The four day mega-event, organized by the Government of India in association with the High Commission and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is a major drive to push trade and business ties in the African continent.

India’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Tata Group Chief Mr Ratan Tata are leading the government-corporate mission to target $10 billion two-way trade by 2012.

The event is showcasing the best of ‘Brand India’ through an high end technology exhibition and a series of high-profile business meets, food, fashion and cultural shows in Johannesburg during August 29 and September 1, 2010 .

The exhibition, which is a major attraction in Johannesburg features a large exposition by leading Indian technological and engineering firms in Nasrec. Top-rung Indian companies such as Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, Tata Consulting Engineers, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Tea Board of India, Coffee Board (Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India), Coir Board (Ministry of MSME), Government of India, Dabur India Ltd, Escorts Ltd, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ion Exchange, Beri Udyog Pvt Ltd, Amravati Group, Fedders Lloyd Group, Jindal Rectifiers, VisionTek, Setco Automotive Ltd, Yuken India, PME Transformers (India) Ltd, NIIT Antilles NV, Dr Reddy’s laboratories, Jain Irrigation, Hi Tech Biosciences India Ltd, Elmex Controls Pvt. Ltd., The UB Group and several others are displaying their latest technologies and innovations at the expo.

The expo covers automotive and auto components, biotechnology, tractor& farm implements, agro & food processing technology, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, mining, power, water, IT& telecommunications, roads & railways and retail tractors.

On the sidelines, the corporate leaders from India and South Africa led by Mr Ratan Tata and Mr Patrice Motsepe Co Chairmen of the India-South Africa CEO Forum met for its first meeting since its launch by President Zuma during his recent visit to India. The business leaders discussed the opportunities and challenges that the bilateral trade offered and the bottlenecks that were hampering India-South Africa business ties. A few constructive suggestions on decongesting the ways of better engagement are being put forward by the CEOs for consideration by the two governments. The two Chairmen aslo debated the agenda of pushing India-South Africa business with the two trade Ministers Mr Anand Sharma & Dr Rob Davies in a televised CNBC panel debate.

CEOs from India attending the Forum meeting included Mr B Muthuraman, Vice President, CII & Vice Chairman, Tata Steel, Mr Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Mr Onkar Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd, Mr Syamal Gupta, Advisor, Tata International Ltd, Mr TCA Ranganathan, CMD, EXIM Bank, Mr Harsh Mariwala, CMD, Marico Ltd. Mr Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, Mr Rana Som, CMD, NMDC Ltd, Mr Vikramjit S. Sawhney, CEO, Sun Group and Mr Hari Bhartia, President CII and Co-chairman, Jubilant Organsys Ltd amongst others..

‘The India Show’ is also complemented by 3rd annual ‘Doing Business with India’ conference which was held on August 31. This conference which was addressed by Mr A Sharma and Dr Rob Davies, brought to the fore India as an attractive investment destination. The thematic discussions at the conference covered infrastructure financing, South-South Cooperation, and regulatory issues, etc.

The session was addressed by prominent experts like Mr Hari Sankaran, Managing Director, IL&FS, Mr Werner van Oudenhove, Head of Infrastructure Finance, Rand Merchant Bank, Mr Reg Max, Associate Director – Corporate Finance, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Mr Robert Appelbaum, Director, Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, and Mr Sanjay Kirloskar, CMD, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, and others.

India’s soft power was also on display at the grand event. A potpourri of fashion, dance, and Indian cuisine gave South Africa a glimpse into Indian culture and traditions. ‘The Fashion Show’ held on August 30 showcased Indian designs to drive business between the South African and Indian fashion and textile industries. Two of India’s most accomplished fashion designers, Manish Malhotra and Satya Paul, presented their latest collections.

The Fashion Show also saw the presence of three reigning Miss Indias walk the ramp.

The India Show’ also featured a cultural programme by Maitreyee Pahari & troupe, facilitated by ICCR, a presentation of “Indian Nouvelle Cuisine at ‘The India Food Week’ which was inaugurated on August 29 by Minister Anand Sharma andMinister Maite Mashabane and organised in collaboration with Taj Mahal Hotel at Hotel Sandton Sun, Johannesburg.

European football’s governing body, Uefa, banned the vuvuzela in the interests, it said, of protecting Europe’s “football culture and tradition” of chanting and singing.

It feared the atmosphere of football matches would be changed for the worse if the long plastic trumpets were allowed into the grounds when Champions League, Europa League or the international European Championship matches were being played.

The sound made by vuvuzelas when played en masse by crowds has been compared to the buzz of a million angry bees. Their appearance at the World Cup where they were played almost incessantly was both welcomed and condemned by fans and commentators.

The noise drowned out the more traditional sounds of football matches, including club songs – and abusive chanting.

Several clubs from the Premiership, including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Liverpool and West Ham have taken unilateral decisions to ban the instrument from their grounds for any match.

Uefa, headed by the former France international Michel Platini, said the ban would come into effect in time for this week’s Euro 2012 qualifiers. Uefa executives decided the “continuous loud background noise” should be kept out of Europe. In a statement, Europe’s footballing ruling body said: “Uefais of the view that the vuvuzelas would change the atmosphere, drowning supporter emotions and detracting from the experience of the game.” Source The Independent

Some reports say the consequence is likely to be the removal of the first black man to coach the Boks, regardless of the result in the team’s Tri-Nations Test against Australia in Bloemfontein on Saturday (0100 Sunday AEST).

SARU officials are refusing to comment on de Villiers’ latest controversial remarks until after this weekend’s match, South Africa’s last of the series.

But the rugby body’s president Oregan Hoskins told the Cape Argus: “We will definitely look at his statements after Saturday.

“I don’t want to call it disciplinary action – it may not be. Instead, it will be an assessment.”

Several reports say senior rugby officials and even government figures are incensed by de Villiers’ backing of Roux, who was charged with beating a black police officer to death last week.

The timeslive.co.za website quoted an unnamed rugby official as saying: “We are not only unhappy with what he said regarding the Roux incident, but also over his previous comments.”

Last month de Villiers escaped penalty at a SANZAR disciplinary hearing after appearing to suggest the New Zealand team had received preferential treatment from referees in their two Tri-Nations series home wins over the Boks.

In 2009, he appeared to condone eye-gouging and in 2008 responded to criticism by asking if rugby should be given back to whites in South Africa.

At a press conference in Bloemfontein on Monday, he said: “We definitely talked about Bees in a team context.

“We feel for all South Africans, and especially rugby players, because a situation like this can happen to anybody. It is a tragic situation and we wish it on nobody.

“The team supports him 100 per cent, not on the deed but rather on the circumstances that led to the situation developing.”

One report compared de Villiers’ long list of embarrassing comments to the sacking of former Boks coach Nick Mallett for merely complaining about ticket prices.

“Regardless of what happens in the final Tri-Nations Test on Saturday, Peter de Villiers can no longer be tolerated,” blogger Jon Cardinelli wrote on the respected keo.co.za website.

“The Boks are the world champions and the South African community should accept nothing but the best.

“It’s been obvious from day one that de Villiers doesn’t fit the criteria, and he’s consistently proved it over a three-year career.” Source smh.com.au

Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi said the government had no choice but to go out and borrow money. Baloyi said an extra R7- billion had to be raised, above the current R297bn public service wage bill.

Government raised its pay offer to public servants from 7 to 7,5 percent, with a housing allowance of R800 a month, up from its offer of R700. The unions had been demanding 8,6 percent and a R1000 housing allowance.

After two years of surplus, the budget deficit widened to 6,7 percent of gross domestic product in 2009-10, with plans to trim it to about 4 percent by 2013, and to moderate borrowing.

“Any way you (look at it), it’s exceptionally difficult for government to give in to the high wage demands in this environment,” said Nedbank chief economist Dennis Dykes.
“It will mean they have to cut expenditure elsewhere … They can cut on fixed investment spending and then you would have a situation where the economy doesn’t grow,” he said.
At 28 percent, South Africa’s debt-to- GDP ratio pales in comparison with the much higher levels of some European countries. The government has projected it will reach 40 percent in 2013.

International ratings agencies have warned of risks to South Africa’s ratings on any hint of expanded fiscal spending.

“We already have a negative outlook on the rating and for some time we’ve been flagging some downside risks with regards to rating,” said Standard & Poor’s MD for SA and sub-Saharan Africa, Konrad Reuss.

“We’ve seen high wage settlements for a number of years, which might be followed by another one now. Already in February the finance minister highlighted there’s very little flexibility to accommodate this.

“In the broader context of budget commitments and fiscal flexibility this is a concern,” Reuss said.

Moody’s said in March any relaxation of spending policies could threaten ratings. The SA Institute of Race Relations said the wage offer would put pressure on the budget deficit that could be curbed only through borrowing or transferring funds from other priorities.
“This would also mean a shift in the balance of power in the tripartite alliance in favour of Cosatu and away from the ANC,” said the institute’s deputy chief executive, Frans Cronje.
The majority of unions affiliated to Cosatu and the politically non-aligned Independent Labour Caucus have expressed the need to end the strike though they were not sure about mandates from members.

“It has been a very long and exhausting strike but we cannot call it off now until our members have decided otherwise.

“I am foreseeing the voting process continuing until today and our decision would be influenced by various factors,” said Public Servants Association spokesman Koos Kruger.
“We want to have a logical conclusion on the matter and make sure that our members are happy,” said Denosa spokesman Asanda Fongqo.

President Jacob Zuma ordered parties involved to find a way to end the strike amid growing political pressure over the damage the strike was causing in the country’s economy, health and education sectors.

Cronje said Zuma sacrificed “the strong principled position” on the 7 percent offer taken by his Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

“He has therefore eroded the credibility of the Cabinet who had insisted that an offer of above 7 percent was not affordable,” he said.

He said the President might have done this to shore up his support from within federation union against increasing challenges to his leadership of the ruling party.

The DA’s Shadow Minister on Finance, Dion George, said, even though the government had not given a concrete spending plan regarding financing the extra portion on top of the wage bill yet, partly because a final settlement had not been reached, he was still concerned that the state would have to borrow money for its current expenditure.

“The DA’s view is that we will not support extra borrowing for something we already budgeted for. We recognise the government is in a tight position but we need to budget to create production and wealth,” he said. What was needed was a “total restructuring of the public sector”. If the minister took a very hard look at the public sector, he would see way too many people employed in jobs that don’t add value. It’s not as if doctors or nurses or teachers were being overpaid overall in any case,” he said.

He said it was true that the government would have saved some money from not having to pay strikers during the strike but this would hardly “fix the funding problem”.

Investors have praised South Africa’s prudent fiscal policies of the past decade, which have helped gradually to improve the country’s credit ratings from international agencies.
South Africa’s labour costs are much higher than those of emerging countries like China and India. The average monthly salary, including overtime and benefits, is R6400, according to Statistics SA.

Gordhan hinted in April the government would consider raising taxes to boost revenue and keep the budget in check.

But analysts say raising taxes would be devastating to consumer spending, putting brakes on an already fragile economic recovery that is vulnerable to a possible global economic slowdown.

“In an environment where growth is still relatively weak and the consumer is still in a phase of recovery it’s very unlikely we’ll see heavy increases in income taxes,” senior Absa Capital economist Gina Schoeman said.

“It would hurt growth and we need our households’ balance sheets to recover over coming quarters,” she said. — With Reuters

Luphert Chilwane and Alistair Anderson write for Business Day where this article first appeared. Source – Daily Dispatch

Having a high success rate in Kenya, Vodafone brought the technology to South Africa as a means of providing everyone access to sending and receiving money. Not everyone has a bank account but a lot more South Africans own cellphones making banking more accessible. In addition, this service can be used across networks – all you need is a cellphone and a Nedbank ATM or M-PESA outlet.

The two pilots are working for Badr Airlines, a private airliner based in Khartoum and known for operating cargo and passenger air services for humanitarian aid provided by UN agencies in the restive region of Darfur.

The abductors captured the pilots and escaped into the neighbourhood embarking on a Land Cruiser.

Government forces have cordoned off the suspected places in Nyala in an attempt to find the abducted pilots and their kidnappers, Sudan Armed Forces spokesperson Al-Sawarmi Khalid told the official news agency (SUNA).

South Darfur state also mobilized all its security apparatus to arrest the offenders.

Last month, a Russian pilot working for the Russian airline UTair and operating under a UN contract was gone missing after a helicopter emergency landing. The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov claimed that pro-government militias were behind the abduction.

The pilot who was reportedly beaten by the militias was later released and returned safely.

It was Zuma’s first state visit to China since he became the president of South Africa in May 2009. The highlight of the trip was the signing of a declaration upgrading bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

This expanded partnership focuses on issues such as benefaction and value addition to resources, infrastructure, market access and trade to the Southern African Development Community region and Africa as a whole, Zuma said at an August 25 press conference.

The “comprehensive strategic partnership” will guide the China-South Africa relationship for the next 10 to 15 years, he added.

China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, while South Africa is China’s second largest African trading partner. Bilateral trade reached $10.81 billion from January to June of this year, up 56.1 percent over the same period last year.

“China is indeed a key strategic partner for South Africa,” Zuma said. “China has become a major investor in key sectors of our economy, such as mining and financial services.”

South Africa is open for business, and encourages more exchanges between the two nations’ business sectors, he said. A delegation of more than 350 business people traveled to China with Zuma to seek business opportunities.

During their meeting, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that both countries should promote trade and investment growth, enhance energy cooperation and improve financial services. They also need to work together in culture, education, media, health and tourism.

While Zuma was in China, the two sides reached agreements on energy conservation, cooperation to address climate change, joint science and technology research and educational exchanges. They also signed an agreement on the mutual exemption of visas to holders of diplomatic passports to facilitate personnel exchanges.

The five judge bench termed the application an abuse of the court process and added that the prayers sought would have grave consequences on the country.

The petition which was filed by Mary Ariviza and Okotch Mondoh against the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), the Attorney General (AG) and George Chege sought a recount of all the votes cast during the referendum.

The majority ruling was made by Justices Scholastica Omondi, Samuel Mukunya and Jamilla Mohamed who also said the petitioners should have made their application earlier.

“This court refuses such invitation that will lead this country into disaster and as earlier stated a court of law does not act in vain. For those reasons, this application is dismissed,” he declared.

The minority ruling was made by Justices Sankale Ole Kantai and Violet Mavisi who also took issue with the Electoral Commission for gazzetting the referendum results knowing that the matter was pending in court.

“The petitioner under the Constitution of Kenya Review Act had a seven day window to serve the petitions. The Constitution of Kenya Review Act therefore creates a responsibility on the part of the IIEC and the AG to establish that there are no challenges before final results can be published in the gazette,” said Justice Kantai.

The court also faulted the AG for allowing a pre-mature announcement of the promulgation date.

“The promulgation was set for August 27th 2010. This date was announced even before the time allowed in law for logic challenges had expired. The 4th respondent should have given sound advice to the Executive not to take such hasty steps that would lead to an abuse of the law and legal process.”

The petition had earlier been applied at the High Court but was struck out and re-applied at the IICDRC under a certificate of urgency.

On her part, Ms Ariviza who was represented by her lawyer Judy Madahana said her case had valid grounds. She said attempts to serve the IIEC with the legal papers were futile as the officials were away in Mombasa.

The applicants also accused the respondents of disrespecting the court by publishing the referendum results.

Although the five judges all agreed to dismiss the file petition, their reasoning differed. Justices Omondi, Mukunya and Mohamed were all in the same camp while Justices Kantai and Mavisi held different reasoning. The majority ruling carried the day.

Ms Ariviza first filed her application on August 20. Source http://www.capitalfm.co.ke

He said: “Population pressure and the expansion of arable lands, the need for intensification of agriculture, pollution of ground waters from agro-chemical run-offs, intractable pests and diseases of plants and animals, fossil fuel price increases and climate change induced stresses are some of the imperatives for modern biotechnology engagement.”

Professor Alhassan was speaking at a media roundtable discussion on biotechnology and other related issues during the visit of US Biotechnology Expert and Speaker, Gary Blumenthal, to Ghana. Mr. Blumenthal is on a week’s visit to Ghana, and would deliver lectures on the merits of agricultural biotechnology and the US, Ghana and international perspectives on biotechnology with Ghanaian experts in tertiary institutions in Kumasi, Cape Coast and Legon, Accra. Prof. Alhassan explained that biotechnology was like any technological application that used biological systems, living organisms to make or modify products.

“Traditional biotechnology has been in use for centuries and involves fermentation used in bread making, kenkey, and alcohol production. Modern biotechnology is based on the developments in cellular and monocular biology that occurred in the second half of the 20th Century “, he added. Prof. Alhassan said Genetically Modified (GM) technology did not only improve crop yield but also ensured insect resistance which made farmers to save substantial amount of money which should have been spent on pesticides, enhanced nutritional values and increase the life shelve of produce.

Globally, 25 countries are using biotechnology with 14 million farmers cultivating 125 million hectares in 2008. In Africa, Burkina Faso is using the GM technology to increase her cotton production from 8,500 hectares in 2008 to 15,000 hectares in 2009, Egypt’s maize production has increased by 15 per cent and South Africa is also recording an increase of 17 per cent maize production within the same period. Only South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso can commercialise their GM crops but only South Africa is currently commercialising Bt Maize, Bt cotton and Bt soyabean. Prof. Alhassan explained that Ghana currently had a Legislative Instrument (LI) approved by Parliament in May 2008, to begin a Confined Field Trials using Bt. Cowpea, Bt. Sweet Potato and Nitrogen Use Efficient Rice. These field trials would be conducted in Savanna Research Institute, Crop Research Institute and Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute at the University of Ghana. Ghana’s Biosafety Bill, which is currently before Parliament, when passed, would specify the framework and level of genetically modification to be conducted on specific crops yet to be identified. It would also help prevent abuse of the GM technology, which ensures rapid growth, high-yielding of crops and enhances nutritional values.

He said Ghana’s immediate neighbours; Togo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria had promulgated their Biosafety Law allowing for field trials of the GM technology adding, “it is just appropriate for Ghana to pass the bill because such produce from neighbouring countries would find their way into the country”. Prof. Alhassan said after 14 years of commercial use of GM crops, “no scientifically proved health risk has been confirmed, nevertheless, there is the need to exercise caution in the use of the technology, Biosafety legislation at varying degrees of stringency in place to guide the use of GMOs”.

He said though Parliament was yet to pass the bill, Ghanaian farmer-based organisations had been clamouring for the GM technology to enable them improve their production in order not to be outdone by their Togolese, Nigerians and Burkinabe counterparts who would flood the local markets with such products. Prof. Alhassan said some GM products had arrived in the country adding that it was not true that such products were unsafe for human health and questioned: if they were unsafe, would people not develop some side-effects?

He called on government to speed up with the passage of the bill to allow Ghanaian farmers to use the GM technology and enhance production which would ensure food security and contribute immensely towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. Mr. Blumenthal said Ghana had capable scientists who could work on the application of the GM technology if the bill was passed and allayed fears of sceptics who held the view that GM products were unsafe to reconsider their position. He said the country should embrace the modern biotechnology and incorporate it into her newly launched National Science and Technology Policy to ensure overall development