Regulation of smoking has always been an interesting area of consideration when it comes to freedom, with both those who are in favour of regulation and those who are against it making arguments based in the theory of individual liberty. Those who favour regulation assert that non-smokers’ right to health is being violated and those against assert that smokers’ freedom of choice is being violated.
Whatever the case, any regulation should adhere to the precepts of the rule of law absolutely, and adhere as far as it can to the demands of economic reality. 
In South Africa, I have had much experience with this. Our constitution uniquely recognises the rule of law explicitly as a founding provision, meaning all the jurisprudential principles of the concept are part of our constitutional law. Government, however, has often opted to ignore these sometimes-debatable principles, refusing to conduct or publicise impact assessments or to consult the public on various policy choices.
The Caucasian state of Georgia is considering adopting a stringent new anti-smoking law which has recently begun being fast-tracked through Parliament, and it seems, unfortunately, that the rule of law is not being adhered to. 
According to The Financial, if the proposed law is adopted, tobacco companies “might not have the right to advertise anymore; tobacco might not be allowed to be sold in many places; smokers won’t be able to smoke in public places; and the industry will generally be isolated. Tobacco companies might not have the right to use their logo and brand identity anymore…”
This proposal for plain packaging means that cigarette packages will have the same colour, shape, and size as determined by government, and that trademarks and logos will be replaced by the simple and unattractive print name of the company. 
The Georgian constitution recognises the rule of law in its preamble, saying it is the “firm will” of the citizens of Georgia to establish a state based on both economic freedom and the rule of law. This firm commitment to these two values – economic freedom and the rule of law – bind the Georgian government to consider the tenets of the rule of law as well as the principles of economics.
According to article 18 of the Constitution, individual liberty is inviolable; article 21 says violating the property rights of Georgians is impermissible; and article 30 binds the state to develop “free entrepreneurial activity and competition.” 
A principle of constitutional interpretation is that that no part of a constitutional text may be considered in isolation. Therefore, provisions like article 37 which guarantee Georgians’ right to a healthy environment cannot be separated from the right of individuals to their property, liberty, and free entrepreneurial activity. Indeed, article 44 clearly states that the rights some may not violate the rights and freedoms of others.
The rule of law requires that law must be rational. In other words, the law cannot be arbitrary and must be based on evidence gained from extensive research and foreign experiences.
In Georgia, it appears that this evidentiary burden has been neglected.
The proposed law is being considered in Parliament without an impact assessment being done or waiting to see the results from other jurisdictions with similar regulations. The European Union’s stringent Tobacco Products Directive comes to mind, as does experience Australia, where it has not yet been shown that plain packaging has the desired effects of reducing smoking. France adopted plain packaging earlier this year, and it would be wise for Georgia to wait and see what happens there.
Impact assessments, as outlined in the Good Law Project’s Principles of Good Law, are necessary prerequisites for good law. If they are not conducted, the public has nothing to inform their engagement with government on the proposed law, meaning the principle of public participation is being forsaken.
Public participation is democracy in action and legitimises public policies during the periods between elections. Without an impact assessment, the public cannot sincerely endorse the proposed law, and without public participation, it is the rule of man, not the rule of law, which permeates the policy.
Whatever your opinion on smoking, it is crucial that anti-smoking laws not be irrational. Moreover, the anti-smoking law itself should not be bad law based merely on the whims of some politicians.
Martin van Staden is Legal Researcher at the Free Market Foundation of South Africa and the regional Academic Programs Director of Students For Liberty. He is a Young Voices Advocate. Find out more at <a href="http://www.martinvanstaden.com">www.martinvanstaden.com</a>.

Plain packaging rules in Georgia violate the rule of law

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Acacia Mining&#8217;s &#8220;very existence&#8221; has been jeopardised by accusations of wrongdoing levelled against it by the Tanzanian government, chief executive Brad Gordon said in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
In the memo, Gordon denied accusations of tax evasion and forging documents to avoid paying taxes. He also said the firm operated through locally registered subsidiaries, contrary to a government accusation it had been operating illegally.
Acacia has been caught up in President John Magufuli&#8217;s campaign to reform the mining industry, a key source of foreign exchange for the East African country. The sector accounts for 4 percent of Tanzania&#8217;s gross domestic product.
(Reporting by David Lewis; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Ed Cropley)

Tanzania claims threaten Acacia’s “very existence”: CEO

Aaron Ross | KINSHASA
Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday asked Chinese and Spanish consortia vying to develop a long-delayed $14 billion hydroelectric project to join together and submit a single bid.
The statement represents a new delay for the Inga 3 project, which has struggled to attract financing. Last May, the government announced plans to select a developer by October 2016 and begin construction this month.
The World Bank announced it had suspended funding for Inga 3 last July after the presidency took control of the project from the prime minister&#8217;s office, raising concerns about transparency.
A brief statement from the presidency gave no reason for the latest decision, which affects the China Three Gorges Corporation and a consortium that includes engineering giant Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA.
The project along the Congo River will expand ontwo existing Inga hydroelectric dams and is part of aneight-stage Grand Inga project that would produce a record44,000 MW at an estimated cost of $50 billion to $80 billion. Proponents say it could one day power half of Africa. Critics say the money would be better spent supporting smaller local plants.
<blockquote>&#8220;The two consortiums have been invited &#8230; to do everything possible to form a single group before submitting an optimized bid,&#8221; said a statement from the presidency.</blockquote>
Of Inga 3&#8217;s 4,800 MW, 2,500 will be sold to South Africa and1,300 is earmarked for Congo&#8217;s mining sector. The remaining1,000 will go toward meeting domestic demand in a country whereless than 15 percent of the population has electricity.
(Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Larry King)
&nbsp;

Congo tells consortia to form joint bid for Inga 3 hydro project

DAR ES SALAAM | Tanzania&#8217;s government signed a $154 million contract on Saturday with the state-run China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to expand the main port in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania is seeking financing for infrastructure projects as part of its plans to transform the country into a regional transport and trade hub.
Under the contract funded by a World Bank loan, CHEC, a subsidiary of the state-run China Communications Construction Co Ltd, will build a roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) terminal and deepen and strengthen seven berths at Dar es Salaam port.
Tanzania hopes expansion of the port will increase container throughput to 28 million tonnes a year by 2020 from around 20 million tonnes currently.
<blockquote>&#8220;Deepening and strengthening of the berths will allow big container ships to dock in Dar es Salaam. All these efforts are being done in order to increase competitiveness of the port,&#8221; works, transport and communications minister Makame Mbarawa said at the signing of the contract.</blockquote>
East Africa&#8217;s second-biggest economy wants to profit from its long coastline and upgrade its rickety railways and roads to serve the growing economies in the land-locked heart of Africa.
Big gas finds in Tanzania and oil discoveries in Kenya and Uganda have turned East Africa into an exploration hotspot for oil firms, but transport infrastructure in those countries has suffered from decades of under-investment.
Tanzania said in January it will receive a $305 million loan from the World Bank to expand its main port, where congestion and inefficiencies are hampering service delivery.
The port, whose main rival is the bigger but also congested port of Mombasa in Kenya, acts as a trade gateway for landlocked African states such as Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi and Uganda, as well as the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The World Bank said in a 2014 report that inefficiencies at Dar es Salaam port were costing Tanzania and its neighbours up to $2.6 billion a year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to plough $60 billion into African development projects at a summit in Johannesburg in 2015, saying it would boost agriculture, build roads, ports and railways and cancel some debt.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; Editing by George Obulutsa and Andrew Bolton)
&nbsp;

Tanzania signs $154 mln contract with Chinese firm to expand main port

Chris Mfula | LUSAKA
Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, who is facing treason charges for impeding a presidential motorcade, has been moved from a prison in Lusaka to a maximum security facility outside the capital, a prison source said on Friday.
Hichilema and five others who were moved with him are accused of trying to overthrow the government after a column of opposition vehicles failed to make way for President Edgar Lungu.
The case has stoked political tensions in what is regarded as one of Africa&#8217;s more stable and functional democracies following a bruising election last year.
<blockquote>&#8220;They arrived at Mukobeko this morning,&#8221; a source told Reuters, referring to a maximum security prison in Kabwe, about 150 km (90 miles) north of Lusaka.</blockquote>
Hichilema lawyer Jack Mwiimbu confirmed Hichilema had been moved but said he did not know where to.
<blockquote>&#8220;We are not privy to where they have been taken. They were taken to the City Airport and flown to an unknown destination,&#8221; he told Reuters.</blockquote>
The move went against a court order specifying Hichilema should be confined to Lusaka Central prison, he added.
Home Affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo could not be reached for comment.
Hichilema, leader of the United Party for National Development, was arrested in April when police raided his home and charged him with trying to overthrow the government.
An economist and businessman widely known by his &#8220;HH&#8221; initials, Hichilema was defeated in August by Lungu in an election he denounced as fraudulent. His attempts to mount a legal challenge have been unsuccessful.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Ed Cropley)
&nbsp;

Zambia opposition leader moved to maximum security prison

ABIDJAN (Reuters) &#8211; Ivory Coast&#8217;s raw cotton output is forecast to hit 350,000 tonnes in the 2017/18 season, little changed from 340,000 tonnes in the last season, the Cotton Ginners&#8217; Association&#8217;s executive secretary Christophe N&#8217;Dry said on Friday.
Ivory Coast, the world&#8217;s top cocoa producer, is also one of Africa&#8217;s largest cotton exporters. Its annual output was about 400,000 tonnes before a 2002-2003 civil war halved it.
The government aims to boost output to 600,000 tonnes by 2020. Cotton farmers in Ivory Coast sow cotton by late May and the harvest runs from November through January or February.
(Reporting By Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Edward McAllister)

Ivory Coast forecasts 2017/18 cotton output steady at 350,000 T

<a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/ICT-12-2013-0086">Toxic leadership</a> is characterised by a number of familiar traits: unwillingness to take feedback, lying or inconsistency, cliquishness, autocracy, manipulation, intimidation, bullying, and narcissism. The toxic leader can &#8211; if allowed to run rampant for long enough – destroy organisational structures over time and bring down an entire organisation. This applies to countries too.
There are a number of reasons for this. The most obvious is that a toxic leader can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Leaders-When-Organizations-Bad/dp/0899309984">influence organisational culture</a> through aversive action. This can include flouting organisational processes, rewarding loyalty over competence, normalising socially unacceptable behaviours like infighting, and by breaking down trust and eroding clear lines of authority.
A toxic leader’s other, more insidious, influence is through what they do to the relationships between people around them.
Psychologists, Paul Babiak and Robert Hare, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061147890/snakes-in-suits">describe</a> how two factions typically develop in an organisation once the deviant leader’s ascent has begun. One faction consists of supporters, pawns and patrons. The other is made out of people who remain true to their principles, realising they have been used and abused, or that the organisation whose ultimate goals they still support is in danger.
If it sounds familiar it’s because South Africans are spectators to exactly this kind of factionalism. In recent months pro and anti President Jacob Zuma factions have been involved in increasingly energetic <a href="https://theconversation.com/zuma-lives-to-fight-another-day-but-fallout-from-latest-revolt-will-live-on-69587">mudslinging matches</a>.
For many, Zuma represents the quintessential toxic leader. Whether one is for or against the president, it remains that he’s at very least a controversial figure, and criticism of him has been known to lead to <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/05/24/anc-stalwarts-receive-threats-over-zuma-criticism">reprisals</a>.
The good news is that toxic leadership can be overcome. When it’s understood and challenged, it can be dismantled or reformed.
<h2>The toxic environment</h2>
Where there is toxic leadership, the ethics of the working environment are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Leaders-When-Organizations-Bad/dp/0899309984">compromised</a>. Typical behaviours are abuse of privileges, theft, violence and verbal abuse. Any number of these can be recognised from news reports around South African politics.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-risks-behind-south-africas-social-grant-payment-crisis-73224">Scandals over the awarding of government tenders</a>, the mismanagement of taxpayer funds and the maintenance of <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/state-of-capture-public-protectors-report/">corrupt relationships</a> are now an all too familiar reality in South Africa.
But a toxic leader does not absolve employees who choose to engage in deviant conduct. Ministers and private sector supporters who choose personal gain or corrupt relationships remain responsible for their own choices. Of course, it’s much easier to make the wrong decision if it’s the dominant way of doing things in a particular environment.
Such behaviour may be <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.599.654&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">rooted</a> in financial gain, or lie within the culture of an organisation. The motivation to achieve results may spark greater numbers of people to either actively harm, or passively ignore, the welfare of others to achieve their desired end.
This is why the removal of a psychopathic leader doesn’t guarantee the eradication of toxicity as it’s likely to be entrenched at lower levels of organisational leadership by the leader’s sycophants.
<h2>Fighting from the bottom up</h2>
The responsibility to move against toxic leadership doesn’t lie with an individual, but <a href="https://works.bepress.com/marcotavanti/32/">concerns</a> the organisation as a whole.
In the public sphere, this responsibility extends to society as a whole.
Crucial to overcoming the toxic leader’s negative impact is for other members of the organisation to remain firm and loyal to their principles, and to take a united stand.
If people are able to stand together against toxic leadership, the leader may leave of their own accord. Once this happens individuals in the rest of the organisation need to cleanse the organisation by distancing themselves from the leader’s negative actions.
Another way of tackling toxic leadership is to find out who they answer to, if it’s not immediately apparent, and appeal to this authority. Bullies are not always swayed by open dialogue or whistleblowing, but may answer to a higher law if this is done formally and armed with the facts. In the case of an errant public servant, this may be achieved through, for example, the judiciary and institutions like the Public Protector.
If all these fail, there are ways to manage the situation with the toxic leader in position. It’s necessary to understand the leader’s history to analyse how they got to this point. Share this with key decision makers. This is vital because a core aspect of the solution is to establish a coalition of like-minded individuals who understand the leader’s negative impact.
The <a href="https://works.bepress.com/marcotavanti/32/">coalition</a> should not take a punitive, antagonistic approach, but rather a supportive one, using appropriate benchmarks and timelines that reflect the goals of all key stakeholders.
Much of what’s observed in the corporate world applies to leadership in the public sector. With proper interventions, a valuable level of accountability can be brought into the workplace and to service delivery.
The accountability of leaders can be increased through forums like townhall meetings to force them to think deeply about their behaviour and decisions. Where politics is concerned, visible performance management like this can do wonders for the well-being of citizens.
It’s also critical to establish mechanisms to protect people speaking up against leaders – the whistleblowers – as their actions should be free of fear, such as loss of income.
With protection mechanisms in place, employees and citizens alike should be able to freely raise issues and protect both themselves and their ideals, whether their concerns relate to a private company or a government department.

How toxic leaders affect companies, and governments

Duncan Miriri | NAIROBI
Kenya will offer $750 million in guarantees to Kenya Airways&#8217; existing creditors to help the heavily-indebted carrier secure financing from other sources to complete its recovery, a cabinet document showed on Tuesday.
The guarantees, approved by the cabinet, will cover $525 million owed to the U.S. Exim Bank and the rest to local lenders, said the document seen by Reuters.
The airline, partly-owned by Air France KLM and the Kenyan government, has struggled to return to profit after tourist traffic slumped four years ago following a spate of attacks by Somalia-based Islamist militants.
The government will also convert its existing loans to the carrier into equity, it said. It was not immediately clear how much it has lent the carrier, but a source at the airline said it was a &#8220;significant&#8221; amount lent over time.
The plan to guarantee the existing debt will be taken to the National Assembly for approval, the government said.
&#8220;The guarantees would be in exchange for material concessions to be provided as part of the financial restructuring which would secure future funding for the company,&#8221; the cabinet document said, without giving details on the concessions.
The government views the airline as a strategic asset, supporting other industries such as tourism and encouraging investments from abroad.
Several international firms have set up their regional headquarters in Nairobi to take advantage of Kenya Airways&#8217; extensive route network on the continent.
Kenya Airways ferries 12,000 passengers a day on its fleet of Boeing and Embraer planes to destinations such as Juba and Accra.
At 1012 GMT, Kenya Airways shares were down 1.5 percent at 6.65 shillings.
The government would not provide additional cash as part of the restructuring of the airline, it added.
The debt owed to the U.S Exim bank is related to the financing of the purchase of the carrier&#8217;s Boeing planes.
Kenya Airways says the financial restructuring will involve restructuring debt and securing additional capital to help dig itself out of a position of negative equity, and attain a better balance between cash flow and debt repayments.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Mark Potter)

Kenya government says to guarantee $750 mln in Kenya Airways debt

Egypt&#8217;s Trade Ministry has issued tough new regulations on importers by sharply raising the minimum capital they need to operate, the government&#8217;s latest effort to curb foreign-made goods and spur local manufacturing.
Under the ministry&#8217;s executive regulations, the minimum capital required for the smallest companies to register was hiked to 500,000 Egyptian pounds (about $28,000) from 10,000 pounds previously. For limited companies, the minimum threshold was raised to two million pounds from 15,000 pounds previously.
<blockquote>&#8220;This is in line with measures taken by the ministry in the past to limit the import of low-quality goods,&#8221; the Trade Ministry said in a statement.</blockquote>
&#8220;It also aims to encourage new investments in national industries and protecting them from unfair competition from imported products,&#8221; it added.
The new regulations also raise the minimum capital required for a joint stock company to be registered to 5 million pounds. Importers will have six months in order to adjust to the reform, which was contained in an amendment to the Importers Register Law passed in March.
Import-dependent Egypt is struggling to revive its economy and curb a trade deficit since a 2011 uprising drove away tourists and foreign investors.
Importers have criticized previous government measures aimed at reducing demand for foreign goods, saying local producers do not have the capacity to fill the gap.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Helen Popper)

Egypt tightens rules on importers in crackdown on foreign goods

Tanisha Heiberg | JOHANNESBURG
South African petrochemicals group Sasol will apply to postpone a 2020 deadline for meeting stricter air pollution laws, the company said on Wednesday.
South Africa, the continent&#8217;s worst polluter and most advanced economy, emits millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, much of it from coal-fired power plants that still provide most of its energy.
Sasol said it would apply for a postponement for some of its plants to 2025 when it would be able to meet most of the new plant standards.
<blockquote>&#8220;The reason for postponements is in order to help us or give us time or provide the opportunity to implement the projects over a period of time,&#8221; said Sasol executive vice president for operations, Bernard Klingenberg.</blockquote>
The company said challenges in reducing sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide emissions could further delay compliance past 2025 and may require further reprieves.
<blockquote>&#8220;There will be postponement applications again, particularly in SO2 (sulphur dioxide) and H2S (hydrogen sulphide), where today we don&#8217;t have credible viable solutions and we need to work on those,&#8221; said Klingenberg.</blockquote>
The Department of Environmental Affairs had granted postponements in 2015 to applicants including Sasol, Eskom and Anglo American Platinum until 2020 to comply with the new minimum emissions standards for air quality laws.
<blockquote>&#8220;The large majority of the minimum emissions status for 2015 we were able to comply with but in some areas we need time to implement projects,&#8221; said Klingenberg.</blockquote>
South Africa&#8217;s government wants to reduce harmful emissions by 34 percent by 2020, with the minimum emissions standards for air quality laws covering particulate, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.
(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Mark Potter)
&nbsp;

S.Africa’s Sasol to apply for delay to 2020 air pollution deadline

Wendell Roelf | CAPE TOWN
A South African government task team has rescinded the reinstatement of Brian Molefe as chief executive of state power utility Eskom and a new CEO will be appointed within 48 hours, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said on Wednesday.
Molefe resigned in November last year after a report by the Public Protector, a constitutionally mandated corruption watchdog, raised questions over Eskom coal deals.
Molefe&#8217;s surprise return two weeks ago highlighted divisions in the ANC and drew allegations from opponents that the ruling party and President Jacob Zuma weren&#8217;t tackling graft.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Joe Brock)

South Africa government removes Molefe as Eskom CEO

Western Cape premier Helen Zille declared the province a disaster area on Monday and urged residents to manage their water supplies more efficiently as the South African region tries to cope with what she described as the &#8220;worst drought since 1904&#8221;.
South Africa remains in the grip of a drought that is not expected to ease soon, with the El Nino weather pattern, which faded in May of 2016, forecast to reform again around September.
<blockquote>&#8220;The disaster declaration will accelerate the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre&#8217;s Project &#8216;Avoiding Day Zero&#8217;, the province&#8217;s strategy to ensure that taps do not run dry,&#8221; Premier Zille said in a statement, adding that the declaration is no cause for panic.</blockquote>
The Western Cape, known for the port city of Cape Town set beneath Table Mountain and winelands in towns like Stellenbosch, does not have enough water tankers to supply residents despite recent heavy rains.
To deal with the water crisis, the drilling of boreholes will take place in hospitals and schools in high-risk areas. Zille&#8217;s statement added that drilling into the Table Mountain aquifer will also take place.
<blockquote>&#8220;Funding will be reprioritised provincially and, should further assistance be needed, the province will approach National Treasury and the National Department of Water and Sanitation,&#8221; the statement said.</blockquote>
The declaration comes a week after the City of Cape Town recommended a level-four water restriction after dam levels reached 21.2 percent.
In 2015, drought-hit northern Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces were declared disaster areas for agriculture, including the sugar-growing province of KwaZulu-Natal and the maize-growing Free State and North West provinces.
The provincial government urged residents to continue with the current water saving measures and to adhere to the restrictions imposed in their respective municipalities.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

South Africa declares Western Cape province a drought disaster area

Wendell Roelf | CAPE TOWN
South Africa, a net importer of refined oil products, is looking to West Africa and the Middle East, including Iran, for potential partners on a new refinery project, energy ministry officials said on Friday.
Energy minister Mmamoloko Kubayi told parliament that the cabinet expects to decide by December whether to build the refinery that has been under consideration for almost a decade.
National oil company PetroSA has promoted the idea of building a refinery with a capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day on the east coast, but the government was put off by the $10 billion price-tag in 2010 and a lack of equity partners.
Kubayi said the refinery was now urgent because South Africa&#8217;s oil imports were increasing.
She said that a public-private partnership to develop the refinery, which would be majority owned by the government, was the preferred approach.
<blockquote>&#8220;By the time any new refinery is completed, the country will be importing in excess of a third of its fuel requirements,&#8221; she said.</blockquote>
The acting director general at the ministry of energy Tseliso Maqubela told Reuters after a separate press conference that South African authorities were in talks with countries and firms from the Middle East and West Africa to build the refinery.
&#8220;At this stage no country is excluded,&#8221; Maqubela said when asked if Iran was among the countries being considered.
He said there was no decision yet on the new refinery&#8217;s production capacity or its construction costs.
Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total and Sasol are among the main refinery operators in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised country.
South Africa bought around 68,000 bpd of crude from Iran in May 2012, a month before it halted crude purchases as Western countries pressured Tehran over its nuclear programme.
Pretoria, which also gets oil from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Angola, has said it wants to resume imports from Iran since Western sanctions were lifted in 2016.
According to Thembisile Majola, the deputy minister of energy, building the refinery would help South Africa maintain some control over a vital resource such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
&#8220;There are some issues around sovereignty that are linked to refining capacity,&#8221; said Majola.
Kubayi also said the government wants to increase the participation of black fuel wholesalers in importing crude oil, with an immediate focus on West African crude oil, which presently accounts for around half of South Africa&#8217;s crude imports.
&#8220;The modalities of this strategic approach will be finalised after consultation with the major oil companies in this financial year,&#8221; she said.
(Editing by James Macharia and Susan Fenton)
&nbsp;

South Africa open to Iranian investment if new refinery goes ahead

Felix Onuah and Alexis Akwagyiram | ABUJA
The 82 girls freed by Boko Haram on Saturday after being held captive for three years are still waiting to be reunited with their families, while all the girls found last year will be heading back to school in September, Nigerian officials said.
Twenty four girls, who were among around 270 kidnapped by the Islamist militant group from the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria in April 2014, are to return to school in September, the president&#8217;s spokesman said on Thursday.
Those going back to school include the 21 girls freed last October in a deal brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and three others who escaped or were rescued.
<blockquote>&#8220;Government is preparing the girls to go back to school in September this year because they have lost so much academically,&#8221; said presidency spokesman Garba Shehu. &#8220;It is not all the 103 so far released, but 24 of them,&#8221; he added.</blockquote>
None of the girls released on Saturday were among those returning to school in September as they were still undergoing medical and psychological treatment in the capital, Abuja, that should last two to three weeks, the government&#8217;s Twitter feed stated.
On Saturday, 82 girls were released in exchange for members of the jihadist group that has killed 15,000 people since 2009 in an insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the northeast.
Aisha Jummai Alhassan, the minister of women affairs, told reporters on Thursday that photographs of the girls had been sent to families in Chibok for identification.
The minister said the government was careful about who was granted access to the 24 girls who left captivity last year. They are in Abuja taking part in a rehabilitation programme.
&#8220;The parents of the #Chibokgirls are free to visit them at any time. We will never prevent them from seeing their daughters,&#8221; a government tweet quoted Alhassan as saying.
Three years ago, the abduction of the girls from their secondary school by Boko Haram sparked global outrage and a celebrity-backed campaign #bringbackourgirls.
For more than two years there was no sign of the girls. But the discovery of one of them with a baby last May raised hopes for their safety, with a further two girls found in later months and a group of 21 released by the Islamist militants in October.
Mediator and lawyer Zannah Mustapha said some of the abducted girls refused to be freed with the 82 girls last weekend, fuelling fears that they have been radicalised by the jihadists, and may feel afraid, ashamed or even too powerful to return to their old lives.
(Reporting by Felix Onuah and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
&nbsp;

Twenty-four Chibok girls to return to school: Nigerian officials

Aaron Ross | KINSHASA
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila on Tuesday named a new transitional government, state television said, defying opponents who say he is in violation of a previous agreement.
Kabila, in power since 2001, struck a deal in December with Congo&#8217;s main opposition bloc to allow him to stay on after his mandate expired provided he held elections by the end of 2017. But talks to implement the deal broke down in March when Kabila refused to commit to the bloc&#8217;s choice of prime minister.
The roughly 60 ministers and vice-ministers read out on state TV are largely holdovers from the previous government and key ministries &#8211; including foreign affairs, interior, justice and mines &#8211; remain in the hands of Kabila loyalists.
Political tensions are high after security forces killed dozens during protests over election delays last year. Worsening militia violence in recent months has also raised fears of a backslide toward the civil wars of the turn of the century that killed millions.
Despite resistance to Kabila&#8217;s remaining in power, he has successfully co-opted large portions of the opposition. The new prime minister Bruno Tshibala, whom he named last month, is a former member of the country&#8217;s largest opposition party.
The new government faces a number of stern tests. Congo&#8217;s franc currency has half its value since last year and authorities are struggling to mobilise the resources needed to hold the election by the end of the year.
(Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Emma Farge)

Congo’s Kabila names transitional govt, defying main opposition

TJ Strydom | JOHANNESBURG
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said he wants allegations of influence-peddling in government investigated, lending his support to a probe called for by the anti-graft watchdog but which President Jacob Zuma has so far ignored.
Ramaphosa is considered a likely candidate for president when the ruling African National Congress elects its new leaders later this year, but he has not formally announced his intention to stand.
The nation&#8217;s Public Protector in November called on Zuma to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry within 30 days to examine alleged &#8220;state capture&#8221; in his government, but Zuma has not yet appointed a commission, challenging the report in court instead.
<blockquote>&#8220;I support that there should be a judicial commission of inquiry,&#8221; Ramaphosa said to loud applause at a memorial service for late freedom fighter Chris Hani.</blockquote>
&#8220;We need to put this (matter) to rest &#8230; If there is any wrongdoing, it must be exposed,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.
Zuma is facing renewed calls for him to step down after South Africa&#8217;s credit rating was downgraded to sub-investment grade this month by S&amp;P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings shortly after he sacked respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
Last year&#8217;s 355-page report by the watchdog focused on allegations that the brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta &#8211; businessmen of Indian origin &#8211; influenced the appointment of ministers. It called for an investigation into whether Zuma, some of his cabinet members and some state companies acted improperly.
Both Zuma and the Gupta family have denied any wrongdoing.
(Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Clelia Oziel)

South Africa’s Ramaphosa backs graft probe of Zuma’s government

Nelson Banya | HARARE
Two of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe&#8217;s chief rivals said on Wednesday they were allying to deny the 93-year-old another term in office.
Morgan Tsvangirai, 65, who was Zimbabwe&#8217;s prime minister in an uneasy coalition government with Mugabe from 2009 until 2013, said he and Joice Mujuru, who was Mugabe&#8217;s vice president for a decade until she was fired in 2014, would seek to form a coalition government to bring political change.
<blockquote>&#8220;This is just the beginning of the building blocks towards establishing a broad alliance to confront ZANU PF between now and the next election in 2018,&#8221; Tsvangirai said, referring to the party led by Africa&#8217;s oldest leader.</blockquote>
Mugabe, one of the last of the generation of African nationalists that sough the overthrow of white colonialists, has run Zimbabwe since 1980. He was first prime minister then, in 1987, became president.
In December his ZANU PF party confirmed him as its candidate for the next presidential election expected in mid-2018, when he will be 94.
Tsvangirai, a three time loser to Mugabe, said he expected similar deals to the one with Mujuru would be struck with other political groups.
Tsvangirai, who lost the 2013 presidential vote against Mugabe, is now leading MDC-T, a faction of the Movement for Democratic Change, that was formed after the party was weakened by splits over how to confront Mugabe.
The MDC, evicted from the unity government after its crushing defeat in the 2013 election, has been split over whether to dump Tsvangirai before the next vote in 2018.
Mujuru, who formed a new National People&#8217;s Party in March last year, said the two parties had worked on the agreement for the last six months and would now start negotiating specific details to strengthen their alliance.
Critics accuse Mugabe of wrecking one of Africa&#8217;s most promising economies through policies such as violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms and money printing. He and his party say the economy has been undermined by western powers.
The turmoil within the opposition has been a boost for Mugabe, whose party has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980 amid charges of rigging recent elections. Mugabe has rejected the claims.
The southern African nation&#8217;s economy stagnated last year following a devastating drought while its budget deficit exploded as Mugabe&#8217;s administration struggled to pay its workers, which helped fan anti-government protests.
(Writing by James Macharia Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

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