COSATU Today, 15 March 2012

The issuing of food parcels to the poor workers by Gift of the Giver was led by the general secretary of COSATU and the national chairperson of the foundation, this was an emotional activity for some workers who saw food the last time when the federation did the last intervention with the social department in 2010.

Workers are exploited by a very rich company, a company that has a high profile, but which does not care about its employees who have lost lives, lost their belongings, lost their families and whose children are not going to school and almost of whom are now listed in the credit bureaux. They can’t do anything even if they may get jobs.

As COSATU NW we are appealing to all our members, officials, staff members and all civil society to contribute to the Gift of the Givers so that it can sustain its programs all over the world. The same foundation is busy completing the program of assisting the families who lost their children due to not having food in Itsoseng [Verdwall and Lichtenburg].

The program is about all poor families who are not getting food from any one, families that have challenges of not getting jobs. The same foundation will be moving to the rural areas such as the Pomfret community where children and educators have been without food, water or medication for months.

We really appreciate the work done by the Gift of the Givers in our province and in the world.

I am sure the Aurora directors should be embarrassed by what is taking place due their opportunism and their selfishness.

South Africa

NEHAWU applauds Minister of Public Enterprises for his bold and decisive leadership

Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, 15 March 2012

NEHAWU supports and welcomes the decision by the Public Enterprises Minister Cde Malusi Gigaba, that salary increases for the Chief Executive Officers {CEOs} and board members of State Owned Enterprises{SOE’s} will be suspended until a proper remuneration policy has been adopted. The minister needs to be applauded by all South Africans for this bold decisions. This is vital especially because it comes at a time when a majority of workers are faced with hardships and frustrated by the slow pace of change.

Between the years 2008-2009 the top 20 directors in SOE’s experienced a 59% increase in their earnings, collectively raking in R132 223 million. This amounts to R6.6 million per director, which is 194 times the average income of the South African worker. In 2008 the top 20 directors of JSE-listed companies earned an average of R59 million per annum each whilst in 2009 the average earnings of an employee was R34 000. On average, each of the top 20 paid directors in JSE-listed companies earned 1728 times the average income of a South African worker.

This happens at the same time when over 1.1 million jobs were lost between 2009 and 2010 due to the economic crisis. There is a lot of disillusionment from workers and the public who are very conscious of rising unemployment, deepening poverty, job losses, inequality, increases in the cost of living and widespread corruption.

We hope that this will motivate the senior public sector officials and their political principals to follow suit and adopt the same principle. We need a new remuneration policy for the lowly paid and poor public servants if we are to close the gap between them and their managers and political principals. Senior managers need to moderate their wages and put a moratorium on their wage increases because the level of inequality in this country is unacceptable.

Limpopo Cabinet reshuffle

Gilbert Kganyago, SACP Limpopo Interim Provincial Secretary, 14 March 2012

The SACP has noted with dismay today’s pronouncements on the cabinet reshuffle by the provincial Premier, Mr Charlie Cassel Mathale. This was preceded by an equally problematic but silent reshuffling of chairpersons of different portfolio committees within the legislature two weeks ago where all the comrades who were opposed to Mr Mathale’s re-election as the ANC Provincial Chairperson were removed from their Portfolios and replaced by his loyalists. This pattern of political purging surely had to culminate in the cabinet reshuffle that was announced this morning.

Contrary to the claims by the Premier that the reshuffle is meant to enhance service delivery, this is one act that is meant to entrench the tenderpreneurs who have been milking the public purse up to a point of bankruptcy that we find ourselves in. This is further intended to undermine the National Cabinet intervention in trying to stabilize the finances of the province and dealing effectively with corruption.

How else does one explain the redeployment, from one portfolio to another, of an MEC whose department is under administration and being investigated by law enforcement agencies, if not to undermine the work done by the National Cabinet?

In the same breadth, what is rationale behind the removal of ANC NEC members, who have vast government experience after having served under the past two administrations, from the provincial cabinet, except that friends who will not resist the instructions to loot the state coffers had to be appointed so that the tenderpreneurs could continue in the same old way of looting that led to a situation of total bankruptcy that the province finds itself in at the moment!

For this reason, the SACP wishes to reiterate its call for the National Government to place the entire Limpopo executive under administration and for Premier Charlie Cassel Mathale to step down! It is clear from this disruptive intervention that any little time and space that Premier Charlie Cassel Mathale can get will be utilized to further weaken the state in the province. We also call upon all the law enforcement agencies that are dealing with corruption in Limpopo to complete their task quickly so that all the culprits (corrupt elements) might be brought to book.

We further call for the de-tenderization of the state so that the state could on its own deliver services to the people! This is all the more urgent in the light of the massive infrastructure programme that has been announced by the President of RSA during his State of the Nation Address in February 2012.

Certainly such massive infrastructure programmes in Limpopo will be used to enrich a small circle of tenderpreneurs that is connected to the leading figures within the state. These tenders will also be used to destabilize the movement particularly in the build-up to all the national Congresses of our structures this year!

Disruption of schooling at Umyezo Combined School in Grabouw

Mzwakhe Magadla, YCLSA Overberg District, 14 March 2012

The Young Communist League of South Africa in the Overberg District has noted with concern the ongoing disturbance of schooling at Umyezo Combined School in Grabouw. We would like to unequivocally state that although we understand and fully sympathise with the plight for decent learning facilities at the school, we condemn the burning down of classrooms and the continued disturbance of learning activities. We have noted with dismay the statements that have been made by the Elgin Grabouw Civic Organisation that no schooling will take place until their demands have been met. We acknowledge the urgent need for a new school and a commitment in this regard is required from the Department of Education.

We further condemn the burning down of some of the classrooms at the school last week when the protest started. We believe that you cannot in the quest of wanting to live in a mansion burn down the little hut that you have as a demand for the mansion to be built. As much as we support the call for a decent school to be built we believe that burning down the current facilities is not a solution. Consequently, this is going to worsen the shortage of classroom and adversely affect teaching and learning.

We note with dismay the statements which have been made by some of the leaders of the Elgin Grabouw Civic Organisation claiming to have been mandated by the parents to chase away pupils from the school on the 12^th of March 2012. This was apparently because the Western Cape Education Department did not give them a response which was favourable to them.

The question that we need to ask ourselves is if these parents gave them the mandate why did they send them to school in the first place when they knew that they have given a mandate of this nature. It is also interesting to note that the leaders of this organisation do not have children studying at the affected school themselves.

The DA led Western Cape government has systematically discriminated against working class and poor communities, and have dismally failed to provide decent schools and adequate learner support material especially in Grabouw. This is despite the excellent matric pass rates that have been produced at Umyezo. We salute the educators who have shown commitment and have tirelessly strived to give quality education to the under-resourced working class communities of Grabouw.

We make a call that the disturbance of learning activities should come to an end immediately. We make this call conscious of the fact that the there is a need for a school that will accommodate all the students, however we believe keeping pupils away from the classrooms will have a negative effect on their future. We make a call that all pupils must return to classroom while negotiations are taking place.

We also make a call to the Western Cape Education Department to respond speedily to the demands made by the community as they are genuine and realistic demands.

Recalling of District Mayor and Executive

Sibusiso Mbuli YCLSA Gert Sibande District Executive Committee Spokesperson, 14 March 2012

The Young Communist League of South Africa (Ufasimba) in Gert Sibande has learnt with disappointed of the decision, earlier today, by the ANC lead Gert Sibande District Municipality Council to recall District Executive Mayor Cllr Kgotso Motloung and the Mayoral Committee.

As the YCLSA we wish to distance ourselves from the decision taken unilaterally by the ANC Gert Sibande RWC. The YCLSA is astonished by the premeditated disregard of due political process by a clique within the REC in reaching this conclusion. The YCLSA is bothered as to why this issue was not referred to the plenary of the REC for discussion and then referred to the PEC Deployment Committee for ratification.

The YCLSA is further troubled by the baseless pretext used to justify the” coup d'état”. It is alleged the mayor irregularly convened the 2011 Gert Sibande Youth Summit. This allegation is made in full knowledge of the fact that in the last financial year the Gert Sibande District Municipality received an unqualified audit, the only district municipality in the province to receive such an opinion.

The YCLSA has long stood for and in support of clean governance. It is for this reason that we call on the ANC to act decisively against maladministration and not to create red-herrings as a basis to advance narrow factional battles. The decision by the RWC to single out the District Mayor therefore comes as a total surprise, especially since all seven local municipalities received disclaimer opinions from the Auditor General over the corresponding period.

The YCLSA is now convinced that these actions and lack thereof are an attempt to intimidate ANC members in the political football leading up to the upcoming congresses. The YCLSA in Gert Sibande fully conscience of the plight of young people, the rural and township poor of our district therefore calls for an end to this tomfoolery and the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the mayor and his executive.

International

Solidarity with striking workers of Halivourgia

Haji Muhammad Saeed Arian, Founder/Secretary General, Pakistan Labour Federation (PLF)

On behalf of the Executive Board of Pakistan Labour Federation (PLF) we are fully spporting the Greek Steel plant Halivourgia, strike against wage cuts and dismissals. At a time when the attacks on the workers of Greece and Europe in General are escalating, the 400 striking workers at Halivourgia are an example of working class solidarity and resolve.

In an organized and collective way they are continuing a struggle whose victory shall be a victory for all the working class, so that the workers will not pay for the crisis.

We are appreciating the European Regional Office of the WFTU (EUROF),and the Trade International Union Metal of the WFTU, renewing their solidarity with the heroic struggle of the striking workers for the just cause of the working class against wage cuts and layoffs, has decided the following:

“The Executive Board calls on all Affiliates of (PLF) unions, to organize meetings and express their solidarity of organized workers in the metals sector with the steel strikers of Halivourgia and Support their campaign for financial support for the families of the striking workers of Halivourgia.”

We support the struggle of the Halivourgia striking workers for the right to permanent and steady jobs Against Dismissals and unemployment Against Wage Cuts. Solidarity with the striking workers of Halivourgia!

Letters

You are doing a sterling job

Johan Kruger, 15 March 2012

I speak on behalf of many acquaintances in that we support your resistance to the implementation of the toll road system fully. You are doing a sterling job and what's more, your persistent probing to get to the story behind the story hidden in the documents that is not being revealed, certainly is making a number of people uncomfortable. The public and especially the poor is being exploited "ad nauseam". Please step up the protest. Do what is necessary to make the government and SANRAL see the light. Thank you for the work that your organisation do on the public's behalf. Kind Regards