COSATU Today, 23 march 2010

SAMWU members at Madibeng Local Municipality in the North West province embarked on strike which started on the 25^th February 2010 and ended on the 12^th March 2010.

The strike was for the immediate dismissal of the Acting Chief Finance Officer, Ms. Nana Masithela who was appointed on a six months contract that started in November and would end on the 30^th April 2010.

When appointing the CFO, the Executive Mayor gave a CV to the then Municipal Manager saying that the incumbent was deployed by the Minister for Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs to recuperate the bad financial situation of the municipality.

This statement by the Executive Mayor was a pure lie that misled the Council meeting to resolve on her appointment per resolution A.1077 on a salary scale of R75 412.50 per month.

SAMWU shop stewards at Madibeng municipality visited the Office of the Minister on the 28 January 2010 where they discovered that the Minister’s Office did not know how the Acting CFO was deployed to Madibeng municipality and on her unbecoming actions and behaviour.

What made SAMWU members angrier is that on her (Nana Masithela) arrival at the municipality, she did the following, which we consider as unacceptable;

Dismissal of the external auditing company that was appointed by Council resolution to audit the finances of the municipality and appointed her own company without any Council resolution.
Her refusal to pay for material that was deemed important for the provision of service delivery to the communities e.g. she refused to pay for chlorine that was to be used to clean the water as the entire community of Madibeng municipality was drinking dirty and stinking water.
Her use of harsh, derogatory and unacceptable language to junior employees.
Her appointment of a legal firm called Ramonamane Legal cc. without Council resolution.
Her maltreatment of service providers who wanted their payments while service providers that were appointed by her were paid without any delay.
She appointed her younger sister without following correct recruitment procedures of the municipality. There was no advertisement, short-listing and interviews for the post.
She paid R6 500.00 per month to her younger sister while other employees at the same level and doing the same job with her sister were earning R3 500.00 per month.
She invested R49m of the municipality to a Trust Account of the very same Ramonamane Legal firm without any Council resolution and without even informing the Municipal Manager.

All the above issues were raised with both senior management and politicians and it was finally agreed that her service with the municipality be terminated with immediate effect per Council resolution A.1170 of 12 March 2010.

The resolution supra satisfied the workers and they returned back to work on Monday, 15 March 2010.

What makes SAMWU more and more angry

The Provincial Task Team of the NEC of the ANC convened a meeting with all ANC structures at Madibeng municipality on Monday, 15^th March 2010 to announce that the municipality is being placed under section 139(1) (b) of the Constitution, which means that all the executive powers of the Mayor, the Single Whip and the Speaker as well as that of the Mayoral Committee and Council are being withdrawn.

After that announcement, the Executive Mayor of Madibeng, Mrs. Sophy Molokoane-Machika wrote a report on her capacity and convened a special Council meeting on the 18^th March 2010 which resolved for the reinstatement of the very same problematic Acting CFO per item A.1171.

SAMWU’S OBSERVATION

1. That the Mayor has realized that she and her accomplices will no longer be able to loot the municipality after the deployment of the Administrator by the National or Provincial government.

2. That the deployed Administrator may extend the contract of the Acting CFO seeing that he/she may not be able to perform properly without the CFO in the municipality. Thus creating conducive environment for those who were looting the municipality to loot more.

3. That the report to reinstate the CFO was supposed to be prepared by the Acting Municipal Manager and not the Mayor herself.

SAMWU therefore demands;

That the municipality speed the appointment of the CFO.
That Ms. Nana Masithela should not be reinstated as she has proven not to know or understand the Municipal Finance Management Act.
That should point 1 supra be impossible, the Provincial or National Government deploys a knowledgeable incumbent to be the CFO of Madibeng Municipality.
We further demand that the Mayor refrain from interfering in administrative issues.
That the resolution to reinstate Nana Masithela be rescinded with immediate effect.

2. South Africa

2.1 Western Cape Alliance Summit declaration

The African National Congress, the South African Communist Party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, together with the South African National Civic Organization, in the Western Cape Province, met in a vibrant, robust, frank and successful Alliance Summit, in Cape Town, on the 20^th March 2010. Delegates agreed that the strategic mandate to all our organizations in the current epoch of our revolution derives from our commitment to the national democratic revolution, and that the character of the NDR as expressed in the Freedom Charter and the Strategy and Tactics of the ANC.

The alliance summit calls upon the entrenchment of the culture of activism in the province, in order to realize the objectives of the NDR, intensify ideological and theoretical work amongst our cadres and build dynamic, functional and united structures at all levels. The alliance summit has further confirmed that our organizations are both distinct and interdependent. Whilst recognizing this, alliance structures must desist at all costs from attacking each other in the public or risk facing discipline.

The Alliance summit commits itself to the continuation of the implementation of the declaration of the provincial alliance summit held on the 7^th June 2008 (following Ekurhuleni Summits). It further committed itself in ensuring that resolutions emanating from that summit will be operationalised and implemented, together with the resolutions of the provincial alliance summit held on the 20^th March 2010, in a coherent and structured manner.

The alliance summit agreed, against the background of failure of implementation of the previous alliance summit resolutions that provincial alliance political council will have to be established to implement and monitor of the alliance declaration, together with the establishment of related committees.

The alliance summit has further resolved:

1. On the economic transformation :

That the study be commissioned on the political economy of the Western Cape with the view to expose inequalities between the rich and the poor in the province;

That national government must speedily address the problems of labour broking in order to prohibit the abuse of workers in particular the unintended consequences of section 198 of the LRA with special emphasis;

That the industrial development strategy in the province should be aligned with the national plans and be biased towards the working class and the poor;

The DA’s open opportunity for all strategy is a cynical continuation of a racially exclusive agenda as it offends the imperatives to redress the imbalances of the past in a futile effort to preserve .white minority interest.

2. On the social transformation :

That underpinning social transformation of the society in the Western Cape are issues of poverty and underdevelopment, that critical to the social upliftment of the working class communities is mobilization of communities in relation to service delivery in various areas of ANC five priorities. In addition our people have to build a non racial solidarity in order to mobilize for equitable quality service delivery.

3. On Governance and elections :

That we ensure capacity building of our public representatives;

That an alliance local government elections summit be convened to deal with the preparations of the forthcoming local government elections;

The Alliance summit has called upon on all alliance structures in the province to actively participate in shaping the Turn Around Strategy of government, and to ensure that Turn Around Plans are owned by communities, mass driven, that they are included in the municipal Integrated Development Plans, shape the municipal budgets and that this process is also linked with our 2011 local government elections drive.

2.2 Vavi’s address to the march of the Equal Education Campaign on Human Rights Day

I bring greetings and support from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and its two million members to this most important and very necessary march.

Today is Human Rights Day and it is very appropriate that on the 50^th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, we are talking about one of our most fundamental rights, enshrined in Clause 29 of the Bill of Rights, which says: “Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education, and to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.”

A top-quality, accessible and affordable public education system is not a privilege for a few but a right for every South African. But it is also a necessity if we are serious about transforming our society and building a just and prosperous South Africa for future generations. Education is the foundation on which all nations have liberated themselves, arguably more important than any other area of development.

Quite rightly education is one of the five priorities for the ANC and the government. It is one of the cornerstones of their developmental strategy. But they face an immense task, one which they cannot do on their own. That is why initiatives like yours are so important, involving broader layers of our society in actively campaigning and working for a fully transformed, equal and accessible education system.

COSATU has thrown its weight behind your mounting grassroots campaign to get libraries into every public school in the country. It is absolutely scandalous that only eight percent of public schools have adequate libraries, mostly in privileged former Model C schools. Access to books, and these days we need to add access to computers with internet access, are a necessary part of every child’s education.

Whilst we have made tremendous progress on many areas of education, such as improving infrastructure, delivery of books, enrolment of children, in particular girls, improving access by opening more no-fee schools, etc. we have not succeeded in transforming the education system in both quality and quantity.

Of the 1 550 790 South African children who started school in 1998, only 551 940 of them registered for the matric class. That is a drop-out rate of 64%. Of these 551 940 who wrote matric exams, only 334 609 (60.6%) passed matric and just 109 697 achieved university entrance.

That means that 1 216 181 of the original 1998 intake are left with no qualifications and, given the current rate of unemployment, no jobs, no hope and no future. No wonder 75% of all the unemployed are made up of those who are below the age of 35 years. No wonder why there is so much crime and other social ills such collapse of family values, HIV/AIDS, etc.

The children of the rich are in private schools. The children of the middle class who are now joined by a minority of blacks are in the former Model C schools. Both private and former Model C schools are in varying degrees far better than the schools where the working class’s kids are attending.

In searching for solutions to this crisis we should first of all reject the crass and simplistic view advanced by the Democratic Alliance, the Editor of the Sunday Times and other right-wing commentators that the problems of the education system are caused by the teachers’ unions.

On the contrary three teachers’ unions, representing more than 312,000 educators, issued an excellent statement in January 2010. It fully acknowledged the problems in education, affirmed their unequivocal commitment to the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), and reassured the public that 2010 will see a practical expression of that commitment.

We warmly welcomed the selfless, heroic and revolutionary stance adopted by the SADTU leadership in its battle sometimes with its own structures and members to save generations of working class children from this unfolding tragedy.

For the sake our own children, and the generations to come, COSATU is joining hands with SADTU, NAPTOSA and SAOU and the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, who addressed the CEC, to take the following steps.

We are calling on educators to ensure that:

· Absenteeism among educators will be addressed and it will be required of all educators to complete attendance registers.

· School management teams will complete and implement school timetables in the shortest possible time to ensure that schools can begin their academic programmes from the first formal day of the new school term;

· Unacceptable and unprofessional conduct by educators will not be tolerated, and that their members cannot expect that the unions will protect guilty educators in an unquestionable manner;

· Educators will strive to be positive role models to learners as well as in their respective communities;

· School feeding schemes will be properly administered and managed in a transparent and equitable manner;

· The appropriate LTSM will be provided to learners in the shortest time possible;

· Educators will prepare for classes in a manner that can be expected of dedicated professional educators;

· Educators will comply with their administrative responsibilities to ensure that schools and learners are not disadvantaged;

· Educators and schools will enforce the appropriate codes of conduct at all schools to ensure that learners will abide by fair and equitable school rules; and

· Educators will attend relevant in-service training courses regarding the curriculum and school management to ensure that they are able to teach and manage in the most effective manner.

No education system can show meaningful progress unless the bureaucracy provides the required support to educators and schools and the respective provincial departments of education provide the enabling environment that makes it possible for schools to provide quality education. If such support is absent, or is not of an acceptable standard, schools find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to provide quality education.

We will campaign to ensure that workers, who are the parents, appreciate the critical role they can play in turning this situation around. In this regard we call on workers to stand for positions in the School Governing Bodies and call on them to:

· Empower themselves by attending appropriate training courses to be able to comply with their fiduciary duties and responsibilities towards the respective schools and school communities;

· Provide the required support to schools and educators in a manner that will not intrude on the professional terrain of principals and educators;

We appeal to parents to:

· Register learners timeously;

· Ensure that learners will attend schools and comply with schools’ codes of conduct;

· Comply with their financial obligations towards schools;

· Attend the required school functions; and

· Foster a climate of respect for education, schools and educators.

We urge learners to:

· Attend school conscientiously;

· Work studiously and continuously;

· Diligently abide by school rules at all times;

· Show the required respect to schools and educators.

I wish your campaign well and promise that the South African workers are with you all the way. This is a campaign we simply cannot afford to lose.

2.3 Implementation of OSD crippled service delivery

Joint Statement by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), 23 March 2010

The implementation of the Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) in 2007 and 2009, without properly costing and planning the expenditure, led to significant instability in health care budgets and the delivery of services.

The OSDs are governmental schemes to introduce revised salary structures that are unique to each identified public service occupation. Nurseâ€™s OSD was implemented in 2007 as part of a deal to end an earlier public sector strike by adjusting salaries and establishing career paths. OSD was implemented for doctors in 2009. The aim of OSD is to keep and attract doctors and nurses in the public sector.

South Africa is facing a shortage of healthcare workers in the public sector and it is necessary to attract and retain healthcare workers to strengthen healthcare delivery and to meet the targets for the treatment, prevention and care of HIV and TB. The OSD is an important step to improving conditions and pay and establishing career paths in the public sector. The Department of Health has already announced that new OSD packages for medical practitioners, pharmacists and some emergency personnel will be implemented from 1 April 2010.

The issue with OSD is that it was not properly costed before it was implemented and the unexpected costs have destabilized other healthcare services including the rollout of antiretroviral therapy.

For example, the Free State is a province that is facing continuous drug-stock outs and extremely long waiting lists for ART. A study presented at CROI 2010 evaluated all ART eligible patients (CD4<200 cells/mm³) enrolled in 36 clinics in the Free State public-sector treatment programme. Patients were initiated in the study between May 2004 and Dec 2007 and followed until Dec 2008. The shocking outcome of this study was that almost one quarter (23%) of patients died while waiting for treatment.

It is evident that poor health planning and the lack of proper costing of services have played a role in the poor delivery of services in the Free State. During the July 2009 Free State Health Summit, the Commission on Medicine was chaired by the CEO of the HIV programme, Ms. Makhokho. One of the points made at the summit was that approximately 60% of the budget for the HIV programme goes to salaries and that the budgeting process starts with budgeting for salaries before providing for other costs including antiretroviral therapy.

At the meeting, Sello Mokhalipi, from the Free State HIV and AIDS Coalition questioned: â€˜why we would pay salaries to people to tell patients that there is no medication?â€™

Scaling up spending on salaries through OSD has further strained the delivery of services. While ART access remains limited in the Free State, health services and other essential medicines with less protection than HIV treatment, prevention and care have been severely compromised.

Sello Mokhalipi stated: â€˜all of the clinics in the area, even the district hospitals seem to be having a shortage of general treatments and there is not even panado. Diabetics are forced to go and buy treatment for themselves â€“ what about those that cannot afford this?â€™

The Eastern Cape has also faced a number of issues in terms of budgeting for OSD. According to the MEC for finance in the Eastern Cape, the Provincial Health Department will overspend on its budget by R1.6 billion mainly due to the â€˜higher than budgeted employee costsâ€™.[1] For the 2009/10 financial year the Department estimates that it will oversp end on its R6.23 billion Adjusted Appropriation for the compensation of employees by R1.33 billion or 21%. This figure includes one off payments for the Human Resources Operational Project Team (HROPT).

This overspending on underfunded and unbudgeted mandates relating to the compensation of employees has had a significant impact on the Provincial Health Departmentâ€™s ability to deliver services in other areas. By the end of the third quarter of 2009/10 the Provincial Department was forced to suspend payments to several contractors and suppliers resulting in some contractors and suppliers suspending services until payments have been made.[2]

The impact of OSD and HROPT accruals and additional OSD expenses has also had a significant affect on the Eastern Cape Department of Healthâ€™s budget for 2010/11. In an effort to address these underfunded and unbudgeted mandates the budget for the compensation of employees has increased by R1.6 billion or 26% from the R6.27 billion allocation in 2009/10 to R7.92 billion in 2010/11. This means that the proportion of the budget which goes to the compensation of employees has increased to 60% from 54% in 2009/10. This increase has, however, been at the expense of other critical allocations such as goods and services and buildings and fixed structures which have seen their allocations sliced to make up for shortfalls in this area. For example, the allocation for goods and services which includes medical supplies, medicines and labo ratory services, will decrease by R312 million or 8% from the R3.8 billion revised estimate in 2009/10 to R 3.48 billion in 2010/11. When inflation is taken into account this represents a real decrease of 13% against the revised estimate.

On 15 September 2009, during the Provincial Budget and Expenditure Review from 2005/06 â€“ 2011/12, the Treasuryâ€™s Director for Health Policy was questioned as to where the additional funding for OSD is coming from. He explained that additional funding was made available to provinces to cover OSD but that provinces are filling empty posts without proper budgeting which has added additional strain.[3] Yet filling empty posts and improving conditions for h ealthcare workers are both vital to strengthening our health system and meeting our targets for the treatment, prevention and care of HIV and TB.

It is clear that OSD was implemented without proper budgeting and planning which has destabilized health systems. The Department of Health must identify and rectify its shortfalls in using health budgets efficiently and effectively. Should the Department not take adequate steps to address budgetary pressures related to the implementation of the OSD it runs the risk of once again overspending on the compensation of employees at the expense of other critical services such as the provision of essential medications and medical supplies to health facilities.

In this regard, an integrated support team made up of finance and health systems specialists led by Deloitte and Touche has produced 10 reports; one on each provincial health department and one on the national department. These reports can help us understand and rectify the financing and managerial challenges in the public health system. They need to be made public.

2.4 Gauteng government launches service delivery tracking system

Sithembele Tshwete, Gauteng Legislature, 23 March 2010

Most concerns and service delivery complaints by the public are often lost within government departments or are never attended to. Gauteng Legislature will today launch a system that will track each and every concern or petition from the public to government department as well as the feedback by the government departments concerned.

3. International

3.1 COSATU hails US healthcare victory

Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 23 March 2010

COSATU has congratulated US President Barack Obama, and the people of the United States of America, on their historic victory on Sunday 21 March 2010 when the House of Representatives passed the Healthcare Reform Bill by 219 votes to 212.

COSATU agrees with Jim Clyburn, a leading African-American Representative, that "This is the civil rights act of the 21st century”. We hope that the South African Government will take heart from this victory - won coincidentally on our Human Rights Day - and press ahead with its equivalent legislation to introduce a national Health insurance system.

The federation urges Obama to resist the anticipated moves by right-wing Republicans to thwart the will of the people in further manoeuvres in the Senate and the Courts, and urges the South African Government to be equally firm in defeating the campaign by right-wing opposition parties and vested interests in the healthcare sector to defeat the equally popular South African proposal to bring healthcare within reach of every citizen.

3.2 Mbedzi appears in court

Lucky Lukhele- SSN spokesperson, 23 March 2010

The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) has noted the trial of internationalist, Amos Mbedzi, will be commencing in the Swazi High Court on the 29th of March. Mbedzi, has been incarcerated in Mswati prison on fabricated charges of terrorism for 584 days. We call upon compatriots to go in their numbers to support this hero of the Swazi struggle.

Mbedze is a father, a member of the SACP, SSN, ANC and a veteran of Mkonto Wesizwe most of all an Internationalist.

He was severely tortured and had been kept under very difficult conditions. Swazi prison authorities have been frustrating visits by his family and comrades. Swazi nationals are not allowed to visit him and his family had to see under very stringent conditions. We are concerned about the conduct of the South African High Commission and elements in the International Relations & Cooperation in Pretoria. His family is now supposed to apply for permission to visit him, in Pretoria. The duty of the South African government is to protect the rights of its citizens in imprisoned in other countries not to connive with repressive regime. As SSN, we will engage the South Africa, International Relations & Cooperation in this regard.

We maintain that Mbedzi, is not a terrorist. It is Mswati who is leading a terrorist government. Mswati must know that when Swaziland is free, he and those who run this torture chambers will answer on all the crimes that he has committed against the Swazi people.

SSN do not believe that Mbedzi will get a fair trial in a Swazi Court. He has been incarcerated for a long time without being tried. The process of selecting of the trial judge also leaves a lot to be desired.

Meanwhile the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN] is to hold a national conference in August this year in Limpopo province. Delegates to this conference 90% will come from SSN branches across 9 SA provinces and the remaining will be National and International guest.

3.3 From Sharpeville in South Africa to the Kamkhweli-Macetjeni massacre in Swaziland

Stephen Faulkner, SDC, 20 March 2010

The people of South Africa are celebrating Human Rights Day which symbolises a particular stage in the courageous resistance of the people against murderous apartheid rule.

It marks a series of events in Sharpeville, when the eyes of the world were drawn to the reality and brutality of apartheid as a crime against humanity. As a result of the struggle, South Africans will forever be historically associated with the struggle for human rights and dignity.

That is why the Swaziland Democracy Campaign takes this opportunity to call on the people of South Africa when celebrating their own struggle, to remember the Swazi people and their legitimate struggle against royal oppression. In doing so, they shall be drawing attention of the world to the reality of a brutal regime in Swaziland that has maintained its rule for decades through the system of ‘tinkhundla’, a corrupting system of patronage and fear. The royal elite is not a stranger to using devious and barbarous methods to maintain its privileged status. From the notorious UNISWA Black Wednesday to the universally condemned Kamkhweli-Macetjeni massacres, state brutality continues to rear its ugly head whenever democrats raise their banner. The fact of the matter is that Swaziland is a military state embracing the catchall Suppression of Terrorism Act that has led to the intensification of arrests and persecution of political activists from across the community.

But the Swazi people are no longer prepared to accept the misrule of the corrupt elite. Communities are organising, and new organisations are emerging that are prepared to challenge the royal elite and their sycophants. The Swaziland Democracy Campaign, that links democrats in Swaziland and South Africa is proud to be a part of this democratic resurgence.

We also take this opportunity to salute COSATU for initiating the all-important Provincial Alliance summit on Swaziland to be held in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Saturday, the 20^th March, 2010. This confirms the continued critical and decisively unapologetic role that the federation has and continue to play in the struggle for the liberation of the suffering people of Swaziland.

We urge all democrats to work with the Swaziland Democracy Campaign and help bring freedom and justice to one of the last outposts of undemocratic rule.

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