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Vusi Xaba and Gertrude Makhafola, Sowetan, 11
August 2010
LAST-DITCH talks
between labour and government last night put on hold plans for 'the mother
of all strikes' from tomorrow.
Cosatu affiliated unions -
Federation Unions of SA and Public Servants Association (PSA) - had earlier
yesterday issued government with an ultimatum.
The coalition, through Cosatu
strike organiser Sifiso Khumalo, had warned that the country would see its
biggest strike within 48 hours if their demands were not met.
The unions are demanding 8,6
percent salary hike. Minister of Public Service and Administration, Richard
Baloyi last week increased the wage offer from 6,5 percent to 7 percent and
housing subsidy from R620 to R630. The unions are demanding R1000 housing
subsidy.
Unions yesterday had a one-day
strike to show government they would not back down. Thousands of workers
marched to the Union Building in Pretoria and Parliament in Cape Town to
show the Government what would happen if they went on a full-blown strike.
Having served a 48-hour strike
notice, Khumalo said all plans were in place to bring the country to a
standstill.
But after last night’s
meeting, chairperson of the Independent Labour Caucus Chris Klopper and
National Health and Allied Workers Union ’s Sizwe Pamla said there
would be no strike tomorrow.
“Government asked for a
postponement to Thursday at 6pm, but they did not give reasons,” said
Klopper. Pamla said: “We ’ll wait for them until
Thursday.” PSA spokesperson Manie de Clercq said they were happy with
the industrial action yesterday.
“The attendance was good. We
are not sure how many people turned up but the estimation is that 15 000
attended in Pretoria and 10 000 in Cape Town,” De Clercq said.
“The purpose was not to
cause damage but to show the government what would happen if we had to go
on a full-blown strike.” Baloyi ’s spokesperson Dumisani
Nkwamba could not say whether the government was under pressure after
yesterday’s marches, but confirmed that it was worried about what
would happen if the unions were to call an indefinite strike .
“That is why the minister is
calling on unions to tell their members to go to work tomorrow
(today).”
Sowetan, 11 August 2010
COSATU general
secretary Zwelinzima took a potshot at President Jacob Zuma's salary as
striking civil servants protested outside the gates of Parliament
yesterday.
And a minister. Do
you know how much they earn? R143,000 a month.
"I asked the president a
while ago what he is earning," Vavi said.
"If my memory serves me right
he is earning more than R2,2 million," he said to howls from the
crowd.
Parliament voted last year to
increase Zuma's annual salary package to R2,254 million, of which 60
percent would be his basic salary.
In 2009 Zuma trimmed the annual
increase for MPs, ministers, judges and traditional leaders and accepted an
increase for himself that was R21000 below official recommendations.
A line of police with riot shields
guarded the entrance to Parliament as Vavi outlined public servants'
demands.
"We are asking for 8,6
percent only. We are asking for a mere R1000 a month for a housing
allowance. This is peanuts comrades."
Vavi drew cheers from the
protesters as he shouted out salaries earned by public sector workers such
as nurses, doctors and police.
"The minimum wage of a police
officer is R7,000 a month.
"Correctional services
workers earn only R7,050.
"A prosecutor who makes sure
criminals are found guilty and pay for their deeds earns only R9,723 a
month.
"A magistrate earns R15,732
for reading all those law books and summarising all those cases."
The crowd jeered and groaned when
Vavi read out the salaries of directors general of government departments
and ministers.
"Now listen to this comrades
... The directors general, the ones on the top of the public service, are
earning over R100,000 a month.
"And a minister. Do you know
how much they earn? R143,000 a month."
LUPHERT CHILWANE Business Day, 11 August 2010
THE government and public sector unions went back to the
negotiating table last night after a nationwide strike, which saw several
government departments plunged into chaos yesterday.
The unions have threatened that if Public Service and
Administration Minister Richard Baloyi does not resolve the wage dispute
within 24 hours, the country will face an indefinite strike that could deal
a blow to its education and health sectors and the economy overall.
Adding fuel to the flames, Congress of South African Trade
Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi took a potshot at
President Jacob Zuma ’s salary, as striking public servants protested
outside Parliament yesterday .
“I asked the p resident a while ago what he is earning .
If my memory serves me right, he is earning more than R2,2m,” Mr Vavi
said to a howl of disapproval from the crowd.
Parliament voted last year to increase Mr Zuma’s annual
salary package to R2,254m , of which 60% would be his basic salary.
“We are asking for 8,6% only. We are asking for a mere
R1000 a month for a housing allowance. This is peanuts, comrades.”
Mr Vavi drew cheers from the protesters as he shouted out
salaries earned by public sector workers such as nurses, doctors and
police.
“The minimum wage of a police officer is R7000 a month.
All that risk-taking to make us feel safe for a mere R7000 a month; a
prosecutor who makes sure criminals are found guilty and pay for their
deeds, earns only R9723 a month. ”
The crowd jeered and groaned when Mr Vavi read out the
salaries of directors-general of government departments and ministers.
“Now listen to this, comrades: t he directors-general,
the ones on the top of the public service, are earning over R100000 a
month. And a minister. Do you know how much they earn? (They earn) R143000
a month. How do our leaders speak or sleep with conscience and wake up,
with the statistics I read to you?”
Chris Klopper, spokesman for the Independent Labour Caucus,
said the minister called a meeting immediately after receiving a memorandum
in Pretoria.
“As government, we are applying our minds to this matter
and will respond to the demands as a matter of urgency,” Mr Baloyi
said after accepting the memorandum
The unions rejected the government’s revised offer of a
7% wage increase — up from 6,5% — and a monthly housing
allowance of R630. They seek an 8,6% increase and a housing allowance of
R1000.
Department of Health spokesman Fidel Hadebe said if the strike
continues, the department will refer patients to less affected hospitals.
Department of Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said only
1191 out of 10 735 employees participated in the strike. Sapa
Sne Masuku and Alex Matlala, Sowetan, 11
August 2010
THOUSANDS of
government employees belonging to unions affiliated to Cosatu gathered at
the Durban City Hall yesterday.
The unions were mobilising for
what they have described as the "mother of all strikes" -
expected to start tomorrow if talks fail.
Sadtu members, supported by a few
nurses and police officers, gave the government an ultimatum to give in to
their demands of a 8,6percent salary hike and a R1000 housing allowance
"or everything would come to a standstill on Wednesday".
Teachers also threatened to close
down all private schools and former model C schools, which are not taking
part in the marches.
At the Mahatma Ghandhi and King
Edward hospitals a few staff members picketed during the lunch hour but
later went back to work.
In Limpopo the situation nearly
got out of hand when thousands of workers refused to hand over their
memorandum to local government and housing MEC Soviet Lekganyane.
The workers demanded that Premier
Cassel Mathale should receive it.
Mathale was, however, not
available as he was addressing a Women's Month event outside Polokwane.
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Dispatch, 11 August 2010
PATIENTS
bore the brunt of a public service sector strike as hospitals and clinics
ran on skeleton staff. Thousands of civil servants across the province
braved chilly wet weather yesterday, protesting against the
government’s salary increases and housing allowances offer.
Patients
in some East London public health centres were left stranded as nurses abandoned
their posts.
They
left skeleton staff at some institutions and explained they were also civil
servants and would not sit back while their colleagues demonstrated their
unhappiness.
“We
are part and parcel of the public sector and Cosatu, and we are not excited
by government’s offer,” Democratic Nurses Organisation (Denosa)
provincial secretary, Koliswa Tota, said .
However,
Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo denied that the strike had any
negative impact on public health facilities.
He
said any reported incidents could not be linked to the strike.
“There
was very minimal disturbance; things ran smoothly and we had no reports of
a halt in service delivery,” he said.
At
the usually bustling Empilweni Gompo Community Health Centre the atmosphere
was eerily quiet as patients gave up and went home.
A
few patients stuck around in the hope they would be attended to.
“I
was off sick yesterday and didn’t go to work today,” Duncan
Village resident Simphiwe Twasa said.
He
said he had watched other patients giving up and leaving after 10am, but
that was not an option for him.
“If
I do not produce a sick note to my boss I will lose my job.”
Nkosinoxolo
Fumanisa , who had brought her three-year-old son in for a check-up on
stitches on his head, worried that if not seen yesterday, he could develop
an infection.
“I
brought him here after he fell on Saturday, and after they stitched him up
they told me to come back today.”
At
Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane the casualty section was as busy as
usual, but patients told of long waits they had endured, until a team of
workers attended to them just before noon.
“We
could not leave with our sick mother, so we waited in the hope that someone
would attend to us,” Lizwi Mahlasela said.
The
family and others said they had been asked to find their own folders among
a pile on the floor.
Kupelo
said: “There was a monitoring team ready to step in if problems
arose.”
Meanwhile
Denosa members said there was only a skeleton staff working at the Nelson
Mandela Hospital Complex in Mthatha and Bhisho Hospital.
In
what was the first wave of planned national strike action driven by Cosatu,
public servants gathered in Bhisho, Port Elizabeth, Mthatha, and
Queenstown, where they delivered petitions laying down their ultimatums.
In
the main, the workers are demanding an 8.6 percent wage increase, plus
R1000 housing allowance, and the equalisation of medical aid subsidies.
Until
now government has remained adamant it would not budge from its offer of
seven percent and a R630 housing allowance.
In
Bhisho more than 5000 workers gathered near the Bhisho Stadium where they
were addressed by Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) deputy
president Nkosinathi Mabhida .
From
there they made their way to Premier Noxolo Kiviet’s office, where
they were met by Transport MEC Gloria Barry, who accepted their memorandum
on behalf of Kiviet who was accompanying President Jacob Zuma to
Butterworth on ANC business.
Reading
from the memorandum Mabhida said they were giving government until the end
of today to address their demands, otherwise the strike would carry on
indefinitely.
In
Mthatha thousands of striking workers marched through the streets, bringing
traffic, and road works, to a halt.
The
noise of blaring vuvuzelas and police sirens could be heard from afar as
the striking workers demonstrated and chanted struggle songs.
They
marched to the Botha Sigcau Building where the provincial secretary of the
National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), Xolani
Malamlela, handed over a petition to Department of Human Settlements MEC
Nombulelo Mabandla
Mabandla
had to plead with the protestors . “Do not shoot the messenger, I am
just a messenger of government,” she said.
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NEWS24, 11 August 2010
Johannesburg –
Millions of pupils were in the streets or at home on Tuesday due to the
country-wide strike. Many of the schools Beeld visited were deserted.
This happened despite the fact that the department of basic education said
last week that public schools would be open, reports Alet Rademeyer.
Enquiries showed that the situation varied between schools.
At most of the schools, a handful of staff watched over a small number of
pupils.
At some schools, pupils did arrive, but returned home when they saw there
would be no teaching.
There were also exceptions such as Garsfontein High School in Pretoria,
where all the teachers and all the pupils showed up.
Dirk van Zyl, the principal, said the staff had determined by vote earlier
that nobody wanted to strike. Some of them feel they can’t waste a
day with matric exams around the corner.
Most schools deserted
In Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, many pupils were in the streets while
nothing went on at their schools. Pontsho Papo and Nkagiseng Skosana,
pupils at the Boi-kgantsho Primary School, said very few pupils and only
three teachers had showed up on Tuesday.
In Limpopo, most schools were deserted, reports Marietie Louw-Carstens.
Hundreds of government employees left for Pretoria on Monday to participate
in Tuesday’s march.
In Mpumalanga there was no teaching whatsoever at any of the more than 1
300 public schools.
Buks Viljoen reports that a few high schools and primary schools in larger
places like Nelspruit, Middelburg and Secunda were open, but only because
parents were unable to make other arrangements for their children.
A principal from Mpumalanga, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they are
not in favour of the strike, but neither are they willing to be subjected
to intimidation as they were in the past when they didn’t want to
strike.
Susan Cilliers reports in the North West that most teachers were on strike
and that there was no teaching at many schools. At some schools, such as
Delareyville Primary School, no teachers or pupils whatsoever showed up.
Principals from other schools said some departmental teachers had not gone
on strike because it’s “against their principles”.
Mbuyiseni Mathonsi, provincial secretary of teachers’ union Sadtu in
KwaZulu-Natal, said most of the 6 000 public schools were closed due to the
strike, reports Dries Liebenberg.
About 55 000 of the union’s 60 000 members in this province stayed
away on Tuesday.
Olebogeng Molatlhwa and Zinhle Mapumulo,
Sowetan, 11 August 2010
The roles were
reversed at Ahmed Timol Secondary School, west of Johannesburg, when pupils
failed to show up for classes while all but three teachers attended school
yesterday morning.
Only one teacher attended
yesterday's march in Pretoria, while two teachers called in sick.
Only "nine percent" of
pupils came to school.
Deputy principal Asmal Khan told
Sowetan that "95 percent" of the teaching staff were at work
yesterday.
The school has 40 teachers.
Khan said the "no work no pay
policy" might have encouraged the teacher turnout.
Meanwhile, services at government
departments were badly affected by yesterday's stayaway.
About 30 staff members at the
Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria did not report for duty.
Interpreters at the Roode- poort
magistrate's court joined the march, causing several postponements.
A skeleton staff at Roode- poort's
Home Affairs office helped those collecting IDs, while counters for new ID
applications stood empty.
In Soweto the Zola clinic was
manned by senior staff.
The matron refused to say how many
nurses came to work, but a nurse said: "Many nurses signed the
attendance register but later joined the march."
There was disruption at Chris Hani
Baragwanth Hospital when six buses entered the premises to pick up workers
heading for Pretoria.
Health Department spokesperson
Fidel Hadebe said: "We will continue to monitor the impact of the
strike on service delivery."
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By ANDILE
NDLOVU and CHARL DU PLESSIS, The Times, 11 August 2010
By last night, the
country was on a knife's edge, with 1.3-million public servants preparing
to embark on an indefinite strike from tomorrow unless the government
improves its wage offer.
Public Services and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi was
given until late last night to raise his 7% pay increase offer, 1.6% lower
than the amount union federation Cosatu and its affiliates are demanding.
Thousands of protesting workers marched on Pretoria's Union
Buildings yesterday as their Cape Town counterparts marched on Parliament.
Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi took a swipe at
President Jacob Zuma's salary before a 15000-strong crowd in Cape Town.
"If my memory serves me right, he is earning more than
R2.2-million. He has blood just like we do. He has family, a big family,
just like we do. Our needs are the same. We want geld. Ons soek geld,"
Vavi said to cheers.
Vavi contrasted the salaries of civil servants with those of
their bosses, saying police officers, "who have seen the eyes of a
child rapist", earn a "mere" R7000, and prison guards,
"who keep behind bars these red-eyed criminals", earn only R6750.
An entry-level teacher makes R9271 and a nurse's assistant
R5053.
"The director-generals, those at the top of the civil
service, earn R100000 a month. And a minister, do you know how much they
earn? R143000 per month," he said.
Protestors held placards that read "R10 can't even buy a
prostitute" and "You take our money to give to Malema to destroy
the country".
In his address in Pretoria, lasting less than a minute, Baloyi
said the government was "committed to addressing problems".
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesman Norman Mampane
said: "We are not to be blamed if things get out of control while our
members are on strike."
Yesterday, Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said: "We
would hope the government responds positively after the huge turnout by
workers, and averts the need for a strike. But the new offer must have a
significant improvement."
Craven promised there would be no violence or intimidation by
members if the strike went ahead.
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa spokesman
Asanda Fongqo said: "We will go on until our demands are met."
As the national Department of Health issued a statement,
saying it was monitoring the impact of the strike on hospitals and clinics,
nurses at Soweto's Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital said they feared
intimidation.
One nurse said she wore plain clothes yesterday in case she
was targeted in her uniform.
Another said: "We want to work, but we can't risk our
lives."
Baloyi's spokesman, Dumisani Nkwamba, said the amount the
government needed to cover the 8.6% salary increase had not yet been
calculated.
"We have a problem already because we would have run
short by R3.7-billion if the current [7%] offer was accepted," he
said.
Besides an 8.6% increase, civil servants are also demanding a
R1000 housing allowance, while government is offering R630.
South African Democratic Teachers' Union spokesman Nomusa
Cembi said that pupils should today return to their schools, where they
would be informed if the strike was going ahead tomorrow. - Additional
reporting by Zandile Mbabela and Harriet McLea
By CHARL DU PLESSIS, The
Times, 11 August 2010
A white Cape Town
teacher, on strike for the first time in her 18-year career, said yesterday
she was doing it for the "future of the children".
Embarrassed to reveal how much money she takes home each
month, the Grade 7 teacher who asked to be referred to as Laurika, said:
"If government thinks an 8.6% increase for teachers is too much, then
there is very little hope for the children".
She said that white teachers, known for not participating in
strike action, were joining in droves as they felt teachers "came
last" when salary increases were dished out.
"A corporal in the army, with no university education,
gets only a couple of hundred rand less than me - a teacher with 18 years'
experience, four years of university training and a further 18 educational
courses."
Naptosa spokesman Ezrah Ramasehla said somebody with 18 to 25
years' experience would probably be earning between R9000 and R11000 a
month after deductions.
Laurika said most South Africans did not appreciate how hard
teachers worked.
"We don't just work until school closes at a quarter to
three, we work on holidays and weekends. This past [Woman's Day] I was
sitting marking learners' books," she said.
"It's ridiculous. We don't want to be rich. We just want
to be able to live better. Luckily, I have a husband who can help out, but
I feel sorry for single teachers who can't even afford a house."
Laurika, who had just snapped pictures of herself and two
colleagues among the toyi-toyi-ing crowd, said her first march was
"quite exciting".
Alex Matlala, Sowetan, 11 August 2010
THE Limpopo
department of education has decided to move Grade 12 pupils from the
troubled Marobathota High School in Boyne, near Moria, to a neutral venue.
The department said yesterday that
the pupils would be provided with teachers and curriculum advisers to help
them prepare for their end-of-the-year exams.
Departmental spokesperson Pat
Kgomo said the move was part of contingency plans to help the pupils regain
learning time lost due to a stalemate between teachers and the school
governing body.
"But we still have to sell
the plan to the parents, who have the final word on the future of their
children," Kgomo said.
He said departmental head Benny
Boshielo would engage all stakeholders, including the church and parents,
on the matter.
"We are currently waiting for
a recommendation from the presidency on what needs to be done about the the
problems at Marobathota," he said.
"We also want to know what
needs to be done to help pupils perform properly during the exams.
"Meanwhile we are waiting for
parents' response on moving their children from the school to the learning
camps."
Problems at the school
started on April 28 when teachers affiliated to Sadtu clashed with members
of the school governing body (SGB) over the running of the school.
This followed the appointment by
the SGB of a principal who is also a member of the Zion Christian Church,
which owns the school.
Matters came to a head when SGB
members barred 16 teachers from entering the school, accusing them of
playing truant.
The following day 24 other
teachers, in solidarity with their banned colleagues, refused to teach.
Meanwhile, Association of School
Governing Bodies, provincial chairperson Hitler Morwatshehla said the
national strike by Sadtu members would negatively affect matric pupils in
the exams.
"If the strike takes the
whole month the pupils will have had six months of no learning and
teaching," he said.
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Dispatch, 11 August 2010
WHILE
the one-day public servants’ strike may be over temporarily, the
Eastern Cape will be hit again today as motor industry workers down tools.
Eastern
Cape secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
(Numsa), Vuyo Bikitsha, said they expected about 7000 workers in the
province to go on strike.
The
strike would carry on until “we get the right answers to our
demands”.
Bikitsha
said about 2000 people would be affected at the Mercedes-Benz South
Africa’s manufacturing plant in East London.
This
is after last week’s breakdown of talks between Numsa and the
Automobile Manufacturing Employer’s Organisation (Ameo).
The
union is demanding a wage increase of 15 percent across the board while
Ameo is offering seven percent.
“We
have been sitting in bargaining since April and May and it seems they are
not taking us seriously; we are the ones willing to listen and right now we
have no other recourse,” Bikitsha said.
Ameo
chairperson Chris Thexton said they were concerned about the strike
“given the potential for loss of production volume as well as loss of
wages by employees across the seven auto manufacturers in the short
term”.
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By ANDREW STONE, Dispatch, 11 August 2010
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AN
EAST London company that banned sick notes issued by four city doctors has
won an arbitration case after employees went to their union and challenged
the firm’s decision.
In
the matter between Defy Appliances and the Metal and Engineering Industries
Bargaining Council (MEIBC), arbitrator Toby Maré found the company was not
obliged to pay sick pay to five employees who had contravened the
company’s rules and obtained sick notes from the doctors.
The
matter arose after Defy conducted an internal investigation into the
issuing of sick notes to its employees by East London doctors, including:
l
Dr Siphokazi Sokupa, who practises in North End;
l
Dr Xolani Stamper, who practises in the city centre;
l
Dr Moses Kabaale, from Mdantsane; and
l
Dr Zolile Mqongwana, also from Mdantsane.
In
a separate Dispatch investigation earlier this year, the same doctors
issued an undercover reporter with sick notes even though she had stated
she was not sick and just wanted time off work.
The
Dispatch launched a follow-up investigation last month and found that two
of the doctors – Sokupa and Stamper – were still issuing such
sick notes.
Defy
human resources manager, Ian Delport, told the Dispatch that after noticing
high levels of absenteeism, the company had, over a six-month period last
year, investigated those doctors to whom employees were mostly going .
“We
then also looked at which doctors were issuing the most sick leave,”
said Delport, adding that the same four doctors topped both lists.
Delport
said their investigation had revealed that one city doctor was giving an
average of 4.4 sick days per employee when compared to Cecilia Makiwane
Hospital, which was only giving an average of 1.3 sick days per person.
The
employees were then told the company would no longer accept sick notes from
the four doctors.
“But
they continued going to see these doctors so we stopped paying sick
leave,” said Delport.
The
employees then complained to the National Union of Metalworkers of South
Africa (Numsa), who in turn went to the MEIBC which later issued Defy with
a Compliance Order to pay the outstanding sick leave.
In
his ruling Maré set aside the Compliance Order and said the company was not
obliged to pay the employees their sick pay.
An
elated Delport said the company was extremely pleased with the arbitration
award as it vindicated “our view that an employer does not simply
have to accept a sick certificate without questioning its
authenticity”.
“We
will vigilantly continue to monitor the situation and confirm that we are
awaiting the outcome of an investigation into the issuing of sick
certificates being conducted by the Health Professions Council,”
Delport said.
But
Nimrod Msila, a Defy employee and Numsa shop steward, said they would take
the matter further.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sowetan, 11 August 2010
THE NUMBER of
employed South Africans fell by 8,1percent last month, with the
construction and mining sectors the hardest hit, Adcorp said yesterday.
Employment in the
construction sector dropped by 13,1percent in July while mining fell by
11,2percent, said Adcorp in its latest Employment Index.
"Reflecting
continued weakness in manufacturing, the employment of artisans fell
11,2percent and machine operators 9,6percent," read the index.
The only sector to see
an increase of employment was in government employment, which grew by
2,4percent.
However, the index
indicated the country might be due for a rise in employment due to an
increase in recruitment. The loss of jobs will cease toward the end of
2010, the index claimed.
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Don Makatile, Sowetan, 11 August 2010
'I HAD made my
choice.' This is what Jay Naidoo, the founding general secretary of trade
union federation Cosatu, says about leaving government in his searing and
well-written autobiography, Fighting For Justice.
But as you get engrossed in this,
the story of his life, it hits you that Naidoo was pushed, he did not jump.
And for this he points a finger at the latter-day punching bag, Thabo Mbeki.
Why is the Renaissance Man made into
such a monster and vilified at every turn? Could he have been such a blot on
the conscience of the party of Luthuli, Tambo, Mandela and Sisulu?
In response to an ANC statement
announcing his imminent departure from the scene, Naidoo writes: "The
statement noted that my decision to leave public life was 'due to personal
and family reasons'."
Indeed this is what the doting
father of three and uxorious husband of Lucie Page wants the reader to know
when he "made my choice".
One chapter later he flings all the
mud at the former commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
"I faced the media. There were
many calls and the insinuation was that I had been sidelined. I put up a
brave front but was reeling inside. I was really on the sidelines. Politics
is unforgiving."
Before his new beginning Naidoo
takes the reader into the corridors of power for his meeting with Mbeki.
After some small talk the Big Man drops the bombshell: "Hey, chief, you
know Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the new Minister of Communications, feels you are
too senior to be the chair of Telkom."
"Fine," I said.
"Though this had been previously mooted as a possibility, I had been
half-expecting this response. I thanked him for his time and my parting words
were: 'That's no problem. I'll find something else to do. I have a few ideas
I have been thinking about.'
"We shook hands and I took my
leave. I would not see him one-on-one again."
This is the sound of a bitterly
disappointed and angry man - the only blemish in this offering, which is a
masterpiece given that autobiographies are almost invariably ego-trips that
do nothing for the body of literature.
To show that the fault couldn't
possibly have been his, Naidoo hauls out archival dirt.
"Mac (Maharaj) had a hostile
relationship with Mbeki."
He quotes Mandela as saying: "I
have phoned my president (Mbeki) several times and left messages. I have been
told by the cabinet secretary and staff that the president would return my
calls. They never came. I am able to speak to presidents across the world but
I am unable to speak to my president."
Three chapters down the line he goes
for the jugular with this: "It is legendary that Mbeki never once in his
tenure as president met (Zwelinzima) Vavi one-on-one, the leader of the
largest organisation in our nation's history ..."
The voices that have dominated our
eardrums post-Polokwane 2007 have been those maligning the Mbeki legacy.
Let those who shared Mbeki's space
and thinking pen their own memoirs so we can make up our minds about what
indeed is the gospel truth.
Don't you think so, Mr Mantashe?
By CHANDRÉ PRINCE, The Times,
11 August 2010
Ousted Limpopo ANC
Youth League chairman Lehlogonolo Masoga succumbed to top brass pressure by
withdrawing court action at the 11th hour yesterday.
At a meeting last Thursday chaired by Deputy President Kgalema
Motlanthe, Masoga was persuaded to abandon his attempt to have his expulsion
declared unlawful.
Masoga - who was expelled from the league on July 19 after being
found guilty of causing division within the league - lodged an urgent court
application last week.
Yesterday morning, his lawyers notified the Johannesburg High
Court, which was to have heard the case, that the matter was being removed
from the roll.
Masoga was also heeding President Jacob Zuma's call for members
not to resort to courts to sort out internal disputes.
Zuma said that the courts were not there when people joined the
ANC.
At the meeting at the party's headquarters last week, a special
task team set up by the ANC's national working committee "ordered"
Masoga to stay away from courts, follow party procedures and stop organising
parallel structures in Limpopo.
Masoga said yesterday he had heeded the leadership's call as it
promised to take over the process and resolve the matter at a meeting next
week.
Masoga was hopeful that the task team - Motlanthe, Fikile
Mbalula, Makhenkesi Stofile, Thandi Modise and Dina Pule - would reach an
amicable solution that would favour all parties and not backtrack on his show
of good faith.
The league's secretary-general, Vuyiswa Tulelo, declined to
comment yesterday.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS24, 11 August 2010
Johannesburg - The
nationalisation of mines was not necessarily an answer, but there were
“areas of concern” in the mining industry, the ruling ANC said in
Johannesburg on Tuesday.
“On the nationalisation of mines, let me take a step back and say,
‘that’s the matter the youth league has raised, any branch of the
ANC, any region or any province is perfectly entitled to raise a matter on
the table for debate’,” Enoch Godongwana,
the deputy chairperson of the ANC sub-committee on economic transformation,
told a press briefing.
“As to whether that becomes a resolution of conference is a different
matter... (but) there are areas of concern in regards to the strategy
we’ve adopted in the mining industry,” added Godongwana, who is
also deputy public enterprises minister.
He said the government had used the incentive of a licence to get mining
houses to subscribe to broad-based black economic empowerment.
“(But) I think that should not necessarily be the only consideration...
there should be an overriding national interest.”
He said there were situations that called for a “debate about models of
State intervention”.
He cited the example of the Komati power station in Mpumalanga, saying there
were mines closer to the station where the government could source coal from.
“The mine next to Komati is (loaded) with coal, but we’ve got to
get coal from other areas, surely there should be special circumstances but
not necessarily nationalisation.”
The ANC Youth League has repeatedly called for the nationalisation of mines,
while the ruling party has tiptoed around the issue.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.4 Youth league hits out at ANC for querying
nationalisation
Business Report, 11
August 2010
Under the sub-topic "Some debates", and sub-theme
"The balance of power and ownership", the ANC national general
council (NGC) discussion document on economic transformation released at the
end of July says, among other things:
"A specific issue on the table is nationalisation of the mines and of
land. Debates on this subject are vexed by the fact that nationalisation
takes many different forms. We need to ensure that proposals become more
specific about (a) who would end up owning the assets; (b) who would manage
them, and with what purpose; (c) what would be the costs to the fiscus and
the economy; and (d) what would be the risks of failure as well as the
benefits of success.
"The Zambian experience with nationalising the mines points to some of
the risks. Zambia nationalised the copper mines, which supplied 90 percent of
its exports, in the early 1970s. It ended up hiring back the multinational
copper companies to manage them. As international copper prices fell, the
companies enjoyed guaranteed management fees while the state had to bear the
losses to the mines."
The perspective of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) on nationalisation of mines
released at the beginning of February predicted that some opposing views
would be premised on Zambia's case. To that effect, the ANCYL document said:
"The last potential challenge to nationalisation of mines in South
Africa will be the lame reference to the failed state-owned copper mines in
countries such as Zambia. The Zambian copper mines failed because copper as a
strategic commodity in the world economy gradually lost value and
significance, and that does not apply to the strategic minerals underneath
South Africa."
The four questions raised in the ANC discussion document are substantially
dealt with in the ANCYL's perspective on the nationalisation of mines. The
resurfacing of these questions validates the argument that the
nationalisation discussion, which the ANC agreed to table for the NGC, should
pay heed to the ANCYL's perspective.
A closer examination of the debates that arose around nationalisation gives
credence to the ANCYL's view that there is no substantial opposition to
nationalisation, except that which is premised on ignorance and subjective
interests. About these, the league's perspective said:
"The other potential challenge to the nationalisation of mines will come
from those who have private interests in mining. These include the
established mining corporations and recent past beneficiaries of mining
activities. These interests should altogether be dismissed."
The questions raised in the discussion document should still be responded to
so there are no doubts left on these questions and all members move in unity
towards the actualisation of the Freedom Charter.
a) Who would end up owning the assets?
The ANCYL's view says: "Nationalisation of mines means the democratic
government's ownership and control of mining activities, including
exploration, extraction, production, processing, trading and beneficiation of
mineral resources."
b) Who would manage them, and with what purpose?
The question of who would manage state-owned mines is answered already: the
state-owned mining company.
The government revenue generated from taxes will not be able to build better
lives for all South Africans. The government cannot solely rely on taxes to
deliver better services to the majority of our people. South Africa will not
be able to deal with things such as the housing backlog, free education
access and employment if we are not in control of key strategic sectors of
the economy. The wealth of South Africa should benefit all who live in it.
It is known that ordinary mineworkers in South Africa are underpaid and work
under difficult conditions. Nationalised mines should have safer working
environments and better conditions, as they will not be in pursuit of profit
at the expense of community and human development.
With state ownership and control of mineral resources, South Africa will be
able to attract industrial investors, who will contribute to the economy's
growth, transfer skills, education and expertise to locals and give them
sustainable jobs. It is wrong that most of the minerals we produce are
exported.
It is important to note that South Africa bears strong features of all
colonial economies. After independence, many if not all post colonial
economies continued to function in the same way colonisers designed them -
exporters of primary commodities and importers of finished goods.
Nationalised mines ought
to lead to a spatial development framework to decentralise development. Areas
such as Sekhukhune, Rustenburg, Burgersfort and Emalahleni have far greater
economic potential because of their mineral resources.
c) What would be the costs to the fiscus and the economy?
If all of us agree that nationalised mines will serve the purpose outlined
above, what is the use of asking about the costs to the fiscus and the
economy? The ANC government carries a responsibility to invest in economic
and social development programmes and nationalised mines seek to achieve that.
To ask what could be the figures spent on state control and ownership is
opportunistic, intransigent and against the principles of the ANC.
For example, some of the major expenditures of the state in the recent past
were the development of a rapid rail system in Gauteng and the hosting of the
World Cup. There is no doubt that these projects have substantial economic,
social, and political benefits and agreement was reached not only by the
state, but the whole of society, that they should be embarked upon.
The fear that nationalised mines will negatively impact on economic growth
and investment are false and neo-liberal. This is an ideological and
political myth that should be dismissed with contempt.
d) What would be the risks of failure as well as the benefits of success?
The risks of failure are almost non-existent due to the reality that South
Africa is home to reserves of all strategic minerals, some of which are
potential sources of energy. Mining will not stop in South Africa because the
country's minerals are resources that most economies in the world cannot
operate without.
This perhaps provides a platform to dismiss another myth that South Africa
does not have capacity in minerals extraction and mining. The Department of
Mineral Resources' annual SA Minerals Industry document says: "South
Africa's strengths include a high level of technical and production expertise
as well as comprehensive research and development skills. South African
universities continue to produce mining engineers and skilled strategic
leaders of both the private and public sector." The question will have
to be how the state channels this expertise into the state-owned mining
company.
The ANCYL can confidently say that the risks of failure are almost
non-existent and are substantially outdone by the possibilities of success.
Instead of asking rhetorical questions, an ANC document should show the
possible risks of failure and we can all discuss how to avoid such risks.
The questions raised in the ANC economic transformation discussion document
around nationalisation of mines could have been avoided if there was
appreciation of the ANCYL's perspective. Why those who drafted the
perspective did not acclimatise themselves with the youth league's
perspective escapes our thoughts.
Perhaps it is a result of a notion strangely inserted in the ANC discussion
document that: "For a capitalist economy to succeed, the state has to
keep business sufficiently profitable. It should act to raise costs for
business only where required by the imperative of achieving a more inclusive
and equitable economy." This suggests a bigger ideological battle than
we thought, as this capitalist notion shows an intention to subjugate all
other socio-economic interests to reducing the cost of business.
As a concluding remark, it is perhaps important to quote a phrase from
Morogoro Strategy & Tactics: "In our country - more than in any
other part of the oppressed world - it is inconceivable for liberation to
have meaning without a return of the wealth of the land to the people as a
whole. It is therefore a fundamental feature of our strategy that victory
must embrace more than formal political democracy. To allow the existing
economic forces to retain their interests intact is to feed the root of racial
supremacy and does not represent even the shadow of liberation."
Sowetan, 11 August 2010
8,500 staff members
and black investors also stand to gain from the steel industry BEE deal, the
company says
ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA,
ACL), the South African arm of the world's largest steel producer, on Tuesday
unveiled a 9.1 billion rand black economic empowerment deal that will see it
transfer 26% of its shares to black investors and staff.
The BEE transaction has been
structured so that all the assets of AMSA will be transferred into a new
company where the issued share capital of that company will be 21% held by a
special purpose vehicle controlled by the Ayigobi Consortium led by Sandile
Zungu and 5% will be held by an employee share ownership scheme that will
benefit about 8,500 AMSA staff members.
Shareholding of the Ayigobi
Consortium is in turn held 75% by strategic partners including several of
Imperial Crown Trading's (ICT) shareholders, as well as Mabengela
Investments, which is led by President Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane Zuma.
AMSA in a separate announcement on
Tuesday said it planned to acquire ICT for 800 million rand in
cash.
ICT's only asset is a 21.4%
prospecting right in Kumba Iron Ore's (KIO) Sishen
mine.
Speaking during a conference called
to explain the transaction, AMSA CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita said the
transaction fulfilled one of the key BEE objectives of AMSA, makes AMSA
compliant with legislated empowerment equity ownership requirements and
positions the company for various future opportunities.
The transaction, which is being
funded through a notional funding formula, requires no equity contribution or
third party funding and has an upfront loan available at facilitated rate to
allow BEE partners early monetisation for a portion of the gain.
The consortium has been tied into
the deal for up to 14 years.
AMSA shareholders are expected to
vote on the transaction late September and Nyembezi-Heita sees February 2011
as the date for the BEE transaction's conclusion.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sowetan, 11 August 2010
Too hot to be an
engineer or finance manager?
Good looks can kill a woman's
chances of snaring jobs considered "masculine", according to a
study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School.
Attractive women faced
discrimination when they applied for jobs where appearance was not seen as
important. These positions included job titles like manager of research and
development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction
supervisor.
They were also overlooked for
categories like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and
tow-truck driver.
"In these professions being
attractive was highly detrimental to women," researcher Stefanie Johnson
said in a statement, adding that attractive women tended to be sorted into
positions like receptionist or secretary.
"In every other kind of job,
attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows
that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender."
The study, published in the Journal
of Social Psychology, was based on giving participants a list of jobs and
photos of applicants and asking them to sort them according to their
suitability for the role. They had a stack of 55 male and 55 female photos.
While the researchers found
good-looking women were ruled out for certain jobs, they found that
attractive men did not face similar discrimination and were always at an
advantage.
But Johnson said beautiful people
still enjoyed a significant edge when it came to the workplace.
They tended to get higher salaries,
better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better
voter ratings when running for public office, and more favorable judgments in
trials.
"In every other kind of job,
attractive women were preferred," said Johnson, who chided those who let
stereotypes affect hiring decisions.
By Mayibongwe
Maqhina, The Times
President Jacob Zuma
had to call unruly ANC members to order twice when they started heckling
while he addressed thousands at the party’s Imvuselelo Campaign in
Butterworth yesterday.
It was the second time in two days that Zuma has reprimanded ANC
members in the province.
On Monday a Congress of the People leader was shouted down as
she tried to deliver a message of support on the
Women’s Day celebrations.
Yesterday’s drama unfolded when Zuma mentioned that he had
met ANC councillors from Mnquma (Butterworth) and Mbhashe (Dutywa)
municipalities earlier – a move that prompted some members to shout
“Yho! Yho!”
“No, that’s why you need revival. What went wrong?
We cannot all speak at once. Why? Did I cause provocation?” he asked,
to an overwhelming “yes” response. Zuma then urged the ANC
members to calm down.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
STEVEN FRIEDMAN,
Business Day, 11 August 2010
‘The obvious test for the ANC is not whether it can be
honest about its problem but whether it can fix it’
THE three biggest problems facing the African National Congress
(ANC) may be money, money and money. If there were any doubts that the ANC is
in crisis, its discussion documents published ahead of next month’s
national general council meeting dispel them. They talk of “disturbing
trends” towards “careerism, corruption and opportunism”; they
complain of “divisive leadership battles over access to resources and
patronage” and lament “social distance” between “ANC
cadres” in the government and voters.
How to respond to these ills will be the most important issue
the ANC will discuss at the council. It has moved in a short time from an
organisation that discouraged competition for posts, to one in which
contesting positions seems almost the only thing everyone does. And, while
competition for office in an organisation can, if settled by a fair test of
the will of members, ensure that leaders are more accountable, the
ANC’s contests do little for its members’ health: competing
factions undermine each other, contests are bitter and some descend into
physical fights, losers often claim the winners cheated, winners sometimes
try to expel losers.
Many in the ANC know it cannot go on this way and so it
appointed a team to investigate the problem; it is this inquiry that produced
the documents frankly spelling out the ANC’s woes. The obvious test for
the ANC is not whether it can be honest about its problem but whether it can
fix it. The documents seem unlikely to do that. They want bans on: fund-
raising for candidates, campaign material supporting candidates, promising
incentives to gain support, attacking rivals, suppressing debate, open
lobbying, and using the media to advance campaigns. They want candidates
punished not only if they behave in any of these ways but if they do not stop
their supporters doing so.
The problem is that it will be much easier to get the ANC to
vote for this list than to stick to it. A couple of the proposals may be
opposed because they make the same mistake the ANC made in the past —
trying to stop normal political activity such as campaign posters or
lobbying. But no one will demand the right to buy delegates’ support,
smear opponents or suppress disagreement. Those who do these things will
speak and vote against them at the council while continuing to do them.
That is not the fault of the team that drafted the documents.
Any list it came up with would be meaningless unless it was backed by a will
at the top of the ANC to implement it — and we don’t test
politicians’ will by whether they vote for nice-sounding resolutions.
That said, there is a way in which the council could signal that it is
serious about tackling the problem. It could address the root cause of the
disease — the role of money in politics.
Twenty years ago, ANC office was a sacrifice — today it is
a route to money. The documents note that for some in the ANC, office is
their only way of earning a decent living. For others, it is a route to
personal enrichment and the status that goes with it. Accumulating money also
enables some to spread cash about to win more support, which in turn gets
them more wealth.
In a society with huge inequalities and in which our worth is
measured by how much we have, this may be inevitable. But that does not alter
the reality that it is the relationship between money and politics that lies
at the root of the ANC’s problem — and causes damage well beyond
that: tension between the ANC and the media is fuelled by the fear that
politicians want the law to prevent us knowing where they get their money and
what they do with it. If the ANC wants to begin fixing its problem, it must
signal that it is serious about repairing the link between political office
and money.
The documents do suggest ways of tackling the problem. One, that
the ANC finds ways for members to earn a living from sources other than
politics, seems to be wishful thinking. Another, for an “integrity committee”,
which will “manage the interests of those who hold office … and
investigate any allegations of improper conduct”, is a step forward but
will depend on political will. It hints, however, at a third proposal that
really would make a difference — forcing politicians and parties to
disclose who fund them.
The documents note that the Polokwane conference urged more
public funding for parties (which could make the problem worse). But it notes
also that the same resolution urges rules that force politicians and parties
to say where they get their money. If the ANC acted on this it would allay
fears that it is trying to hide its politicians’ finances. It would
also take a huge step towards solving its internal crisis.
If you want to know whether the ANC is serious about tackling
the biggest problem facing it — and our politics — look at
whether it backs a law forcing parties and politicians to say where they get
their money.
By SIPHO
MASONDO, The Times, 11 August 2010
Arcelormittal South
Africa's R9-billion black empowerment deal and R800-million purchase of a
company with important mining rights, announced yesterday, has been described
as "scandalous".
The BEE deal, which grants 21% of the international steel
maker's local arm to the Ayigobi consortium led by President Jacob Zuma's
ally, Sandile Zungu, has raised eyebrows in both the business and the
political worlds.
DA spokesman on mining Hendrik Schmidt said the deal made a
"mockery of the country's BEE policies. It's a question of setting up a
BEE transaction and then buying it out. You are basically acquiring what you
have lost otherwise."
COPE spokesman Sipho Ngwema said: ''When the relatives and
children of the president are direct beneficiaries of deals that can be
traced to the government, it makes South Africa no different from the rest of
the basket cases on the continent.
"The brazen abuse of public office to benefit personal
relations leaves a bad taste and [is] a slap in the face to those who suffer
every day from the lack of service delivery.''
Other members of the Ayigobi consortium include ANC-aligned
businessmen and the president's son, Duduzane, with his Mabengela
Investments, as well as the Gupta family, the financial backers of the
ANC-aligned New Age newspaper due to be launched next month.
Zungu sits on the BEE advisory council appointed by the
president last year to review the codes of good practice applicable in
empowerment deals.
Critics have also been outraged by the fact that Arcelor, when
announcing its BEE deal, also said it had bought Imperial Crown Trading (ICT)
for R800-million.
The company, whose owners are part of the empowerment
consortium, has only one asset - a 21.4% prospecting right in Kumba Iron
Ore's Sishen mine.
Arcelor has been in a protracted battle with Kumba since it
withdrew Arcelor's preferential iron ore pricing agreement.
All ICT shareholders stand to benefit handsomely from the deal.
Defending the deal, Arcelor's chief executive, Nonkululeko
Nyembezi-Heita, said: "Introducing broad-based BEE shareholders to our
operations has been a priority for ArcelorMittal South Africa for some time.
We started assessing the transaction in 2008 but the global economic downturn
made it impossible to implement a suitable transaction structure at that
time.
"However, as soon as the markets returned to some form of
normality we proceeded to develop this transaction with a strong partner,
which is an important step towards achieving our overall transformation
objectives.
"ICT was there not out of any choice made by ArcelorMittal
necessarily but the fact that they were awarded a prospecting licence made it
almost a natural path. We would have to answer the question 'Why not ICT?'
not 'Why ICT?'."
She said there needed to be something to bind ICT to Arcelor, as
well as buying the mining rights outright.
Schmidt said: "It becomes quite clear why ArcelorMittal
didn't apply for the rights. It's possible that they knew they will get the
rights. Why didn't they apply? If it's not collusion, it's a major
coincidence."
Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said the trade union federation
would study the deal and comment later.
The Presidency refused to comment on the deal.
By DOMINIC
MAHLANGU and SIPHO MASONDO, The Times, 11 August 2010
The ANC and police
boss Bheki Cele yesterday assured the media that they were not out to clamp
down on their freedom.
Two separate meetings in Johannesburg followed a public outcry
about the arrest last week of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika and
the ANC's proposals on media regulation.
Cele, who met editors behind closed doors at the SA National
Editors' Forum offices, said the police will continue to talk to media houses
about how to improve working relationships between journalists and the
police.
Soon after the meeting, Cele said the discussions with editors
were "robust".
He said he had asked for the meeting with editors to ensure that
reporters reported accurately and factually.
"We are not coming here to be nice to each other. We want
to do our work without hindrance. Journalists must not hinder police and vice
versa," he said.
Forum chairman Mondli Makhanya said Wa Afrika's arrest marked a
significant point in the relationship between the police and the media.
He said the forum was concerned about how the police arrested Wa
Afrika, the way in which he was detained and the way in which he was treated
by the police.
The meeting did not delve into Wa Afrika's arrest because it is
the subject of a court case.
ANC spokesman and drafter of the discussion document on the
media, Jackson Mthembu, said the proposed media appeals tribunal must not be
seen as an instrument for punishing the media. He said the outcry over the
tribunal was one-sided and exaggerated.
"In whatever we do, there is no interest on the part of the
ANC to limit the freedom that all of us enjoy, including the press," he
said.
"Your reaction, as opposed to the reaction of the ordinary
man and woman, was different. Ordinary people agree [with us]."
Mthembu said the media's reaction was not helpful.
"You just want us to drop the issue," he said.
Mthembu's discussion document deals with media transformation,
ownership and diversity.
He said it was unfortunate that the media were
"fighting" one aspect of the document: the media appeals tribunal.
He said the way in which the media regulated itself must be open
to debate.
Mthembu said the tribunal would "strengthen, complement and
support" the Press Ombudsman, and punitive measures were needed to stop
"the cycle of offences" committed by the print media.
"We are going to use the existing press code that is at the
centre of ethical journalism, except to say that, if you go against this
code, there should be punitive measures," Mthembu said, adding that
"we are surprised by this outrage".
He said the ANC's forthcoming national general council meeting
would consider media ownership, currently dominated by Avusa, Media 24,
Caxton and Independent Newspapers.
Christelle Terreblanche, Daily News, Durban, 10 August 2010
Lynne O’Connor & JP du Plessis,
Eyewitness News, 11 August 2010
The
freedom of the media and the right to report unhindered and without
censorship was discussed at two separate meetings on Tuesday.
In
Sandton, the ANC denied that it was targeting newspapers but said
it was merely trying to protect the public from journalists.
The
party addressed editors and political reporters about media transformation,
diversity and ownership.
The
topics discussed included the ANC’s proposed media appeals
tribunal, something that has been slammed as an attempt to censor the
press.
The
ANC’s Jackson Mthembu told journalists that members of the public had
no real avenue to tackle what he has termed "vindictive journalists"
He
said that the Press Ombudsman was toothless and unable to keep a firm hand on
what is published in the newspapers.
Mthembu
insisted that the media appeals tribunal would not be unconstitutional as the
ANC fought for media freedom.
Instead
he called for an independent body like the Broadcasting Complaints Commission
of South Africa to monitor the press.
Meanwhile,
South African National Editor’s Forum officials wrapped up a meeting
with National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele in Johannesburg on
Tuesday afternoon..
The
editors want police to start treating journalists better but Cele had
his own demands.
Cele
said he wanted to see more accurate reporting than speculation and better
channels for police to get action taken after unfair or inaccurate reports.
Sanef
Chairperson Mondli Makhanya countered by saying editors wanted
police to respect journalists by not stopping them from reporting or
photographing at scenes.
However,
both parties have agreed to disagree on some points and said most of the
confrontations of Tuesday’s meeting happened when talking about last
week’s arrest of Sunday Times reporter Mzwilikazi wa Afrika.
Sanef
said it was satisfied police would not repeat the public display again but
Cele said he was not at the meeting to be nice and said there were many
issues that remain unresolved.
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