African press review 30 October 2013

Foreign investors don't like SA strikes. Mining bosses feel unloved. Kenya investigates military looting claims after Westgate. There are corruption claims over the last election and  concerns over press freedom. And a tragic traffic accident costs at least six lives.

Strikes and a slowing economy are putting South Africa’s sovereign credit rating at risk, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday, warning that local bonds could become less attractive to foreign investors, which would drastically curb capital inflows.

The story is reported in BusinessDay. Those capital inflows are what keep the current account deficit in check and sustain the rand’s exchange value.

Also, according to BusinessDay, the chances of finding common ground between the ruling African National Congress and the mining industry seems remote, with a senior party figure on Tuesday citing historical reasons for a lack of trust, while the CEO of South Africa’s largest gold mining company said the government "seems to despise the industry".

The comments were made at a conference on Mining in Africa which opened in Johannesburg yesterday.

A number of speakers said the platinum and gold sectors are in crisis because of labour force unrest, falling productivity, soaring costs and weak commodity prices.

In Kenya the Standard reports army efforts to defend itself over claims of looting by military personnel during last month's Westgate shopping centre attack.

Two soldiers have been sacked and jailed for being in possession of stolen property. A third is under investigation.

The Chief of the Kenyan Defence Forces, General Julius Karangi, yesterday pointed out that the Kenyan military are ranked sixth in Africa and 46th in the world in terms of excellence.

Still in Kenya, the saga of the biometric voter identification kits has not gone away.

According to the Standard, four electoral commission officials were arrested yesterday and questioned over corruption claims linked to the controversial procurement of equipment that failed during the general election last March.

The four, including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chief Executive Officer, are due to be charged in court with corruption.

The 11-million-euro tender for the equipment was awarded to a private company.

Sister paper, the Daily Nation, is worried about press freedom. The Nation says Kenya's media are headed for trouble if proposals by MPs become law.

A parliamentary committee examing a bill that proposes to give the government control over how stories are reported is suggesting that such power be given to MPs instead.

The committee wants the Ccabinet secretary stripped of the power to dictate a code of conduct for journalists, saying that job should be given to MPs. If that becomes law, says the Daily Nation, Kenyan journalism will fall under the control of politicians.

Sadly, the main story on all Kenyan news websites is the crash earlier this morning in Nairobi between a commuter bus and a train in the Mutindwa district. Six people died on the spot while two others later succumbed to their injuries, according to the Kenya Red Cross. The same organisation says scores of the injured are being treated in hospital.