<p>South Africa&#8217;s Treasury said on Wednesday it supported the report by a government-appointed advisory panel that suggested a national minimum wage of 3,500 rand ($245) per month, throwing its political weight behind the policy initiative. </p>
<p>&#8220;The report represents &#8230; an important milestone in our government&#8217;s efforts over the years in this regard,&#8221; Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was quoted as saying in a statement.</p>
<p>Supporters of a minimum wage say it can stimulate growth as workers can spend more while reducing inequality. Critics say it could lead to increased unemployment as employers will be unable to afford higher wage bills.</p>
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<p>($1 = 14.2299 rand)﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's Treasury supports minimum wage recommendation

<p>Gauteng Provincial Government would like to inform the citizens of the province and all its stakeholders of the executive decision taken by Cabinet to dispose of residential immovable assets that have been identified as not being at the core of the business of the government.</p>
<p>The custody and maintenance of these assets, in the form of vacant and improved residential properties, are a financial burden on the scarce public resources that are expected to service various competing needs of Gauteng residents. The identified properties do not contribute to the generation of revenue for the province and would be put to better use best sold to the public and interested entities.</p>
<p>The disposal of the properties will be implemented in line with the mandatory legislative prescripts such as the Government Immovable Asset Management Act of 2007 (GIAMA) and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).  The disposal will be based on the competitive market values of the property.</p>
<p>The province is currently consulting with all stakeholders and taking necessary steps to communicate its intention to dispose. Properties identified for disposal will be sold in their current condition on an “As is” or “Voetstoots” basis. This means that the province will not undertake any improvements on the identified properties.</p>
<p>The province has therefore appointed an Auctioneer to undertake the disposal process from a provisional list of four hundred and thirteen (413) properties of which seventeen (17) have been cleared for the first batch to be disposed. This number has a potential to increase or decrease based on the outcomes of our consultations with user Departments.</p>
<p>I therefore wish to announce that the first public auction will officially open on Monday, 5 December 2016 and close on Monday, 12 December 2016. The first auction will feature these 17 properties which mainly consist of vacant stands located in Heidelberg and Mogale City.</p>
<p>Potential buyers are encouraged to register on our Auctioneer’s website – <a href="http://www.tirhani.co.za">www.tirhani.co.za</a> &#8211; before the official opening of the auction. The official residence of the Premier of Gauteng Province will also be auctioned during this period. Potential buyers are encouraged to contact the Auctioneer to view the property or obtain further details. </p>
<p>Furthermore, I wish to announce that the method of disposal will not be the traditional live auction where potential buyers are gathered under one roof and the property is auctioned in a matter of minutes. Rather, the province has opted for an online auction disposal methodology.This includes provision for an internet-based platform for a pre-determined period of time with each lot sequentially closing at a given time. We are convinced that the on-line auction will provide for a transparent, auditable, convenient and competitive asset disposal process. </p>
<p>The Auctioneer will manage the entire process, including in-loco inspections, marketing, communication and ultimate disposal using electronic online auction methods. </p>
<p>Prospective buyers will bid online from the security and comfort of their offices or homes.  Other benefits of the online auction is that it will enable buyers to bid against each other with the system acting as an invisible auctioneer and regulating bid increments and the entire bidding process.</p>
<p>Bid prices are updated in real time as bidding progresses and the highest bidder wins at the close of the bidding process.  Given that the online auction opens for eight calendar days, bidders will have the advantage to review their decisions, seek advice or second opinion before updating their bid submissions and taking final decisions.</p>
<p>Furthermore, education and assistance will be provided to those wishing to participate by are unfamiliar with the process. In this regard, we have established an information help desk on the Ground Floor at our at No. 18 Rissik Street offices, here in the JHB Central Business District (CBD).  We will also be working with localised estate agents to established help desks to provide further assistance to the underlying communities.</p>
<p>I wish to assure the people of Gauteng that the disposal process will be done in a transparent, accountable and fair manner. Furthermore, we will make sure that the process does not favour any one person over another.</p>
<p>Regarding those properties that are occupied, the Department is taking steps to ensure that the occupants are given a fair opportunity to participate in the process. We are currently consulting with all stakeholders and taking all the necessary steps to communicate our intention to the affected households.</p>
<p>Some of these properties are occupied by government employees, while others have been improved over time by the occupants. Some occupants are legal and compliant tenants who have entered into valid lease agreements with the Department. Equally, some occupants are non-compliant and are staying in these properties without valid leases.</p>
<p>However, as we proceed with our decision to auction, we will ensure that each case is resolved amicably on its merit.  Occupants who have expressed an interest to purchase will not have to participate in the auctions, but will be given the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) to either buy the properties they are currently occupying outright for the sworn open market valuation value, or to match the price of the highest bidder at the close of the auction. The province believes that such a disposal strategy is in the best social and economic interest of the communities and will also give people the opportunity to own and improve property.</p>
<p>In cases where the households are not interested in purchasing or unable to afford, the property will be auctioned to the highest bidder. However we will take appropriate interventions to ensure that those properties are vacated peacefully in order to avoid violent evictions and acrimonious legal actions. We will also make sure that we provide appropriate support to ensure that our interventions are as humane and possible.</p>
<p>The appointed Auctioneer has been instructed to undertake extensive marketing and communication in this regard. </p>
<p>We are of the view that the decision to dispose all non-core and non-strategic residential immovable properties will not only save the province upkeep costs such as maintenance, rates and taxes, security and devaluation through wear and tear as well as acts of vandalism, but will also raise much needed additional resources to fund Gauteng’s priority programmes.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Gauteng: Disposal of non-core assets

<p>A militia in central Mali that represents ethnic Peuhls said on Saturday it would lay down its arms in a boost for government attempts to bring peace to the country.</p>
<p>The National Alliance to Safeguard the Peuhl Identity and Restore Justice was one of three groups that claimed an attack on an army base in central Mali in July in which 17 soldiers were killed. The other two groups were Islamist.</p>
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<p>The alliance was founded in June 2015. It aims to defend ethnic Peuhl civilians from atrocities and does not agree with Islamist militant groups that operate in northern Mali or with the separatist agenda of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), which is also in the north.</p>
<p>Many ethnic Peuhl, or Fulani, people live in the region of Mopti and rear cattle, practicing a pastoralist or nomadic lifestyle.</p>
<p>&#8220;Long discussions with our brothers in the CMA&#8217;s armed movement have forced our hand to rejoin the (peace) process. It was never a question for our movement to oppose the territorial integrity of Mali nor to make war against Mali,&#8221; said Oumar Aldiana, leader of the group, in an interview.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the moment, the alliance &#8230; has laid down its arms and will sign up to the peace process,&#8221; Aldiana said.</p>
<p>Journalist and writer Serge Daniel said he believed the declaration was credible and the alliance had effectively been forced into the decision because of an internal split.</p>
<p>Its vice-president said he was renouncing violence and its president Aldjana was left with little alternative but to join him, Daniel said.</p>
<p>Islamist groups such as Ansar Dine have stepped up an insurgency in Mali this year, carrying out more than 60 attacks on United Nations and other targets since May and spreading south into areas previously deemed safe.</p>
<p>Islamist groups hijacked a separatist Tuareg rebellion in 2012 to seize major towns in Mali&#8217;s vast desert north and declare sharia, or Islamic law.</p>
<p>Forces from former colonial power France drove them back a year later, but they have kept bases in remote desert locations.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Mali ethnic militia group says it will lay down its arms

<p>Irregular expenditure by South African government departments swelled 80 percent to 43.4 billion rand ($3 billion) in the 2015-16 financial year, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>South Africa is trying to rein in spending and trim debt in the face of sluggish economic growth and looming decisions by major ratings agencies that could see it lose its investment grade status, a development that would lift borrowing costs.</p>
<p>Makwetu said in a statement after releasing his annual report that most of the irregular spending, which would have accounted for about 3 percent of total government spending, stemmed from non-compliance with regulations on the procurement of goods and services.</p>
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<p>&#8220;Due to a lack of transparency and competitiveness, it remains to be seen whether prices are not inflated in the procurement processes,&#8221; the statement said.</p>
<p>Expenditure deemed &#8220;fruitless and wasteful&#8221; increased 14 percent since 2013-14 to 1.37 billion rand, the statement said, without providing a comparison to the 2014-15 financial year.</p>
<p>Makwetu said poor management, shoddy probes into allegations of financial transgressions, and vacancies that remain unfilled in key positions such as accounting officers, were &#8220;the root causes of &#8230; weaknesses in financial and performance management and the poor audit outcomes.&#8221;</p>
<p>Makwetu recommended improved monitoring of expenditure, the provision of compliance checklists to monitoring units and supervisors, and the implementation of formal codes of conduct but stopped short of calling for a probe.</p>
<p>The Treasury did not immediately comment on the report.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Irregular South Africa government expenditure up 80 pct

<p>South Africa&#8217;s Chamber of Mines said on Tuesday that a Labour Court decision overturning a government-imposed safety stoppage at an AngloGold Ashanti mine placed limits on the power of state inspectors. </p>
<p>The industry in the world&#8217;s top platinum producer has for years complained that government inspectors have been imposing arbitrary work stoppages over safety, costing billions of rand in lost output and putting mines and jobs on the line.</p>
<p>The ruling concerned a Section 54 safety stoppage &#8211; named for the regulation they fall under &#8211; at AngloGold&#8217;s Kopanang mine last month.</p>
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<p>The judge found that the blanket stoppage of the entire mine because of infractions related to tramming and the storage of explosives in one section &#8211; Level 44 &#8211; was disproportionate and should have been applied to just that area of the operation.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that the Labour Court has, in this case, clarified the limits on the powers of the inspectorate,&#8221; The Chamber of Mines said in a statement.</p>
<p>The industry has in the past sought to persuade the Department of Mineral Resources to avoid what it calls &#8220;unjustified stoppages&#8221; that are compounding industry losses in a sector struggling with a commodities price slump.</p>
<p>The department of mineral resources did not immediately respond to emails and phone calls for its response to the court ruling, which was made on Friday.</p>
<p>The mines ministry has justified the blanket stoppages, saying on several occasions that they are needed to save lives.</p>
<p>With an unforgiving geology, South Africa is home to the world&#8217;s deepest mines where workers labour up to 4 km (2-1/2 miles) beneath the surface.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the industry had been making great safety strides, with mining deaths falling for eight straight years &#8211; until this year, with a spike in deaths that has raised red flags. ﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's mining chamber says court decision limits power of safety inspectors

<p>Zimbabwe&#8217;s government is holding 321,000 tonnes of maize in strategic reserves, just over half of its optimal requirements and enough to last three months, the agriculture minister said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>More than 4 million people require food aid this year after the southern African nation experienced its worst drought in a quarter century, which has worsened economic woes.</p>
<p>Joseph Made, the agriculture minister, said in a statement that farmers delivered 207,000 tonnes of the staple maize worth $81 million to the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR), with the balance made up of imports.</p>
<p>The SGR, which is managed by the government, should hold 500,000 tonnes of maize at any given time but the country has struggled to meet the target over the last decade as yields fell and farmers opt for higher value crops like tobacco.</p>
<p>Zimbabwe consumes on average 100,000 tonnes of maize every month, according to the Grain Millers Association.</p>
<p>&#8220;The current SGR has 321,000 tonnes of maize which gives a substantial support. In terms of maize and wheat stock, if we include the private sector, then we have reasonable supply,&#8221; Made said.</p>
<p>The El Nino-induced drought that hit southern Africa has been particularly bad for Zimbabwe, where dam levels have fallen to 42 percent, forcing the two biggest cities, Harare and Bulawayo, to start scheduled water cuts. [nL8N1CY5M]</p>
<p>Zimbabwe is importing maize from South Africa, Zambia and Argentina, straining scarce foreign currency resources and one of the reasons the central bank blames for causing a severe shortage of cash in the economy.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Zimbabwe says has 321,000 tonnes of strategically reserved maize

<p>South Africa&#8217;s former public protector, Thuli Madonsela, a constitutionally mandated anti-graft official, has recommended that a commission of inquiry headed by a judge be set up within 30 days to investigate alleged influence peddling in government.</p>
<p>In a report released on Wednesday, Madonsela said the commission should present its findings and recommendations to the president within 180 days.</p>
<p>The release of the report was suspended on Oct. 14 after President Jacob Zuma&#8217;s application to the High Court. Zuma on Wednesday withdrew his court challenge to delay the report, and a judge ordered that it be released.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>(Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Alison Williams)﻿</em></p>
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<p> </p>


S.A: State Capture Report calls for commission of inquiry

<p>China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) signed a $770 million contract with Guinea&#8217;s government on Monday to upgrade the port in the capital, Conakry, expanding Chinese economic influence in the West African iron and bauxite producer.</p>
<p>Under the contact, CHEC, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co Ltd, will construct three docks, roads and other infrastructure in the eastern zone of the port, providing parking for up to 600 trucks.</p>
<p>The port in Conakry handles nearly all goods shipped into Guinea, and to some landlocked neighbours like Mali. French logistics giant Bollore Group runs the port&#8217;s adjacent containers terminal.</p>
<p>&#8220;With the completion of this project extending the Autonomous Port of Conakry, it will become the largest in the sub-region,&#8221; the CHEC director in Guinea, Ding Jialong, said in a speech at the signing ceremony in Conakry.</p>
<p>Another Chinese company, China Water Electric, began construction late last year on the $1.5 billion, 515-megawatt Souapiti hydroelectric dam, a cornerstone of President Alpha Conde&#8217;s infrastructure push in the power-starved country. [nL8N14B3O7]</p>
<p>Guinea&#8217;s economy is still recovering from the blow dealt by the Ebola epidemic, which officially ended in June. The International Monetary Fund expects roughly 5 percent economic growth this year, up from zero in 2015, driven by gains in the mining, agriculture and energy sectors.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Guinea signs $770 mln contract with Chinese firm to develop main port

<p>South African police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of student protesters demanding free education at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town.</p>
<p>Protests have taken place for weeks at universities across the country, prompting President Jacob Zuma last week to form a ministerial team to tackle the issue.</p>
<p>The university said in a statement it was suspending classroom lectures for the rest of the academic year, which ends in December, and would give students the choice of writing final examinations in November or January.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today the situation on campus escalated and it has become clear that simply continuing with face-to-face academic engagement would not be possible without seriously compromising the safety of students and staff,&#8221; the university said.</p>
<p>A private security guard was badly beaten by demonstrators in the latest clash and a campus building was set on fire, a Reuters witness said.</p>
<p>The protests over the cost of university education, prohibitive particularly for black students and set to rise by up to 8 percent next year, have highlighted frustration at the inequalities that still endure, more than two decades after the end of apartheid.</p>
<p>Police in the capital Pretoria warned the public of an expected march by students on Thursday to the Union Buildings, where the government has its seat.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Police disperse Cape Town student protesters

<p class="Default">As always, I want to begin by thanking the Pick n Pay team for delivering this result. Everyone in our business plays their part – colleagues who work in our supply chain, our stores, and of course Richard and his team, who drive the operation from the centre.</p>
<p class="Default">It has not been an easy six months for South Africa. We have wrestled with a stagnant economy, a prolonged drought, high inflation, rising taxes, and growing unemployment. And we have also experienced continuing political uncertainty.</p>
<p class="Default">There have been a few encouraging signs, in particular the demonstration by government and business that we can work together to stave off a credit rating downgrade.</p>
<p class="Default">It is only four years since the government published its National Development Plan. We all remember the crucial target of GDP growth above 5 percent per year. Achieve it, and we would double GDP per capita by 2030, bring everyone above the poverty line, reduce inequality and cut unemployment from 25 percent to 6 percent.</p>
<p class="Default">At present, that vision seems very far away. The World Bank’s forecast for GDP growth this year is a wafer-thin 0.4 percent. The IMF has growth flat at 0.1 percent.</p>
<p class="Default">Despite the NDP, unemployment is not below 25 percent. Officially it is 27 percent. The “expanded” unemployment rate –including those who have given up seeking work –is over 36 percent.</p>
<p class="Default">For a business like Pick n Pay, these challenges are more than just numbers. Stagnant GDP growth means fewer people benefiting from the dignity of work. Fewer families with disposable incomes. More poverty. More insecurity.</p>
<p class="Default">So I want to talk a little more about the role that a retailer like Pick n Pay can play in the challenge of transforming our economy and improving living standards.</p>
<p class="Default">Let me set out three ways in which retail is playing its part.</p>
<p class="Default">First, in an economy which is finding growth very scarce, retail is growing. Total GDP last year was 1.3 percent. Retail sales grew at 3.3 percent in real terms. Much of what growth there is in our economy is coming from the retail sector. Our company remains on track to spend close to R2 billion in capital expenditure this year. And, because our reach is national,</p>
<p class="Default">and because we have stores across the country, we help to deliver the regionally balanced growth our country needs.</p>
<p class="Default">Secondly, in an economy which is shedding jobs, retail is creating them. Pick n Pay created 5,000 new jobs last year and we have created over 2,000 more in the first half of this financial year. We have many areas of expertise, such as customer service, logistics, replenishment, energy management, pricing, communications. Each of our 5,000 new jobs a year can be the first rung on the ladder to other skills or to general management. More South African companies need to commit themselves publicly to creating jobs at a time when they are most critically needed.</p>
<p class="Default">Direct job creation is only one part of our story. Our supply chain sustains more than 400,000 jobs across the country. We invest considerable resources in nurturing and training small entrepreneurs so that they can build fully-fledged commercial enterprises.</p>
<p class="Default">Thirdly, I want to speak up for retail’s record on innovation. The turnaround of our business depends crucially on us becoming more efficient. This means using new systems, new technology, new ways to serve customers. Greater efficiency is not just about improving costs. It is about creating the room to deliver lower prices for customers, so that they can improve their quality of life. Richard will say more about how we have kept our prices well below general food inflation –despite one of the worst droughts in recent times and the volatility of the Rand. This benefits our customers, particularly those on low incomes.</p>
<p class="Default">Retail is a growing sector which makes a major contribution to the economy and to the transformation of this country. My plea is to the policymakers to understand this and to include retail in their thinking.</p>
<p class="Default">Too often retail is not seen as a stragically important sector which can be a partner in achieving national goals. Government does not seem to be concerned about the negative consequences of imposing additional regulatory burdens, on small companies as well as large. The sector is currently facing a full competition inquiry –barely two years after the previous inquiry found nothing to trouble the regulators. It is grappling with complex and bureauctratic proposals in areas such as packaging waste.</p>
<p class="Default"> </p>
<p class="Default">Retail is also seen as a sector which can be taxed without any negative consequences. We saw this in the last Budget with the announcements on a new tax on sugar-sweetened drinks and an increase in the tax on plastic bags. Both issues merit serious debate –debate which weighs up the policy goals, the likelihood of them being achieved and the risk of unintended consequences. Yet both proposals came as a surprise, with no prior discussion, no debate and no consultation.</p>
<p class="Default">Government must find more efficient and more effective ways of achieving what are often laudable goals. They should work with the grain of business, not against it.</p>
<p class="Default">Despite these challenges, we continue to look outwards, to achieve positive change internationally. I co-chair both the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and the global Consumer Goods Forum. I was delighted last week when one of our most important aims was achieved. This was to achieve international agreement on phasing out HFCs –a potent greenhouse gas used in refrigeration and air-conditioning. We have set an example by making changes in our own business in recent years, and this historic amendment to the Montreal Protocol will accelerate the change we need.</p>
<p>We can achieve the goals we set, whether they are international or domestic. We need to be modern in our thinking. We need to be flexible and collaborative. We need to make the most of every sector which can make a real contribution. And that includes retail. </p>


Retailers have a role in transforming S.A’s economy – Pick n Pay

<p>Gabon&#8217;s prime minister on Sunday named a new government in the wake of disputed elections, but it contained no representatives of opposition leader Jean Ping, who says the vote was rigged.</p>
<p>According to a government statement, the only opposition leader named in Prime Minister Emmanuel Issozet Ngondet&#8217;s cabinet of 40 people is Bruno Ben Moubamba, who came in a distant third in the Aug. 27 vote.</p>
<p>Moubamba was chosen as deputy prime minister and minister for urbanisation and social habitats.</p>
<p>President Ali Bongo was declared the election winner by fewer than 6,000 votes. France called for a recount, and the European Union said it found anomalies in Bongo&#8217;s stronghold province of Haut-Ogooue, where he won 95 percent on a 99.9 percent turnout.</p>
<p>Bongo became leader in 2009 on the death of his father, who ruled for 42 years. The win gives Bongo another seven years in office.</p>
<p>Ping said last week he did not recognize Bongo&#8217;s legitimacy and called for talks on his own terms to form a new republic, spurning an offer of dialogue by the president.</p>
<p>Most members of the new government came from the ruling party, despite previous statements by the government that it sought a political opening with the opposition. The cabinet includes 12 women.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Gabon names new government, no opposition members of Ping

<p>Congo Republic plans to cut its budget by 24.3 percent in 2017 to 2.74 trillion CFA francs ($4.7 billion) as it reins in public spending following this year&#8217;s presidential election, the government said late on Friday.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the government expects GDP growth to rise from 2.6 percent this year to 3.4 percent next year thanks to several new oil blocks which are expected to come online, government spokesman Thierry Moungalla said in a statement.</p>
<p>Congo is on track to reverse a decline in production and leapfrog Equatorial Guinea to become sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s third-largest crude producer by next year.</p>
<p>However, it is the most resource-dependent country in the world, according to the World Bank, with commodities accounting for nearly 60 percent of economic output and with about half the population in poverty.</p>
<p>President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled Congo for 32 of the last 37 years, extended his time in office by winning re-election in March this year after changing the constitution to allow himself to stand for a third consecutive term.</p>
<p>Sassou Nguesso had encouraged the government &#8220;to set an example by reducing the operating costs of the state,&#8221; the statement said.</p>
<p> </p>


Congo republic govt sees 2017 GDP growth rising to 3.4 pct

<p>Democratic Republic of Congo will form an interim government that includes opposition members, as part of a deal to set up new elections and break a political impasse, Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said.</p>
<p>The announcement came after backers of President Joseph Kabila and some opposition members agreed on Wednesday on the timing of those elections, a question that has caused more than a year of debate and led to violent protests and arrests.</p>
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<p>However, most major opposition parties are boycotting the talks. They see them as part of Kabila&#8217;s plan to justify staying in power beyond the end of his mandate in December, when he is due to step down under the constitution.</p>
<p>&#8220;The government will be redone. We will put in place a government that we will co-manage between the presidential majority, the opposition and civil society,&#8221; said Mwamba, who is representing Kabila&#8217;s political supporters in the talks.</p>
<p>It was unclear which opposition members would become part of the new government.</p>
<p>Opposition leaders this week walked out of talks on the timing of the presidential election. The vote had been set for November, but the authorities now say it cannot be held before next July.</p>
<p>The opposition had insisted the presidential election should be held next. The government said local elections should come first, which would probably delay the presidential vote further.</p>
<p>The government and a group of opposition parties agreed on Wednesday the presidential vote would be combined with legislative and provincial elections, although no specific dates were set. Local elections will come later.</p>
<p>&#8220;This opens the way to a calendar that will mention the exact date of the handover of power between the old president of the republic &#8230; and the newly elected president,&#8221; said Vital Kamerhe, one of the leading negotiators for the opposition.</p>
<p>Despite the apparent advance in the negotiations, efforts to broker a peaceful exit from power for Kabila, who has led Africa&#8217;s leading copper producer since the assassination of his father in 2001, remain fragile.</p>
<p>Congo has never experienced a non-violent transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.</p>
<p>Diplomats and observers fear the crisis could trigger a repeat of civil wars that killed millions of people between 1996 and 2003.</p>
<p> </p>


Congo to form interim government that includes opposition members

<p>Guinea Bissau political rivals have agreed to a road map that includes the formation of a new government, according to a statement from regional mediators seeking to end a year-long political crisis in the West African country.</p>
<p>President Jose Mario Vaz dismissed prime minister Domingos Simoes Pereira in August 2015 and the country&#8217;s political institutions have been paralysed by infighting since then.</p>
<p>Observers hoped the appointment of Baciro Dja as prime minister in May would ease the deadlock but he has failed to win the support of a key faction within the ruling PAIGC party.</p>
<p>The United Nations has warned that the crisis might benefit drug traffickers and attract &#8220;extremist terrorist groups&#8221; seeking to gain a foothold in the region.</p>
<p>The former Portuguese colony is notoriously unstable and has seen nine coups or attempted coups since 1980. The turbulence has helped it become a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe.</p>
<p>A team of mediators from regional bloc ECOWAS, led by neighbouring Guinea&#8217;s President Alpha Conde and Sierra Leone&#8217;s Ernest Bai Koroma, spent Saturday in talks with stakeholders in the capital Bissau.</p>
<p>&#8220;The (parties consulted) have all shown their support for the plan proposed by mediators,&#8221; said Guinea&#8217;s government late on Saturday, after meetings with the president, prime minister, PAIGC as well as the main opposition party PRS.</p>
<p>&#8220;The signals being sent are reassuring that the crisis in Guinea Bissau is beginning to ease,&#8221; the statement said.</p>
<p>The six-point plan includes a preliminary agreement to form a consensus government, an agreement to reform the constitution and the defence sector, it said.</p>
<p>It gave no timeframe for the new government.</p>
<p>Previous internal and external efforts to resolve the political deadlock have failed.</p>
<p>The crisis has prevented parliament from agreeing budgets and has blocked international aid on which the poor, cashew-exporting country of 1.7 million depends.</p>
<p>The country faces a budget shortfall after the IMF said it would withhold future payments unless the government backtracks on loan bailouts for two private banks.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Guinea Bissau to end crisis, signs deal

<p>Zimbabwe&#8217;s main public service union on Friday rejected government plans to cut 25,000 jobs and suspend annual bonuses, saying that would hurt workers already struggling to make ends meet.</p>
<p>The Apex Council, a grouping of all state sector unions, demanded talks with the government over the plan that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said is essential to ensure the country can keep paying its staff.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe these measures are ill-conceived and can only further entrench the doom and gloom that has become the lot of the average civil servant,&#8221; said Cecelia Alexander, head of the Apex Council which called a two-day walkout by teachers, doctors and nurses over pay delays in July, part of the biggest strike in Zimbabwe in 10 years.</p>
<p>In a budget statement on Thursday, Chinamasa said state sector wages took up 97 percent of total revenues collected between January and June, a situation that could destabilise the economy.</p>
<p>It also meant the government risked being unable to pay salaries, Chinamasa said, proposing the suspension of annual bonuses for state employees in 2016 and 2017 to save $180 million annually.</p>
<p>Last year, Chinamasa made similar proposals but was forced to back down by President Robert Mugabe who told him to find the money elsewhere.</p>
<p>Under Chinamasa&#8217;s plan, the civil service would shed 25,000 jobs, reducing the workforce to 273,000 by the end of 2017. Salaries for ministers and senior officials would be cut by up to 20 percent and Zimbabwe would close some embassies abroad.</p>
<p>Unable to get funds from international lenders, Zimbabwe is in its worst financial crisis since adopting the U.S. dollar in 2009. Economic difficulties have fueled political tensions, with anti-government protests over cash shortages and unemployment.</p>
<p>Chinamasa is leading Zimbabwe&#8217;s re-engagement with lenders including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank which are demanding cuts in the wages bill and the clearance of $1.8 billion in debt arrears before they agree to new funding.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Zimbabwe public workers reject government job cuts plan

<p>Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos fired Finance Minister Armando Manuel on Monday two months after the government of Africa&#8217;s biggest oil producer broke off talks with the IMF over emergency funding.</p>
<p>A statement said Manuel, who was appointed in 2013 and whose term had been due to run to 2017, would be replaced by capital markets commission head Augusto Archer de Sousa Hose, more commonly known as Archer Mangueira.</p>
<p>Over the last two years, Manuel had presided over an economic slump caused by a sharp drop in oil prices that sapped dollar inflows, hammered the kwanza and prompted heavy government borrowing.</p>
<p>The kwanza slid more than 30 percent against the dollar in 2015, and in January the central bank allowed for another 15 percent weakening to 155 against the dollar.</p>
<p>The currency was bid at 165/dollar on Monday, according to Thomson Reuters data. On the black market, it has been trading as low as 600.</p>
<p>Before his appointment, 53-year-old Mangueira was President of Angola&#8217;s Capital Markets Commission, making him a familiar face to foreign investors, and had recently been brought onto the central committee of the ruling MPLA party.</p>
<p>Diplomats said his promotion was not a major surprise, especially in the wake of the government&#8217;s decision in late June to end emergency financing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).</p>
<p>Angola&#8217;s economic slump has fuelled opposition to dos Santos&#8217; 36-year rule, although the MPLA re-elected him as its leader last month ahead parliamentary elections in 2017.</p>
<p> </p>


Angolan finance minister fired by President

<p>Zimbabwe has banned all demonstrations in the capital Harare for the next two weeks because they are likely to cause public disorder, according to a government notice issued on Thursday.</p>
<p>President Robert Mugabe&#8217;s opponents have become emboldened by rising public anger over an economic meltdown, cash shortages and high unemployment. Violence erupted last Friday when police fired teargas at opposition leaders and hundreds of demonstrators. [nL8N1B71KE]</p>
<p>The government notice said the police decided to impose a 14-day ban on all forms of protests in the capital after an assessment by the police commander for Harare, district Chief Superintendent Newbert Saunyama.</p>
<p>People who organise or participate in demonstrations during the period could be fined and jailed for up to a year.</p>
<p>Saunyama declined to comment further, while national police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said she had no details.</p>
<p>Douglas Mwonzora, legal secretary for the National Electoral Reforms Agenda which was planning a march on Friday to present demands to the electoral commission, said the protest had been postponed to September 17.</p>
<p>&#8220;The notice is definitely unconstitutional but there is not enough time to challenge it and get a judgment before the demonstration tomorrow, so we decided to postpone it,&#8221; Mwonzora said.</p>
<p>Opposition parties say the electoral commission is biased in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF and is run by security agencies loyal to Mugabe, charges the commission denies. Mugabe, 92, has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.</p>


government

South Africa's Treasury supports minimum wage recommendation

Gauteng: Disposal of non-core assets

Mali ethnic militia group says it will lay down its arms

Irregular South Africa government expenditure up 80 pct

South Africa's mining chamber says court decision limits power of safety inspectors

Zimbabwe says has 321,000 tonnes of strategically reserved maize

S.A: State Capture Report calls for commission of inquiry

Guinea signs $770 mln contract with Chinese firm to develop main port

Police disperse Cape Town student protesters

Retailers have a role in transforming S.A’s economy – Pick n Pay

Gabon names new government, no opposition members of Ping

Congo republic govt sees 2017 GDP growth rising to 3.4 pct

Congo to form interim government that includes opposition members

Guinea Bissau to end crisis, signs deal

Zimbabwe public workers reject government job cuts plan

Angolan finance minister fired by President

No demonstrations in Zimbabwe for two weeks says govt

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government

South Africa's Treasury supports minimum wage recommendation

Gauteng: Disposal of non-core assets

Mali ethnic militia group says it will lay down its arms

Irregular South Africa government expenditure up 80 pct

South Africa's mining chamber says court decision limits power of safety inspectors

Zimbabwe says has 321,000 tonnes of strategically reserved maize

S.A: State Capture Report calls for commission of inquiry

Guinea signs $770 mln contract with Chinese firm to develop main port

Police disperse Cape Town student protesters

Retailers have a role in transforming S.A’s economy – Pick n Pay

Gabon names new government, no opposition members of Ping

Congo republic govt sees 2017 GDP growth rising to 3.4 pct

Congo to form interim government that includes opposition members

Guinea Bissau to end crisis, signs deal

Zimbabwe public workers reject government job cuts plan

Angolan finance minister fired by President

No demonstrations in Zimbabwe for two weeks says govt

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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