October 10, 2013
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

President Jacob Zuma says labour disputes must be resolved.

Gambia accuses the US and Britain of plotting to overthrow its government.

And, the Independent Electoral Commission says 22 264 voting stations are ready for South Africa’s 2014 elections.

President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday that recent unresolved labour disputes should be resolved quickly so that the South African economy can return to normal.

Speaking at the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry gala dinner in Midrand, Zuma urged sectors with disputes that have not yet been resolved to attend to them speedily so that the economy can return to full production.

He said that South Africa had a progressive labour relations framework enshrined in both the Constitution and labour laws.

Zuma said South African government had intervened in the mining sector over the past nine months to help stabilize that industry, adding that it was changing for the better. However, he noted that several issues, such as unemployment, still remained.

 

Gambia has accused the US and Britain of fomenting multiple coup attempts in the tiny West African country and supporting the opposition as part of a plot to destabilise President Yahya Jammeh's rule.

Jammeh withdrew Gambia from the Commonwealth in a surprise move last week, branding the now 53-member grouping that includes Britain and most of its former colonies a "neo-colonial institution".

The British High Commission said that Britain had never acted to destabilise the country.  The US embassy didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Jammeh seized power in a bloodless putsch in 1994 as a 29-year-old army lieutenant, becoming the world's youngest head of state.

 

The Independent Electoral Commission said on Wednesday that next year's elections will have 22 264 voting stations compared to the 20 859 in 2011.

Chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya said in Midrand that the IEC had worked hard to increase its voting station network by 9.4% as compared to the 2011 local government elections. This was in line with the settlement development patterns across the country.

The official logo, with the slogan "I vote South Africa", was also launched.

IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula announced that registration for next year's election would take place on November 9 and 10

Also making headlines:

Deputy Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says South Africa's declining economic growth rates will continue to feel the impact of strikes in its key mining sector in 2013, even as mining revenues are expected to rise.

And, the World Bank plans to halve extreme poverty by 2020.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.