WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM
The government on Tuesday released its plans for the long-awaited National Development Agency and gave details about the transformation of the Industrial Development Trust into a development implementation agnecy.
Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said Cabinet had recently adopted the recommendations of the National Development Agency advisory committee, including that the NDA be a statutory body to co-ordinate consultation on policy formation between government and the private sector and to channel government funds to organisations in the development sector.
The NDA proposals also call for the National Development Trust, a temporary predecessor to the NDA, be integrated into the NDA, and that the IDT’s funding department be absorbed into the NDA. A team will be appointed to investgate deregistring the IDT and to investigate the IDT’s financial status with an eye to it contributing seed capital to the NDA.
According to Mlambo-Ngcuka, the process must be completed by July next year.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
KENYA INEQUALITY THE World Bank says Kenya has the world’s second biggest gap between the poor and the rich. World Bank figures show that the top 10% of Kenyans enjoy 47,7% of the country’s national income, second only to Brazil, where the top 10% own 51,3%.
PARLIAMENT WON’T CALL LIEBENBERG FORMER SA Revenue Service head Piet Liebenberg, who resigned unexpectedly last week, will not be called to account by Parliament’s finance committee. The committee decided Tuesday protocol required only Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to explain the effects of Liebenberg’s departure.