COSATU Today, 24 May 2012
Patrick Craven
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Our side of the story
Thursday 24 May 2012
Contents
Ø SASCO Gauteng sickened by Prof Nongxa’s retorts
Ø COSATU demands truth about allegations against Gauteng MEC
Ø YCL Gauteng Press Statement on MEC Humphrey Mmemezi
Ø ANC Gauteng condemns violence at Kwathema
Ø NEHAWU statement on Africa Day
Ø People of Swaziland deserve quality education for all
Ø YCLSA 90TH anniversary celebration activities
Ø Shoulder to shoulder: South African workers and WFTU
Workers
SASCO Gauteng sickened by Prof Nongxa’s retorts
Nhlamulo Siwela SASCO Gauteng Secretary, 23 May 2012
We are sickened by the shaky response by the Wits University management to the demands by students, workers and progressive lectures at Wits for the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the 17 unfairly dismissed chefs, now known as the Wits 17.
The retorts of Prof Loyiso Nongxa to our demands makes it very difficult for our organization to resist the temptation to believe the wildly circulated view that his Vice-chancellorship was a product of a coffee shop agreement and that he was acutely unfit to be at the helm of such an important centre of knowledge production.
It is under Nongxa where we witnessed the merciless butchering of students leaders and registration fees sky rocketing to be the highest in the country making Wits inaccessible to students from working class backgrounds. Prof Loyiso Nongxa has been the arch mid-wife to the mass privatization of almost all services at Wits, which produced massive casualization of workers who work in precarious conditions.
He leaves our organization with no option but to make it clear that his days are numbered at Wits because we do not see the future of such an important university in the hands of a black Judas Iscariot.
We hail the bravery and courage of the more than 32 students who are engaged in an indefinite hunger strike and occupation Senate house since Sunday and the progressive academics who have been delivering lectures since Monday. Their altruistic deeds cements them in history as a generation which refused to wait in servitude on the face of injustice for the sake of convenience like the Wits management.
We invite all justice loving members of society and the media to join us in sacrificing a night’s sleep in solidarity with the Wits 17.
Tonight the occupation will be joined by the 17 unfairly dismissed workers, progressive formations and artist.
The occupation commences at 19h00 at Wits University (Senate House) Contact Ndumiso Mokako SASCO Gauteng Chairperson 083 713 9432 Nhlamulo Siwela SASCO Gauteng Secretary 072 486 475
South Africa
COSATU demands truth about allegations against Gauteng MEC
Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 23 May 2012
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is extremely concerned at the very serious allegations being made against Humphrey Mmemezi, Gauteng MEC for Local Government and Housing, of misuse of public funds for personal use.
The Star newspaper alleges that on 25 September 2011 Mmemezi spent R22 839 for clothes in India with his government credit card, another R31 000 on "party wear" and suits in Pramanik on 30 September and R4900 and R4500 for clothing at other shops in India.
Mmemezi allegedly used the same credit card to purchase an art work worth R10 000 from fast food outlet McDonalds, a transaction which he allegedly disguised as a purchase for hamburgers.
Now there are further allegations that he used his government credit card to make a R400 overnight booking in the Cedar Lodge hotel in Krugersdorp – less than 5km from his home - on 17 January 2012. There have allegedly been similar bookings at hotels in Johannesburg, Midrand and Pretoria – despite these hotels being a few kilometres away from his house and that he is chauffeur-driven.
COSATU demands a response from the Minister and a full, thorough and independent investigation into these allegations of abuse of public funds. We want the public to be told whether or not they are true, and if proved true, for disciplinary and/or legal action to be taken against him.
NEHAWU: investigate allegations against MEC for local government and housing
Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, 24 May 2012
NEHAWU demands answers from the Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane and Gauteng MEC for Local Government and Housing, Humphrey Mmemezi regarding the troubling allegations of abuse of public funds by the MEC and the clandestine payment arrangements. These allegations paint a very disturbing picture of an overpaid government leader misusing taxpayer’s money to satisfy his insatiable appetite for overindulgence.
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The MEC should be temporary suspended while an investigation of these allegations is being conducted. If found guilty, we do not just want him to be fired, but we demand that he be criminally charged and prosecuted to the maximum. We want him to repay all of the spent monies and be barred from any government employment.
The MEC has been an unmitigated disaster in his position and his department especially housing is straddling from one crisis to another with no coherent response coming from his office. The only response we have seen has been one of indifferent arrogance and inane posturing. We are still awaiting results regarding an accident that allegedly happened in UMzimkhulu, KZN where a state vehicle was involved but was allegedly never reported to the police.
The people of Gauteng deserve better and the premier should fulfil her promise that she will be the premier who deals with fraudulence and incompetence of every type.
Allegations against MEC Humphrey Mmemezi should be investigated by legislature’s integrity commissioner
Dumisa Ntuli, ANC Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson, 24 May 2012
The ANC Gauteng has noted the media reports making serious allegations against the Gauteng MEC for Housing and Local Government, Cde Humphrey Mmemezi. We note that the MEC has denied the allegations.
Due to the serious nature of these allegations about use of official vehicles and the credit card, the ANC believes the matter should be referred to the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of the Gauteng Legislature for investigation. This Office is best placed to establish if the MEC has conducted himself in a manner that violates the Code of Ethics of Members of the Executive and Parliamentarians in Gauteng.
We have also noted that the Gauteng Premier, Cde Nomvula Mokonyane, has also asked the MEC to submit a report in response to all the allegations.
The ANC will await the reports of both the Integrity Commissioner and the Premier on the matter.
We urge everybody to give the investigation by the Integrity Commissioner a chance so that we know the truth about the allegations.
YCL Gauteng Press Statement on MEC Humphrey Mmemezi
Matankana Mothapo, Gauteng YCL Provincial Spokesperson, 23 May 2012
The Young Communist League (uFasimba) in Gauteng noted the allegations of misuse of public funds and extreme hostility towards workers particularly leveled against Mr. Humphrey Mmemezi, MEC of Local Government and Housing.
The YCL will be having its 4th plenary meeting over the weekend and we will take an opportunity to deliberate to some of the issues. We are unequivocally perturbed by any kind of corrupt and mismanagement of funds that continues to take place within most of our government departments and we therefore would like to see the law taking its course in that kind of practice. We further want to lobby our ally Cosatu and NEHAWU to intervene on the issues of the alleged unlawful dismissals that are taking place within the MEC’s Department of Local Government and Housing.
The YCLSA Gauteng Provincial Leadership will arrange the meeting with the office of the Gauteng Premier, Comrade Nomvula Mokonyane to express its views about the conducts of Local Government and Housing, Mr. Humphrey Mmemezi for further clarity.
ANC Gauteng condemns violence at Kwathema
Dumisa Ntuli, ANC Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson, 24 May 2012
The ANC Gauteng Province calls for calm at KwaThema – Ekurhuleni . This comes after a group of people took to the streets yesterday to protest about expensive electricity fees. In as much as the ANC understand the enormous challenges of electricity, we condemn violence and destruction of property. It is a sad day when protestors destroy property that is meant for their own development.
The protest action has also disrupted service delivery. The unfortunate part is that even those unruly and criminal elements that are destroying property are dependent on the same buildings for services. Any violent conduct is ugly and illegal hence the law enforcement agencies must act to apprehend the anarchist and arsonist.
We call upon KwaThema protestors to desist from violence and to express their demands peacefully without engaging in violent conduct. We believe that genuine and legitimate concerns of communities should be addressed. People have the legal right to protest without using violence. Any violent conduct to express certain service delivery challenges is the downside of our constitutional democracy.
We also know that many people in the area are poor and unemployed but that does not give them a license to anarchy, vandalism and burning of government property.
Any protest associated with violence is criminal because it destroys any legitimate intentions. The municipality will continue to engage the community to find appropriate measures to address the challenge of electricity. We believe that patient is virtue and no violent action will remedy the problem.
International
NEHAWU statement on Africa Day
Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, 24 May 2012
NEHAWU wishes all Africans around the continent and in the Diaspora a wonderful Africa Day, 25th May 2012 ,in commemoration of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity {OAU} in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1963.The union calls on all its members and Africans in general to recommit themselves to work for unity and prosperity of Africa and her children. This is a day to celebrate the hard-fought achievement of our freedom as a continent from colonial powers.
All of us have a challenge to emulate and learn from some of our greatest statesman who have served the continent and its people with pride and who never wavered in the fight for freedom. When celebrating this day we need to remember the resilience and wisdom of African revolutionaries like Nkwameh Nkrumah, Amilcar Cabral, Ahmed Ben Bella, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon and others. Their lives teach us that we should never waver in the fight against all forms of discrimination and injustice like racism, religious and political persecution, xenophobia and poverty etc.
On this day we need to remember the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Patrice Lumumba, the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, the overthrow of the Democratic Party of Guinea, the recent US bombing of Libya, and the overthrow of Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso. Neo-colonialism still pose the greatest danger to the economic emancipation of Africa since it has been deployed as the new stage of the capitalist, imperialist strategy in Africa.
NEHAWU calls for peace and unity in Sudan and congratulates the people of Egypt for holding their first national general elections. We pledge solidarity with the revolutionary people of Haiti, the first black led republic in the world, who obtained their independence in 1804.Our union supports the struggle for freedom that is currently waged by the people of Western Sahara and Swaziland.
We should all celebrate our diversity and success and work hard to realise our potential as a continent and the people. Our immediate task is to defeat the demon of xenophobia that divides us, therefore resulting in other races and continents continuing their systemic political and economic domination of Africa.
We need to extricate ourselves from mental slavery that has psychologically scarred us and left us feeling inferior and despising all things African and hero-worshipping and imitating all things European. The media also needs to play their role by resisting the temptation to portray our continent as a hopeless continent, a breeding ground of poverty, disease and poverty. To develop this continent we need to highlight both negatives and positives. We can only inspire positive change if we show the people of the continent that they are worth something and this will ultimately manifest better dreams and results.
We have shown that we are resilient people and are survivors, having forgiven and overcome slavery, colonialism, apartheid and all other dehumanising atrocities visited upon us by our oppressors. This continent has survived the careless plundering of its resources by colonialists and capitalist multinationals. There is no reason this continent cannot be united and fulfil its potential as long as we treat each other as descendants of a common ancestor.
NEHAWU will celebrate Africa Day tomorrow by hosting a seminar at its head office to highlight the issues around xenophobia, how it affects us as trade unions and also educate our members and society. The theme of the seminar is “Consolidating African Progressive Working Class Unity in Confronting Capitalism”
Speakers at the Seminar will include COSATU, Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF), Friends of Congo ( FOCCAS) People’s Democratic Movement ( PUDEMO) and Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)
Happy Africa Day and forward with African unity!
People of Swaziland deserve quality education for all
Lucky Lukhele, SSN spokesperson, 23 May 2012
The sharp contrast between the education facilities of ordinary Swazis and royalty has once again ignited a fiery protest action in the country. Barely a month after the king’s eldest daughter graduated for her master’s degree in a university in Australia, Limkwokwing University of Creative Technology has been closed indefinitely by its administrators.
The closure follows a peaceful strike action by students led by THE Swaziland National Union of Students [SNUS] who were demanding technological gadgets that are crucial for learning. The institution’s students are also demanding the immediate resignation of the campus manager, a certain Mr Mtsetfwa who is accused of corruption and administering the campus with an iron fist.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN] wishes to register its concerns on the brutality of the state against unarmed students who were voicing their frustrations in a peaceful and dignified manner. Moreover, we condemn the government’s policy of depriving ordinary Swazis decent education while spending fortunes on so-called blue-blooded royals whose contribution to the country is living off the people’s taxes.
Announcements
YCLSA 90TH anniversary celebration activities
Khaya Xaba, YCLSA Media Liaison Officer, 24 May 2012
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] is celebrating 90 years since its formation. The Young Communist League of South Africa was formed May 25, 1922. In celebrating this important milestone under the theme “YOUTH POWER FOR SOCIALISM “; the YCL will host the following activities:
1. Cake Cutting ceremony
Date: Friday May 25, 2012
Venue: Cosatu House 1st floor [Nelson Mandela Floor], 110 Jorrisen Street, Braamfontein
Time: 12:30
Leaders from the following organizations will address the ceremony:
· SACP
· ANC
· COSATU
2. 90th anniversary party
Date: Friday May 25, 2012
Venue: Club Nhe, Alexandra Township
Time: 18h00
3. 90TH anniversary rally
Date: Saturday May 26, 2012
Venue: Westernburg Hall, Polokwane
Time: 13h00
The rally will be addressed by the following speakers:
· YCL National Secretary Cde Buti Manamela
· Minister in the Presidency and ANC NEC member Cde Collins Chabane
· Cosatu President Cde Sdumo Dlamini
Issued by YCLSA Head Office
For more information contact:
Mangaliso Khonza
YCLSA National Spokesperson
Cell: 083 617 5546
Tel: 011 339 3621
E-mail: kho...@gmail.com
Or
Khaya Xaba
YCLSA Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 074 5 204 204
Tel: 011 339 3621
E-mail: khay...@gmail.com
Shoulder to shoulder: South African workers and WFTU
George Mavrikos, WFTU General Secretary, 20 May 2012
A book on Moses Mabhida, Mark Shope, Eric Mtshali and so many other heroes of the South African Trade Union movement, their internationalist contribution and the great support they received in the liberation struggle from WFTU and the class-oriented unions around the world...
The prologue of the book says:
Dear comrades,
It is a joy, an honor and, at the same time, a duty of the World Federation of Trade Unions to express its respect towards the heroic struggles of the working class and the People of South Africa who conducted hard class struggles for their political liberation, for the abolition of apartheid.
In this heroic struggle the WFTU from 1945 until today has been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder together with the pioneer militants of South Africa. The history of the trade union movement in South Africa from 1945 until today is simultaneously the history of the WFTU. The comrades who were martyrs in that struggle are also martyrs of the international class-oriented trade union movement of the International Working Class, are also martyrs of WFTU.
This book is the least we could do to honor the thousands who died in the struggle, for those who gave their life against the capitalist exploitation and the imperialist barbarity.
Dear brothers in South Africa.
No struggle goes to waste. The long years of struggle brought the results of the great changes in 1994. Great changes that need to be completed with radical overthrows in the level of economy, since we all know that this is the heart of the policy. We continue...
We continue the struggle for a society without injustice and class exploitation. For a society where the wealth-producing resources will belong to the Peoples and not to the capitalists and the multinationals. For a society in which the means of production will belong to the working people and not the bourgeoisie. For a socialist society...
This value of this book is to be estimated by whether the youth, the next generation of militants of the trade union movement, will derive lessons and experience from it, to continue the struggle with more faith and more boldness.
See this publication online at:
http://www.scribd.com/wftu-press/d/94314241-South-African-Worker-and-WFTU-Shoulder-to-Shoulder
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
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 010 219-1339
Mobile: +27 82 821 7456
E-Mail: pat...@cosatu.org.za
