COSATU Media Monitor, 26 March 2014

[Norman Mampane]

COSATU Media Monitor

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

 

COSATU Listening Campaign and organizing of vulnerable workers continues in 2014….Join a Trade Union today!

 

 

COSATU rejection of E-tolls, Labour Brokers & Youth Wage Subsidy Campaign goes ahead in 2014.

http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6793

 

Stop Commodification of public goods!

 

The articles in the Media Monitor do not represent the views of COSATU. They are selected because we believe they deal with topics of interest to our readers, who will then be informed on how the media is reporting and commenting on these topics. It will enable them, if necessary, to respond to inaccurate, misleading or biased reports or comment.

If we have excluded other articles which readers wished could have been picked, this was not intentional but because of tight time-frames. If you have seen article worth to be shared email it.

 

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Contents

 

Workers’ Parliament

 

Ø  Numsa says job loss will result from BHP Billiton’s Bayside plan

Ø  Platinum strikes: Two months into starving negotiations Marikana: 'Fall guy' stands his ground

Ø   ‘Police tried to find Marikana scapegoat’

Ø Platinum strike has cost R10bn

Ø  Mediation is an honourable profession

Ø  Corporal punishment: KZN teacher suspended

                                  

COSATU

Ø  Vavi-Cosatu ‘final showdown’

South Africa

Ø  Transform or we cut support – Fikile Mbalula
Eskom HQ plans drawing flak

Ø  Police treating Nkandla like any other case

Ø  High communication costs scare investors: Carrim

Ø  Vodacom: Rate cuts will cause financial harm

Ø  Price hikes blunt growth in retail sales

Ø  Sisulu mulls committee for Zuma impeachment call

Ø  COGTA and LGSEA sign memorandum of understanding

Ø  Please don't burn down this clinic: Johannesburg mayor

 

Alliance

Ø  ANCYL to fight a liquidation order

Ø  Cosas retracts insulting comment about Thuli Madonsela

Ø  ANC to march on Western Cape legislature

 

International

Ø  Two UN employees kidnapped in Yemen

Ø  Obama says US needs to win back trust after NSA spying

Ø  Zuma, Rwandan president in a bid to resolve diplomatic row

Ø  Child miners pay the price in Burkina Faso's gold rush

 

Comment

 

Ø  COSATU rejection of E-tolls , Labour Brokers & Youth Wage Subsidy Campaign goes ahead in 2014.

Ø  COSATU Section77 Notice served at Nedlac on the 11th December 2012

Ø  The poor should also have a voice on corruption

Ø  EDITORIAL: Mining giants are scaling back

Ø  iPad successes at schools show need for gizmos in class

Ø  Amcu, platinum miners in a race to the bottom as wage strike rages on

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1.                 Workers’ Parliament

Numsa says job loss will result from BHP Billiton’s Bayside plan

 Mark Allix, Business Day, 26 March 2014

BHP Billiton and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) met for the second time on Tuesday over the proposed halting of smelting and associated services at the global mining company’s Bayside aluminium smelter in Richards Bay.

Numsa has said there would be retrenchments at the KwaZulu-Natal facility, which employed about 450 people. But the global miner did not respond to questions on possible job cuts. "There is no update on Bayside. There are still ongoing discussions and consultations with all interested parties," BHP Billiton SA’s vice-president of communication and external affairs, Lulu Letlape, said.

However, the head of organising and collective bargaining at Numsa, Stephen Nhlapo, said 70% of Bayside might be closed down. This would affect about 350 jobs, he said.

Some of the jobs might migrate to Hillside, and the parties were in discussions over possible voluntary separations and early retirement.

"We are still starting a process and the numbers are not yet clear," he said. Mr Nhlapo said the union was looking at Billiton’s financial statements and business plan.

Billiton has two aluminium smelters in the Richards Bay industrial development zone — Bayside and Hillside. With Mozal, a third smelter near Maputo in Mozambique, they produce about 1-million tonnes of aluminium each year.

The potential closure of most of Bayside’s operations has implications for South Africa’s downstream metals industry. In particular, this will affect JSE-listed Hulamin, a primary metals beneficiator based in Pietermaritzburg that employs nearly 2,000 people. Hulamin supplies JSE-listed African packaging manufacturer Nampak with aluminium coil to make aluminium bodies for beverage cans.

It also expects to benefit from South Africa’s international square kilometre array telescope project and the roll-out of solar energy plants, having earlier said its aluminium extrusions division was well suited to these developments. Hulamin spokesman Johannes van Niekerk said questions about the Bayside smelter were best directed to Billiton.

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Platinum strikes: Two months into starving negotiations

G Nicolson & T Lekgowa, Daily Maverick, 26 March 2014

After two months of “unprecedented” strikes in the platinum industry, there is currently no discussion between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and three platinum producers – Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin. By all accounts, workers are suffering. There's hope Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe might help end the deadlock, but no one’s holding their breath. By GREG NICOLSON & THAPELO LEKGOWA.

The platinum producers on Tuesday said the “unprecedented” strike would have dire consequences. “The financial cost – now close to R10 billion in revenue lost, and around R4.4 billion in earnings lost to employees – does not tell the full story. Mines and shafts are becoming unviable; people are hungry; children are not going to school; businesses are closing and crime in the platinum belt is increasing. Overwhelmingly, we are being told by employees that they wish to return to work, and we need to collectively find a way to ensure that they are able to exercise their right to do so,” said the three CEOs of Amplats, Implats and Lonmin in a joint statement. “We note a number of AMCU assertions regarding various historical inequities of the mining industry. We believe that many steps have been taken towards remedying them over the years, but we also acknowledge that more needs to be done.”

The CEOs warned AMCU that large-scale structural changes would ultimately lead to job losses. “Sadly, as the industry progresses towards greater mechanisation and higher skill levels, which are aligned with higher earnings and greater productivity, so the number of people employed in the industry will decrease.”

Spokesperson Charmane Russell elaborated on the CEOs' comments. The Chamber of Mines estimated in 2013 that about 45% of the platinum sector was not profitable and costs continue to rise. “It stands to reason, then, if during a year of relatively good production, 45% of operations were not profitable, then the situation will be worse now. I am afraid we cannot be more specific than this. But there is no doubt that the longer the strike endures, the more fundamental the restructuring will be,” said Russell. While the shafts are closed non-striking staff and fixed costs must still be paid. Then it's estimated that 30% of underground work areas will need significant rehabilitation, which can take weeks to get ready for mining. “And, in some cases, this may not make economic sense,” says Russell.

Asked about information regarding the impact on families and businesses, Russell says the companies have received calls from struggling employees daily and they will soon provide an update on the comments received. “Information from municipalities is that people are not paying for services; feedback from school principals is that school fees have not being paid,” says Russell. “The mines themselves have noted a significant increase in theft and attempted theft from mine properties. We have been told by the SAPS that crime in the region has increased substantially.” As the platinum producers have been saying all along, the situation could get worse. “Job losses as a consequence of possible closures is a reality. The industry has already seen significant decreases in employment in the past two years. This is a reality that employees need to be aware of.”

Amid the mounting number of demonstrations supporting AMCU's demands, a women's march in Marikana delivered a memorandum to Lonmin on Sunday calling for the R12,500 demand to be met. The women were also concerned about the high level of crime now in the area and the blame put on striking workers, who they said were not responsible for the illegal activities. “We are dying of hunger,” read one woman's placard. “Ben Magara [Lonmin CEO] you have the power to change this,” read another.

Meanwhile, Cosatu has joined the chorus calling for an end to the strike. North West provincial secretary Solly Phetoe says the federation of trade unions has been inundated with calls from employees who want to work because their families are suffering. “Most of children whose fathers and mothers are on a prolonged strike cannot go to school due to not being able to pay for the transport and meeting the other requirements of their children at school,” says Phetoe. Cosatu wants government to convene a meeting between stakeholders to consider the effects of the strike. It's also calling on mining companies to issue a security plan to protect non-striking workers. If no plan is forthcoming within a week, Cosatu will march to the mining houses in North West.

Russell says the companies have tried to provide security where possible, such as at Amplats where areas have been set aside for “safe passage” to and from work. The problem is, security cannot be provided for workers at home. Implats closed all operations to avoid potential violence.

As part of the ongoing discussions between the state, labour and mining companies, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will convene a meeting this Thursday which will include the platinum producers and AMCU. Speaking to Reuters, his spokesperson Thabo Masebe said the meeting was scheduled regardless of the strikes. It's likely, however, the industrial action will be discussed; Motlanthe may be able to help break the deadlock. On the one hand, he can listen to AMCU's concerns about government and sympathise with its grievances over the the mining industry. Speaking at a mining lekgotla last year, the Deputy President slated the industry for failing to improve “archaic practices” and the ongoing system of migrant labour, a “scar on the face of democratic South Africa”. On the other hand, he shares an interest with the mining houses in needing to get back to work and keep the economy running.

While negotiations with AMCU have shown no signs of progress, the National Union of Metalworkers SA (Numsa) provided a glimmer of hope last week by accepting increases between 7.5% and 8.5% at Amplats. CEO Chris Griffith lauded the union, government and the CCMA for working together, “which allows us to build a sustainable future.”

Currently, there are no direct discussions between AMCU and the platinum producers. The companies say they want to engage, but only if AMCU moves to a “reasonable settlement range” says Russell. The union's leaders weren't available to comment on Tuesday. Its chief negotiator Jimmy Gama declined to comment, saying we should call AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa, who was unavailable. Early in March, AMCU revised its demand of an immediate R12,500 basic wage, asking for the figure to be reached over three years. CCMA discussions ceased after the revision, with platinum producers still offering between 7.5% and 9% increases. 

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Marikana: 'Fall guy' stands his ground

Govan Whittles, EWN, 26 March 2014
JOHANNESBURG - Police have refused to comment on the latest testimony to emerge at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry of an alleged plan to blame the killing of 34 mineworkers on senior officer Salmon Vermaak.

The air wing commander yesterday told the commission he was contacted by the police's head of operations, and told he would be apportioned the blame for the August 2012 killings, but said he didn't understand why.

He has also claimed that National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega as well as the North West Police Commissioner and her deputy all told him to lie in his testimony.

Vermaak said Phiyega and the top brass of the police in the North West told him to mislead the commission about how some of the miners were shot by police.

He said he was told to testify that he had driven the striking miners away from the scene of the first shooting to another koppie where 18 people were killed.

Vermaak said he was disappointed that officials would want him to be the scapegoat for the shootings as he had many years of experience.

The commander will be cross-examined by police lawyers when he takes the stand again this morning.

Phiyega's spokesperson said her office would only comment on the allegations once proceedings at the commission had wrapped up. 

Meanwhile, the commission heard on Monday that the commanding officer in Marikana seemed to have “lost control” after two other officers were hacked to death by miners.

Vermaak testified about North West deputy police commissioner William Mpembe’s reaction in the days leading up to the deadly shooting.

He said the senior policeman appeared shocked after realising two men had been hacked to death and ran around shouting “my policemen have been killed.”

(Edited by Refilwe Pitjeng) 

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‘Police tried to find Marikana scapegoat’

Govan Whittles, EWN, 26 March 2014

JOHANNESBURG - A North West police air wing commander on Tuesday told the Farlam Commission of Inquiryhis superiors wanted him to take the blame for the deaths of 34 striking Marikana miners.

The deadly shooting took place at the North West mining town on 16 August 2012.

President Jacob Zuma then established an inquiry to determine whether officers were justified in using lethal force against demonstrators.

Lieutenant Colonel Salmon Vermaak told the hearing the South African Police Service (SAPS) legal team and head of operational response told him he would be the fall guy.

But Vermaak says as soon as he realised the police's intentions, he started making detailed notes about his interaction with superiors and lawyers.

He informed both the national and provincial commissioners that he would only stick to the truth.

Vermaak told the hearing it is unacceptable that he would be held directly responsible for the killings.

He says he doesn't understand how he could be blamed for the incident, which made international headlines.

The lieutenant colonel claimed to have told Adriaan Calitz that a much more careful approach was needed to disperse the miners.

He said the strike was a lot more violent than service delivery protests in the area.

Vermaak also raised serious concerns about the experience of officers who managed the strike.

He said he was only informed of the intention to encircle the miners on the koppie and had no knowledge of an alternate plan.

At least 76 miners were also injured in the incident.

Ten others, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in strike-related violence in the days leading up to the shooting. 

The Marikana standoff has been described as the bloodiest shootout in post-apartheid South Africa.

(Edited by Gia Kaplan)

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Platinum strike has cost R10bn

Steven Tau, Citizen, 26 March 2014

The extended strike on the platinum belt is unprecedented and has reached the stage where some of its impact is becoming irreparable, mine bosses said yesterday.

In a joint statement, CEOs Chris Griffith, Terence Goodlace and Ben Magara said these impacts were also felt by employees, local businesses, suppliers and communities, and not just the companies.

“The financial cost, now close to R10 billion in revenue lost and around R4.4 billion in earnings lost to employees, does not tell the full story,” the statement said.

“Mines and shafts are becoming unviable, people are hungry, children are not going to school, businesses are closing and crime in the platinum belt is increasing.”

Thousands of mineworkers affiliated to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) downed tools on January 23, demanding a monthly wage of R12 500. Last week, Amcu made it clear that the strike will continue until workers’ demands are met.

The union has already started a series of protest marches to the head offices of the platinum producers.

Their first stop was Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), and plans for a second similar demonstration to Impala Platinum (Implats) in Illovo tomorrow are afoot.

Commenting on Amcu’s revised R12 500 wage demand, to be phased in over the next four years, platinum producers said the massive structural shift the union appears to be seeking has consequences.

The employers said workers have told them that they want to go back to work.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said the strike had gone on too long. “Workers on strike are about to lose a third months’ pay in one year and this means the debts of those workers will be three months in arrears, prompting creditors to hand workers over for debt collection or repossession,” Cosatu’s provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said.

“While Cosatu supports the call for a living wage and demands that workers must be taken out of poverty, we believe it is irresponsible to take workers on such a long strike where there is no prospect of achieving the demands.”

Trade union Solidarity has sent a letter to the four largest commercial banks requesting they show understanding for the financial difficulties non-striking employees find themselves in.

“Although non-striking employees are still receiving their basic salaries, they have forfeited all regular production bonuses since operations at the mines have come to a standstill,” Solidarity spokesperson Johan Kruger said.

A large portion of the compensation earned by most platinum sector workers is from monthly production bonuses.

“Solidarity is appealing to the banks and other creditors of non-striking platinum mineworkers in the Rustenburg area to bear in mind that the financial situation these workers find themselves in is not of their doing.”

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Mediation is an honourable profession

Terry Bell, CityPress, 25 March 2014

In an unequal society where conflict between employers and employees is inevitable, the role of mediators, who help to minimise the damage to protagonists and to society, is an honourable one.

Such is the role of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

But the same Labour Relations Act that established the CCMA also allowed for the establishment of workplace forums that would act to promote the interests of all employees and also “seek to enhance efficiency in the workplace”.

More importantly, these forums were envisaged as platforms for employers and employees to consult and seek consensus on all matters relating to any type of business as long as it employed more than 100 workers.

This measure was to try to ensure a greater level of cooperation and transparency in the workplace, and avoid some of the tensions that often arose.

Unfortunately, few of these forums were set up, but the CCMA was – and has gone from strength to strength, perhaps dealing with many disputes that might have been resolved in workplace forums.

The fact that legislation was gazetted to establish the CCMA and workplace forums was an acknowledgement of the reality that the sellers and buyers of labour have fundamentally opposing interests. Yet both need to survive in the same economic system.

Such a system, without regulation, leads to anarchy and often to open warfare. History is replete with examples – at a basic level, it is a matter of economic power capable of hiring armed force, against labour power that has strength in numbers, but only if united.

It was this need for unity that gave rise to trade unions as workers realised that the only weapon they had in a dispute with their bosses was to withhold their labour — to go on strike. Because strikes tend to harm mostly those who sell their labour, this weapon is usually a last resort — and most strikes are settled by negotiation between employers and unions.

For the most part, the CCMA does not become involved in strike situations. However, in the case of the current platinum dispute, intervention was requested by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.

Given the importance of the sector and the fact that talks between the three major producers and the Association of Mining and Construction Union (Amcu) appeared to have broken down irretrievably, the CCMA was a logical choice.

Independent of state, employers and unions, its commissioners are experienced at conciliation between sometimes bitterly antagonistic parties.

It is not a question of the commissioners having or lacking financial acumen; they do not take possession of any dispute. Their role is merely to encourage dialogue, to bridge the gaps between the parties, to hopefully find consensus.

And, as CCMA director Nerine Kahn points out, the two-month strike on the platinum belt involves more than a battle about wages. “There are many more broader political and social issues at play,” she says.

Some of those issues have been dealt with in this column and they make for a volatile mix. The evident hostility between miners and mining companies, especially in the wake of Marikana, makes seeking consensus an incredibly difficult task.

However, progress seemed to be made when Amcu proposed that its R12 500 entry-level pay demand could be phased in over three years and, a while later, over four years.

Lawyer and former CCMA commissioner Neville Rubin says: “I thought the commissioners, who understand economics, were obviously doing a good job.”

Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa agrees. “After we moved to four years, the employers said they would come back with a revised offer,” he says. “But then they went back to where they had been.”

As a result, Amcu strikers on Tuesday staged a march on Amplats, where they presented a memorandum to company joint ventures chief Vishnu Pillay requesting a resumption of talks. Pillay conceded, stating that a “lasting solution” would be sought.

In the meantime, although no mention has been made of it, the CCMA has continued talking to all parties. Sources in the commission are confident that not only will talks resume, but a settlement will be reached.

It is understood that a meeting was scheduled for last Saturday, at which it was hoped some progress would be made. However, there appears to have been a communications glitch because Amcu negotiators maintain they never received an invitation and were, therefore, not present.

“But we are sure that talks will start again soon,” says Mathunjwa.

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Corporal punishment: KZN teacher suspended

Sapa, Sowetan, 26 MAR 2014

A teacher was suspended for allegedly using corporal punishment to discipline pupils at the Lugobe High school near Umbumbulu on the South Coast, the KwaZulu-Natal education department said on Tuesday.

The teacher was suspended on Monday for allegedly using a plastic pipe to discipline pupils who were late for school, spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said.

He said it was a criminal offence for teachers to use corporal punishment and the department would deal with such incidents "harshly" and "accordingly".

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to educators who are found to use corporal punishment."

Mahlambi said corporal punishment incidents in schools were reported every week since the beginning of the school year.

"This is a very serious matter, if you look at the number of times that such cases are reported," he said.

Mahlambi said the department would do everything possible to protect school pupils.

"The head of the education department had re-issued a circular to educators to remind them that corporal punishment would not be tolerated," he said.

The use of corporal punishment was banned in public schools and teachers who practised it were breaking the law, said Childline National executive officer Dumisile Nala.

"Children's rights are human rights which are enshrined in the Constitution," said Nala.

She said children had the right to be protected in a school environment and educators who violated this right should be reported.

Communication between the pupils, parents, schools, the department and organisations was key to addressing corporal punishment incidents.

"All the concerned entities should engage with pupils to understand their behaviour and to address the problem adequately," said Nala.

Schools should also create a code of conduct and educate teachers on how to deal with discipline issues in schools.

"We need to look at practical and possible solutions in dealing with discipline issues in a school environment, as inappropriate behaviour cannot continue," said Nala.

She suggested time-outs and written punishment as alternatives for pupils who were disruptive.

Parents should also install discipline in their children and speak to them to understand their behaviour.

"Parents need to make more time for their children because some times they just need someone to speak to," said Nala.

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2.                 COSATU

Vavi-Cosatu ‘final showdown’

ANN7, 26 March 2014

JOHANNESBURG: Suspended Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi will tomorrow argue in the South Gauteng High Court that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing and he ought to be reinstated.

Some commentators say this may be a final showdown in the eight month battle for his reinstatement.

Vavi denies all charges levelled alleged by Cosatu’s top leadership in their replying affidavit.

He also denies a key accusation that he failed to properly supervise a female subordinate he has admitted to having an affair with.

In August last year Vavi was suspended from the trade union federation following the scandal.

He was then charged in January with nine charges, all of which charges Cosatu sticks by in its papers before the court.

Vavi was further implicated in a probe of impropriety by auditors Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo in the selling and purchasing of the old and new Cosatu headquarters.

Cosatu argues that Vavi refused to submit to the investigation against him.

“The blatant untruth speaks volumes for the respondents’ lack of respect for Cosatu,” Vavi responded.

The trade union federation is expected to tell the court that it does not have the jurisdiction to intervene in internal Cosatu matters.

Vavi’s legal team would most likely challenge this submission.

He will also deny claims made by Cosatu’s top leadership in court papers that he violated his suspension conditions.

Cosatu’s leadership in an affidavit signed by its deputy secretary general Bheki Ntshalintshali said Vavi is “attempting to avoid scrutiny”.

This is subsequently denied by Vavi. “I persist in my allegations that my suspension are a consequence of a decision that was taken in complete contempt of Cosatu’s constitution, was political and an attempt to oust and get rid of me,” he argues.

Vavi will tell the court that there is a “vicious political campaign against him”.

Cosatu is set to argue that Vavi is guilty of “divisive conduct against the best interest of Cosatu”.

Cosatu in its affidavit to the court argues that Vavi attacked the credibility of the federation.

It also accuses him of misleading the public.

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3.                 South Africa

Transform or we cut support – Fikile Mbalula

Mawande Mvumvu @City_Press25 March 2014

Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula has issued a stern warning to sports federations that ignore a transformation report by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG).

“The national anthem, national colours and national symbols can no longer be used to honour and decorate events of racist, sexist and divisive sports bodies,” Mbalula said.

“No teams or individuals participating in major events at home and abroad will receive government support if they are not responsive to the transformation needs of their sector.”

Mbalula was speaking during the handing over of the report in Melrose, Johannesburg, today.

He said much of the focus in the past 20 years had been on unity instead of visible transformation.

“This [report] is not a shebeen and beer talk. We have a clear programme of action this time because we never took time to reflect in the 20 years of democracy,” he said.

The EPG has formulated a transformation charter that focuses on rugby, cricket, football, netball and athletics.

The main areas the charter seeks to address include access, skills and capabilities, governance, employment equity and preferential procurement.

In the document, it is acknowledged that women have been marginalised in many codes with the exception of netball.

It adds that the “Africanisation of sports is important” based on the fact that 84% of South Africans younger than 18 years old are black Africans.

Indians, coloureds and whites make up only 16% of this group.

Mbalula said the report was based on empirical evidence and scientific data analysis.

The report, which focuses on sports development from school level, was a pilot project. It will include 11 more sporting codes by the end of this year.

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Minerals bill to be voted on by National Council of Provinces

Paul Vecchiatto, Business Day, 26 March 2014

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Picture: THINKSTOCK

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THE bill that will govern the country’s mineral resources, gas and oil sectors edged a little closer to being drafted into law on Tuesday as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is scheduled to vote on it on Thursday.

Thursday will be the last session of that house of Parliament as it will go into recess at the end of the week in preparation for the May 7 national and provincial elections.

The National Assembly, which passed the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill earlier this month, has already gone into recess, but it may be recalled in April for at least one day to consider the draft laws that the NCOP is processing.

On Tuesday, the NCOP’s economic development select committee heard mandates on the bill from its permanent provincial representatives, and at least five out of the nine provinces voting in the draft law, but they all asked for minor amendments. Most of the amendments related to minor word or grammatical changes.

However, there was a call by some provinces, in particular the Eastern Cape, to allow affected communities that are located near mines to have a greater say in the running and effects such projects may have on them.

No direct call was made on changing the most controversial provision of the bill, that the government would have 20% free carry of new oil and gas projects, and could effectively appropriate another 80% of the operations at a price to be agreed on by the government and the company involved.

There was a proposal to have the bill made purely national competency rather than a law that has a dual competency for both the national and the provincial governments.

Parliamentary law adviser Desiree Swartz said that the bill was tagged as national and provincial competency as the beneficiation provisions affected trade activity, and that trade was listed under the country’s constitution as a responsibility of both the national and the provincial governments.

Only Eastern Cape permanent representative Elsa van Lingen (Democratic Alliance) questioned the constitutionality of the bill.

However, committee chairman Freddy Adams shut her down by pointing out that the committee was only dealing with provincial mandates and not with party politics or ideology in dealing with the bill.

The Democratic Alliance-controlled Western Cape government was the only party to record its outright rejection of the bill.

The select committee will make its final vote on the bill on Wednesday and the NCOP will vote on it on Thursday.

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Eskom HQ plans drawing flak

Antoinette Slabbert, Citizen, 26 March 2014

Cash-strapped Eskom’s ambitions to refurbish its old Megawatt Park headquarters in Johannesburg while consumers battle bills and blackouts are powering ahead, with details of the utility’s requirements emerging slowly.

This comes as three government departments are trying to find money for Eskom to extend power purchase agreements with private producers to prevent a recurrence of this month’s load-shedding.

Eskom has also said it has overspent its budget by R8bn this year and will spend money it doesn’t have on programmes to encourage electricity savings.

Business estimates its shortfall for the year is R10bn. Eskom did not respond to Business’s questions about the project, and little information is available so far.

The tender documents reveal the project consists of eight work packages, namely “Blocks C&D, Building Management System, Cooling Plant, Diesel Generator, Energy Centre, Heating Plant, MV/LV Equipment, and UPS”.

Ethics expert, Professor Willem Landman, says Eskom’s bungling is hurting economic growth and job creation. Consumers and businesses are battling with high electricity costs, and expenditure should be limited to absolute necessities, he added.

The refurbishment of Megawatt Park could only be justified if the headquarters was in such a state that staff couldn’t do their jobs.

Mike Schüssler, chief economist at Economists.co.za said that many small businesses had to relocate to more modest premises, due to high electricity costs and pressure on the economy.

“I would expect the same from Eskom.”

He added that Eskom should prioritise expenditure on efforts to ensure security of electricity supply, as the current tight system is placing a stranglehold on economic growth.

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Police treating Nkandla like any other case

Alex Eliseev , EWN, 26 March 2014
JOHANNESBURG - Police say the criminal charges laid against President Jacob Zuma over his Nkandlahome are being treated like "any other matter".

Two political parties laid complaints in two separate provinces after Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released her damning report into upgrades at Zuma's KwaZulu-Natal home.

Madonsela found that the president benefitted from upgrades which were not security related, violated an ethics code and should pay back some of the money spent on his residence.

He has also been ordered to account to Parliament and discipline his ministers. 

The police's Solomon Makgale said the dockets had been consolidated and handed over to detectives at head office. 

“It will be looked into like any other complaint we receive.” 

Opposition parties continue to put pressure on Zuma to break his silence and explain how he planned to deal with Madonsela's findings. 

Yesterday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa gave a strong hint that a legal challenge could be on the cards, saying the report contains inaccuracies.

Meanwhile, National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu is considering a request for an ad-hoc committee to consider the Public Protector's report, according to Democratic Alliance (DA) Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.

She said she received a letter from the speaker saying Parliament was waiting for Zuma to table his comments along with a report on any action he intended on taking.

The DA politician wrote to Sisulu five days ago, informing him of her party's intention to invoke Section 89 of the Constitution in a bid to have Zuma removed from office.

Click here to view the full Nkandla report.

(Edited by Refilwe Pitjeng)

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Eastern Cape University to break even: Nzimande

Sowetan, Sapa, 26 Mar 26 2014

The Walter Sisulu University (WSU) in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape had a break-even budget for 2014, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday at a summit on the future of the university.

"While WSU has not yet reached a state of healthy financial sustainability, clearly a great deal of effort has gone into clearing the backlogs and overdrafts," Nzimande said.

Government intervention was partially responsible for the improvement at the institution, as a new statute was gazetted in January this year, said Nzimande.

"This has made it possible for us to commence with the implementation of a more appropriate divisional governance and management model for a university of this unique kind."

This followed the appointment of Professor Lourens van Staden as the Administrator of the university in November 2011, after a report from the Independent Assessor indicated that the institution was in crisis.

"The Independent Assessor... indicated that WSU was an institution in crisis with the all-encompassing collapse of systems, governance and financial management," said Nzimande.

The new council, which was being consulted for the extended six-month period of the Administrator, had been responsible for several positions which had already been filled.

He said the administrator had made progress in eight "Turnaround Projects" at the university.

These were institutional governance, academic enterprise, student governance, financial management, ICT Infrastructure, human resource management, teaching and learning technology, equipment and physical infrastructure, and resource planning.

The R858 million made available to the university over the past 29 months had contributed to new residences in Mthatha, said Nzimande.

"Significant progress has been made in this regard with visible projects including the construction of the new R40 million residences here in Mthatha, the first to be built at the nine-year old WSU."

The National Skills Fund had invested R80 million in the SAICA/WSU project to re-accredit WSU to produce chartered accountants.

"The success of this project is most encouraging with student performance rated at over 90 percent," said Nzimande.

"This university has been overhauled, given a new framework and an opportunity to refocus itself," said Nzimande.

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Air pollution kills millions annually, says WHO

 SIPHO KINGS, M&G, 25 March 2014

·          

Air pollution is responsible for one in eight deaths worldwide, says the WHO, and is now regarded as the biggest environmental health risk.

 

A new report released on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that air pollution is responsible for one in eight of all global deaths – double the previous estimate. The seven million deaths annually were from a combination of indoor and outdoor air pollution. 

In its research, the health organisation found strong links between indoor and outdoor air pollution and cardiovascular diseases – like strokes and ischaemic heart disease. These two were responsible for more than half of the deaths. There was also a strong link between exposure and cancer.

The worst-hit areas were in south-east Asia, but in total 3.3-million people died from indoor air pollution while 2.6-million died from outdoor air pollution. The indoor deaths were due to people cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves. Around half of the world's population – 2.9-billion people – use these as their primary means of energy and cooking.

Outdoor pollution comes from sources such as industry, with excessive air pollution resulting from "unsustainable policies" by governments. The policies meant transport, energy production, waste management and industry were leading to deaths, the report said. "Healthier strategies will be more economical in the long term due to healthcare cost savings as well as climate gains." 

"The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart diseases and strokes," said Dr Maria Neira, the organisation's director of pubic health, environmental and social determinants to health.

"Fewer risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution. The evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean the air we all breathe."

Carcinogenic
Last year the health organisation classified air pollution as a carcinogenic. This was because there was "sufficient evidence" that outdoor air pollution caused cancer, with a particular problem in rapidly industrialising countries. 

Dr Flavia Bustreo, the organisation's assistant director general of family, women and children's health, said: "Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents non-communicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly."

Poor women and children in particular have paid a heavy price because they spend so much time in the home.

The health organisation used satellite data, ground-level monitoring and data from key pollution sources to model how pollution moves across communities. It then linked this with mortality data.

In northern China, the government announced that air pollution had cut life expectancy by 5.5 years, as a result of what has been dubbed an "airpocalypse".

Laws
South Africa's environment department recently passed the Air Quality Act, which attempts to enforce the maximum levels of particles that industry can release. In many cases companies readily exceed the limits, although the fine for doing so can be as high as R5-million or five years in jail. 

Eskom recently asked that 16 of its power stations be given more time to comply with the Act, which requires the parastatal to be legal by April 1 2015. By 2020 its fleet will have to meet stringent maximums for air pollution. But Eskom has also asked that Medupi – one of the world's largest coal power stations and its newest plant – be given until 2027 to comply.

In its application, Eskom said: "It is not practically feasible or beneficial to South Africa to fully comply with the minimal emission standards."

Research by Greenpeace International concluded that air pollution from Eskom's fleet leads to up to 2 700 deaths a year because of the gases released by its plants – like mercury and sulphur dioxide. No other substantial and independent research has quantified the scale of the air pollution from Eskom and other big industrial polluters.

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High communication costs scare investors: Carrim

SABC News, 26 March 2014

Minister of Communication, Yunus Carrim says the cost of communication is far too high in South Africa.

Cellphone network operators MTN and Vodacom have taken their fight against the introduction of new call termination rates to  court.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has conceded that there are problems with its proposed model for mobile termination rates. These are the rates that operators have to pay one another for calls to other networks.

Icasa wants to implement a set of regulations that will see these rates drop to 10 cents per minute in 2016.

Speaking on Morning Live, Carrim says the cost of communication in South Africa is scaring away global and domestic investors. He also says the cost to communicate has to come down in the interest of the economy as a whole.

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Vodacom: Rate cuts will cause financial harm

Zikhona Miso, EWN, 26 March 2014

JOHANNESBURG – Mobile termination rates (MTR) will cause upheaval in the market and result in irreparable financial damage, Vodacom told the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday.

Mobile giants Vodacom and MTN approached the Johannesburg court in a bid to prevent theIndependent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) from lowering rates.

Both companies claim the MTR reductions were done unlawfully.

The rates are the fees which cellphone companies pay each other for calls made between networks. 

Cell C’s financial gain was the focus of submissions made by Vodacom and MTN in court on Tuesday.

Both companies say Cell C stands to gain most from new fees.

MTN claims in light of the new MTR’s, it would fork out a sum of R450 million within six months to all smaller cellphone firms.

It says Cell C will receive R118 million over the same period.

Under the regulations, bigger companies like MTN and Vodacom get 20c per minute for termination rates while smaller firms will receive 44c per minute.

The case will resume on Wednesday when Icasa makes its submissions.

MTN’s legal representative, Advocate Alfred Cockrell, said if the regulations are given the green light, the cellphone network will indirectly be subsidising smaller companies.

He accused Icasa of failing to properly consult while drawing up regulations.

Cockrell further claimed outdated data was used to reach what he called “new asymmetrical rates”. 

(Edited by Gia Kaplan)

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Price hikes blunt growth in retail sales

Nompumelelo Magwaza, Business Report, 26 March 2014

Johannesburg - The slight uptick in retail sales growth during the festive season fizzled and died in the first quarter of this year, according to the EY/Bureau for Economic Research (BER) retail survey released yesterday.

The survey attributed this downward trend to price hikes that resulted in volume growth slowing significantly during last month and this month.

The survey, which was conducted in February and March, also showed that retailers in the food and groceries sector and those specialising in clothing, toys and footwear, have joined furniture and household appliance retailers in reporting weak sales growth.

“This means that retailers are at the point where they can no longer… absorb some of the input cost pressures. They did it in the past, but they are now also getting squeezed and have to pass prices down to the customer,” Derek Engelbrecht, a retail and consumer products sector leader at consultancy EY, said.

He said a lot of participants in the survey were surprised by the difference in price increases that they had to take to the market compared with what they had expected to pass on.

The BER indices measuring overall purchasing price and selling price increases in the retail sector rose substantially to reach five-year highs during the first quarter. Retailers have attributed this to cost pressures causing notable hikes in their selling prices.

“The increase in the BER’s index for retail selling prices corresponds with the marked acceleration in the consumer price index inflation rate, from 5.4 percent in the final quarter of 2013 to 5.9 percent” last month, Engelbrecht said.

He added that consumers should expect further upward pressure on inflation in coming months.

Furniture and appliance retailers were not alone in reporting a significant uptick in their selling prices, as consumer goods wholesalers and manufacturers anticipated hikes in their selling prices during the first quarter.

Engelbrecht said the price hikes were bad for consumer confidence, which was low because of weak job prospects and tight credit access.

“Wounded by a substantial slowdown in unsecured credit extension, coupled with waning real disposable income growth and a sharp decline in consumer confidence levels, furniture and household appliance sales volumes contracted by 4.8 percent during 2013,” he said.

Given subdued retail sales growth, coupled with relentless downward pressure on profitability levels, it is not surprising that the confidence of retailers remained very low during the first quarter. Only 39 percent of respondents reported that they were satisfied with prevailing business conditions in the retail sector.

This was down from 40 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 49 percent in the quarter before that.

A majority of retailers surveyed expected a further deterioration in sales growth during the second quarter of this year. - Business Report

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Sisulu mulls committee for Zuma impeachment call

 Paul Vecchiatto, Business Day, 26 March 2014

NATIONAL Assembly speaker Max Sisulu is mulling the formation of an ad hoc committee to consider the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma following Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report into the R246m upgrades to his private Nkandla residence.

On Tuesday, Mr Sisulu sent a letter to DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko saying he would reply to her at the earliest opportunity, but gave no fixed time frame.

However, Mr Sisulu pointed out that according to the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, Mr Zuma had 14 days to comment on the report, and indicate any remedial step he intended to take.

Ms Madonsela released her report, titled Secure in Comfort, on March 19.

If only working days are counted, then Mr Zuma must table the report by April 8. This would leave less than a month for the committee to consider the motion and the report, make a finding and then present it to the National Assembly before the May 7 elections. Ms Madonsela may table the report herself to Parliament in terms of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act and the Public Protector Act. But she has not done so and has previously indicated that she would wait for Mr Zuma to table his comments.

Mr Sisulu’s letter to Ms Mazibuko also said: "As for your notice of motion for the appointment of an ad hoc committee, I am currently considering it and will revert to you at the earliest opportunity."

Ms Mazibuko said she interpreted that paragraph of Mr Sisulu’s letter to mean the first step would be taken towards impeachment proceedings against Mr Zuma.

"My request to Mr Sisulu was that the ad hoc committee would consider the report and that consideration should decide if Mr Zuma should face impeachment proceedings," she said.

Ms Mazibuko replied to Mr Sisulu by letter saying that she needed to meet with him to discuss the matter as her motion of impeachment was not dependent on Mr Zuma tabling the report himself.

She attached a copy of the report to her original letter and said it was publicly available.

Over the past 20 years the National Assembly has established an ad hoc committee to consider a public protector’s report at least on two occasions.

The first was in 2004 by former public protector Lawrence Mushwana against the then National Prosecutions Authority head Bulelani Ngcuka, who was found to have acted improperly and unfairly towards Mr Zuma, who was then South Africa’s deputy president.

Mr Mushwana came in for severe criticism at the time by former justice minister Penuell Maduna.

The second instance was when Ms Madonsela’s report on Electoral Commission of South Africa chairwoman Pansy Tlakula was tabled last year. The National Assembly was procedurally unable to take the recommendations of the report further.

Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Students has withdrawn comments it made at the weekend that Ms Madonsela "had a big ugly nose". A statement issued on Tuesday said the organisation retracted the phrase as it wanted to shift the focus from Ms Madonsela to the office of the public protector and also to the Nkandla report.

"We have agreed on principle that the utterances on the appearance of Ms Madonsela were misplaced," the statement said.

The African National Congress Youth League also made disparaging comments about Ms Madonsela.

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COGTA and LGSEA sign memorandum of understanding

The New Age, 26 March 2014

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the cooperative governance and traditional affairs department, MISA and LGSEA on Tuesday in Pretoria was the prelude to the launch of the Local Government Institute, the department said.

The agreement between the department, the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) and the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSEA) would address skill needs within the local government sector, department director-general Vusi Madonsela said in a statement.

“With this agreement, we also plan to roll out the training of administrative staff, senior management and councillors as part of government's priority to professionalise the local government sector."

The institute itself would be launched in April 2014.

Madonsela said the "close collaboration" between LGSETA would aim to improve unemployed youth's quality of life as it would lead to training in artisanship and other scarce skills, which would see young people employed in the local government sector.

- Sapa

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Please don't burn down this clinic: Johannesburg mayor

Lehlohonolo Tau, Times Live,  25 March 2014

"Don’t burn this clinic or any other government facility because you want the government to listen to your problems. Problems are always going to be there but we must solve them together without violence.”

That’s how City of Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau kicked off the launch of a R16-million state of the art clinic in Slovoville, Dobsonville, Soweto yesterday in light of the service delivery protests that have engulfed the country.

Tau urged the community to take care of government facilities.

Over 2000 people, some wearing Jacob Zuma’s t-shirts and some women in their blue and black ANCWL’s attire were all chanting and praising Jacob Zuma - singing his favourite song “Umshini wam” .

Nonceba Molwele, a member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social development, said most residents had to travel about 7km to access health service from Green Village Clinic and 10 km to Leratong hospital.

She said that previously services were offered from a small two containers and primary health care could not be provided to everyone.

“The government’s mandate is to serve its people who trusted it to put it in power in the first place. The government did not choose itself hence we must not betray it and continue believing that it will transform our lives for the better,” First lady Bongi Ngema-Zuma said.

DA Gauteng Health spokesperson Jack Bloom said he welcomes this clinic but said the problem is that patients bypass clinics in favour of hospitals because they have little confidence in them.

“These clinics must just provide quality care and not run out of medicines,” Bloom said.

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4.    Alliance

ANCYL to fight a liquidation order

 

ANN7, 26 March 2014

JOHANNESBURG: The ANC Youth League is expected to fight a liquidation order in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The league is expected to argue why an order for its provisional liquidation should not be made final.

A hotel brought a fresh court application against the beleaguered ANCYL during the last court proceedings in January.

The hotel, trading as Palanquin Hospitality Management and based in Bloemfontein, claimed R1.5 million from the league.

The original liquidation order against the league was applied for by Bloemfontein events company, Z2 Presentations, who had originally been tasked with running ANCYL's 2008 national conference in the Free State.

The conference left the company R15m out of pocket after the league did not pay its bill.

Palanquin, which is in liquidation, provided accommodation for the conference delegates.

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Cosas retracts insulting comment about Thuli Madonsela

City Press, 25 March 2014

The Congress of SA Students (Cosas) has retracted its comment that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has a “big, ugly nose” after a scolding from the ANC, but it did not apologise.

“The organisation retracts the particular sentence on the grounds that we want to shift the focus from Thuli Madonsela personally, to the office of the Public Protector and also to the Nkandla report,” Cosas president Collen Malatji said today.

“We have agreed on principle that the utterances on the appearance of Madonsela were misplaced.”

Madonsela came under fire after releasing her report on the R246 million upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

Yesterday, Beeld reported that Cosas secretary-general Tshiamo Tsotetsi labelled Madonsela “that woman with the big, ugly nose” at a gathering near Brits.

The crowd used vulgarities in expressing their anger at Madonsela.

“F**k off Nkandla report, f**k off”, and “F**k off Madonsela, f**k off,” the crowd shouted, according to the newspaper.

Cosas today only responded to the comment by Tsotetsi.

“Comrade Tsotetsi spoke on behalf of the organisation, representing it and its views.

“As an organisation we welcome the representation from our secretary-general. However, we do also note with condemnation that one sentence which came out turned [sic] to be a personal address to comrade Madonsela.”

Yesterday, the ANC scolded Cosas and the ANC Youth League over their utterances about Madonsela.

Read: Minister: Don’t criticise Thuli Madonsela’s looks

“The secretary-general of the ANC, comrade Gwede Mantashe, has therefore summoned the ANC Youth League and Cosas to explain their remarks about the public protector,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said.

Last week, the ANC Youth League said: “Madonsela must finish up with this Nkandla mess, then go.”

It further claimed she was poisoning the public against the ANC.

Mthembu said the disparaging comments about Madonsela was in contrast with the ANC’s own views.

“The remarks made and the sentiments expressed do not reflect the views of the ANC and are in contrast with the manner in which we … would expect members of the organisation to conduct themselves in debate,” he said.

- Sapa

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ANC to march on Western Cape legislature

Sapa , Times Live, 25 March 2014

Township residents will be marching to the Western Cape legislature in Cape Town to demand a response on land and housing issues, a provincial ANC official said on Tuesday.

"Around 2000 to 3000 people will be coming from the Cape town townships of Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Strand, Delft, Gugulethu, Manenberg, Langa, Hout Bay, Atlantis and Kraaifontein," said provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile.

The purpose of the African National Congress march on Wednesday morning was to get a response from premier Helen Zille.

Mjongile said a memorandum of demands was delivered after a march on February 5. He complained that no response had been forthcoming.

Mayor Patricia de Lille had responded to the demands on February 27, according to a scanned document seen by Sapa.

The ANC responded to De Lille's letter on March 19, criticising her responses and the way she had "cherry-picked" certain issues to respond to.

Among the ANC's demands were that land be made available for religious and cultural purposes, that houses be given to "backyarders" and that the bucket and portable toilet system be immediately eradicated.

Zille's spokesman Zak Mbhele said on Tuesday that the issues raised during the march and in the memorandum last month related entirely to local and national competencies.

"The city has responded to matters relating to municipal delivery and the Western Cape government cannot comment on others for which it is not responsible," he said.

"It is ironic that the ANC laments not having received a response from the premier's office when the ANC and Congress of SA Trade Union leaders of the march denied her the opportunity to speak on that occasion."

Mbhele said Zille would have directed their grievances appropriately had she been given the chance to speak.

"The Western Cape ANC has no leg to stand on in their protestations when the matters in their memo, like policing, recognition of Khoisan traditional leadership and land reform rest principally in the national government's jurisdiction."

In a statement on Tuesday, Zille expressed concern that the planned march might not be peaceful because of the recent reinstatement of the ringleaders of last year's so-called "poo protests".

Loyiso Nkohla and Andile Lili were welcomed back into the ANC on Monday following a successful appeal process with the provincial disciplinary committee.

They led protesters in dumping faeces on, among others, the steps of the Western Cape legislature and at Cape Town International Airport last year.

"The ANC is set to march to the provincial legislature tomorrow [Wednesday] and Mr Lili and Mr Nkohla, now full members of the ANC again, have been making repeated threats of ungovernability against the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government," Zille said.

She said their reinstatement showed how disingenuous the ANC had been all along in trying to avoid blame for the rhetoric inciting violence and destructive riots that Lili and Nkohla were behind for months.

Mjongile reassured that the march would be peaceful.

"All ANC marches are peaceful. Don't worry about that. They [the Democratic Alliance] must sort their issues with their nemesis."

Mjongile said it was not appropriate to ask him whether Lili and Nkohla would be attending the march.

"That's not important to us. The leadership of the ANC will be marching."

The Cape Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday said that protesters who damaged property and disrupted business should be held accountable.

"We already have court judgments making union organisers responsible for the damage to property caused by their undisciplined members on protest marches and the same principle should apply to other demonstrations," said chamber president Janine Myburgh.

People had a constitutional right to protest but this right did not include throwing stones at cars or blocking national roads, she said.

While it was difficult to sometimes identify individuals who had overstepped the mark, the police and City of Cape Town should look for "more imaginative ways" to deal with unruly protesters.

"There are usually organisers involved and I would like to see some of them in court and possibly being sentenced to perform community service," Myburgh said.

"A bit of community service might give them a better insight into the problems of service delivery."

The march would start in Keizersgracht Street in Cape Town at 10am.

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5.    International

Two UN employees kidnapped in Yemen

Eyewitness News , 25 March 2014

SANAA – Gunmen have kidnapped two Western nationals working at the United Nations office in Yemen's capital Sanaa, a local police source said on Tuesday, without giving more details.

Kidnapping is common in Yemen, where the government faces an insurgency from Islamists linked to al-Qaeda as well as sporadic conflicts with armed tribes.

Al-Qaeda militants took a South African couple, Pierre and Yolande Korkie, captive in Yemen in May last year.

Yolande was released in January with the help of relief group Gift of the Givers, but the kidnappers are demanding a $3 million ransom for her husband’s release.

Negotiators are still trying to secure Korkie’s release.

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Obama says US needs to win back trust after NSA spying

Reuters, Daily Maverick, 26 March 2014

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence agencies were not snooping on ordinary citizens, but admitted it would take time to win back the trust of European governments and people after revelations of extensive U.S. surveillance. By Adrian Croft.

Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden's disclosures about the sweep of the National Security Agency's monitoring activities triggered a national debate over privacy rights but also damaged relations with some European governments.

Obama said one of the aims of his trip to Europe this week was to reassure allies that he was acting to meet their concerns by limiting the scope of data-gathering.

"I am confident that everybody in our intelligence agencies operates in the best of intentions and is not snooping into the privacy of ordinary Dutch, German, French or American citizens," Obama told reporters after a nuclear security summit in The Hague.

However, Obama said he recognised that "because of these revelations, there is a process that is taking place where we have to win back the trust, not just of governments, but more importantly of ordinary citizens, and that is not going to happen overnight."

As Obama began his trip to Europe on Monday, a senior administration official said Obama planned to ask Congress to end the bulk collection and storage of phone records by the NSA but allow the government to access the "metadata", which lists millions of phone calls made in the United States, when needed.

Obama said he was confident that the change "allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist attack, but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people have raised".

"I am looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we go ahead and pass the enabling legislation quickly so that we can get on with the business of effective law enforcement," he said.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

He said this was "an example of us slowly, systematically putting in more checks, balances, legal processes. The good news is that I am very confident that it can be achieved."

Allegations in Britain's Guardian newspaper that the United States had monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel caused outrage in Europe last year. Germany summoned the U.S. ambassador for the first time in living memory.

In response, Obama in January banned U.S. eavesdropping on the leaders of close friends and allies, and began reining in the vast archive of Americans' phone data, seeking to reassure Americans and foreigners alike that the United States would take more account of privacy concerns.

He said on Tuesday that, although some coverage of the Snowden revelations had been sensationalised, fears over privacy "in this age of the Internet and 'big data'" were justified.

He also voiced faith in strong U.S. ties with Europe, saying the issue could be an "irritant" but did not define the relationship.

He said intelligence played a critical role in U.S. cooperation with other countries in countering terrorism, nuclear proliferation or human trafficking.

As technology had evolved, however, "the guidelines and structures that constrain how our intelligence agencies operated have not kept pace with these events and this technology", he said.

"There is a danger because of these new technologies that at some point it could be abused, and that is why I initiated a broad-based review."

He said U.S. intelligence teams were consulting closely with counterparts in other nations to ensure there was greater transparency about U.S. activities. 

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Zuma, Rwandan president in a bid to resolve diplomatic row

SABC News, 26 March 2014

President Jacob Zuma and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have agreed to hold direct talks to discuss the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries are at an all time low following back-to-back expulsions of diplomats.

The simmering tensions were discussed at the Great Lakes Region Security Summit which took place in Luanda, Angola. The two leaders met face to face since the expulsion of senior diplomats by both sides.

Zuma says they have agreed to solve the problem. “We also agreed to share some detailed information and deal with the issues.”

He adds: “Rwanda believes that they are undertaking some action and we as South Africa have an international obligation that when people come to us for refugee status we've got to give them.  There was an agreement that the two countries should meet and that has been accepted.”

South Sudan's peace talks have stalled

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Great Lakes regional leaders met in Luanda to try to resolve the security crisis in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

The security summit reviewed progress made in ridding the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of militias after the defeat of the M23 rebel group.

Zuma and six other heads of state attended the summit. The meeting was the second within three months.

Whilst there is relative peace in the eastern DRC, there is still concern over the slow pace of disarming in the volatile mineral-rich area. South Sudan's peace talks have stalled.  

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Child miners pay the price in Burkina Faso's gold rush

AFP , Times Live,  26 March 2014

Perched on the edge of a mine shaft, Joel Sawadogo, 13, readies the fragile plastic lamp strapped to his forehead with an elastic band as he prepares to lower himself into the darkness.

He is one of hundreds of children and young people working at the Nobsin mines, about an hour's drive from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, who every day risk their lives in the search for gold in the impoverished west African nation.

Child mining has become a growing problem in Burkina Faso, where 60 percent of the population is under 25. A mining boom in recent years has made the country Africa's fourth-largest gold producer, where exports of the yellow metal account for almost a fifth of economic output.

Joel, who started working at the mines two years ago, makes a meagre income from the backbreaking work. Sometimes it's 5,000 CFA francs (7.6 euros, $10.5), on a good day twice that, but often nothing at all.

"Down there, it's really damp," he said, scratching a filthy arm. He hopes one day to find "less painful work" but "mostly, I think about what I could earn".

Burkina Faso's government estimates a tonne of gold was brought out of the ground by small-scale miners last year -- official estimates say it could be double that -- compared to the 32 tonnes mined legally.

Part of that was dug by children. The UN Children's Fund estimates that between half a million and 700,000 adolescents and youngsters are caught up in the mining sector in the nation of some 17 million people.

At the illegal mine, even breathing is hard in the windy, arid landscape.

Children, many barefoot, scramble into small rectangular holes between 20 to 30 metres (65 to 100 feet) deep to pound away at the rock face.

Thuds and muffled voices drift up to the surface, where fellow workers take turns to haul up broken stones in plastic cans. Other teams further pounded the stones, sifting and hoping to find gold.

At 15, Hamidou is a short stripling of a lad, wincing and weary as he wrenches a splinter out of his foot. But he says that mining is still better than working in the nearby village where he lives.

There "they cultivate the land, but they don't earn anything," he says, adding that he is "not afraid" of working in the mines.

Some youngsters invoke spirits to help them in their search for gold. "If you don't go to see the sorcerers, you won't find anything," said 19-year-old Issiaka, who has been sifting for three years.

Children at the mines dream of a local El Dorado, but mining is dangerous. Five people were injured at Nobsin the day before AFP visited, according to a 50-year-old "elder" at the site Ouinin Ouedraogo, while a landslide killed 14 and injured another 14 at a different dig in Western Burkina Faso last year.

Younger children, who are small enough to get to the bottom of the mine shafts, are often the first accident victims. David Kerespars, whose children's charity Terre des Hommes works at a dozen illicit sites in Burkina Faso, says up to a quarter of youngsters are hurt working at the mines.

"Here the ground is solid, but sometimes the earth is very fragile. You can feel it when you probe. Cracks appear in the hole and that's scary," said Frederic Tindiebeogo, 23, whose T-shirt bears the slogan: "It's only funny when someone gets hurt".

Ouedraogo, the elder at Nobsin, says it is "despair" that brings so many kids to the mines, where they are exposed to sexual abuse, alcohol and drug use.

The effect on their futures is catastrophic. The young gold-diggers receive no schooling and mostly work "more than 10 hours a day" and often "in the full glare of the sun", according to UNICEF's representative in Burkina Faso, Marc Rubin.

Living and working near dangerous chemicals such as cyanide and mercury, both used in the extraction of gold, also poses a serious risk to their health, Rubin said.

"We need a national effort" to keep them away from the mines, he added.

Some are already trying. Last year Terre des Hommes managed to withdraw 2,000 children from Burkina Faso's mines and provide them with schooling or training for jobs, Kerespars said.

Minister of Mines Salif Kabore says a new unit will be created to "oversee the security (at some 600) mining sites" and crack down on child labour. "It would be utopian to say that we'll ban it. But we must try to provide a framework."

But despite these efforts, and the 21,000 youngsters UNICEF estimates were brought out of the mines between 2010 and 2013, the charity says Burkina Faso's child miners are still an "enormous" problem.

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6.    Comment

COSATU rejection of E-tolls, Labour Brokers & Youth Wage Subsidy Campaign goes ahead in 2014

 

For more information, contact COSATU Offices

                                

Come one…..Come All!

 

Stop Commodification of public goods!

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Don’t buy e-tags Don’t buy!-E-tolls system is a form of privatisation of public goods

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The poor should also have a voice on corruption

 Steven Friedman, Business Day, 26 March 2014

IF THE fight for honest and accountable government is the sole preserve of some of us, it will be lost by all of us. On the same day that the public protector released her Nkandla report, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) staged marches in major cities. The event was largely ignored by the media in the rush to cover Nkandla and so, days later, it is still unclear how many joined the march.

This is a problem, firstly because a major event was missed — even poorly attended marches would be news because Numsa is expected to lead a significant challenge to the African National Congress (ANC,) and so we need to know whether it is gaining traction. But it also seemed to say something about the way the fight against misuse of public trust is being fought.

Numsa may have been protesting against the youth wage subsidy. But protests rarely restrict themselves to one issue and concern about misuse of public money was not far away — at its December conference at which it distanced itself from the ANC, Numsa also called on President Jacob Zuma to resign. Campaigning against corruption has become a core concern for sections of the union movement and among antipoverty campaigners on the ground. Given this, what unions and other campaigners do in the streets is as much part of the fight against corruption as what the public protector said in her report.

The fact that the march was almost ignored, then, may say something about how the mainstream sees the fight for clean government — as a concern of the suburbs, not of working people and the poor.

This is largely how the problem has been viewed until now. We hear little or nothing about feelings in townships and shack settlements about misuse of public money. This is despite evidence that there is at least as much concern as in the suburbs — as David Lewis of Corruption Watch pointed out last week, many demonstrations explained away as "service delivery protests" are aimed at corruption and waste. So even when the poor try to speak about corruption, what they say is misrepresented, and they are silenced.

This obviously hampers the fight for cleaner government. It is far easier for politicians to ignore complaints when they come only from the better-off. In the main, those who grumble do not vote for the majority party so it does not have to hear them — they can also be dismissed as people who use complaints about corruption to express their dislike of majority rule. Union members and people living in poverty cannot be dismissed in this way.

Nkandla confirms this point. While the ANC may have closed ranks for now, it is more worried about these allegations than it has been about many others: treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize has acknowledged that Nkandla is a problem for the movement. The reason is clear — grass-roots members of the ANC are worried about Nkandla. On the one occasion on which they were given an opportunity to express themselves directly, a by-election in the area, they voiced their displeasure by voting out an ANC councillor.

One reason the ANC seems to have failed to come up with a convincing political strategy on Nkandla may be that it expected this to be another issue on which it could rally support by portraying its critics as enemies of the movement. This has worked in the past — Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the late Manto Tshabalala-Msimang received significant support from within the ANC when they were accused of wrongdoing because they were seen as victims of anti-ANC prejudice. This time, the strategy has not worked because opposition within the ANC’s base runs too deep. And so it seems likely that Nkandla will cost the ANC votes, and may well become an issue in internal disputes within the governing party.

If grass-roots citizens can have a significant effect on how Nkandla plays out without being heard directly, how much more of a difference would they make if they had an organised voice? Organisations representing workers and the poor are not an optional extra in the fight against abuses of trust — they are its lifeblood if it is to become a successful campaign rather than merely a grumble of the connected.

Largely ignoring the Numsa march in particular and the battles of the poor to fight corruption in general define the fight as one for the well-heeled and well-connected only. So do some anticorruption campaigners — which is why, to name an example, the Protection of State Information Bill is still seen as a threat to the mainstream media rather than to the grass-roots poor.

Nkandla shows how short-sighted this is. It confirms that opposition to corruption is not restricted to the suburbs — and that gains in the fight against it depend on encouraging and giving voice to organisation at the grass-roots so that we hear those whose need for clean government is desperate but whose cry for it is usually muted.

• Friedman is director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy.

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EDITORIAL: Mining giants are scaling back

Business Day, 26 March 2014

TALKING to the Financial Times last year, RBC Capital Markets analyst Des Kilalea described all three of the global mining majors — BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American — as "cleaning up after the party".

During the commodities boom most mining companies generated lots of cash and used it to start investing in projects which, more often than not, were not economic. Capital requirements were often woefully underestimated, the miners were always looking for more money, and the returns were miserable. When China’s growth started slowing down and commodity prices came under pressure, mining companies were not generating enough cash to keep going.

Companies such as Rio and Anglo American built up enormous amounts of debt.

They were, of course, aided and abetted during the good times by investors who were just as keen to see the binge continue as they were. But the pressure has been on over the past two years to get back to sobriety — and for management to do what good management should have been doing all along.

All three majors have had to pull back sharply on capital projects. At all three, new CEOs have come in with the mandate of injecting a dose of reality, cutting costs and paring back projects which will not generate adequate returns.

Anglo American’s recent annual report affirms plans it has put in place over the past year with its "Driving Value" strategy, spelling out intentions to save $300m on exploration and evaluation costs by 2016 and realise $252m in cash from asset sales as it takes a hard look at what will make it money and what will not.

Under Mark Cutifani, who was appointed CEO last year, the approach is to invest money only where it will deliver better returns and to let go of those things that do not fit into its plans.

Anglo has a target to achieve at least a 15% return on capital employed by 2016. It won’t be only through culling projects, but also through internal restructuring to cut operating costs.

The annual report puts much emphasis (including many photos — dare we suggest a cult in the making?) on Cutifani himself as the driver of the change. So far so good, but he will have to demonstrate delivery. Sorting out some of the assets — platinum for example — could be quite complex and lengthy. That he succeeds matters to South Africa. Cutifani has been a champion of our mining. Of all the majors, Anglo is the only one which is a real factor in South Africa. Rio is not here and BHP is not investing in South Africa at the moment.

The bigger question for South Africa to keep an eye on is what the after-party cleanup means for investment in mining here. Mining companies globally simply do not have the profits or the cash to sink into big new projects, and that’s likely to be the case for at least the next couple of years. No one will fall over themselves seeking new investments in South Africa, especially given that it is quite difficult to be a miner in South Africa.

The labour crisis in the platinum industry isn’t necessarily representative of the industry as a whole, but it is what has been hitting the headlines, and surely has an effect on the way boards and shareholders perceive the risks and returns of investing in South Africa. But beyond that, the bureaucracy is difficult to deal with, and the environment uncertain. Foreign investors don’t always feel welcome in South Africa.

South Africa missed the last mining boom. It will have to try hard not to miss the next one. And that means trying to make the environment for mining investment as attractive as possible, so as to try to attract what attention and resources there will be for new projects in the years ahead.

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iPad successes at schools show need for gizmos in class

The Times Editorial, 26 March 2014

 

A remarkable success story at 25 schools in Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng, in Gauteng, shows how the use of information and communication technology, including iPads, can stimulate and encourage learning and teaching.

The results of the introduction three years ago of the Peermont School Support Programme at these schools correspond with the results of an international study.

Research into the use of iPads by Longfield Academy, in Kent, UK, showed in 2012 that when schools used these gadgets the quality and standard of pupil work and progress rose.

It also showed that pupils work more effectively with iPads, and that collaborative working improves.

The pupils at one of the 25 local state schools, Gugulesizwe Primary School in Daveyton on the East Rand, are now more eager to learn, absenteeism has decreased and the iPads have had a positive effect on exam results, with pass rates increasing progressively over the years of the continuing private-public partnership .

As found in the international study, iPads are most effectively used in teaching English language skills, numeracy and maths literacy.

Though iPads were designed for personal use, with the development of educational apps the gadget has become an effective learning and teaching tool. But without teachers knowing what is appropriate content, the gadgets cannot be used effectively in schools.

Neither will they be of any use if teachers are not trained to use them properly. The iPads could easily become mere toys.

The world has changed radically and rapidly over the past 25 years with the advent of the internet and the evolution of gadgets, but most school systems and curricula have not kept up with the times.

The risk of all schools not introducing information and communication technology, and of our educational system lagging behind the times, is that our children will not be prepared for a future in which jobs that have not yet been imagined or invented are on offer.

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Amcu, platinum miners in a race to the bottom as wage strike rages on

 Sipho Hlongwane, Business Day, 26 March 2014

ACCORDING to the big platinum producers in South Africa, the recent wage strike has cost them about R10bn, and the workers about R4bn in unpaid wages.

The strike was orchestrated by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) to try and enforce the original demand for a R12,500 wage. The companies have offered up to a 9% increase on current wages, but the union wants its demand to be met within four years. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration has so far failed to broker a deal.

The narrative is that the union should give in to a more ‘sustainable’ demand. The chief executives of Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin have issued a press release, threatening further job losses in the future after the damage that the current strike has caused — and by a structural shift as was demanded by Amcu.

"Sadly, as the industry progresses towards greater mechanisation and higher skills levels, which are aligned with higher earnings and greater productivity, so the number of people employed in the industry will decrease. A settlement must be found for the sake of our companies, our employees, the sector as a whole and everyone adversely affected by the strike. We urge Amcu to return to the negotiating table ready to seek an affordable and sustainable solution," said Amplats’s Chris Griffith, Implats’s Terence Goodlace and Lonmin’s Ben Magara.

Mechanisation versus South Africa’s vast pool of illiterate, and organised workers. Aren’t you glad that you are not the one who has to unloosen this knot?

"The extended strike on the platinum belt is unprecedented and at a stage where some of its impacts are becoming irreparable. These impacts are not only on the companies, but also on employees, local businesses, suppliers and on communities. The financial cost — now close to (R10bn) in revenue lost and around R4.4bn in earnings lost to employees — does not tell the full story," the CEOs said.

I am inclined to agree strongly. To put it in different words — would our solutions be different if the problem was not stated in purely financial terms? I think it is interesting that the CEOs are arguing for a ‘keep the boat steady’ approach when it is clearly not working for the workers.

The economy that sustains South Africa’s cheap labour doesn’t also sustain an equitable and liveable lifestyle. There are families to feed, garnishee orders to pay off and money to be sent home to the rural Eastern Cape, Kwa Zulu-Natal or Mozambique. But more so than that, the infrastructure that supports a decent living is often absent from these communities. There’s no running water, no proper sanitation, no places to go (not really) and no decent schools and whatnot. So the demand for R12,500 and the unending strike must be seen in that light.

It is becoming less and less possible to argue that mining as it is practiced in this country is damaging to one’s health in the longterm. Indeed, diseases like tuberculosis and silicosis are rife. One doesn’t need the anecdotal evidence alone to discover that mining houses have been very poor at helping these sick miners.

Consider this report from GroundUP: "Mineworkers actually have special legal rights to compensation, yet they are still denied their vital benefits. According to South African law, mineworkers who acquire silicosis or tuberculosis while employed by gold companies qualify for benefits, including money from government compensation coffers.

"Funding is supposed to be provided by the mining industry for the explicit purpose of helping men and their families cope with occupational disease. But every step of the process mineworkers must go through to access this compensation is broken. As a result, according to recent estimates, more than 700,000 cases of statutorily compensable lung disease in former mineworkers remain unpaid."

The organisation also found that government funds to compensate such workers are woefully undersupplied.

At a mining conference this week, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said that TB in the mining sector is a particular challenge due to the fact that the prevalence of TB is higher in mining communities than it is in the general population.

"Given the sobering fact that Africa is the only continent unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of halving TB related mortality by the end of 2015, the urgency of developing and implementing region-wide programmes is self-evident," said Motlanthe.

So to me, the question of what is or is not acceptable for a miner is not completely answered if we accept the paradigm that the mine bosses have put to us. Amcu may be going about this strike employing a policy that will harm it and its workers in the long run, they can only do so in a context where the ‘reasonable’ people in all of this are asking the miners they represent to continue to accept an unacceptable situation.

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Norman Mampane (Communications Officer)

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 or Direct 010 219-1342

Mobile: +27 72 416 3790

E-Mail: mam...@cosatu.org.za