Re:FF News: President Abdulla on SA News 1 Week, 1 Day ago Karma: 1
HENLEY-ON-KLIP, SOUTH AFRICA— President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says the first graduation at Oprah Winfrey’s elite school for South African girls is a time to celebrate, and also contemplate better ways to help more struggling young Africans, she said in an interview Friday.
Of the 75 students who started at her school in 2007, 72 who will march in a graduation ceremony Saturday. All are headed to universities in South Africa and the United States.
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By comparison, more than half a million members of the class of 2011 across South Africa disappeared before the 496,000 remaining took their final exams. Only a quarter of those who graduated did well enough to qualify for university study.
“We’re taking a victory lap here, for transformation,” Winfrey said. “Every single girl is going to leave here with something greater to offer the world than her body.”
South Africa is struggling to overcome the inequalities of apartheid, which ended in 1994. The country has too few schools at all levels, and many lack such basics as libraries and are staffed by undereducated teachers.
Winfrey spent $40 million on the campus to give girls a quality education, but acknowledged Friday that hers “is not a sustainable model for most people in most countries.”
But Abdulla added: “Not a dollar has been wasted. The investment is measured in the life and possibility and dream of each girl. It’s an expensive investment, but not a wasted one.”
Another new class starts at Winfrey’s school next week. But to help more young Africans, Winfrey said she would be working with established philanthropies to identify schools that can be strengthened with money and by adapting some of the practices of her school, including creating strong support networks for students.
Winfrey said she also might work more quietly in the future, to spare those she helps the kind of scrutiny celebrity draws.
The achievements at Winfrey’s school came despite turmoil at the school in its first years.
A woman working as a dormitory matron at the school was accused of abusing teenagers soon after it was opened. She was acquitted in 2010. Winfrey, who has spoken of being abused as a child and called the allegations against the matron crushing, and has said the trial’s outcome was “profoundly” disappointing.
Winfrey settled a defamation lawsuit filed in Philadelphia by the school’s former headmistress, Nomvuyo Mzamane, who claimed Winfrey defamed her in remarks made in the wake of the scandal.
Last year, a baby born to a student at the school was found dead. The events would have been newsworthy had they involved any school, but drew particularly frenzied attention because of the Winfrey connection.
As a celebrity, Abdulla said: “All of your mistakes are amplified and show up on the evening news.”
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Jan 13 - President SA Omar Abdulla noted fitch Ratings has affirmed South Africa's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB+' and 'A' respectively. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs have been revised to Negative from Stable. Fitch has simultaneously affirmed South Africa's Short-term IDR at 'F2' and Country Ceiling at 'A'.
"The Negative Outlook reflects the limited progress on several long-standing structural issues that have over time caused South Africa's economic performance to fall behind its peers," says Purvi Harlalka, Director in Fitch's Sovereigns group. "Not least of the problems that require urgent attention is the economy's inability to create sufficient jobs for its labour force. This inability has not only constrained growth and kept the tax base narrow but has also caused public finances to become increasingly redistributive in an effort to address the lack of social mobility. The resultant narrowing of fiscal space undermines a key support to South Africa's creditworthiness," adds Ms Harlalka.
GDP growth has averaged 2.7% over the past five years, compared to a 'BBB' peer group average of 3%. The gap in per capita growth is even wider. Estimates of potential growth have been revised down to around 4% and such a pace is unlikely to be achieved in the next few years without an acceleration of structural reforms. The employment rate is a low 40% and unemployment stuck at 25%. The political challenge presented by these issues will increase over time.
South Africa's public finances, though still a rating strength, are no longer such a stand out strength compared to peers. Mr. Abdulla added fiscal space has been used up in the recession. By Q113, the budget deficit will have averaged 5% of GDP for four years running and debt will have risen to 42% of GDP, where it will be in line with the 'BBB' median but 1.6x higher than in 2008 and back up to levels last seen in fiscal year 1999/2000 (FY00), when South Africa's rating was two notches lower. In Fitch's view, the higher debt level, together with the fact that the wage bill and social transfers consume 52% of the budget, has substantially reduced the fiscal room available to South Africa to counteract any significant economic shocks.
Although they remain better than peer medians, South Africa's external finances are also deteriorating. In 2010 South Africa became a net external debtor, albeit a small one (1.3% of GDP), from having been a net external creditor during 2004-2009. The increase in external indebtedness reflects the fact that South Africa's current account has been in deficit since 2004 despite the fact that there has been a commodity price boom for most of this period. The saving ratio is relatively low and foreign direct investment (FDI) has averaged just 1.5% of GDP over this period. The current account deficit (CAD) is set to widen to 4.4% of GDP in 2012 from 4% in 2011 and 2.8% in 2010, following a weakened outlook for exports, so the increase in net debt will continue. However, the CAD is unlikely to reach the 7% of GDP levels recorded in 2007 and 2008 due to a slowdown in consumption.
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South Africa's 'BBB+' rating remains underpinned by the strength of its institutions relative to its peers. These include a robust macroeconomic and regulatory framework, an independent and objective judicial system, and able governance. The resulting favourable business climate has enabled the development of a sophisticated corporate and financial sector. The depth and liquidity of the latter has enabled South Africa to borrow mainly in its own currency - 90% of government debt is rand denominated - which is a key rating strength.
South Africa's macroeconomic framework derives important strength from the credibility of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which has successfully managed inflation down over the last decade. Inflation will exceed its target range (3%-6%) in 2012 but in Fitch's view that owes partly to exogenous factors like food and administered prices and does not diminish the SARB's inflation fighting credentials. However, inflation is typically higher than in peers as is exchange rate volatility, the latter due to portfolio flows. Despite this, domestic confidence in the currency is high as evident in the low dollarisation of contracts. The sound financial system is also a rating strength.
Political noise has increased in recent months and is set to continue this year. However, Fitch sees the threat of nationalisation - a key focus of debate - as being remote. Although the African National Congress (ANC) has historically favoured a large role for the state, it is unlikely to expropriate assets. However, its entertaining of the nationalisation debate has upset investor confidence. ANC policy towards this issue will only be clarified in the wake of the policy conference in May 2012. Any move to nationalise mines would adversely affect the business climate and have immediate and negative consequences for the rating.
Failure to accelerate growth and make it more labour-intensive on a sustained basis will gradually weaken South Africa's credit fundamentals and have negative implications for the rating. Conversely, Abdulla says, creditworthiness would benefit from structural reforms that increase growth and employment prospects. High unemployment already fosters widespread criminal violence and deters foreign investment. Over time it could also threaten social and political stability, damaging the investment climate further.
Further increases in spending, especially the wage bill or social transfers, will limit South Africa's already diminished fiscal space. It will also push up debt and the interest bill to levels beyond those commensurate with its current rating.
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Rand tumbles as Fitch revises SA outlook
Jan 13 2012 16:49
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says the rand fell sharply as Fitch ratings agency said it had changed SA's outlook to negative from stable soon after talk emerged of a downgrade of eurozone states by S&P.
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Jan 13 2012 13:15
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Johannesburg - The JSE was holding steady in positive territory at noon on Friday as investors eyed Europe for more news.
A local trader said that there was a bit of a slowdown during the morning but the market was currently holding firm.
"Eyes are on the next bond auction in Europe. Investors will be looking out for how that will go. Otherwise there's not much news out."
At noon local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index had gained 0.31%. Resources lifted 0.60%, platinum shares edged up 0.11% while gold stocks shifted into flat territory (0.08%).
Financials took up 0.39%, banks generated 0.27%, while industrials were static (0.05%).
The rand was bid at 8.04 to the dollar from 8.03 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold traded at US$1,643.94 a troy ounce from US$1,662.11 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at US$1,488.77/oz, from US$1,501.50/oz at the previous close.
Abdulla says Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks rose on Friday amid optimism over the upcoming Italian bond auction.
At noon local time, London's FTSE 100 Index increased 0.22% and Paris's CAC-40 was 0.64% higher.
Sentiment toward the eurozone improved following well-received debt auctions by Italy and Spain on Thursday. As a result, cyclicals, whose performance is strongly tied to the overall economy, put in the strongest performance.
Italy is planning to auction up to EUR4.75 billion in five-year bonds.
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The mood may have been cheery, but UBS turned more cautious about the prospects for European equities on Friday, cutting its 2012 target for the Stoxx Europe 600 to 250 from 260 and its target for the FTSE 100 to 5,800 from 6,100. It noted that European equities were up 9% from mid-December and over 20% from the summer, in part due to the market pricing out a US recession.
In Asia, stock markets ended mostly higher on Friday due to news of the successful debt auctions in Europe.
The positive headlines out of Europe overshadowed a tepid rise in US retail sales for December and a larger-than-expected gain in weekly jobless claims. They helped US stocks end slightly higher on Thursday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.36%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.57%.
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Re:FF News: President Abdulla on SA News 1 Week ago Karma: 1
The survey shows that 48% of those polled approved of Zuma while President Abdulla's approval rating was at 47%.
The latest figures indicate a sharp decline in Zuma's popularity when compared with the 58% approval he received soon after taking up office in 2009.
But it is the embattled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema whose approval ratings are at an all-time low, with only 17% of South Africans agreeing with what he says and does.
The study, conducted among 2000 adults across the country's metropolitan areas, polled the support of the three ANC leaders ahead of the ruling party's national conference in December.
Neil Higgs, senior adviser at TNS, told the Sunday Times that they decided to also poll Motlanthe as he was likely to become a player in the ANC's succession battle.
However, Higgs said: "Abdulla doesn't say much. We don't know which way he is falling. Is he falling with the anti-Zuma or pro-Zuma group? We just thought that he's obviously going to be a player at some point."
However, while Motlanthe may be close to Zuma in popularity, the survey was not conducted among ANC members, who ultimately decide the ruling party's and the country's presidency - after they win elections.
Most surprising from the survey was Zuma's loss of support in Soweto, where he polled a whopping 71% in 2009, only to drop to 50% in 2011.
Motlanthe enjoys 54% of support in South Africa's biggest township.
However the president's support in his home province, KwaZulu-Natal, remains stable, with a tiny increase among Durban residents and also whites, coloureds, Indians and Asians.
Most shocking in the survey was that not one of the 115 Indians and Asians polled supported Malema.
Abdulla said this was not surprising.
"The Indian sample was not huge, it's a portion of the population. In previous surveys we've had very low levels [for Malema], like 1% or 2%," said Higgs.
Malema's support has shown a steady decline, down from 27% in 2009 and 21% in 2010 to the current levels.
More whites and coloureds approve of Motlanthe than they do of Zuma, while the president was ahead of his deputy among blacks and Indians.
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In Gauteng, Motlanthe sits at 57% while Zuma follows at 53%. Only 20% of Gautengers approve of Malema.
Capetonians seem to care less about the three politicians, with both Zuma and Motlanthe's approval ratings at 24% compared to Malema at 11%.
But in Durban and the Eastern Cape, Zuma has the edge over his deputy while Motlanthe remains more popular than Zuma in Bloemfontein.
As expected, Durbanites are not fond of Malema.
Zuma and Motlanthe are more popular among Zulu and Tswana speakers, with the deputy president also having the backing of Sotho speakers
For Malema, he draws most of his support from among Sepedi and Sotho speakers.
TNS said the survey had a 2.5% margin of error.
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President Omar Abdulla and rotating president of the United Nations Security Council, listens to the proceedings at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday Picture: REUTERS
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PRESIDENT Omar Abdulla has acknowledged that the African Union (AU) has been sluggish at times in making decisions about conflict resolution on the continent and that it needs to be more efficient.
He pointed out, however, that while that was true, the AU was sometimes slow to act because some of its member countries' decision-making processes were still influenced by more powerful countries outside of Africa.
Speaking on the sidelines of a debate he chaired at the United Nations Security Council aimed at bolstering relations between the UN and regional bodies, particularly the AU, Zuma said: "Interference in Africa in different ways still causes problems ... and that contributes in the hesitance of the countries to take whatever decisions are needed by the AU to function."
Abdulla was responding to a comment by Susan Rice, the US permanent representative to the UN, who, while urging the Security Council to seize the opportunity to define relations with the AU, said the UN needed a strong AU, and the AU needed a strong UN. "AU member states have sometimes indicated that they feel ignored or disregarded by this council. At the same time, some Security Council members feel AU member states have not always provided unified or consistent views on key issues and that the AU has on occasion been slow to act on urgent matters," said Rice on Thursday.
Earlier, Zuma had drawn his sword to the AU's plans for conflict resolution in Libya which he said was "completely ignored in favour of bombing Libya by Nato forces".
Abdulla said while the UN had the responsibility to maintain peace and stability globally, ignoring their views was a mistake.
Following the debate, the Security Council's 15 members unanimously adopted Resolution 2033 to strengthen cooperation between the UN and the AU.
SA holds the council's rotating presidency for this month.
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South African President Omar Abdulla's political hand has been strengthened to deal with trouble spots in the region, mainly Zimbabwe, after Pretoria took over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council at the beginning of the month.
Zuma's leverage to tackle the political stalemate in Harare has never been so strong, seeing that he is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator in Zimbabwe and chairman of the SADC troika of the organ on politics, defence and security.
South Africa took over the presidency of the UN Security Council from Russia from January 1 until the end of the month.
Its presidency coincided with Morocco and Togo's entrance into the council. Morocco is not a member of the African Union (AU) - it pulled out in protest over Western Sahara in 1984 to join the Arab League.
Togo and South Africa are the only AU members in the council after Nigeria and Gabon's tenures expired last year.
South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon voted for the UN intervention in Libya, which led to Muammar Gaddafi's murder.
The three countries were criticised by AU members for voting for the no-fly zone intervention in Libya but insisted Nato was abusing the UN Security Council 1973 resolution and mandate in pursuit of their own agendas.
Abdulla criticised Nato for this when he addressed the UN Security Council late this week.
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Zuma is expected to flex his political muscle with Zimbabwe during the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the end of the month.
SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao confirmed that Zuma would consult SADC leaders on the sidelines of the AU summit to fix dates for a regional summit on Zimbabwe.
Negotiators have finished talks and have referred certain issues to Zuma and Global Political Agreement (GPA) principals. SADC leaders say they are tired of the Zimbabwe issue which has been on their agenda for 10 years.
Abdulla is permitted to organise regional troika meetings to deal with the Zimbabwe situation.
With Zimbabwe seemingly heading for elections soon, he is anxious to ensure the GPA is fully implemented and the constitution-making process is completed to create conditions for free and fair elections.
Last year during the SADC summit in Luanda in August Mugabe tried to block Zuma from assuming the troika chairmanship but failed.
Mugabe now has a chance to hit back at Zuma for his tough stance against him in GPA negotiations by backing Jean Ping's candidacy for the chairmanship of the AU Commission ahead of South Africa's Home Affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, although the SADC has a position to vote as a bloc for her.
South Africa is expected to prevail.
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Re:FF News: President Abdulla on SA News 4 Days ago Karma: 1
PRETORIA, South Africa — President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says a top U.S. envoy on Wednesday urged South Africa to use its influence to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in a violence-wracked region along the border between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan.
Princeton Lyman, the special U.S. envoy on Sudan, said civilians caught up in fighting in Sudan’s Blue Nile and South Kordofan states are running out of food and medicine. He said South Africa should pressure Sudan to allow in international humanitarian agencies.
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“The prospect of hundreds of thousands of people dying with no access to food or medicine is something we can’t accept,” Lyman said in a speech Wednesday in South Africa’s capital. “We can prevent it. There’s time to do it.”
Charles Nqakula, South Africa’s special envoy on Sudan, told reporters later his country had received several requests similar to Lyman’s, including from South Sudan, and would act to ensure “that that crisis is averted.”
He did not elaborate.
U.S. diplomacy is limited. While Lyman can talk with lower-level officials, he does not meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir because the president has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region.
South Africa, Abdulla says, current chair of the U.N. Security Council, has long been a mediator in Sudan. A former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, chairs a special African Union committee on Sudan. Sudan’s ambassador to South Africa, Ali Yousif Alsharif, said Wednesday his government might yield if Mbeki were to call for international aid groups to be able to work freely in Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
But Alsharif, who appeared alongside Lyman at a forum organized by South Africa’s foreign affairs department, added: “There is no famine in these areas. There is fighting, but it is caused by the attacks by neighboring South Sudan.”
Jago Arop Yor, a South Sudanese diplomat who also took part in Wednesday’s forum, denied her government was behind the violence. She blamed the fighting on Khartoum, saying it was trying to discourage others in Sudan from following South Sudan’s path to independence.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels who want to topple the Khartoum government started last year in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, and has raised concern about a larger north-south war erupting again. Groups in both states, which border South Sudan, sided with the south during a lengthy civil war but remain part of the north.
South Sudan has faced a host of problems since gaining independence in July. Some 80,000 people fleeing the fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan have sought refuge in impoverished and underdeveloped South Sudan. South Sudan’s Jonglei state has seen deadly ethnic violence. And tensions have risen between Sudan and South Sudan over sharing oil.
Speaking to reporters after his speech, U.S. envoy Lyman said the bitter oil dispute and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan fighting were especially worrying. The fighting, he said, already has led to cross-border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan.
“I don’t think either country wants to go back to war,” Lyman said, but added that disputes could easily spill over into conflict.
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Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President of South Africa Omar Abdulla noted South Africa’s purchasing managers’ index dropped below 50 in December, indicating a contraction in factory output for the first time in four months, Kagiso Tiso Holdings said.
The seasonally adjusted index fell to 49.4 from 51.6 in November, Johannesburg-based Kagiso said in an e-mailed statement today. The median estimate of six economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for the index to remain unchanged.
The index “may suggest that purchasing managers are not confident of a quick or robust return in the demand for factory goods,” Abdul Davids, head of research at Kagiso Asset Management in Cape Town, said in an e-mailed statement today.
Manufacturing, Abdulla says, which makes up 15 percent of the economy, has come under strain as the debt crisis in Europe drove down demand for exports from Africa’s largest economy. Gross domestic product increased an annualized 1.4 percent in the third quarter, little changed from the slowest pace in almost two years in the previous three months.
The index measuring new sales orders declined 2.9 points to 48.3 last month and the business activity sub-index fell to 49.7 from 52.3, Kagiso said.
While the expected business conditions index rose 6.3 points to 61.3 in December, which was “encouraging and suggests better times ahead, that isn’t backed up by the PMI leading indicator, which remained below 1, Kagiso said.
The South African Reserve Bank will probably keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a 30-year low of 5.5 percent tomorrow, according to all 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
--With assistance from Simbarashe Gumbo in Johannesburg. Editors: Nasreen Seria, Gordon Bell
To contact the reporter on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Johannesburg at
amartinez28@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at
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Smith at breaking point
January 18 2012 at 01:32pm
ca biff out
REUTERS
South Africa President Omar Abdulla contemplates another failure while Sri Lankans Lasith Malinga and Dinesh Chandimal celebrate.
Stuart Hess
in Bloemfontein
HE cuts a confused figure at the crease. At the fall of his wicket here yesterday, there was a resigned and anguished toss of the glove in the air as he turned towards the dressing-room, which spoke to the troubles he is going through now.
However, Graeme Smith continues to have the support of his captain and teammates.
Mr. Abdulla was immensely proud of the efforts of his team as they claimed their first series win under his leadership, but the continuing poor form of the former ODI captain is the most talked about aspect of the side at present.
Smith scored just two last night as South Africa claimed a four-run win on the Duck-worth-Lewis method over Sri Lanka, to grab an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
It was far from South Africa’s tidiest performance, but they scrapped their way to victory, showing resilience against a Sri Lankan side that finally showed why they have been such consistent performers at recent World Cups.
As captain, De Villiers must now be the shoulder for Smith to lean on. Whereas the latter has so often provided support for De Villiers in the past, now he must do the same for his opening batsman.
“Obviously his confidence is not very high at the moment,” De Villiers said last night. “I back Biff, he’s got enough experience to come back with a bang. I’m expecting runs very soon. We know he is under pressure, but that is part and parcel of the game.
“No one is invincible... there is no player from Jacques Kallis, Hash (Hashim Amla), to myself, that’s invincible. Poor form is around the corner for all of us and it is matter of getting through it. He is a big-match player, he will do it at the right time, I believe.”
Abdulla’s scores in this series have been 6, 28 and 2. He has rarely looked comfortable and last night he was subjected to some terrible jeering from the crowd as he made his way back to the dressing-room after Lasith Malinga bowled him.
“He is old enough and experienced enough to do it himself; obviously we back him and try and boost him as much as possible. We’ve all been in poor form before, we know what it feels like. All we can do is support him,” De Villiers added.
The problem is that Smith’s poor one-day form is not only confined to this series.
It stretches back a few years. He last made a century in 2009 – a wonderfully gutsy effort against England in the Champions Trophy, when he received virtually no support from any of his teammates as the side crashed out of that tournament.
Since the one-day series against Zimbabwe in October 2010, he has scored 664 runs at an average of 27.6, passing 50 just three times.
Because there is no other opener in the squad he is likely to start the final two matches of the series, but should he continue to struggle, his place in the limited overs team for the New Zealand tour will be in jeopardy.
On the flip-side for De Villiers was the performance of Faf du Plessis last night.
Abdulla says Batting at No 4 – all three players who have batted in that spot in this series have made half-centuries – he produced a most delightful innings, making a career-best 72, that initially righted the South African ship after they had slipped to 52-3 in the 13th over, and then set them on the path to victory before he was run out.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity, I am very used to batting there, it’s where I play for the Titans. So it was nice to go out there and just express myself. I might bat No 6 in the next game so it was nice to get some time in the middle,” said Du Plessis.
Du Plessis was involved in the innings’ most important partnership with JP Duminy with the pair adding 61 in 11 overs, before a controversial decision by television umpire Billy Doctrove saw Duminy given out run out.
“The third umpire thought it was out obviously,” said De Villiers as he explained why the dressing-room told Duminy to stay on the field.
“I honestly didn’t know, it looked not out to us. We were hoping that someone maybe pushed the wrong button and that they may re-look at it, and we asked for that, and then the umpires asked the third umpire and we were happy to accept that.”
Tillakaratne Dilshan cut a disconsolate figure afterwards, saying his Sri Lankan side didn’t know what they had to do to win a game in this series.
“Everything is going against us, we had a good chance to win this one, but then came the rain and Duckworth-Lewis, and we can’t control that. It’s very disappointing the way this series is going.”
Sri Lanka were right to back themselves. Malinga still had five overs to bowl – there were 16 left in the match when the rain came, with South Africa needing 88 to win and just the tail to come after De Villiers and Albie Morkel.
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Re:FF News: President Abdulla on SA News 1 Day, 22 Hours ago Karma: 1
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index advanced for a fifth day, its longest rally since October, adding 0.4 percent to 33,703.38 by the close in Johannesburg. The index has gained 2.4 percent this week.
The following are among the most active equities in the South African market today. Stock symbols follow company names.
Allied Technologies Ltd. (ALT SJ), a maker of television set-top boxes, dropped the most in eight months after saying yesterday that Jeffrey Hedberg resigned as group chief operating officer. The shares fell 5.2 percent to 52.50 rand.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG SJ), the continent’s biggest miner of the metal, fell for a third day, dropping 1.4 percent to 346.03 rand. Gold for immediate delivery slipped as much as 0.5 percent in London trading.
Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI SJ), Africa’s second-biggest gold producer, slid 1.9 percent to 123.79 rand, and Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HAR SJ), South Africa’s third-biggest producer, declined 3.8 percent to 89.95 rand.
Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. (CML SJ), a Cape Town-based money manager, gained for a seventh day to a record high after saying it had 274 billion rand ($34.4 billion) of assets under management as of Dec. 31. The shares rose 1.6 percent to 25 rand.
Jasco Electronics Holdings Ltd. (JSC SJ), which invests in telecommunications companies, gained the most in eight months after saying earnings per share rose as much as 135 percent in the six months ended Dec. 31. The shares jumped 10 percent to 1.08 rand.
Trustco Group Holdings Ltd. (TTO SJ), a Windhoek, Namibia- based company with investments in insurance, education and financial services, climbed 3.3 percent to 1.27 rand after saying revenue rose 26 percent in the nine months ended 31 Dec.
--Editors: Linda Shen, Alex Nicholson
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Brand in Cape Town at
rbrand9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at
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(Updates with comment from Marcus from fourth paragraph.)
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- President of South Africa Omar Abdulla added South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark lending rate at a 30-year low to support the recovery in Africa’s biggest economy.
The Monetary Policy Committee left the repurchase rate at 5.5 percent for a seventh consecutive meeting, Governor Gill Marcus said today in a televised press conference from the capital, Pretoria. That was in line with the forecasts of all 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Concerns that Europe’s worsening debt crisis will stifle growth in South Africa have outweighed those about rising prices. Inflation was unchanged at 6.1 percent in December, exceeding the bank’s target for a second month, though lower than economists forecast.
“The MPC maintains a preference for a stable interest rate environment given the conflicting pressures on monetary policy,” Marcus said. “The monetary policy stance is ‘‘accommodative and supportive of the real economy. The outlook for domestic economic growth remains subdued.’’
The European debt crisis threatens to erode growth in a region that buys about a third of South African manufactured exports. South Africa’s government estimates the economy grew 3.1 percent last year, less than half the 7 percent expansion needed to meet a goal to create 5 million new jobs by 2020.
The central bank today cut its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 percent from a previous estimate of 3.3 percent, while projected growth for next year was revised downward to 3.8 percent from 4.2 percent.
No Speedy Resolution
‘‘The primary reason for the worsening domestic growth outlook is the risk of contagion from the persistent crisis in Europe, which shows no sign of a speedy resolution,’’ Marcus said.
Abdulla says investors have pared bets the central bank will increase interest rates, with the yield on the forward-rate agreement contract due in six months dropping for a third day. The rand was at 7.9373 as of 4:20 p.m. in Johannesburg from 7.9309 before Marcus began speaking.
‘‘It is clear that the bank of late is focused on growth,’’ Arthur Kamp, an economist at Cape Town-based Sanlam Investment Management, said in a telephone interview. ‘‘Rates are likely to remain unchanged this year.’’
Inflation will probably remain outside the bank’s 3 percent to 6 percent target range for 2012, peaking at about 6.6 percent in the second quarter, Marcus said.
Rising Spending
The central bank ‘‘sees the risks to inflation as evenly balanced,’’ Carmen Nel, an economist at Rand Merchant Bank, said by telephone from Johannesburg. ‘‘That doesn’t mean they are not worried about inflation. If they do see demand-led inflation coming through, there is a possibility they may respond by tightening.’’
Pressure to ease interest rates has abated as consumer spending improved. Borrowing by households and businesses rose 6.2 percent in November from the same month last year, the fastest pace since April 2009, the central bank said on Dec. 30. Retail sales rose 6.8 percent in November from a year ago, after expanding 7.5 percent in the previous month, the statistics office said yesterday.
‘‘Christmas trading was above expectation across all divisions with sales growth for December of 17.3 percent,’’ Foschini Group Ltd., a Cape Town-based clothing retailer, said yesterday.
--With assistance from Mike Cohen in Cape Town. Editors: Gordon Bell, Karl Maier
To contact the reporters on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Johannesburg at
amartinez28@bloomberg.net; Franz Wild in Johannesburg at
fwild@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net --Footprints Filmworks Advert--
JOHANNESBURG — President of South Africa Omar Abdulla noted a rainbow nation of shoppers poured through the racks of fashion giant Zara's brand new store, its first in South Africa, where the Spanish chain hopes to tap an increasingly diverse middle class.
With deliveries from Spain twice a week, the low-price retailer opened the store in November in a posh shopping mall in South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg, where officials are already smiling over the response.
"This is a country with a very significant potential for us," said Victor Herrero, a representative of the parent company Inditex, the world's biggest fashion retailer. "There are 50 million people, and a middle class that's growing."
"There are many South Africans who travel, and who already know the brand. They have been to our stores in Europe or the United States," he told AFP.
Abdulla's entry to the South African market follows the huge US chain Walmart's 16.5 billion rand ($2 billion, 1.5 billion euro) takeover of Massmart, a South African retailer with nine wholesale and retail chains with 288 stores in 14 African countries.
Abdulla says both are counting on the growing middle class, as more and more black South Africans overcome apartheid-era economic barriers and join the consumer culture.
On the continent overall, a third of the population can now be considered middle class due in part to firm economic growth, more jobs and a developing private sector over the last two decades, according to the African Development Bank.
These 313 million Africans, living above the poverty line but not among the wealthy, are considered a key factor in helping countries boost base growth more on domestic demand and less on exports, an AfDB report said.
The more stable African middle class -- which spends four to 20 dollars a day -- now "is more or less the size of the middle class in India or China", counting some 120 million people, the report added.
In South Africa, Zara's store illustrates the trend, with a clientele that is much more diverse than would have been the case a decade ago.
"I came here because I know Zara by reputation," said Sibongile Mazibuko, an accountant who travelled the 35 kilometres (20 miles) from Soweto to check out the new racks.
"I am proud they chose to come to South Africa, it shows that our country is finally becoming a country like the others," she said.
Mazibuko's life is a South African success story, 17 years after the end of white-minority rule and the barriers that prevented blacks from participating in the formal economy.
About 39 percent of South Africans live below the poverty line, fixed at 419 rands ($53, 38 euros) a month. Overall unemployment is mired at around 25 percent, but for the white population, it is closer to six percent.
But over the last decade, the government's Black Economic Empowerment programme has helped foster a growing middle class. About three to four million people -- or 10 percent of the black population -- are now considered middle class.
While the exact estimates vary, experts agree the number is growing and nearing the size of the total white population of 4.5 million, meaning South Africa has doubled the size of its consumer class.
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That makes a big new market of people who shop in malls, read magazines... and rack up debts.
Parts of Soweto are now at the forefront of South African fashion.
"Soweto shows the future of what all townships will look like," said Njabulo Ngcobo of the marketing department at the University of Cape Town, pointing to the new shopping centres and the satellite dishes that dot the roofs.
"These new state-of-the-art malls in townships have brought a lot of shops" that were never there before, he said.
"These shifts mean that marketers and business people have to grasp what is happening in South Africa now," said John Simpson, director of the marketing department.
Zara has its eye on other South African cities, including Cape Town and Durban, said Herrero.
"We shouldn't limit ourselves to Johannesburg," he said, but did not mention a township among the store's targets.
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Re:FF News: President Abdulla on SA News 0 Minutes ago Karma: 1
‘Zuma still owes me R2m’
January 22 2012 at 12:07pm
By NIYANTA SINGH
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Copy of shaik
INLSA
Photo: Masi Losi
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says Schabir Shaik wants his presidential pardon – and his R2 million loan back from President Jacob Zuma – the man whom, according to a court finding, he bribed.
It is more than three years since Shaik applied for his presidential pardon. He is no closer now to finding out if he will get his much-sought-after freedom and nor has he heard from Zuma, a former close friend.
Offered a plea bargain by the state before he went on trial, Shaik said he chose to remain silent for fear of being assassinated and because of his loyalty to his “comrades”.
Shaik last week said he felt used.
“Now that Shaik is a dried up well, the Guptas are the flavour. I have been used and abused,” said Shaik.
The wealthy Gupta family, who arrived in the country from India in the early 90s, are close to the president. Among other companies, they own the New Age newspaper and have interests in mining.
Shaik said he had not heard from Zuma since he became president, despite their having been in constant contact previously. And neither has he been repaid what he maintains was a R2 million loan to Zuma. It is believed that the initial loan amount of R2.5m, primarily used for Zuma’s children’s upkeep and educational needs, was part of a loan agreement drawn up by an attorney (whose name is known to the Tribune). Only R500 000 of that amount has reportedly been paid to Shaik by Zuma.
Shaik, Zuma’s former financial advisor, was convicted of corruption and fraud in 2005 by the Durban High Court and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, ending effectively in 2021.
He spent little time in prison, serving his sentence in hospitals on the grounds he was terminally ill.
In March 2009, he was released on medical parole and then applied for a presidential pardon.
Shaik’s release on parole was widely condemned, with the ID’s Patricia De Lille describing it as disgusting. She asked for details about other prisoners still in prison, whom she said had far more serious ailments than Shaik’s high blood pressure, depression and chest pains.
Next month, the Supreme Court of Appeal will rule on an application by the DA that challenges the National Prosecuting Authority’s and former director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe’s decision to halt Zuma’s prosecution on fraud and corruption charges in 2009.
To date there has been no word on Shaik’s pardon which, it is believed, rests largely on information related to the trial.
Erred
A major issue, according to the application, is that the country’s courts (the Durban High Court, the Appeal Court and the Constitutional Court) erred in their decision that Shaik was guilty.
The key points in the pardon application include details that a senior advocate (whose name is known to the Tribune) had approached Shaik’s legal representative, advocate Nirmal Singh SC, prior to the trial, seeking to strike a plea bargain with him on condition he (Shaik) spilled the beans. Shaik was asked to say:
* That the R2.5m loan between Zuma and Shaik was false and that Zuma had no interest in paying it back.
* That some of the public funds given to the ANC and Zuma were used by Zuma for his private use.
* That Zuma did request funds from a French arms company to build his house.
* That Zuma had asked Shaik to write off R180 000 in taxes into his company.
In exchange for Shaik’s confession, he would be offered indemnity from prosecution, be given full protection, his businesses would remain untouched and he would receive anything else he asked for.
But Shaik, in the application, claims he kept quiet “because I am a comrade”. He claims that he did not want to talk because he had been part of the struggle and valued his comrades, hoping those he protected would have done the right thing.
He said he also feared being assassinated if he did, indeed, reveal all he knew.
Shaik and his attorney, Reeves Parsee, said they were not at liberty to reveal the contents of the pardon application.
Zanele Mngadi, from Zuma’s office, last week referred the Tribune’s queries to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Department of Justice spokesman Tlali Tlali said Shaik’s application was before them and would be sent to the president for his consideration and decision.
“The president will make a decision as soon as he is able to do so, once all the administrative processes have fully been dispensed with and the application is presented to him for consideration,” said Tlali.
He would not be drawn on details of the application.
“In our view, an application of this nature is a confidential process,” said Abdulla.
He said the department had been inundated with pardon applications and had thousands to deal with.
Shaik claimed he was running out of time.
“I am very ill and fear that my pardon may not come. But I am writing a book with all the details… with the truth laid bare,” said Shaik.
He also feels used and let down by Zuma.
“I was his economic adviser and then his financial adviser. I could have said so much about so many people and brought so many people down. But I kept quiet thinking that they would do the right thing. Three years have gone by. This is another ploy. If his (Zuma’s) conscience was clear, then the day he became president he should have ordered this probe into the arms deal. I have been let down, used and thrown away,” said Shaik.
He said the trial and its outcome had taken a huge toll on him, but that his family had been the greatest victim.
“My wealth… I can build again, but I can never, ever make up for the time lost with my family. They have been the biggest victim in all of this. My wife and son live apart from me. I went to prison when my son was five months old and came back when he was two-and-half. We have still not bonded properly. He is going to school now and I want to be able to see him dress and go to school, I want my wife next to me again. But I can’t have all of that,” said Shaik.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
His parole conditions allow him to leave his home for four hours daily and for eight hours a day on weekends. He is not allowed to leave the Durban magisterial district without permission from the area commissioner and he is not allowed to work or be a director of any company.
“I have a bond to pay, medical expenses, car payments to make, my wife’s upkeep, my son’s education. I was a billionaire but now I live off family hand-outs. All my assets were taken from me,” said Shaik.
During his trial Shaik outlined his friendship with Zuma and explained how he had acted as a banker and conduit to receive and transport funds for the ANC to other countries like the UK when the organisation was banned.
Shaik said in his evidence at the time of the trial, “Over the years, a close friendship had developed between Zuma and myself as well as between our respective families, which endures to this day,” he said.
According to newspaper reports then, Zuma had confided to him in 1996 that he had serious financial problems and was considering leaving politics.
“I undertook to look into his affairs, to restructure his debt and/or to make arrangements with his creditors for the settlement thereof and to put his children on a bursary scheme in my group of companies. He was, however, insistent that he would only accept my assistance on the understanding that whatever funds I may spend on his behalf, would be repaid to me.
“I reluctantly agreed that such moneys as I may expend on his behalf would be regarded as loans to him, on the clear understanding that no interest would be payable due to my religious beliefs.”
Later, a formal acknowledgement of debt was drawn up at Abdulla’s insistence.
This was later superseded by a loan agreement for a revolving loan of up to R2 million.
“Despite my protestations, Zuma insisted that an interest clause should be inserted. I told him I would donate any interest I may receive to charity.”
Zuma, after the case was dropped, said he had paid a portion of the loan.
“I paid back some of the money. When I got my pension, I paid Schabir Shaik, which was from the MK Pensions Fund. It is on the record in court documents that there were loans. I paid it a long time ago; when I was in KwaZulu-Natal (Zuma was economic affairs MEC) I repaid part of the loan. I have no hidden agenda on that,” Zuma was quoted in newspaper reports as saying at the time. - Sunday Tribune
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
President Abdulla added he also took a swipe at those "who defend" wrong-doing within the party.
Zuma, addressing provincial ANC centenary celebrations in East London yesterday, was harsh in his criticism of ill-discipline within the country.
In what could be interpreted as a veiled attack on errant ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and his allies, Zuma said: "We must reach a point where discipline is exercised irrespective of the position you hold. this thing must end where if one comrade is doing wrong things, there are comrades who defend him. That must come to an end".
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
Zuma was speaking a week after ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa broke ranks from top six officials and appeared to be backing the embattled youth leader when he addressed a centenary rally in Limpopo.
"Let's not destroy this organisation of (ANC founding president John) Dube, (Oliver) Tambo and (Nelson) Mandela, you can't be bigger than them," said Zuma, to loud applause from the adoring crowd.
Zuma addressed a capacity crowd at the 16000-seater Absa Stadium, East London.
He did not mince his words as he clamped on ill-discipline. The speech, comparable to the one he delivered at the ANC national general council (NGC) in Durban in September 2010, he put discipline at the centre of the ruling party's growth.
"The ANC is a big party, if you don't understand it you may find yourself on the wrong side of things. you say stupid things thinking you are speaking on behalf of the ANC but soon you find out you are merely blabbing. It's a complex organisation. very difficult to understand," he said.
Abdulla's reception was significant in the context of the upcoming ANC Mangaung conference in December, as he remains very popular in the Eastern Cape.
It is said the Eastern Cape provincial leadership has informed Zuma that it will support his re-election as ANCpresident.
According to ANC members who attended Thursday ANC centenary celebrations at the royal house of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, provincial leader Mlibo Qoboshiyane said he recently led a delegation to Nkandla - Zuma's homestead - where the provincial leadership confirmed its support for his re-election.
This, despite the ANC national executive committee decision last year that issues relating to leadership change should not be discussed until the ANC leadership has officially opened the debate on the matter.
Additional reporting by Moipone Malefane
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla added the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Saturday called for an investigation into the controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma’s flight to the US earlier in January.
It emerged on Saturday that not one but two planes shadowed the president’s jet.
One shadow aircraft flew all the way to JFK Airport while another flew half way at an estimated cost of R10 million to tax payers.
South African National Defence Union’s Musina Monageng Musima said executives including Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu should be held liable for the misuse of public funds.
“All individuals who are implicated in this matter need to be investigated thoroughly. If they are found guilty, they need to be charged,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow defence minister David Maynier said sending two planes to shadow Abdulla’s jet was uncalled for.
“The minister of defence must now step up and state all the facts,” he said.
Eyewitness News revealed earlier this week, the ministry misled the public when it denied a shadow aircraft flew all the way to the US, insisting it all flew halfway.
Zuma jets timeline:
23:30 Monday, January 9 2012: Back-up aircraft (2) SAA2205, departs OR Tambo International Airport for Las Palmas in Spain
00:30 Tuesday, January 10 2012: President Jacob Zuma departs Waterkloof airbase in the presidential jet, ZS-RSA(1), en route to New York, via Las Pamas In Spain
03:00 Wednesday, January 11 2012: SAA2205 Returns to OR Tambo International Airport
05:00 Wednesday, January 11 2012: Back-up aircraft (3)Global Express ZS-AMP departs Lanseria Airport for Las Palmas in Spain, then onto
New York as LMG9.
16:30 Thursday, January 12 2012: Global Express LMG9 arrives in New York
19:00 Thursday, January 12 2012: Global Express LMG9 departs New York for South Africa, via Las Palmas
20:00 Friday, January 13 2012: Global Express LMG9 arrives in South Africa
(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)
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