SA : Another top ANC member resigns

A top member of South Africa`s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has resigned. The former Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) president Willy Madisha becomes the latest to deepen the woes of the ANC.Addressing a group of hawkers and some disgruntled ANC members at Burgersfort in Limpopo, the trade union president said his resignation letter was ready and that he would send it to the party soon.An Sabcnews.com report on Thursday said about 200 community members mainly women hawkers came to listen to Madisha. It added that the majority of them complained about lack of service delivery in their area.

Africa’s population to double by 2050

Africa’s population of 967 million could grow to 1.9 billion by 2050; a 2008 Africa Population Data has projected. The new projections are contained in the 2008 Africa Population Data Sheet, produced by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).The APHRC stated: “even as African women use family planning more and bear fewer children, the continent’s youthful population will fuel the continent’s growth for many decades to come.”However, a news statement from APHRC revealed that contraceptive use has increased fastest in Northern and Southern Africa, and as a result, the number of children the average woman has during her lifetime dropped from nearly six children in the early 1980s to around three in 2005. This has slowed population growth in those regions.

Nigeria: 20 cabinet ministers sacked

Twenty out of 40 cabinet ministers in Nigeria have been sacked for non-performance. President Umaru Yar’Adua said his decision is to reposition and strengthen his administration for effective service delivery, Presidential Spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi disclosed on Thursday.According to This Day newspaper, the President after taking a valedictory photographs with the sacked ministers said yesterday’s meeting will be the last for some of them. Yar’Adua thanked them for their contribution to national development and asked them to watch the NTA News Channel for those retained and those who have been dropped.Adeniyi said: “The President also directed that until new Ministers are confirmed by the Senate and sworn in, Remi Babalola (Minister of State, Finance) will serve as Supervising Minister for the Federal Capital Territory Authority.”