Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 29 January 2025
Norman Mampane
|
COSATU TODAY #ClassStruggle “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
29 January 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
Ø Media Invite: SAMWU demonstrates its anger and frustration over unresolved issues with the City of Johannesburg
- Minister Enoch Godongwana invites 2025 budget tips
- South Africa
- South African Communist Party Statement by the SACP and the Hani family on the interview by the ex-convict who assassinated comrade Chris Hani
- Police arrested two male suspects in connection with torching of Putco buses incident
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Statement By President Cyril Ramaphosa on the recent developments in the Eastern DRC and deaths of South African Soldiers
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Media Invite: SAMWU demonstrates its anger and frustration over unresolved issues with the City of Johannesburg
Lebogang Ndawo, SAMWU Regional Deputy Chairperson, 29 January 2025
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is taking a firm and uncompromising stance against the City of Johannesburg’s blatant refusal to account for its actions. On 30 January 2025 at 09:00, SAMWU shop stewards and members will assemble at Metro Centre, Braamfontein, to demand answers, accountability, and justice regarding the Helen Botes/JPC scandal.
This demonstration will coincide with the Johannesburg Council sitting, where key decisions affecting the city’s governance will are made. It is important that Councillors and City officials hear our demands and respond to the serious allegations of corruption and maladministration.
The City’s deliberate obstruction and refusal to disclose crucial information is a betrayal of transparency and good governance. In response, we will deliver a formal petition to City, exercising our constitutional right to protest, as enshrined in Section 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
SAMWU demands full and immediate disclosure on the following critical issues:
- The awarding of a highly questionable contract to Kunene Ramapala Incorporated for revenue collection on behalf of JPC.
- The contract approval process—who authorised it, and on what grounds?
- The deviation from normal procurement procedures, in clear violation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
- The shocking 25% commission fee, amounting to R17.5 million per month, funnelled through the law firm’s trust account.
- The staggering R210 million allegedly collected by the law firm in just one year—has this been independently audited?
- The role of Mayor Morero (MMC for Finance at the time) and the corruption-accused Helen Botes in facilitating this highly suspicious contract.
- A glaring conflict of interest—how did a law firm initially tasked with investigating Helen Botes suddenly become a major beneficiary of a revenue collection contract under her leadership?
- The irregular and dubious appointment of Helen Botes as Acting COO—why was due process ignored despite her controversial track record and questionable associations?
The workers of Johannesburg deserve answers. The residents of this city deserve better. Corruption, mismanagement, and maladministration cannot be tolerated while workers suffer and services collapse. SAMWU will not rest until the City of Johannesburg is held accountable. If transparency is not upheld, we will escalate our actions accordingly. The time for secrecy and impunity is over.
Members of the media are therefore invited to attend and cover the event that will take place as follows:
Date : 30 January 2025
Time : 09:00
Venue : Metro Centre, Johannesburg
We demand action! We demand justice! We demand accountability!
For media enquiries, contact:
Lebogang Ndawo
SAMWU Regional Deputy Chairperson
081 459 4221
__________________
Minister Enoch Godongwana invites 2025 budget tips
28 Jan 2025
2025 budget tips – Make your voice heard
The
Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, invites South Africans to share their suggestions on the Budget.
Minister Godongwana will deliver the National Budget Speech in February 2025. The budget allocation aims to strike a balance between growing the economy and supporting the vulnerable amid limited resources. People may submit views on:
government spending priorities
addressing a large budget deficit
stabilising State-Owned Entity finances
energy funding solutions
tax revenues
debt sustainability
municipal finances
any other economy-related topics
Minister
Godongwana looks forward to your contributions.
Submissions can be sent to the National Treasury using this link: 2025
Budget Tips.
Please keep contributions concise and to the point, not longer than 300 words.
Tag us on our social media accounts using the hashtag #TipsForMinFin and #Budget2025:
X - Treasury_RSA
LinkedIn - National Treasury RSA
Tik Tok - @TreasuryRSA
Facebook - National Treasury RSA
Closing date for submissions: 10 February 2025
Issued by National Treasury
South African Communist Party Statement by the SACP and the Hani family on the interview by the ex-convict who assassinated comrade Chris Hani
Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, SACP Central Committee Member, National Spokesperson & Political Bureau Secretary for Policy and Research, 29 January 2025
The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Hani family, represented by comrade Limpho Hani, have reviewed the interview conducted by eNCA with Janusz Waluś, the ex-convict who assassinated comrade Chris Hani. The interview, aired on Sunday, 26 January 2025, was pre-arranged and recorded in Poland, following his release on parole in 2024 under a 2022 Constitutional Court order.
We reiterate our call for a thorough inquest into the assassination of Chris Hani and urge the state to act with urgency. Justice delayed is justice denied. Let it be clear: the struggle for justice, equality and the complete dismantling of apartheid’s legacy is not over. We will not allow the memory of Chris Hani to be tarnished, nor will we permit unrepentant assassins to distort the truth of our history.
Chris Hani, who was brutally assassinated on 10 April 1993, was the General Secretary of the SACP and a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. Chris Hani, the husband and father, and Chris Hani, the SACP General Secretary, ANC National Executive Committee member and former Chief of Staff of uMkhonto weSizwe, was 100 per cent the same, inseparable person. His assassination by Janusz Waluś and his co-conspirator, Clive Derby-Lewis, brought South Africa to the brink of civil war, claiming additional lives as the nation teetered on the edge of civil war. While Clive Derby-Lewis has since died after being granted medical parole, Waluś remains unrepentant.
The assassin revealed absolutely no new information during the interview. Waluś merely regurgitated what has long been widely reported in the media, including what he said about the visit to Clive Derby-Lewis in prison by Jacob Zuma when he was the Deputy President in the mid-2000s. The repetition of old stories largely revolved around the claims made by the assassins in their failed application for amnesty to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the responses to this application from the SACP and the Hani family through our legal team, and the commission’s rightful decision to deny the assassins amnesty – because they did not make full disclosure of the truth. The old stories repeated by the assassin include those presented in their numerous applications for parole, affidavits and in other court papers, among other sources.
Although this was a mere interview and nothing under oath, the assassin’s refusal to engage meaningfully, often claiming he would “restrict himself to what is relevant,” underscores his ongoing evasion of accountability, and his intentional lack of remorse. The SACP and the Hani family have consistently maintained that Waluś remains unremorseful. This was argued extensively in court, including at the Constitutional Court, where Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and his concurring judges insisted otherwise, that Waluś had shown remorse. Instead, to our surprise, the court placed the burden of remorse on Limpho Hani by citing her rejection of or so-called non-reply to Waluś’ letter of apology – which she never received. In response, comrade Limpho Hani stated: “I never knew how strong I was until I had to forgive someone who wasn’t sorry, and accept an apology I never received.”
The deep disappointment of that judgment, delivered on 21 November 2022, has been reignited by Waluś’ continued display of no remorse. His open declaration that he would assassinate Chris Hani again under similar circumstances demonstrates his complete lack of regret and exposes the flawed assertion of his supposed remorse.
Furthermore, Waluś’ interview underscored his deeply entrenched racism and white supremacist ideology, including the apartheid-era malicious agenda to sow division among the black majority and turn them against each other. He disparaged South Africa’s black majority, shamelessly insisting that they should have been confined to the apartheid-imposed bantustans, which is where, he further insisted, their right to vote must have been restricted. This would have left South Africa as a white supremacists-dominated country and state. His utterances are a stark reminder of the oppressive ideologies that drove his heinous crime.
The SACP and the Hani family condemn in the strongest possible terms Waluś’ unrepentant stance, his racist attitude and his continued glorification of apartheid-era atrocities. His actions and utterances insult the memory of Chris Hani, the sacrifices of the South African people and the hard-won democratic gains for which Hani dedicated his life to achieve. In the courts, the SACP and the Hani family have maintained that Waluś, as a convicted assassin who was – and still is – driven by a racist ideological motive, has remained unwilling to renounce that ideology and continued to be unrepentant. Anyone who cares can see this for themselves, unlike those who accept false remorse and impose their acceptance of the non-existent remorse on the victim’s family.
Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
___________________
Police arrested two male suspects in connection with torching of Putco buses incident
29 Jan 2025
The Police in Mpumalanga made a breakthrough and arrested two male suspects, aged 29 and 37, in connection with the torching of 51 Putco buses in Nkangala District on the night of Monday, 27 January 2025.
The suspects were apprehended this evening (Tuesday, 28 January 2025) following a coordinated effort by the team that was assembled under the leadership of the Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General (Dr) Zeph Mkhwanazi.
Their arrest emanates after a group of armed individuals driving a white Toyota Quantum, Vito Minibus and a VW Polo set fire to the buses at various Putco bus depots in the area. This resulted in the destruction of 16 buses in Moloto (within Kwamhlanga Policing Precinct) and 35 buses in Siyabuswa Policing Precinct (Thabane and Maphotla).
During the incident, several Putco employees were reduced to ashes, with one security guard sustaining a gunshot wound and receiving medical treatment at a local hospital whilst other Putco employees sustained some injuries after being reportedly assaulted.
The suspects, who were wearing balaclavas and black clothing, also reportedly held the employees at gunpoint during the attack.
The well formidable team did not disappoint and during the arrest, one of the suspects was found in possession of a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims, as well as a magazine for a 9mm pistol without ammunition.
The Police are convinced that these two individuals were allegedly involved in the bus depot incidents and further investigations are ongoing.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General (Dr) Zeph Mkhwanazi, commended the swift action taken by the SAPS in tracing and apprehending the suspects within a short space of time. The General expressed confidence in the ongoing investigation and hinted at the possibility of more arrests in the future. "We are encouraged by the achievement made so far and we hope that the team will continue to bring more results going forward, " said the General.
Ends.
Issued by Mpumalanga Provincial Government
International-Solidarity
Statement By President Cyril Ramaphosa on the recent developments in the Eastern DRC and deaths of South African Soldiers
29 JANUARY 2025*
Fellow South Africans,
Following the recent intensification of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa has lost 13 brave soldiers who were dedicated to their mission and committed to peace. The fighting is the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).
On behalf of the government and the people of our country, I express our sincerest condolences to their families, their loved ones and colleagues. We bow our heads in honor of their heroic and gallant fight for peace.
We honour and mourn them.
All necessary support is being provided to the families of the deceased and the families of the injured. The process to repatriate the remains of the deceased is underway.
The attacks on peacekeepers resulted in the deaths of SAMIDRC members from other troop contributing countries, namely, Malawi and Tanzania, as well members of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) brigade. We honour all the lives that were lost and pass our condolences to their families, governments and citizens. The situation in Goma and Sake, where our troops and their counterparts are stationed, remains very tense, volatile and unpredictable.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Angie Motshekga and the Chief of the SANDF Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and SAMIDRC Force Commander Maj Gen Monwabisi Dyakopu are working to ensure that the SAMIDRC forces remain well equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.
We are concerned about the speculation about the state of our troops and the battle conditions. All South Africans must rally behind our brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing peace in our continent.
South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state. The members of the South African National Defence Force that are in the DRC are part of both SADC and United Nations efforts to bring peace and protect thousands of lives that are constantly threatened by the conflict in the DRC. The presence of the SAMIDRC forces demonstrates a commitment of SADC member states to supporting the DRC in its efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and ultimately, create an enabling environment for sustainable development and prosperity.
We welcome the position that was recently adopted by the United Nations Security Council during its special sitting on the situation in the DRC, which calls for an immediate end to hostilities, the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23, the exit of external forces from the DRC and the resumption of peace talks under the Nairobi Process.
The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states.
We call on all parties to this conflict to fully embrace the current diplomatic efforts that are aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, including honoring the Luanda Process agreements. We must silence the guns on our continent for the attainment of inclusive development and prosperity.
I thank you.
______________________________
Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street, Braamfontein, 2017
P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct line: 010 219-1348