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Friday, September 26, 2008.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Leandi Cameron.

Making headlines today:

Kgalema Motlanthe took office on Thursday as South Africa's new president. He stressed he would keep to the policies of his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, who resigned in the worst political crisis since apartheid.

In a move to reassure investors rattled by the crisis, Motlanthe reappointed respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. Manuel's resignation on Tuesday hit the rand currency and stocks.

Mines Minister Buyelwa Sonjica was also reappointed.

Motlanthe made only one change in key economic portfolios. He appointed Brigitte Mabandla to replace Alec Erwin at the head of the public enterprise ministry. This ministry is responsible for troubled power utility Eskom.

Motlanthe was overwhelmingly elected earlier by parliament in a secret ballot. He will serve as interim president until a general election next year when ANC leader Jacob Zuma is expected to become head of state.

A government official said on Thursday that South Africa's recycling industry could employ up to 350 000 unskilled people. The sector had already proven its potential in recycling initiatives such as paper, plastic, and glass.

Department of Trade executive director Tshenge Demana said that the State was aiming to build an industry that would be as recognised and respected as conventional manufacturing. However, first it would need to address constraints, and understand if any government interventions were required.

The DTI hosted a workshop on Thursday to assist the State and industry stakeholders in developing a plan to address constraints and challenges in the recycling industry.

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South Africa's troubled State Diamond Trader is awaiting guidance from the Department of Minerals and Energy about the appointment of a new CEO. The former CEO, Abbey Chikane, is no longer with the organisation after his contract came to an end, and was not renewed.

A spokesperson for the SDT said that no acting CEO had been appointed. But that "measures have been put in place". The business of procuring rough diamonds continued as usual.

The CEO for the SDT is to be appointed by the Minister of Minerals and Energy. The department could not confirm when this would happen. DME spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said the department was not obliged to give reasons as to why Chikane's contract was not renewed.

Also making headlines:

Standard & Poor's revises Eskom's credit watch from ‘negative' to ‘developing'.
The World Trade Organisation farm talks resume, but they face a difficult run.
Vodacom's public offer is almost three times oversubscribed.
South African Coal Mining Holdings says low volumes and a lack of rail transport has hit coal exports.
Coal of Africa Limited says a solid foundation is in place to bring South African coking coal projects into production.
And, Poland targets clean coal technologies to reduce its carbon footprint.

In political news:

An aid group says that Zimbabwe is fast running out of food grain.
A report says that George Bush rejected an Israeli strike on Iran.
Vital cabinet portfolios change hands.
And, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe urges the West to lift sanctions on his country.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit engineeringnews.co.za, miningweekly.com and polity.org.za