COPE’s Dandala lays out agenda

Bishop Mvume Dandala. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/AP

Congress of the People presidential candidate Mvume Dandala outlined his agenda at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday.

Along with policies on improving labor relations, health care, and government reform, Dandala listed several goals:

* The revision of the tender system to eliminate corruption.
* Protect whistleblowers so that communities can join the fight against crime and corruption.
* Work with communities and community based organisations and NGOs to build safer places where we live;
* Have specialised programs and activities to focus on discouraging youth from engaging in criminal activities;
* Strengthen the coherence of the SAPS by ensuring that the SAPS delivers a quality, professional, non-partisan service to the members of the public (Section 199, (7) a and b and that visible policing is made a matter of priority;
* With the South African Police Service (SAPS) improve its capacity to fight crime through increasing the numbers of personnel, the quality of their training, the plain clothes police and the crime intelligence capability of the police;
* The reinstatement of the Scorpions in line with Khampepe Commission recommendations.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown will visit Africa next week to discuss the effects of the global crisis.

Brown’s visit precedes the G20 global summit in April, where representatives from the most influential economic countries will gather to discuss the recession.

South Africa is the only African nation planning to attend the G20 summit, which Brown will head.

Also, if you’re as lost as I am when it comes to South African politics, this straightforward guide might help.

 

A rival for Zuma; rand drops

Cope party presidential candidate Mvume Dandala
From All Africa Conference of Churches blog

Leaders from The Congress of the People a new South African political party, have slated Methodist bishop Mvume Dandala as its presidential candidate.

The Congress of the People, known as Cope, are made up of dissidents of the African National Congress (ANC).

Dandala beat out Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota for the right to run against ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

South African Rand currency
From IMS FX

The rand continues to depreciate against the dollar, according to Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni.

The rand has fallen 2.3 percent since Feb. 13.

The government’s economic growth prediction of 1.2 percent this year, the slowest pace since 1998, “would still be good,” given the global economic slowdown, Mboweni said. South Africa’s annualized economic growth rate was 0.2 percent in the third quarter. Retail sales fell for the eighth consecutive month in December, according to a Feb. 18 report, the latest sign that the economy is faltering.