Numsa Media Monitor A daily compilation of articles dealing with labour related issues

Tuesday 15 November 2016

South African workers

Construction workers strike

Sinesipho Goqwana, Grocott’s Mail, 14 Nov 2016

Striking employees toyi-toyied outside the Grahamstown premises of CM Heunis Construction for the third day running yesterday. Around 40 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have gathered daily since Tuesday in Glanville Street, in support of their demand for a R5 increase to their hourly rate.

However, the company says as Grahamstown’s top-paying employer in the sector, they are already stretched to their limit.

Secretary of the local NUM branch Thandisizwe Kiti said they had started wage negotiations with the company last year, but no agreement had been reached.

Last month at negotiations facilitated by the Building Industry Bargaining Council (BIBC) and sanctioned by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the company had offered general workers an additional 8 percent (R1.20 an hour more) on the maximum wage of R16 an hour for general workers, and a 5 percent increase for artisans.

“We told them they mustn’t speak to us using percentages, but rands,” Kiti said.

The strikers had also rejected a 10.4 percent increase proposed on Monday by the company’s financial manager Neels Heunis.

Kiti said: “We refused because that will not put food on the table.”

Chairperson of the local branch of NUM, Phikisile Helesi said employees struggled to make ends meet with their current wages.

“We don’t see the fruits of our labour. We have got families to feed and when we go to Shoprite, we never take trolleys but carry baskets. Even so, we end up having to leave behind some of the groceries because we don’t have money,” he said.

He also said employees struggle to provide their families with basic necessities like clothes and school uniforms.

Financial manager of the company, Neels Heunis, said yesterday they had been in been ongoing negotiations for the past six weeks with NUM with the assistance of the BIBC.

“We are the highest-paying construction company in Grahamstown,” Heunis said, “and the only construction company that still belongs to the Building Industry Bargaining Council which provides employees with retirement, death, funeral and sick fund benefits, and with the current economic situation in South Africa we cannot afford to meet their demands.”

Heunis said general workers were paid R15 to R20 an hour.

The company had proposed a 10.4 percent (R1.56 to R2 per hour) increase which excludes the additional costs to the Bargaining Council Funds; however, they still had not reached an agreement.

“We have since lost two contracts because of our costs being too high.

“If we agree to their wage demands then it means we will lose business. As a responsible employer we also need to ensure the long-term survival and sustainability of the business,” Heunis told Grocott’s Mail.

NUM regional organiser Mava Cungwa briefed the strikers on the negotiations and assured them that the union was doing all it could to raise their concerns.

“You all have nothing to fear, as this is a legal strike and you are well within your rights,” he said.

While he was addressing the workers one of the employees, known as Madinda, burst out in frustration.

“I work as a painter and have been working here for just a little over a year earning R16 an hour,” Madinda said.

“We work overtime, but we don’t see where the money for overtime goes to,” he said.

The employees were on strike again today. Both the union representatives and the construction company’s management were unavailable for comment regarding progress with negotiations by the time of publishing.

http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/construction-workers-strike-14-11-2016

Amcu sends food parcels to striking members

Ridge Times, 12 November 2016

HIGHVELD – The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) sent a thousand food parcels to its protesting Sasol Mine members to offer relief pending the end of their three month strike.

Amcu members have not returned to work since the beginning of the strike in August.

The food parcels are a relief initiative by Amcu to take care of their members during negotiations about living wages with Sasol management.

Many Amcu members said it has been a difficult time without an income to buy basic needs.

Mr Patrick Ndlovu, regional organiser, said the picketing was the result of unresolved issues that had been drafted in the maiden memorandum which has not been responded to yet.

He further added that the national office is working with Sasol management to resolve the issue and get the employees back to work as soon as possible.

http://ridgetimes.co.za/76904/amcu-sends-food-parcels-to-striking-members/

Molefe’s resignation premature, says NUM

Enca, 12 November 2016

The National Union of Mineworkers is divided over the resignation of Eskom CEO Brian Molefe. NUM says Molefe's resignation was premature, but it’s former Mpumalanga Branch Secretary, Mxolisi Hoboyi has questioned the remarks. Video: eNCA

JOHANNESBURG - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has announced it's unhappiness over Brian Molefe's resignation as Eskom's CEO.

NUM said the move was premature, adding that Molefe should have awaited for the outcome of a commission of inquiry into state capture before resigning.

The union reacted following Molefe's announcement on Friday, saying it was concerned because it felt the power producer was starting to stabilise under Molefe's leadership.

NUM's former Mpumalanga Branch Secretary, Mxolisi Hoboyi caused a stir in the union's ranks when he questioned the wisdom of these remarks, via eNCA.

Hoboyi told eNCA he represents workers at the Optimum Coal Mine and Eskom's Arnot Power Station in Mpumalanga, and was angered by the statement by the union's national office.

He highlighted the fact that a total of 2,000 workers lost jobs when Optimum Coal was forced to go into business rescue, shortly after the Gupta takeover of the mine.

NUM in turn said that Hoboyi wasn’t authorised to speak on behalf of the union. - Additional reporting African News Agency.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/molefe%E2%80%99s-resignation-premature-says-num

Popcru accuses Department of Correctional Services of nepotism

Sifiso Mathebula, Ridge Times, 11 November 2016

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union want to see corruption end

BETHAL – The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) embarked on a sit-in protest to display their dissatisfaction with malpractices at the Department of Correctional Services recently.

The union demanded that Mr Zach Modise, national commissioner, come to address them.

They accused the area commissioner and the department management of corruption and nepotism.

Popcru took a resolution to embark on a sleep-in-protest three weeks ago to fight the alleged irregularities in the department.

The congress had resolved that they will continue with the picketing until they get the attention of the national commissioner.

The union said the management of the department is corrupt and that the union is resolute to fight any form of corruption in the department.

Speaking to the newspaper on 23 October, Mr Life Monini, chairman of Popcru, said they have blown the whistle about corruption in the department and informed the office of the public protector.

“Soon after that, we were told that the Departmental Investigating Unit is investigating, but nothing has happened yet.

“We are putting our foot down and will make sure we fight corruption.

“Management employs relatives and girlfriends.

“Enough is enough. The national commissioner must come here and we demand that he launches an investigation throughout the province.”

Popcru said if the national commissioner does not address the issues, they will mobilise more members to join them in the protest.

The office of the national commissioner met with the leadership of Popcru on Tuesday, 1 November to discuss issues of concern.

Mr Sipho Nkambule, secretary of Popcru, said the union was happy with the meeting and that they managed to iron out some matters, especially those issues that did not need to be investigated.

“Several matters were dealt with with a delegation sent by the national commissioner.

However some issues such as nepotism and corruption could not be finalised, because they still need to be investigated.

“We will wait for that process to finish and to see what their findings are.”

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in Mpumalanga came out in support.

Mr Thabo Mokoena, provincial secretary, said Cosatu is fully supporting Popcru in its fight against any form of injustice such as nepotism, bribery and sexual harassment.

http://ridgetimes.co.za/76819/popcru-fights-nepotism/

Hlaudi ‘must pay SABC Eight’s bill’

Genevieve Quintal & Bekezela Phakathi, Business Day, 15 November 2016

The two trade unions which represented SABC journalists fired for criticising editorial decisions at the public broadcaster want former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng to personally pay for the legal costs of their Labour Court application.

Solidarity and the Broadcasting, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union served Motsoeneng with papers on Monday regarding the cost order awarded by the Labour Court in Johannesburg in July.

The journalists, known as the SABC Eight, were fired earlier this year for challenging a blanket ban on broadcasting footage of violent protests. They challenged their employer in the Labour Court and were reinstated, all except Vuyo Mvoko, who is a freelancer.

The head of Solidarity’s centre for fair labour practices, Anton van der Bijl, said Motsoeneng had to "carry the can" for the decision to dismiss the journalists.

The two trade unions which represented SABC journalists fired for criticising editorial decisions at the public broadcaster want former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng to personally pay for the legal costs of their Labour Court application.

Solidarity and the Broadcasting, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union served Motsoeneng with papers on Monday regarding the cost order awarded by the Labour Court in Johannesburg in July.

The journalists, known as the SABC Eight, were fired earlier this year for challenging a blanket ban on broadcasting footage of violent protests. They challenged their employer in the Labour Court and were reinstated, all except Vuyo Mvoko, who is a freelancer.

The head of Solidarity’s centre for fair labour practices, Anton van der Bijl, said Motsoeneng had to "carry the can" for the decision to dismiss the journalists.

"Solidarity is requesting that Motsoeneng gives oral evidence in court. Although [SABC acting group executive, news and current affairs] Simon Tebele ultimately carried out the instruction to dismiss the journalists, it is argued that Motsoeneng was the person who gave the instruction," he said.

The journalists are proceeding with their Constitutional Court application against censorship at the SABC.

Meanwhile, the Department of Communications says it is satisfied with the work it has done over the past year, despite facing harsh criticism over the crisis at some of its entities, particularly the SABC.

Communications Minister Faith Muthambi is responsible for the department, the Government Communication and Information System, as well as five entities — Brand SA, the Films and Publications Board, the Independent Communications Authority of SA, the SABC and the Media Development and Diversity Agency.

Muthambi’s tenure has been dogged by controversy amid suggestions in some quarters that she is largely to blame for the problems at the public broadcaster.

The SABC received an unqualified audit opinion in the 2015-16 financial year and made a loss of R411m.

The appointment of Motsoeneng as the SABC’s group executive of corporate affairs in October sparked the current crisis at the broadcaster when two board members abruptly resigned in protest, leaving the board with just three members.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/media/2016-11-15-hlaudi-must-pay-sabc-eights-bill/

CWU will take mandate to Cosatu CEC if members call for Zuma to step down

Clement Manyathela, EWN, 13 Nov 2016

JOHANNESBURG – The Communications Workers Union (CWU) says if the majority of its members support the call for President Jacob Zuma to step down, it will take the mandate to Congress of South African Trade Unions (Costau)’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.

The union says discussions on who should be the next president of the African National Congress (ANC) are already underway.

The National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) became the first member of the tripartite alliance to call for Zuma’s axing.

CWU president Clyde Mervin says some of the union’s members believe if Zuma steps down, the ANC can be rebuilt as a stronger organisation.

“Obviously we’ll be going to a Cosatu CEC to have a discussion. So that discussion will be a very hotly contested discussion but obviously we’ll subject ourselves as the union to the majority, majority says whatever view, we’ll go with the majority because as a disciplined cadre that’s what we all do.”

Mervin said, “Already some of the members are of the view that he must step aside so that we can rebuild a strong ANC, rebuild a strong Cosatu, so that when the alliance is united the country will forward in a different direction.”

CALL FOR UNITY

The ANC says it wants to unite the organisation ahead of its 2017 elective conference to ensure the succession debate doesn’t sow further divisions in the party.

To ensure this, some of the party’s leaders are embarking on a political education programme in various regions this weekend.

ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe has spent time in the North West, while his deputy, Jessie Duarte, has been in the Western Cape this weekend.

They want to unify the organisation as it advances towards its conference next year where new leaders will be elected.

Some structures of the party such as the ANCWL and ANCYL have already indicated they want a woman president to succeed President Zuma, with outgoing African Union Commissioner Chair Nkosazana Dlamini being the favourite.

But unions affiliated to the party have announced they are behind Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The ANC says it wants to teach their structures about the principles of selecting leadership for the movement.

The party says the political education programme is done with the aim of unifying the organisation as it advances towards the elective conference.

http://ewn.co.za/2016/11/13/cwu-will-take-mandate-to-cosatu-cec-if-members-call-for-zuma-to-step-down

Judge rebukes state on mine-safety stoppages

Allan Seccombe, Business Day,15 November 2016 \

In a scathing judgment, the Labour Court has overturned a safety stoppage at AngloGold Ashanti’s Kopanang mine and addressed the core concern mining companies have about the way the Department of Mineral Resources’ safety officials implement stoppages.

For the past two years, mining executives have become increasingly outspoken in their frustration with the way mine safety has been handled, with shutdowns ordered by the department’s inspectors of entire mines for violations of the Mine Health and Safety Act in sections of the mines.

The Chamber of Mines has estimated the cost of the safety stoppages between 2012 and 2015 at R13.6bn in lost revenue, excluding the losses incurred in restarting mines. The trend has nearly doubled the value put on shutdowns, rising to R4.8bn last year from R2.6bn in 2012.

"We believe that the Labour Court has, in this case, clarified the limits on the powers of the inspectorate," the chamber’s CE, Roger Baxter, said on Monday.

It was in line with the industry’s approach in which it has sought to persuade the department to avoid unjustified stoppages that were compounding losses in already trying financial times, Baxter said.

Royal Bafokeng Platinum has said the recent sharp increase in the frequency and severity of these orders, which did not appear to be addressing noncompliance with safety standards, was "very disappointing" and it could no longer offer the same acceptance and support of these orders it had in the past.

In a judgment handed down on November 4, Judge Andre van Niekerk said the order to shut Kopanang near Orkney in North West on October 17 at a cost of R9.5m a day due to violations involving explosives and tramming at the 44 level of the mine was disproportionate.

The 91 affected workers represented just 2% of the mine’s 4,218 employees and the 28 railway line switches that came under scrutiny were a fraction of the 206 switches used by Kopanang’s trams.

"It is patently clear therefore that [the affected] 44 level comprises a very small portion of the total operation and conditions there are not axiomatically representative of conditions elsewhere on the mine," Van Niekerk said, ordering the lifting of the safety stoppage of the entire mine, but retaining the suspension of the offending level.

"The instructions insofar as they relate to a prohibition across the entire mine in respect of explosives and tramming were out of all proportion to the issues identified by the third respondent. At worst, they should have been confined to level 44," he said.

The legal fraternity welcomed the judgment.

"The judgment is an indictment of the manner in which certain officials execute their duties. The judge’s sentiments echo the views of the mining industry as well as the legal counsel who have to deal with the consequences of these abusive practices on a daily basis," said Allan Reid of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

"Enforcement issues are all too frequently approached in an aggressive, heavy-handed and ill-considered manner," he said.

AngloGold CE Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday the world’s third-largest gold miner had lost 82,800oz of gold in SA to safety stoppages so far this year.

"This judgment will provide clear guidelines. You can’t just stop and start these big, deep-level mines. There are consequences to doing that."

Ben Magara, CE at the world’s third-biggest platinum miner Lonmin, said it had lost 164 production days in its financial year to end-September in 50 section 54 stoppages compared to 173 days in 36 stoppages in the previous year.

"Section 54 stoppages were enforced more broadly and were taking longer to lift in the first nine months of the year. Not only do safety stoppages affect production, they also have a negative impact on safety routines and care must be taken to safely shut down work areas so that on their return, workers do not enter a work area that is hazardous," Magara said.

Asked if Lonmin would also turn to the courts to contest the stoppages, Magara said the company preferred to build relationships with officials while it worked at improving safety and this strategy had paid off in the fourth quarter of the year.

Van Niekerk singled out the North West office of the department and its officials for particular criticism, drawing on a 2012 judgment delivered in favour of Bert’s Bricks contesting the shut down of their operations for safety reasons.

That judgment found that of the officials ordering the stoppage not one had “properly applied his mind to the operation of the MHSA and that there was a gross abuse of the provisions of the act,” the judgment said, calling the litigation a waste of tax payers’ money and berated department officials for not listening to complaints.

Van Niekerk said no lessons appeared to have been learnt at the North West office or by its officials.

“It is also astonishing, given the content of their answering affidavit and the submissions made on their behalf, that the respondents clearly fail to appreciate the conceptual framework within which they are required to discharge their duties,” he said, pointing out that in the department’s submission “proportionality was irrelevant’ because it did not feature in Section 54 of the MHSA which entailed shutting down mines.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/mining/2016-11-15-judge-rebukes-state-on-mine-safety-stoppages/

South Africa

We doubt he will change anything - Alex residents on Zuma's visit

Jeanette Chabalala, News24, 15 Nov 2016

Johannesburg - While some residents of the Setswetla informal settlement in Alexandra expressed joy that President Jacob Zuma was expected to visit on Tuesday, others said his presence was not going to make a difference.

Nomusa Khumalo she was expecting Zuma to help victims of last week's flash floods.

"It's raining and these people don't know where to hide their heads at night. We just hope his visit will change their lives.

"When it rains my mother doesn't sit inside the house. She stands outside and says she'd rather be taken by floods outside her home."

Another resident, Egnes Manganyi, said Zuma's visit was not going to make a difference.

"A lot of people have lost their homes, furniture and some lost their lives, we don't think he will do anything to help us.

Visit to missing child's home

"It's okay that he is coming to see what has happened in the community, but we doubt he is going to change anything."

Zuma was expected to visit the family of missing 3-year-old Everite Chauke.

Everite, her father Shadrick Chauke, and her mother were in their shack on Wednesday afternoon when it started raining.

When water began filling their home, which is near the Jukskei River, they climbed a tree.

Chauke held on to his daughter. Her mother was on another branch.

"The branch broke and the child fell into the water. He tried for dear life to try and rescue his child, but she disappeared into the water," Richard Makondo, who spoke on behalf of the family, previously told News24.

Chauke jumped into the water, but was forced to swim back without her.

"When he swam back to the tree where his wife was, he thought she was missing too," Makondo said.

She was, however, still holding on to the tree.

Gift of the Givers has been assisting the community with clothes and food.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/we-doubt-he-will-change-anything-alex-residents-on-zumas-visit-20161115

SASSA social grants distribution doomsday and behind the scenes move to save 17-million grants

Marianne Thamm, Daily Maverick, 14 Nov 2016

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) now only has five months to prepare itself for taking over the mammoth task of distributing social grants worth R10-billion a month to about 17-million vulnerable South Africans. Last month, after committee members warned of a possible impending disaster, SASSA officials vowed they would return on 16 November to present a detailed plan to Parliament’s Social Development Portfolio Committee. Problem is, SASSA’s top officials have jetted off to a conference in Panama instead, cancelling their presentation at the last minute. What do they know that we don’t? A look into the current service provider’s shareholders notes offers a glimpse into the reality past the April 1 switchover deadline.

While the World Social Security Forum of International Social Security Association currently taking place in Panama City from Monday until Thursday might very well offer SASSA’s top officials illuminating insights, the not-so-small matter of the agency’s preparedness to take over – from Net1 subsidiary, Cash Paymaster Services – the vital role of distributing some 17-million social grants to South Africans from April 1, 2017 is a much more pressing matter.

Any glitch in the system could literally mean life or death, food or starvation for many of the country’s most vulnerable citizens. Which is why members of Parliament’s

portfolio committee for Social Development were looking forward to SASSA’s promised report back and detailed breakdown of various “workstreams” in preparation for the April 1, 2017 switchover.

However, members of the committee were informed by SMS on Monday that SASSA officials had cancelled their appearance before the committee as key officials were out of the country attending the conference in Panama.

DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, Lindy Wilson, on Monday said that the parliamentary committee which was tasked with performing oversight was “being kept in the dark. There are far too many questions left unanswered and by avoiding these, the department and SASSA are evading accountability.”

Wilson has said the party will write to the chairwoman of the committee, Rosemary Capa, to request that she urgently reschedule the appearance by SASSA.

“We have also learnt that SASSA has scheduled a meeting with ‘stakeholders’ on the institutionalisation of grants ‘to get their inputs’. Why are the Department and SASSA meeting stakeholders just five months away from implementation?” asked Wilson.

During a SASSA presentation to the committee on October 13, DA MP Bridget Masango asked whether SASSA intended extending the existing contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which had been ruled invalid by the Constitutional court in 2014. A division of CPS, Net1, had won the SASSA tender to distribute grant payments in 2012. The ConCourt ordered SASSA to reissue the tender by October 2015 as it had been “irregular”.

SASSA called for tenders but opted instead to extend the CPS contract until March 2017, offering that other tender bids “were non-responsive in mandatory administrative functionality”. In November 2015, SASSA reported to the Constitutional Court that the department would be ready to take over the payment of grants from CPS from April 1, 2017.

But it is unlikely that it will.

Net 1 is listed on the JSE and New York’s Nasdaq and what is revealing, however, are comments by Chairman and CEO, Serge Belamant, during a first quarter 2017 earnings call to shareholders on November 3 to discuss the company’s financial results.

Speaking with regard to the company’s relationship with SASSA and how the company viewed its business “with the South African government going forward”, Belamant said that SASSA remained the most critical organ of the state in South Africa and that “the Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, who also holds important position of Chair Person of the ANC’s Women’s League has made it clear that she, as well as the state, would like the SASSA system to be operated by SASSA.”

What the Women’s League has to do with it in this context is a bit puzzling, but we press on.

SASSA’s goal of gaining “total control over the management and distribution of grants” had, said Belamant, “been elusive until now due to the current conundrum created by the incompatibility between the banking and the social development, legal and regulatory frameworks... The road for SASSA to realise total independence will require many changes to the current system.”

It is the last sentence uttered on November 3, only 11 days ago, which indicates that Belamant might know something the rest of us suspect:

SASSA is nowhere near ready to take care of the rollout on its own.

“The card reissuance exercise of this scale would, in our experience, require a period of between 18 to 24 months from the date of the decision to do so,” Belamant informed shareholders.

SASSA cards are branded by MasterCard, he continued, and as such, formed part of the national payment system. These cards must be issued by a South African bank and conform to South African Reserve Bank and Payment Association of South Africa regulations.

“Each card is linked to a bank account, which is by definition also subject to the same regulations. To solve this impasse, SASSA could decide to reissue cards to beneficiaries that would only be branded SASSA and would therefore not be issued by any bank. It is possible for this card to technologically inter-operate with a national payment system, point of sale and ATM network, as they could and would support the common payment application.”

Belamont told shareholders that SASSA would also need to “insource a back-end card management system as well as a biometric one-to-many search engine to continue to eliminate duplicate registrations and reduce fraud.”

Net1’s solution and technology platform, he suggested, “can facilitate such a plan and as they are designed to provide this form of independence if and when required. More urgently, SASSA has asked us to propose a plan that would allow for all currently issued SASSA card(s) to continue to operate for a further 24 months after April 1, 2017.”

The massive exercise would require an update of all current cards with new MasterCards as well as Net 1 cryptographic key sets, and expiry date, as the current expiry date on millions of cards is March 31, 2017.

“If these updates are not performed by April 1, 2017, these cards would no longer be operational in terms of the EMV standard and banking regulations. Net 1 has designed a plan that would allow such updates to take place at SASSA offices, Net1 base points and Net1 ATM. Contingency plans have also been put in place to ensure that grant distribution will not be affected after April 1, 2017 or during the SASSA insourcing or transition period. Net1 continues to work with SASSA to achieve the objectives without any impact to beneficiaries and await SASSA’s decision to proceed according to the proposed plans.”

Sounds very much like a done deal from this side of the hill.

Also, the “transition period” referred to now appears to be only FIVE months. SASSA officials have not provided any concrete evidence to the contrary either to the portfolio committee or anyone else.

SASSA’s extension of the CPS/Net 1 tender, which has been declared unlawful by the Constitutional Court and has already been extended, could certainly be open to legal challenge.

Another interesting snippet in the report-back to shareholders is a remark by Net1 CFO Herman Kotze that the Department of Social Development had recently published its intention to provide “life cover” for elderly beneficiaries of social grants.

“DSD [Department of Social Development] estimates the cost of such insurance to be between 37 (rands) and 70 range per month. Although we do not know when such a scheme will be launched by SASSA, we would qualify for it on what the terms and conditions or the benefit would be.”

What this essentially means is that elderly grant recipients might find themselves short of between R37 and R70 a month as it is skimmed off for compulsory “life cover”.

Kotze said that the company was “confident that our Smart Life policies, which are designed to meet the needs of not only beneficiary, but also that of their families, will remain the preferred option for our customers. For comparison, I will also note that average price of our policies is around ZAR37.2, which is right at the lower end of the SASSA’s predicted estimated cost.”

He added that the company continued to “assume that our contract with SASSA remains in effect for the full year on the existing terms and conditions, a constant currency base of ZAR14.38 to the dollar and updated share count of 56-million shares and a tax rate of between 33% and 35%.”

Said Belamant, “We believe that at the end of the day, SASSA may not simply terminate our engagement for what’s planned on the 1st of April, it might take quite some time before this will actually happen, if at all.”

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-11-14-sassa-social-grants-distribution-doomsday-and-behind-the-scenes-move-to-save-17-million-grants/#.WCrdq03lrIU

ANC has forgotten struggle: ANCYL

eNCA/ANA, 13 November 2016

DURBAN – The African National Congress has forgotten the struggle at the expense of the poor, ANC Youth League leader Collen Maine said on Saturday.

“The problem with the ANC, in the view of the league, is that we are too comfortable; we have forgotten why we embarked on the struggle,” Maine told the youth league’s eThekwini elective congress at Howard College in Durban.

“We are driven in German cars and we forget about everything else. We are forgetting that our people are poor and go to bed without eating,” he said.

Revolutions were not led by the “old”, which was why the young needed to take over the ANC and do things differently, because there were many problems within the mother body.

“There is leadership in the ANC that loves media coverage at the expense of the ANC. Talking too much and little delivery is a problem in the ANC.”

These “limelight-loving” leaders were known as “popcorn” within the league, because they were populists and popped up whenever the media were present. It was the function of the youth league to mobilise society in general and the youth in particular, and yet the league had not led during the Fees Must Fall protests, he said.

“We as the youth league, did we lead Fees Must Fall? We didn’t. What did the regional and provincial youth league leadership do during Fees Must Fall? Dololo. You were nowhere to be found. We are not leading. We were not leading from the front in terms of that.”

Maybe the “narrative” of Fees Must Fall needed to be changed. “Fees Must Fall is not our language as the ANC. And as the ANC, we must fight for free education, not for something called Fees Must Fall,” Maine said.

It was a foreign concept that some people were trying to make South African. “We don’t have a struggle called Fees Must Fall. Our struggle as the youth and since the inception of the youth league in 1944 has always been a call for free education for the poor.”

People who could afford education for their children should have to pay for it, including himself. The government could not pay for the education of those who could afford it.

Maine said the problems facing the ANC were “deadly” and if not addressed the organisation faced the same fate as other liberation movements.

“We heard the message the people sent during the [August municipal] elections. That’s why we cannot afford to have leaders pop-corning in the African National Congress. The only way to change this is for the young to take over the ANC. It is time for us to take over the ANC so that we save the ANC from itself,” he said.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/anc-forgotten-struggle-ancyl

Youth league attacks Gordhan, Mthembu

Matthew Savides, HeraldLive, 14 Nov 2016

The ANC Youth League yesterday launched a scathing attack on two of their own, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and parliamentary chief whip Jackson Mthembu, who was labelled a drunkard.

ANCYL deputy president Desmond Moela attacked the two – as well as former public protector Thuli Madonsela – at the league’s eThekwini elective conference in Durban.

“We have somebody in the ANC, Pravin Gordon’s. I don’t know his surname. I call him Gordon’s. That Gordon’s Gin, whatever, [he] is not the god of the ANC. Who is he?” he said.

Gordhan has been involved in a long-running controversy over whether or not he will be charged with the establishment of the so-called SA Revenue Service (SARS) “rogue unit”.

Last month, the National Prosecuting Authority decided not to charge him for fraud and theft over the early retirement of a former SARS commissioner, Ivan Pillay.

Moela said: “Now, we are saying as the ANCYL, that old, retired man must find inner peace and leave us in peace. He must also face the law.”

Turning on Mthembu, he said: “You can’t have somebody called Jack Daniels, who is always drunk, speaking … without the mandate [of the ANC].”

Last month, Mthembu said the ANC’s national executive committee should resign following the party’s poor performance in this year’s local government elections.

Moela said Madonsela and others, who he did not name, were puppets.

“We know they are conniving with the enemy. Why can’t Thuli shut up and stop talking about issues of that office. Can she get a boyfriend please.”

Gordhan and Mthembu declined to comment.

http://www.heraldlive.co.za/politics/2016/11/14/youth-league-attacks-gordhan-mthembu/

Malema tells EFF supporters to seize white-owned land, defying court

James Macharia, Mail & Guardian/Reuters, 14 Nov 2016

EFF leader Julius Malema told the party’s supporters on Monday to seize any piece of white-owned land they wanted, defying a court trying him on charges of inciting violent property grabs.

Malema addressed cheering members of the EFF near the courtroom in Bloemfontein, after a judge adjourned the politically-charged hearing.

“When we leave here and you see any beautiful piece of land and you like it, occupy it, it belongs to you ... It is the land that was taken from us by white people by force through genocide,” he said.

Malema has rallied an enthusiastic band of backers through calls for the nationalisation of mines and the curbing of whites’ economic power, building on frustration over the slow pace of economic progress for many black people since the end of apartheid.

His three-year-old party controls 25 of South African’s 400 parliamentary seats. But there have been signs of growing support since he stepped up criticism of his former mentor, President Jacob Zuma, currently embroiled in a series of scandals.

The EFF emerged as electoral king maker in Johannesburg and Tshwane at the municipal elections in August, giving it a foothold that he has promised to expand in national elections in 2019.

Malema appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court to face charges of inciting his supporters to take over land during a party meeting in 2014.

He faced a similar charge last week in the town of Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, but that trial was also postponed to let him file an application to the Constitutional Court to scrap an apartheid-era law.

After that trial, he called for land grabs “without compensation” and added: “We are not calling for the slaughter of white people - at least for now”, drawing criticism from the Democratic Alliance.

On Monday, he told his supporters: “I will never kill white people, why should I kill them? I will never avenge for what they did ... I’m asking politely for the land to be returned.”

http://mg.co.za/article/2016-11-14-malema-tells-eff-supporters-to-seize-white-owned-land-defying-court?utm_source=Mail+%26+Guardian&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily+newsletter&utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2016-11-14-malema-tells-eff-supporters-to-seize-white-owned-land-defying-court

International

Mass strike by prison officers sees 10,000 walk out today as union plans strike over health and safety conditions

Jessica Howarth & Sam Blewett, Mirror [UK], 15 Nov 2016

The Prison Officers Association (POA) has directed all its members to stage and said it will only provide emergency cover

Thousands of prison officers will go on strike today in a protest against working conditions.

They will stop working today in protest over health and safety concerns, their union has announced.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) has directed all its members to take part in a day of protest after negotiations with the Government broke down.

Steve Gillan, the POA's general secretary, said as many as 10,000 prison workers will take part in what is effectively a strike where they will only provide emergency cover.

A POA spokesman said: "The continued surge in violence and unprecedented levels of suicide and acts of self harm, coupled with the recent murder and escapes, demonstrate that the service is in meltdown."

This comes after a number of high-profile incidents within the prison service.

Earlier this month, two prisoners escaped from Pentonville prison after breaking the bars of their cell with a diamond cutter and leaving mannequins in their beds.

James Anthony Whitlock, 31, and Matthew Baker, 28, fled the north London prison on November 7.

They have both subsequently been arrested.

There have also been a number of cases of inmates using dangerous 'legal highs' such as cannaboid Black Mamba.

In April 2015, 30-year-old Dean Boland was found dead by a cellmate after taking the synthetic drug.

He was serving a sentence for shoplifting and was on recall for a burglary offence at the detox B wing of Birmingham Jail.

Black Mamba is being touted as the drug of choice among prisoners at Walton and Altcourse prisons in Liverpool because there is little chance of being caught.

"We need to act to protect ourselves," he said. "It has not come about quickly - it's a build-up over probably years actually. Three years we have been suffering with recruitment retention issues.

"Last month Lewes prison had a riot, Bedford prison had a riot, assaults are at an all-time high. There's mobile phones and drugs in prisons.

"It's just unsafe. To me, prison officers taking this type of action speaks volumes for what's happening inside."

Mr Todd also hit back at the MoJ, saying: "The Ministry of Justice will call it a strike, they will injunct through the courts. Unfortunately that's how they like to conduct industrial relations.

"It's a disgrace that you bully and intimidate working men and women like that."

He added non-union staff were still working inside Pentonville, which saw custody vans queuing outside the entrance.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mass-strike-prison-officers-sees-9260877

Comment and opinion

Analysis: Zuma has no answers. Nor do his potential successors.

Stephen Grootes, Daily Maverick, 14 Nov 2016

On Monday President Jacob Zuma gave the perfect example of the kind of lack of leadership with which he has become synonymous. He was asked a series of questions about the State of Capture report. Eleven times, he gave the same reply. Eleven times the same four sentences appear. It is a big “stuff you” to Parliament, accountability, and democracy. It is the classic Big Man approach, the idea that he believes he is above the rest of us. It is also the worst kind of leadership there is. Unfortunately, if you look at the candidates who could replace him, you shouldn’t raise your hopes that much better is on the horizon.

Zuma has never really shown much regard for Parliament. His answers have always been short on detail. When Julius Malema and his caucus were thrown out of the National Assembly chamber violently, Zuma’s response was to laugh. But Monday’s “answers” are a new low. They show complete disdain. The one answer of substance that he does give, in response to a query about whether he took any action against Mosebenzi Zwane for lying about that banking inquiry, is to say that, “I reprimanded the Minister for the statement.” In other words, a minister of state lied, and all he gets is a reprimand.

It is, of course, proof that Zuma and Zwane are the same, they’re batting for the same team. You could even argue that they have the same employer.

The last Minister to receive a “reprimand” such as this was Nkosinathi Nhleko. Then the “reprimand” was ordered by the last Public Protector, for his operatic defence of Nkandla. And of course, if a reprimand serves no purpose, is it really a reprimand? It certainly is serving no purpose here.

It is becoming a common refrain to hear people simply sigh, and ask how much longer this kind of “leadership” can go on for. What we need is leadership that will take responsibility, that will take it on the chin, that will own up to mistakes. What we don’t need is any more of this “collective responsibility” where no one suffers any consequences for making mistakes. What this country really needs at the moment is proper direction. A set of marching orders, a direction to march in, a sense of unity and purpose. We are beset by drift.

Much is made of the possible candidates to take over from Zuma. We’re told that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is a technocrat, the person who turned Home Affairs around, who is competent. That Cyril Ramaphosa understands how economies work, will get things done, is not corrupt. But could they really be actual leaders? Evidence that they could is thin on the ground.

A few weeks ago, Dlamini-Zuma jetted in from Angola to address a dinner for the SA National Editors Forum. For journalists, it was pretty swanky, under canvas at a grand old Parktown house, complete with three-course dinner and the immaculately dressed Xolani Gwala. The fact that it was the second time that week that Dlamini-Zuma was speaking at a SANEF event was telling. It could be evidence that she is actually running some sort of campaign. The stage was set for some kind of statement, an eager audience, ready, willing and able to run headlines about “direction” and “leadership” and “the future”.

But there was no material upon which to base such headlines.

Almost the entire speech was what you could call an African Union stump speech. It was so banal, so boring, so lacking in content, that there were no circumstances under which it could not have been given. It was that generic and dull. The most important comment to come out of it was the sentiment that no children should be excluded from higher education because their parents cannot afford it. Really? Has anyone seriously said the opposite, that poor children should be barred from higher education? Of course not. So how then is this a serious statement of intent, of vision, of desire to lead into future?

This is a situation in which Dlamini-Zuma could easily be building some momentum for the ANC leadership conference next year. And she could do it on the sly, under the line, without even trying. And yet she couldn’t even do that.

Unfortunately, her rival, Cyril Ramaphosa, is no better. Literally the only political act of any consequence that he has performed since 2012 has been his statement of “political and moral support” for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Up until that point, he has done nothing. And, if it’s possible, he has achieved even less.

Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum Africa meeting in Rwanda, Ramaphosa ended up holding a press conference. It was in a hot tent, with a British press officer literally wilting. Yours Truly asked him why someone should “spend money in South Africa when they can put it in an economy like Rwanda that is growing much more quickly, where policy is created quickly and implemented quickly... and especially when it looks to an outsider like parts of government are in conflict with other parts of government?” His answer was this, “If that has your understanding, your perception, then it will be something of the past, because we are streamlining the way we function, the way various government departments are co-operating.”

Can you get past the stench of the bull? And, as it turned out, it wasn’t even true. The “war” inside government has only got worse since then. (This was before Gordhan was charged by the NPA.)

Both Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma speak like this, or don’t say anything in quite this fashion for the same reason. They realise that the path to political power includes being silent on anything that matters. We get it, we understand it, we realise that it is important not to have a strong, public, perhaps even controversial position on anything, because of all the powerful people one could upset.

But by God in Heaven, it is no way to run a country. We cannot continue drowning in platitudes any longer. Our problems are serious, and getting more serious by the day. The only person who benefits from drift is today’s winner of the Fastest driver on the road to Bloemfontein award. The moment when it first appeared that Zuma could win at the ANC’s Polokwane Conference was a speech he gave a few days before it started. In a theatre at Wits University he said, “We need to declare a state of emergency on Aids and crime”. It was a direct hit on Thabo Mbeki. And the evidence suggests that it worked.

It is also to the benefit of all who could run in the ANC’s leadership race to be more direct. One of the reasons the party is in the state it is in now is that it has no direction itself. It’s too split, too factionalised. The last plain-talking leader it had was Nelson Mandela. Mbeki’s speeches were nothing but exercises in looking for the word “Aids”, while Zuma’s were full of promises that he had no intention of keeping (like the time he promised to “urgently fill the leadership positions in the upper echelons of the crime fighting agencies” or the promise to “create one million new jobs”).

Passion, commitment, courage to risk one’s career for what you so strongly believe that you are happy to lose elections in defence of such worthy principles?

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

That was Mandela. That was the ANC.

The ANC of today can do better. It’s not that hard. It requires a little bit of bravery, and spine. And to remember, once more, that the people of South Africa should come first.

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-11-14-analysis-zuma-has-no-answers.-nor-do-his-potential-successors./#.WCrioE3lrIU