in Parliament. Mr Moosa also ruled that a CNC decision to remove Mr Mbhazima Shilowa as Cope’s Chief Whip in the National Assembly was “unlawful and of no force and effect”. He said the same of a CNC move to oust administrative whip Lolo Mashiane. The principles of natural justice dictated that the CNC should have first allowed them answer the charges of financial misconduct against them before divesting them of their posts. “This ruling offers a lifeline to Cope: it either swims or it sinks,” Mr Moosa said. He ordered that the costs of the hearing be paid by Cope or by Mr Lekota, rather than by Mr Shilowa, who launched the court challenge. Mr Lekota told journalists at a media briefing just after the court ruling that one of the first things he was going to do was go to Parliament “to fill up the gap left by Dr Dandala”. He said the ruling allowed the party to go ahead in implementing all the 2 July CNC decisions. “This judgement places us in a position in which we can now take matters of the Congress of the People forward as a united force,” he said. (Back to INDEX)

ECONOMICS; FINANCE; TRADE & INDUSTRY; MINING; ENERGY; PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

World Cup boosts retail sales amid risk of new slowdown (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) - Retail sales in June rose the most in three years as the World Cup boosted consumer demand. Statistics SA said on Wednesday that retail sales had risen 7,4% compared to June last year. In May, they rose 4,5%. However, the growth was slightly lower than forecast and analysts have warned of a slowdown in the coming months as there would not be a big event like the World Cup to boost demand. Consumers remain highly indebted, putting pressure on demand. As consumer spending was the main driver of the economy, analysts said a slowdown in the coming months would bolster the case for an interest rate cut next month. The retail sector accounts for about 12% of the economy’s output and is the second-biggest employer, providing 22% of the jobs in the formal sector. This year’s second-quarter growth in gross domestic product was likely to have been less stellar than the 4,6% of the first quarter, Reserve Bank deputy governor Daniel Mminele said yesterday at the Southern Africa Internal Audit conference. The Bank’s latest projections showed economic growth should average about 2,9% this year, with uncertainties emanating from the global economy posing the main downside risks.. In June the highest growth was recorded for retailers in the household furniture, appliances and equipment subsector at 17,7%.Retailers in the textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods subsector rose 13,1%, and those in pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries rose 7,9%. Retail sales are a good indicator of trends in consumer spending. There have been worries that consumer spending would remain under pressure because household debt has been close to record highs, and nearly 1- million jobs were lost last year during the recession. Economist Adenaan Hardien, of Cadiz African Harvest, said yesterday he was pleased that consumer spending was recovering after interest rate cuts earlier this year, and not only owing to the World Cup. “We have seen positives to (less well-off) consumers. Wage gains are now rising above inflation, which would lead to increases in consumer income. Debt servicing costs are lower even though individuals’ debt levels have been very high,” he said. The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates by 550 basis points between December 2008 and March this year to support the economy. Its monetary policy committee (MPC) will meet early next month and some analysts expect a rate cut. Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered, warned of continued weaknesses in the economy. “Given the uncertain jobs market, evidence still of sluggish growth and a weak pick-up in bank credit, we would not overplay the importance of this point,’’ Ms Khan told Reuters. “For us, there is still a case for further easing at the September MPC meeting,” she said. Stanlib’s Kevin Lings said positive retail data for May and June would probably continue into last month, but this did not imply with certainty that the MPC would cut rates. “Retail data for July will also be fairly robust, although the boost from sales of TV sets was probably more evident in May and June and far less significant last month. It is then likely that retail activity in August to October will appear to go ‘soft’ relative to the base that is currently being established,” he said. He said there would have to be noticeable falls in inflation and gross domestic product for the Bank to make a cut, and neither had materialised yet. Mr Lings said the six months of positive consumer spending must have been supported by factors other than World Cup spending. (Back to INDEX)

Consumer credit continues recovery path (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100819) – Consumer credit continued to recover, after having begun to show positive signs late last year, during the first quarter of this year, according to a report by the National Credit Regulator released on Wednesday. The improvement suggested consumer spending the biggest contributor to economic growth was growing. Demand-side factors such as consumer spending have been driving the economy’s post-recession recovery. The regulator’s c onsumer c redit r eport indicated that the total value of new credit granted had decreased from R63,30bn for the quarter ended December last year to R61,55bn for the quarter ended March this year . This was a 2,76% quarter-on-quarter drop. However, it was 19,04% higher than a year ago, the regulator’ s CEO Gabriel Davel said. Stanlib’s Kevin Lings said the numbers were a good sign that individuals were starting to better finance their debt, which spelt good signs for 3% economic growth this year. As of March this year , the total outstanding consumer credit balance was R1,14-trillion, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 1%. Mortgages accounted for R745,97bn, secured credit agreements for R211,58bn and credit facilities for R129,17bn. Unsecured credit accounted for R57,29bn and short-term credit came to R720,26m. Mr Davel said the number of applications for credit received decreased by 418000 from 6,46- million in December last year to 6,04-million in March this year , a decrease of 6,48%. But this showed an increase of 5,88% when compared to the same period last year. The percentage of credit applications that were declined decreased from 44% to 40% in the first quarter of this year . New mortgages granted decreased 1,29% in value from R21,08bn to R20,81bn. Secured credit, dominated by vehicle finance, showed a decrease from R23,67bn to R22,3bn. (Back to INDEX)

Greenpeace pushes for renewable energy in South Africa (Sapa, 20100818)

South Africa has renewable resources that can provide solutions to the country’s energy problems and create jobs – while fighting global warming, Greenpeace officials said Wednesday. “Greenpeace’s estimate that 78,000 green jobs could be created is conservative,” Glen Mpufane, who heads a development group, who joined a Greenpeace forum on green jobs on Wednesday. Unemployment is around 25 percent in South Africa, which was hard hit by the global recession. Environmental groups in South Africa are campaigning for a major move toward renewable energy rather than nuclear and coal energy. The government says it needs coal and nuclear energy now to grow, but plans to move toward renewable energy later. “South Africa needs a paradigm shift in terms of renewable energy,” said Olivia Langhoff, director of the Greenpeace jobs campaign. Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned electricity supplier, experienced a supply crisis in 2007 due to ailing infrastructure. That led to power rationing that hurt economic output. “We are asking from the government to be more ambitious in their targets of generating electricity from renewable energy,” said Melita Steele, a Greenpeace energy and climate campaigner. “A minimum of 36 percent of the country’s electricity should come from renewed energy sources by 2030.” Richard Worthington, the climate change program manager for the World Wildlife Foundation, agreed with the Greenpeace initiative. He said up to 55 percent of the country’s power can be generated from renewables as South Africa has very rich renewable resources. In April, the World Bank approved a $3.75 billion loan to help South Africa build a major coal-fired plant in the north, though the United States and environmental groups have expressed worries about its impact. South Africa is the only African nation among the 20 countries that emit nearly 90 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. South African environmental officials have a long-term plan to reduce emissions, but say that in the short term the country needs polluting technologies to develop. (Back to INDEX)

JUSTICE & CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT; POLICE; DEFENCE; NATIONAL SECURITY; CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

Government loses ‘de-unionisation’ battle (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – Military trade unions on Wednesday clinched a victory over the Department of Defence on de-unionisation, forcing changes to the Defence Amendment Bill to reinstate all references to the military bargaining council that were left out of the original draft. The changes followed submissions by the South African National Defence Union to Parliament last week that amendments to the Defence Act to set up a national defence service commission would be a significant limitation on military trade unions’ right to collective bargaining. The original draft of the amendment bill dropped all references to the bargaining council, leading the unions to complain that this was de- unionisation by another means. In its original form, the amendment bill would not have banned military trade unions but would have put the forum in which collective bargaining took place in doubt. Should the bill not have been changed, a Constitutional Court challenge would have been certain. Both President Jacob Zuma and Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu are on the record as saying they do not want unions in the military, after an illegal march on the Union Buildings by disgruntled soldiers last year. Should the government want to de-unionise the military it would have to be done through a constitutional amendment, as the right of soldiers to collective bargaining is guaranteed by rulings of the Constitutional Court in 1999. On Wednesday, after Parliament’s Defence Committee had heard three different legal opinions on the issue, Secretary for Defence Mpumi Mpofu insisted that it had never been the intention of the Department to use the Defence Amendment Bill to de- unionise the military. She acknowledged, however, that by dropping all mention of the bargaining council “the unintended consequence was to give the impression that the bill intended to de-unionise”. The Chief Legal Adviser at the Defence Department, Siviwe Njikela, earlier told the committee that a decision had been taken to reinstate the references to the military bargaining council “ to eliminate any possibility of a misunderstanding ”. (Back to INDEX)

Army at border shows success (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) - The deployment of troops to the border between South Africa and Mozambique was succeeding in curbing illegal immigrants and smuggling, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said on Wednesday. Since soldiers were redeployed to the area on 18 May all stations had been manned, said SANDF Mpumalanga commanding officer Colonel Patrick Bobelo. The area houses the main border post between the countries. He said soldiers had recovered five vehicles that people were trying to smuggle over the mountainous border perimeter. Colonel Bobelo said soldiers had so far seized counterfeit clothing and home-made liquor with a face value of R1.2m, and cigarettes with a face value of R2.4m. At the army base, 50 police officers sorted through the items seized and processed the arrests of smugglers caught on the border by soldiers. Smugglers pile cartons of cheap cigarettes into canvas bags weighing 60kg to 70kg and carry them over the border for a fee. Rifleman Mxolisiwe Mkwakwe, from the second substation nearest to Komatipoort, said on Monday that 13 men had tried to carry 13 bags over the border at the top of a mountain. He that of the 761 foreigners arrested since May, most were Mozambicans nationals (652), followed by South Africans who had violated border controls (91), Somalis (29), Ethiopians (28) and Bangladeshis, Congolese, Swazis and Nigerians. (Back to INDEX)

New Police Commissioner for Gauteng (Sapa, 20100818) – Lieutenant-General Mzwandile Petros has been appointed as the new Gauteng Police Commissioner with effect from 1 September, Western Cape MEC for Community Safety Lennit Max said on Wednesday. On Wednesday I have officially been informed by the National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele that Petros has been transferred with immediate effect,” Mr Max said in a statement. Mr Petros was the Western Cape Police Commissioner. Mr Max said he would meet with General Cele to discuss the smooth continuation of strategic and operational matters. “I trust that the candidate who ultimately replaces Lt-Gen Petros will be fit for the purpose and committed to service delivery of the highest standard to the people of the Western Cape.” Mr Max wished Petros well in his new position. Mr Petros replaces Perumal Naidoo who retired two weeks ago after 37 years’ service. He was Gauteng Police Commissioner from

1 September 2001. (Back to INDEX)

EDUCATION; ARTS & CULTURE; SPORT & RECREATION

Further education salary agreement concluded (Sapa, 20100818) – A salary agreement in Further Education and Training (FET) colleges has been reached, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Wednesday. He applauded what he called a prompt conclusion by the FET colleges Bargaining Unit in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), arrived at amid an ongoing salary dispute by school teachers. The agreement comes ahead of a two-day FET colleges summit, early in September, to prepare for the 2011 academic year in the colleges. The collective agreement establishes parity in salaries of lecturing staff and office-based lecturers employed in public FET colleges, with salaries of teachers in public schools. It will be backdated to April 1 this year, with a one percent annual pay progression from 1 July. Mr Nzimande said the salary structure would comprise a single salary scale with 221 notches, each one percent apart, which would be the same as the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) salary scale applicable to teachers. He said this agreement formed part of a two-tier plan to improve working conditions in the FET colleges sector. “Parties to the ELRC [and the] FET Bargaining Unit are currently working on a plan to address the conditions of service for lecturers in the FET colleges sector.” Mr Nzimande said the salary issue has been of great concern since the announcement, last year, by President Jacob Zuma that FET colleges should become an exclusive national competence. “The conclusion of this agreement, which establishes uniformity in salary scales with lectures in public basic education, will provide much-needed stability and motivation in the college sector. “A stable, efficient and effective college sector is critical to our strategic goals for skills development and artisan training. “For those working in the sector, we hope this agreement inspires confidence,” Mr Nzimande said. (Back to INDEX)

“No-work, no-pay” for teachers: Minister Motshekga (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100819) Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the principle of no-work no-pay will apply to striking teachers and deductions will be made from their salaries after the on-going public sector strike. She has urged striking teachers to respect their colleagues who have chosen not to strike. Minister Motshekga has appealed to teachers’ unions to act decisively to discipline their members. She also warned that police and Government will act harshly against those found guilty of irresponsible behaviour. Minister Motshekga has conceded that the indefinite strike is a major blow to the education sector. On Wednesday, the South African Democratic Teachers Union vowed to intensify its strike action, saying it plans to disrupt learning in former Model C and independent schools. The union’s leadership in Soweto has urged its members to shut down all schools where teachers are not participating in strike action. Those who attended the union’s mass meeting in Soweto on Wednesday vowed to stay out of class until their wage demands of 8.6% and R1 000 housing allowance is met. (Back to INDEX)

Respect non-strikers: Minister Angie Motshekga (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Wednesday urged striking teachers to respect their colleagues who chose not to get involved in the nationwide strike. “I have been very concerned by recent reports of intimidation, damage to public property and the forceful disruption of normal schooling by striking teachers, especially in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal,” she said in a statement. “I want to caution these members against such actions and am appealing to teacher unions to act decisively to discipline these members.” She said the police and the government would act harshly against those found guilty of such offences. Strike monitoring teams, consisting of district and provincial officials, would operate in all districts. “The monitoring teams will be in constant contact with the local Police stations to ensure that we are able to respond speedily to any eventuality. “We recognise the constitutional right of all workers, including teachers, to strike. This is a protected strike and teachers can freely choose to join the industrial action without fear of dismissal or victimisation by the state. However, we call on all striking teachers who will be exercising their right to strike to respect the rights of those who decide not to join the industrial action.” Minister Motshekga said the indefinite strike was a “major blow” to the education sector and the principle of no work, no pay would apply. Deductions would be made at the end of the strike. All schools would remain open, and the Department had taken measures to mitigate the impact on learning and teaching. (Back to INDEX)

Department worried about KZN matrics (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education was worried that the public service strike could severely impact the results of matrics, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. “Common tests for the first and second quarters of this year have revealed that Grade 12 learners did not perform well,” said spokesperson Mbali Thusi. The Department called on matric pupils to continue going to schools during the strike to prepare for the exams which were two months away. “They must assist one another on subjects, hold group discussions as well as individual studying,” said Ms Thusi. She called on school principals not to lock schools during the strike, so that learners could use them for studying purposes. She also called on pupils take full advantage of the Grade 12 catch-up programmes broadcast daily on SABC radio stations. “The strike, though, is not against learners, but has inevitably seriously affected them.” Government schools in KZN have been severely affected by the public sector strike over wages. The Department condemned violence and intimidation of teachers who did not take part in the strike. (Back to INDEX)

Protests close DUT campuses (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) - All Durban University of Technology (DUT) campuses in Durban have been closed after violent student protests, the university said on Wednesday. “The Executive Management at DUT has now decided to close all Durban campuses with immediate effect and re-open on Monday 23August,” DUT Vice Chancellor Nqabomzi Gawe said. Mr Gawe said part of the reason the campus had been closed was because of difficulties experienced on Wednesday related to acts of violence and vandalism, and fears for the safety of staff and students. “This suspension applies only to all academic activities. Staff are still required to be at their work stations,” said Mr Gawe. A meeting between the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and civil society leaders who were scheduled to discuss media censorship on Wednesday was postponed because of the protest. (Back to INDEX)

TRANSPORT; COMMUNICATION & MEDIA ISSUES; SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SA gets Africa’s backing in bid to host super telescope (Pretoria News online, 20100819) – The continent sent a signal of determination to the world last month when the AU threw its weight behind the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) bid. Calling the project “a unique instrument for frontier research and discovery” at its summit in Uganda, the AU endorsed the bid, “cementing Africa’s commitment to contribute to global scientific excellence and enterprise”. South Africa is now in the running against Australia to host what is to be the world’s largest and most powerful radio telescope, the SKA. The decision is to be announced next year, but the endorsement couldn’t come at a better time. “It’s a huge boost for the project,” said Department of Science and Technology spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele. Winning the SKA bid was not just a South African dream, but something to be pursued by all Africans, he said. Most of the 3 000 to 4 000 dishes that would make up the telescope would be concentrated in South Africa, near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, but a number of satellite stations would be scattered across the continent – in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Zambia and Ghana. “Politically, the endorsement means all the countries involved have recognised it as an African bid,” Ngqengelele said. Confirming this, SKA project director Dr Bernie Fanaroff said: “We’ve not seen an endorsement by Africa as a whole (before). It sends a signal to the world that Africa is serious about hosting large-scale science projects.” It’s all part of Africa’s moving towards developing its image as a science and technology destination. “We can’t be resource-based economies for ever,” Fanaroff said. Ngqengelele hopes the endorsement will make it easier for the continent to meet the criteria needed to win the bid. Several conditions had to be met, “so we have to work with other countries” to ensure they were, he said. Any radio interference from cellphones, radios or TVs will hamper Africa’s chances of winning, so there need to be strict regulations to control signals in the areas where the antennae will be built. South Africa passed the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act in 2007, which classified 12.5 million hectares around the test site in the Northern Cape as a protected radio astronomy reserve. And with the AU now giving the project its full support, it is hoped that the other African countries involved will follow suit. (Back to INDEX)

US Ambassador highlights South Africa Media controversy (Sapa, 20100818) – The US Ambassador called for South Africa’s government and journalists to work together on Wednesday amid growing tensions over a proposed law that could jail reporters for publishing information that officials want kept secret. South Africa’s governing African National Congress party also wants to create a tribunal that could discipline journalists, with powers to punish that have not yet been spelled out. “America still believes that a free press serves as the front line in the defense of democracy,” US Ambassador Donald Gipps said in a speech at a foreign affairs think tank in Johannesburg that also touched on the economy and the fight against AIDS. Amb Gipps called on the South African government and media to work together to strike a balance between national security and freedom of information. “The overturning of apartheid offered South Africa opportunities to come together to create a constitution that is a model both in terms of citizen responsibility and for its protection of the freedoms so many fought to achieve and enshrine in law,” he said. “South Africa must not turn away from that history now.” Activists fear the recent moves in South Africa – known for one of the continent’s freest and most open constitutions could influence other countries in the region. (Back to INDEX)

Business sector slam media curbs (www.thecitizen.co.za, 20100818) - The South African business sector continues to come out in support of a self-regulatory framework in the print media and against the Protection of Information Bill. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) and Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman on Wednesday joined Business Leadership South Africa in expressing their objections to the mooted statutory media appeals tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill. Ackerman warned that the two proposed measures would have dire consequences for South Africa’s reputation as a destination for foreign investment. “Foreign investors require the assurance that we are serious about combating corruption and waste, that government affairs are transparent and accountable, and that information is readily available and reliable. “Any erosion of our open society, now that we have achieved it, will only impede economic growth and national prosperity”. He added: “To remain passive in the face of such erosion is to acquiesce in it – and such acquiescence does not accord with what we understand to be the duty of every South African businessperson who aspires to ethical conduct.” Any attempt by government to restrict the free flow of information or to circumscribe the liberty of the media should be opposed, he said. (Back to INDEX)

SA Jewish Board of deputies concerned about Mat (Sapa, 20100818) – The SA Jewish Board of Deputies expressed reservations about the ANC’s proposed Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT) on Wednesday saying that such bodies should be independent and not aligned with the government of the day. “It is accepted that media freedom is not an absolute right, but one that should be exercised in a fair and responsible manner. There is therefore a definite need for effective regularity bodies to be in place in order to hold the media accountable where necessary,” said a statement from the board, which represented South Africa’s Jewish community. “However, it is vital that such bodies (as is the case with the judiciary) be completely independent entities, whose deliberations and decisions will not be unduly influenced by external political or ideological considerations.” The board said the proposed measures would create a regulatory body that would not be independent but “that is instead beholden to the government of the day”. This would be a serious restriction on the Constitutional right to freedom of expression and a backward step for ensuring government’s accountability and transparency. (Back to INDEX)

Comair to buy smaller aircraft and service secondary airports (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – Airline group Comair is to go head to head with regional feeder airlines SA Express and SA Airlink, with plans to expand its network to smaller, secondary airports such as Margate in KwaZulu-Natal. The airline is to invest in smaller turboprop aircraft which will allow it to operate in these airports without necessarily investing in new airport infrastructure. A decision on aircraft type has not yet been made. Joint CEO Gidon Novick said this week that while the per-seat cost of operating smaller passenger aircraft was higher than for the Boeing 737s it was currently operating, there was scope to offer lower fares than its competitors. “We may not be able to discount as much as we do on our main routes but prices on secondary routes are artificially high and there is an opportunity to bring down the average fare,” said Mr Novick. He said the group was studying several routes particularly the more lucrative regional routes and hoped to launch its first destination using the smaller aircraft this year. Comair is already planning to launch a new service between Lanseria International Airport and Maputo using smaller aircraft later this year and already has the necessary approvals. However, Mr Novick was reluctant to discuss any of the other possible routes. Rodger Foster, MD of SA Airlink, welcomed competition from other airlines. He said that as the main routes between Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg became saturated, low-cost airlines were being forced to look at thin routes for growth. “I see a period of instability in the airline industry as the main players scramble for new markets and there is more intense competition on certain routes.” He said there were not many untapped secondary routes. “Everyone is everywhere already and competition on the thin routes will be intense as demand is not always enough to sustain two carriers.” (Back to INDEX)

ENVIRONMENT & WATER AFFAIRS; AGRICULTURE, FISHING & FORESTRY; LAND AFFAIRS

Regulatory issues could delay wind farm (www.businessday.co.za, 20100819) – Uncertainty over the standard power purchase agreement that will guide the sale of private power in SA is holding up Mainstream Renewable Energy SA’s R2,3bn 125MW wind farm near Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape, a representative of the company said on Wednesday. The Jeffrey’s Bay wind farm and other renewable energy initiatives are important for the security of electricity supply and the reduction of SA’s carbon footprint. The project, once connected to the electricity grid , can power about 200 000 homes, says Mainstream Renewable SA. The company, a joint venture between Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power and South African-based Genesis Eco- Energy, is developing the wind farm. It is expected to be ready in 2013. Speaking in Johannesburg, Mainstream Renewable Power SA director Davin Chown said the wind farm, with 40 to 50 wind turbines, could be built in two years. But the standard power purchase agreement being developed by the National Energy Regulator of SA was on the project’s so-called critical path as it could delay the process. Mr Chown said independent electricity producers needed “bankable” power purchase agreements, implying that financial institutions must find the agreements attractive enough to finance. A power purchase agreement is a contract between the producer and buyer of electricity. Without it, independent producers are unlikely to raise the finance for their projects. Mr Chown said other areas of concern included uncertainty over connection to the national grid. “This must be sorted out because time is running out,” he said. The concerns over grid connection are behind suggestions that the transmission function should fall outside Eskom. Mr Chown said the procurement process to be followed was also unclear. “It is not clear who the buyer of the power will be.” According to the government’s electricity regulations, published in August last year, the system operator will be responsible for procurement of electricity. The government has decided to move the system operator out of Eskom and establish an independent system and market operator. This was a move made to address the potential conflict of interest in Eskom’s role as power producer and buyer of electricity from independent producers. Meanwhile, Mainstream Renewable Power CEO Eddie O’Connor yesterday defended the costs of wind energy. He said that it cost the same amount to generate a megawatt from wind and coal. “The difference is the operation costs. Wind is free,” he said. He also supported the local wind industry’s suggestion that 25% of SA’s power must come from renewable energy sources by 2025. “If government were to declare 25% (renewable energy contribution) by 2025, many companies would set up plants. The industry wants a long-term commitment from government,” he said. (Back to INDEX)

HEALTH; HOUSING; SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT; WOMEN, CHILDREN & DISABLED

Probe into housing deals ‘dangerous’ (www.sowetan.co.za, 20100819) – Whistleblowers on corrupt housing deals are being threatened and murdered even though they are in witness protection programmes, Human Settlements Director-General Thabane Zulu told MPs on Wednesday. Mr Zulu told the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee that investigations into corrupt housing deals were dangerous, and witnesses were refusing to give evidence out of fear. “Some people get threatened when protection has been provided,” Mr Zulu said. “Some get killed, even under witness protection. It is (a) life-threatening situation.” Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has promised to crack down on housing corruption, saying the department is focusing on housing syndicates and dodgy contractors. He has said investigations are under way into syndicates selling and renting state-owned houses primarily in Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal. This week he said a team appointed by the department to investigate fraud and corruption had recovered R44million from provincial municipal officials since 2007. Mr Zulu said it was difficult to go into detail on some of the corrupt deals as the matters were “complex, sensitive and life-threatening”. “In some instances, having engaged with the Special Investigating Unit, it gets very complicated, particularly from a syndicate perspective,” he said. He said the department’s decision to appoint the SIU and to budget R20million to investigate corruption had proved “a step in the right direction”. The SIU, however, often struggled to get information because the very same people who should provide information were also implicated, Mr Zulu said. He said when whistle-blowers “did show their faces”, it made life far easier.

Women’s Minister under fire (www.thetimes.co.za, 20100819) – Women’s Minister Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya is treading on thin ice and faces a revolt from her political peers over her shambolic Department. More than a year after President Jacob Zuma established the Department of Women, Children, Youth and People with Disabilities, there is fierce criticism of its Minister and even calls for her head. In recent months she has fired or seconded at least seven senior managers and allegedly failed to deliver progress reports when asked. She has been in and out of hospital, leaving managers to head important meetings. Minister Mayende-Sibiya has failed to fill critical posts, only recently advertising 30 vacancies for senior managers. This, insiders say, is being done ahead of the ANC National General Council, at which she will have to present a report. ANC Women’s League President Angie Motshekga said this week: “We have raised our concerns with her. She consults other women and our views are rejected. She has different views.” Ms Motshekga said Ms Mayende-Sibiya has never asked for the league’s help, despite it offering last year to assist her in getting her new Ministry off the ground. The league, of which Ms Mayende-Sibiya is a member, has not raised the issue with the ANC top brass “yet”. “All the engagements with her have been personal this far,” said Ms Motshekga. However, the Minister’s spokesman, Sibani Mngadi, denied that the Department was in chaos or that the Minister’s leadership was being questioned. In recent months, Ms Mayende-Sibiya has fired or removed some of her most senior managers most of whom were allegedly critical of her lack of leadership. “She clearly doesn’t understand what she’s supposed to do to get the department fully functional,” a staff member in the Presidency said. On the eve of Women’s Day, she axed her political adviser, advocate Nomazotsho Memani-Balani, citing “continuous absenteeism”. But three sources told The Times it was because Memani-Balani confronted her on several occasions with allegations about her non-performance and questionable leadership. “Nomazotsha told her to her face that she was failing as a Minister and that she should just ask to be released,” said a ministry employee. But an insider said: “The minister just doesn’t understand and I think the task team was pressuring her to make things happen fast. They frustrated her.” In November, she booted out her acting director-general, Vuyi Nxasana, after relations between the two broke down to the extent where she refused to speak to her. Now portfolio committee members who oversee her department are “fed up” with her. She has not turned up to address them on several occasions. DA spokesman on the ministry Denise Robinson said they were concerned that the minister never consulted them. The committee would discuss asking Pres Zuma to remove her. (Back to INDEX)

PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION; LABOUR; HOME AFFAIRS; PUBLIC WORKS

Government looking for R5-billion to pay workers: Minister (Sapa, 20100818) – The government was looking at re-prioritising its spending to find an extra R5 billion it needed to pay for salary hikes for striking public service workers. “We have not taken a decision yet in terms of where we are going to cut to get the R5 billion,” Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi said in a media briefing in Cape Town on Wednesday. “We are not hiding anything. Where we are, having tabled our offer of seven percent salary increment plus R700 housing will require R5 billion additional to cater for that,” he said. “But definitely to get the five billion, we are going to have to re-prioritise somewhere.” Minister Baloyi said the government’s offer was now a draft resolution of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council and that he had instructed his director general to sign it by 10am on Thursday. “Having done all it takes, as government as the employer, you can’t keep negotiating,” he said. “On Thursday in Pretoria, before 10am I’ve instructed the Director General that all I expect is nothing less than his ink dripping on paper signing that offer.” As government, we have demonstrated for all to see that our capacity to afford is exhausted,” he said. “If you talk of an envelope, we have not emptied it. We have broken it. We want to make a call to South Africans, to our leaders, to our public servants who are members of these unions not to pressurise their leaders.” The offer will be on the table for 21 days, Minister Baloyi said, after which the government will have to implement. “We will continue to engage so that we make sure that the signing becomes a reality.” (Back to INDEX)

Government asked to shoulder responsibility for strike (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100819) – Cosatu in KwaZulu-Natal says Government should take responsibility for whatever the matric results will be at the end of the year, with the public sector strike continuing. Cosatu Provincial Secretary Zet Luzipho says Government should take into consideration the time lost due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and now the public sector strike when setting the matric exams. This comes as more public servants are expected to join striking Government employees this morning. The Public Servants Association and the Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa) have announced that their members will also down tools, joining their counterparts from Cosatu-affiliated unions who started striking on Wednesday. Large numbers of public servants started striking on Wednesday, mainly members of teacher union Sadtu and health union Nehawu. The strike action paralysed schools and hospitals. And now, it looks as if there will be a complete shutdown of the public service, beginning from today. The 270 000 strong PSA and Hospersa, has also announced that their members will join the industrial action. The Gauteng Health department will be most hardest hit. However spokesperson Mandla Sidu says there are measures and place to minimize the disruption. On Wednesday, there were reports of intimidation and violence at the Natalspruit hospital on Gauteng’s East Rand. Striking workers blocked the main entrance of the facility, making it difficult for non striking workers to enter the premises. Provincial Community Safety MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu says such acts won’t be tolerated. Workers have vowed to continue with their strike action until Government bows to their demands. (Back to INDEX)

Strikers block hospital entrances (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu on Wednesday pleaded with striking workers to stop intimidating non-striking workers and blockading hospital entrances. “While workers have a right to express their dissatisfaction, it is unacceptable that lives of desperate people are put at risk,” Ms Mahlangu said in a statement. The entrance of the Natalspruit hospital, in Ekurhuleni, was blocked during a protest on Wednesday. Ms Mahlangu urged workers to allow ambulances, doctors, nurses and patients to enter hospitals. She said many hospital and clinics in Gauteng operated normally on Wednesday morning, at the start of the national strike in the public sector, but that disruptions occurred in the afternoon as employees joined protests. “The union has promised a full-blown strike from Thursday and the Department has put in place contingency measures to mitigate against the strike,” said Ms Mahlangu. These measures included the deployment of administrative staff from central and regional offices to assist the worst-affected clinics and hospitals. Volunteers would be mobilised and hospital managers and senior officials on training would be called back. “All hospitals and clinics will remain open during the strike and the Department will closely monitor the impact of the industrial action. “All hospitals have established a strike committee, which will evaluate the situation regularly and call for assistance when necessary,” Ms Mahlangu said. (Back to INDEX)

Education Department to implement study groups (Sapa, 20100818) – The Gauteng Department of Education said on Wednesday it will implement study groups to continue learning during the public sector strike. “Under these conditions, the best way to learn is to establish voluntary study groups where learners can help each other go through past papers and study notes,” said Provincial MEC for Education Barbara Creecy at a media briefing in Johannesburg. Ms Creecy said the Department had printed 40,000 sets of study material to use ahead of preliminary examinations in two weeks. The Department was also distributing self explanatory guidelines on how to set up study groups. In addition to the hard copies learners and parents with internet access would be able to download the study materials at www.thutong.doe.gov.za and www.education.gpg.gov.za. The Department appealed to parents, community members and community organisations to volunteer their time to lead the study groups and assist learners. The volunteers would not need special skills to help. They could pick up materials, monitoring learners in addition to starting study groups, Ms Creecy said. “What we are trying to have is a decentralised approach that community initiative.” Ms Creecy said the study materials would be made available to all students via the website, but that it was especially intended to insure that poorer students were not disadvantaged ahead of the preliminary examinations. “What we do understand is that there are some schools that are better resourced than others; there are some parents that are better resourced than others; there are some learners who are better resourced than others,” said Ms Creecy. “What we want to make sure is that because learners are poor, they must not be disadvantaged.” The study groups may be held at schools if the local governing body consents, alternatively other community buildings or “faith-based” organisations might host them. “It will depend on the situation in any particular school or community. If the school governing body feels it would be appropriate to be working in that school then obviously as school governors they would have access to it and would be able facilitate it,” said Ms Creecy. “In other situations we have been approached by the faith-based sector and they have said they might want to set up study groups at a local religious institution.” Ms Creecy said her Department have had meetings with the Department of Community Safety to discuss protecting schools. If study group volunteers are threatened, she said it would be handled on an individual basis. (Back to INDEX)

Jobs project ‘massively ineffectual’ (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) – Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana’s reply to a parliamentary question shows the department’s system linking job-seekers to prospective employers to be massively ineffectual, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday. The written reply revealed that the Employment Services South Africa project (Essa) a database system designed to link unemployed work-seekers to prospective employers – managed to place only 2% of the more than one million work-seekers who had registered with the project since its inception four years ago. DA spokesperson Andrew Louw said he would be asking further questions on whether the dismal performance of this aspect of government’s job strategy would compel the department to completely scrap any further plans to extend the labour registry, as proposed by the draft Employment Services Bill currently before Cabinet. “The Essa numbers, when broken down according to the project’s performance each year since 2007, reveal a grim picture of a system which has grossly underperformed,” he said. In 2007/08, the system registered 169 059 work-seekers and placed only 5 578 (3%). In 2008/09 and 2009/10, Essa registered 421 686 and 636 140 people respectively, and placed only 3.5% in 2008/09 and 1% in 2009/10. The system showed itself incapable of dealing with a market under strain, with Essa failing to place any significant number of these work-seekers into employment, Louw said. In the current 2010/11 year, the system had already registered a further 97 596 people, and placed only 2 793 of these in employment opportunities just 2.8%. It was interesting to note that in each year since Essa’s inception, more than 50%, and for two years more than 60%, of its registered job-seekers were first-time job-seekers. “The poor absorption rate of these people not only represents a failure by the ANC government to provide an environment whereby the market can absorb first-time job-seekers, but also represents a failure by the labour department to provide a service which the private sector at large can find useful and use more successfully,” he said. (Back to INDEX)

SOCIAL; GENERAL

Vuvuzela in Oxford dictionary (www.news24.co.za, 20100818) - The vuvuzela, the horn instrument which became the sound of the soccer World Cup in South Africa, has won an entry in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English, due to be published on Thursday. The dictionary, which is based on how language is really used, defines the horn as a long plastic instrument, in the shape of a trumpet, that makes a very loud noise when you blow it and is popular with football fans in South Africa. (Back to INDEX)

FEATURES; OPINIONS; ANALYSIS

Looking afresh at China’s role in Africa by Steve Davis and Jonathan Woetzel. Davis is a senior adviser to McKinsey’s social sector practice; Woetzel is a director in McKinsey’s Shanghai office (Business Day online, 20100819) – The debate over China’s role in Africa continues to rage. One side contends that China is a rapacious neocolonial oppressor, while the other sees it as a miraculous alternative to decades of failed western aid.

Pragmatism argues for moving the discussion ahead, to how China’s involvement can reap the greatest benefit for Africa, China and the rest of the world.

By pursuing the following three opportunities, Africa and China — along with interested outside parties, such as multilateral groups, foundations, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) — can promote economic development and the reduction of poverty on the continent:

- Strengthening African development strategies and capacity: Chinese leaders frequently make state visits to Africa. On their return to Beijing, they often take a “cheque book” approach to aid. Although this approach has led to random acts of kindness, they are often not only unrelated to the recipient government’s agricultural or industrial development strategies but are also often unsustainable.

The Chinese approach to aid and investment presupposes that an effective public sector in the recipient country exists, which is not always the case. African countries must continue to take more responsibility for their development agendas instead of leaving them in the hands of others.

It will therefore be necessary to create more explicit and comprehensive development strategies for agriculture and other sectors. Planning is a skill, and African countries should develop it to make sure the aid they get from China and others can be readily used and expanded.

- Support China’s shift to programmatic engagements: At the meetings of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in Egypt last November, Chinese leaders repeated their commitment to connect more closely with host communities, measure their results and make their projects more sustainable. These comments may reflect an understanding that projects often haven’t realised their promise.

These are all positive developments for Africa. China’s investments must be linked to a development strategy for the relevant country, have clear objectives and span more than a single project. China’s government and corporate leaders must establish performance metrics from the outset of engagements, provide appropriate and transparent road maps for achieving goals, and develop a way to measure outcomes.

Consider the fact that China has sent agricultural experts to Africa since the 1950s, basing its approach on the effect that hundreds of thousands of local extension technicians had on Chinese agricultural reform. Yet its current agricultural-extension efforts in Africa are small, uncoordinated, and unsystematic. Several Chinese agricultural experts believe the programmes have had a negligible effect.

Such programmes would be more effective if planned and executed with a better understanding of African conditions and local issues. Other desirable features include relevant best practices and evaluation systems to measure a programme’s short-term effect and long-term, sustainable gains.

- Encourage more collaboration: While some believe China wishes to go it alone in Africa, there is increased evidence to the contrary.

China’s engagement with national and regional organisations and leaders in Africa has significantly increased.

A formal dialogue among donors is taking place in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s development assistance committee. Many NGOs, foundations and academic institutions in China, Africa and elsewhere are beginning to work together. Enormous opportunities exist for shared learning and improved models for programmes in agriculture, health and financial services, to name just a few fields.

China could catalyse the efforts of African countries to develop economically and lift their people from poverty. Let’s move the debate beyond “good versus bad” and “China versus the west” to capitalise on the opportunities at hand.

Arch: always thinking ahead By Jonathan Jansen (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100819) – For a Nobel Laureate who could easily command millions in any currency, this is not where I expect to find the offices of Desmond Mpilo Tutu. For those of us who grew up in the Cape, Milnerton was the poor white area. Drive down the long stretch of road that shares a name with a nuclear power station (Koeberg), and the sight of decaying old buildings are familiar from childhood. If you looked carefully, any number of drug dealers and hobos could be seen lying in wait along the side streets that offer an array of illegal wares, especially as dark settled. Aunties in rollers, with red faces that hinted at a life of alcohol, hung over fences. The directions from the intimidating (at least on the telephone) personal assistant of the Arch are as clear as she is: Turn right and left at the Caltex garage opposite the cheapest hotel in the land, the Formula One. This must be a mistake. Half of the grey, warehouse-type buildings are vacated. Why on earth would Arch settle here? Just across the bay lies the rich land of the Waterfront and any number of classy suites in the shadow of that mountain. “He surely has choices,” I mutter to my capitalist self. Up the stairs to the nondescript offices, and into the modest waiting room. None of his endless number of honorary degrees hangs from the walls, the way doctors decorate their surgeries to remind you they qualified somewhere. And then the wait. This is the first time; I am nervous, a rare reaction to meeting people. Suddenly, a loud but warm Afrikaans greeting behind my back. It is Arch. The Afrikaans catches me off guard, and I stumble with my words. Into the sparse Office of the Arch. He speaks first. “Let’s pray.” I feel calm after the intercession, and the time flies as we discuss flammable topics: the church and politics; education and transformation. I feel an enormous respect for this humble man, remembering how he stood virtually alone as the moral voice of the struggle while our leaders languished in prison or in exile. He took so many risks that could have ended his life, like diving into the middle of an angry crowd to save a young man from a certain necklacing. He did the same for me in late October 2009, wading into angry political waters to make the bold claim that “forgiveness is not for sissies”. We remember what is perhaps his single most important contribution, and that was to send hundreds of black South Africans to get their degrees at American universities in the 1980s. Arch had the good sense to know what many of us at the time thought impossible, that the apartheid government would have to give up (or at the very least share) power. A new generation of civil servants, academics, entrepreneurs, engineers and architects had to be prepared to take their position in a democratic country one day. The Arch not only forced American companies to disinvest their resources from upholding the old South African government, he got them to invest in the future preparation of skilled young people to lead in the new country. I was privileged to be one of the beneficiaries of that programme, called the Educational Opportunities Council. “God has a sense of humour,” he reminds me. With this cue I tell Arch that I live on Whites Road in Bloemfontein. I worry that he is going to choke the way he laughs – a black man on Whites road. Arch has hung up his collar, so I am cautious about asking him to come to the University of the Free State to receive an honorary degree acknowledging his powerful contribution in making this new country, and for being the conscience of an unequal world for justice and reconciliation. As usual, he sees the bigger picture, how important this event is, not only for the UFS but for the country. There is a generation of wise, decent, patient and embracing men and women who are retiring from public life and passing into old age. Some of them have already left us. I think of the gracious Congress Mbata, the Professor at Cornell who taught me; a founder member of the ANC Youth League, who died in exile. There are many others, like Chabani Manganyi and the late Eskia Mphalele, the last of the great intellectuals who wrote this country. Even if they do nothing, the fact that Arch and Nelson Mandela are still there brings comfort and reassurance in the midst of all the noise.

‘Fantasy’ system could end atavistic politics in SA by Tim Cohen, a contributing editor of Business Day (Business Day online, 20100819) –The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Independent Democrats merged this past weekend, an event that can only be described as underwhelming. Instead of the three-way or perhaps even four-way alliance considered possible at the start of the year, the smallest, or at least one of the smallest, and the largest joined forces. A political thunderbolt this is not.

However, it would be a mistake to dismiss this inching realignment in our politics. The merger may not increase the DA’s total vote by much, but it may help secure the party control of the Western Cape, and will marginally deracialise the DA in the eyes of voters. The longer the DA holds the Western Cape, the more difficult it will be for the African National Congress (ANC) to wrest it back. That doesn’t mean it won’t or can’t – it will just be a bit trickier.

Already you get a sense that the power structures are shifting, and ambitious public servants in the province probably sense DA membership is more likely to get them places than ANC membership, in the same way that ANC membership is an advantage elsewhere.

It is a feather in the cap of DA leader Helen Zille, who has given the party a more welcoming aspect to new supporters and potential alliance partners. Zille is less quoted and has a lower media profile than her predecessor, Tony Leon, but what the DA has lost with Leon’s aggressive tone, it is making up for with work on the ground – and with partnerships and alliances.

Yet this is all small potatoes in the larger scheme of politics in SA. The struggle legacy and, increasingly, an adequate record of handling at least some aspects of the administration, make the balance of forces within the ANC so much more important than those outside of it.

Famously, few political pundits predicted the demise of communism, so it’s risky to deny the possibility of a fundamental realignment in South African politics, but I just don’t see it. South African politics seems destined to remain an atavistic, sterile environment for the foreseeable future. I suspect those hoping for a split in the ANC between “nationalists” (the aspirant middle class) and “workerists” (the working class and rural base of the party) are dreaming.

I remember Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni talking about this at a conference, essentially to justify Uganda’s “no-party” system. Atavism, or the descent into tribal, racial or ethnic subcategories, was his greatest fear – a fear that has proved horribly valid for some of his neighbours.

However, looking at SA, you can’t help wondering whether a kind of atavism is at work here too. South Africans seem to carry their political identity around with them like a treasured possession. To give up this treasure is akin to giving up part of your identity. By contrast, in mature democracies the tendency is exactly the opposite; once a party has been in power for a long time, voters wisely prefer a change. Entrenched power is dangerous.

Just as a kind of fantasy, I was wondering about a different system: instead of a “no-party” system, what about a system in which no party is allowed more than, say, 10% of the vote? In business, the modern trend is to encourage focus. By narrowing the ambit of your business, any business school will teach you, it’s possible to hugely improve efficiency.

Wouldn’t a fractured system in politics achieve something of the same effect? Parties would then focus perhaps on a single issue or set of issues rather than being the amorphous blobs they are at the moment, trying desperately to be all things to all people. Instead, we could have the Efficiency Party, whose sole aim would be to ensure the civil service is both civil and of service. Or the Moral Party, which would try to wipe out corruption, and so on. In a sense, the Greens, the environmental party, is a forerunner of such a system.

It’s sad it will never work, but the fantasy does illustrate the weakness of the current system, which places too much unmandated policy power in the hands of party activists and too little in the hands of voters – as we will no doubt see this weekend. (Back to INDEX)

EDITORIAL COMMENT : 2010/ 08 / 19

Editorial comments are selected in terms of relevance to current affairs, contrasting viewpoints and information value. Some items may be edited for length.

Editorial comments from the following papers have been considered today: BUSINESS DAY, THE STAR, PRETORIA NEWS, THE TIMES, BEELD, SOWETAN, THE CITIZEN.

Find common ground for a win-win deal (Pretoria News online, 20100819) - From a trickle last week, the industrial action by public servants is now a raging torrent, affecting millions of South Africans in many spheres of life. An estimated 1.3 million employees belonging to unions affiliated to Cosatu and the Independent Labour Caucus have downed tools. Government employees last went on strike in 2007. Then, schools, hospitals and immigration offices were disrupted for 29 days, the longest-ever walkout by state workers. Judging from the militant talk from the unionists, the country had better brace itself for a protracted action. For matric pupils, this spells bad news. They have 55 days to go before their first practical National Senior Certificate exams. The promise by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to improve on last year’s 60.7 percent matric pass rate may yet ring hollow. One has to have a heart of stone not to empathise with the public servants who have gone on strike, though. There are many examples of teachers, with a degree and 15 years’ service, who will be lucky to take home an R8 000 pay cheque. In hospitals, many doctors and other health- care workers put in many hours of work a day easing the plight of scores of patients – and their month-end salary is quite frankly a shame. The strikers’ demand of a salary increase of 8.6 percent and a housing subsidy of R1 000 – as opposed to the offer of 7 percent and a housing allowance of R700 – is not unreasonable. The government’s argument, on the other hand, also has merit. A higher wage bill may undermine its plans to cut the budget deficit to 5 percent in the financial year up to March 2012 from 6.2 percent in the current financial year. It will also add pressure on inflation, which for five months has been within the Reserve Bank’s target range of 3 to 6 percent. The wage offer, says the Ministry of Public Service and Administration, already exceeds the amount set aside for salaries in the February budget by about R3.7 billion. The gulf is not unbridgeable, however. We urge the two parties to find common ground soon. There can be no losers – only winners. (Back to INDEX)

Mining legislation: Min Shabangu begins to turn it around (Business Day online, 20100819) - Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu’s announcement of a review of mining legislation is the first positive news miners have had out of the government this year. It comes not a moment too soon. As we have noted before, the mining industry in S A has been declining marginally in absolute terms but dramatically in relative terms during the African National Congress’s tenure in government. Jobs in mining have been lost at an extraordinary rate as foreign mining companies shun SA and even local miners apparently prefer to expand their businesses in other jurisdictions. The whole industry has been focused so much on black economic empowerment that an entire commodities boom has come and gone without seeming to make a jot of difference to the moribund local industry. As important as black economic empowerment is, it should not be the sole issue on the mining agenda. Development of SA remains rooted in mining, and the government’s heedlessness about the state of the industry is well known to miners everywhere. Against this background, the new threats of nationalisation and the fractious arguments about mining rights being “snatched” by upstart companies have turned the atmosphere from merely bad to positively poisonous. Ms Shabangu has shown admirable courage in taking the initiative here, as she should, by announcing the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act will be amended to try to iron out oddities and secure the tenure of mining companies. It would be wrong to say this is a reflex action from a department under fire. Ever since the mining summit earlier this year, discussions have been taking place on the problems in the industry. For the first time, perhaps, the question of international competitiveness is being heard alongside the need for transformation. This gradual change is being greatly assisted by an advisory body, the Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team. It is clear Ms Shabangu’s plain speaking is proving to be valuable in facing the challenges head-on, as opposed to the previous approach of dismissing critics as purely the expression of vested interests. The immediate changes proposed by Ms Shabangu are dramatic, including not only a six-month moratorium on prospecting-rights applications but also an audit of the licences granted since the act was promulgated in 2004. The two existing controversial cases involving Kumba Iron Ore and Lonmin will stand, however. Whether this is the correct action is arguable, though it seems legally correct that rules and findings should not be changed retrospectively. The changes should really be focused on achieving a critical balance; on the one hand, getting mining assets into the hands of companies that can exploit them safely, usefully and profitably; and, on the other, making sure transformation sits hand in hand with value-adding rather than merely rent-taking. Ms Shabangu deserves credit for sensing the problems here; she caught something of the right tone when she said at the mining summit that the legislation should be “dynamic and engaging”. However, recognising that a problem exists is only the first, and perhaps easiest, step to take: it remains for the government and the industry to tackle not only immediate problems but also the general mood of distrust in the industry. (Back to INDEX)

Big business finally speaks up (Business Day online, 20100819) – The large companies that are the members of Business Leadership SA (BLSA) probably have more direct access to those “amorphous markets” than most. So when they say SA’s reputation has been put at risk, believe them. And when they say SA’s standing among international investors has been undermined by the mining licence debacle and the government’s attempts to curb press freedom, that’s because they have heard it from the investors they encounter on international road shows and the market players they talk to. That’s why it is particularly significant that BLSA has spoken up. This is a change of gear for the group. It signalled last year that it would be more vocal on national issues such as healthcare and energy than it had been, in an effort to shape policy debates. But it had until now steered clear of political or sectoral issues. However, the mining licence controversy has gone beyond the merely sectoral to savage investor perceptions of SA more generally, BLSA’s members feel. And government proposals to introduce a media tribunal have done significant damage to SA’s reputation, undoing much of the good work done by the World Cup. Which is why BLSA decided to raise its voice. It was a welcome move, as was the robust statement on the importance of media freedom from Pick n Pay’s new chairman, Gareth Ackerman. And particularly notable was the fact that the big business leaders were in complete agreement that they had to speak out. Big business has for far too long done the softly-softly routine. It’s about time it stood up for itself in public instead of protesting meekly, and usually ineffectually, behind the scenes. If that means the government comes down on it like a ton of bricks, so be it: powerful groups in society must try at least to hold the Zuma administration to the openness and debate it promises. Not that BLSA’s tone this week was particularly strident. It said the media was not what it should be, but made it clear a media tribunal was not the way to go. It made it clear, too, that it would do some work in its own backyard, drawing up a code of conduct for its members that would hold them to standards of ethical conduct. It may be too much to hope for, but the government may even respond to criticism constructively.

Party battles to COPE with endless battles in court (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100819) – Soon after COPE ‘s president, Mosiuoa Lekota, left the Cape High Court building yesterday – all smiles and in high spirits after the judge ruled that he could be sworn in as the party’s parliamentary leader – a member said: “He’ll be back in court soon. Just watch this space.” The statement sums up the position in which COPE finds itself since party members fought and injured each other during their aborted elective conference in May. Divisions were already visible in the months leading up to the conference. Both Lekota and his deputy, Mbhazima Shilowa, have spent more time in court challenging each other’s authority than in meetings and campaigns building the organisation. Journalists, political commentators and members of the public have, it seems, become weary of the party. If it is not Lekota and Shilowa in court, provincial structures are holding factional meetings where dirt about the party and its leaders is dished. Last week, the party received a body blow when the Eastern Cape legislature suspended all funds for its constituency offices after it emerged that the money had not been spent in accordance with regulations. If the leadership’s track record is anything to go by, yesterday’s court ruling – which also paves the way for Shilowa to be reinstated as the party’s chief whip – is unlikely to bridge the divide between the two men. At the centre of the battle is the control of the party and its funds. Those close to Lekota say he will not allow anyone to challenge his leadership. They point out that he was the one who served the ANC with divorce papers , an act that paved the way for COPE’s formation. With the fight now moving to Parliament, the question is when the next court action will be launched. And will anyone care? (Back to INDEX)

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET STATISTICS

Source: Business Day

Latest: 20100818 (Wednesday)

a. EXCHANGE RATES OF THE RAND (Quoted by FNB)

RAND PER FOREIGN CURRENCY (Buy / Sell)

US-D 07,16 / 07,40

P Sterl 11,06 / 11,54

Euro 09,15 / 09,55

FOREIGN CURRENCY PER RAND (Buy / Sell)

J Yen 11,99 / 11,47

S Franc 0,146 / 0,140

b. JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE SHARE INDICES

All Share 27287

JSE Gold 2457

Financial 19915

Industrial 25365

c. RESERVE BANK

Repo Rate : 06,50%

90 Day Bankers’ acceptance Rate : 06,46%

Prime Rate : 10,0%

d. MONTHLY INFLATION; GDP; FUEL PRICE

- CPI (Consumer Inflation): June 2010 (y/y) +4,2%

Annual average: 2004 1,4%; 2005 3,4%; 2006 4,7%; 2007 6,5%

- PPI (Producer Inflation): June 2010 (y/y) +9,4%

Annual average: 2004 0,6%; 2005 3,1%; 2006 7,7%; 2007 10,0%; 2008 14,2 %

- GDP actual (ZAR billion):

2004 1 395; 2005 1 544; 2006 1 745; 2007 1 999

- GDP growth:

Annual:

2003 2,8%; 2004 4,9%, 2005 5,0%, 2006 5,3%, 2007 5,1%,

Quarterly:

2004 Q1: n.a. Q2: 4,5%, Q3: 5,6%, Q4: 4,0%

2005 Q1: 3,5%, Q2: 5,4% Q3: 4,2% Q4: 3.2%

2006 Q1: 5,0% Q2: 5,5% Q3: 4,5% Q4: 5,6%

2007 Q1: 5,1% Q2: 4,4% Q3: 4,8% Q4: 5,3%

2008 Q1: 1.6% Q2: 5,1% Q3: 0,2% Q4: –1,7%

2009 Q1: –6,4% Q2: –3,0% Q3: 0,9% Q4: 3,2%

2010 Q1: 4,6%

- FUEL (w.e.f. 20100804) : Gauteng 93 octane lead-free: R8,02 (Back to INDEX)

SA NEWSPAPER WEBSITES

The DNB is sourced i.a. from the following newspaper websites:

www.bday.co.za – Business Day www.sabcnews.com – SABC News

www.citizen.co.za – The Citizen www.timeslive.co.za – The Times

www.sowetan.co.za – Sowetan

www.iol.co.za – The Star Pretoria News Business Report

. Cape Times The Argus The Daily News The Mercury

. Saturday Star Sunday Tribune Sunday Independent

www.news24.com – Beeld Die Burger Volksblad

Natal Witness Rapport City Press

www.mg.co.za - Mail and Guardian

www.suntimes.co.za – Sunday Times

THE NEWS BULLETIN WAS COMPILED BY OPERATIONS CENTRE PERSONNEL: .ER MOFOKENG & SG NGOASHENG (Back to INDEX)

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