No arrest over Marikana witness murder


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No arrests have yet been made in connection with the murder of a North West regional organiser of the Amcu trade union, police said on Sunday.

Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said four men, who on Saturday came into Billy’s Tavern near Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine shaft two in Rustenburg and shot and killed the 46-year-old man, remained on the run.

 

Meanwhile, North West Premier Thandi Modise said workers should not be incited to commit violence against each other.

 

“Workers should resist the temptation to be drawn towards violence against each other by faceless people and give the investigation a chance,” she said.

 

She also said that members of the public should assist the police in their investigation and that police should leave no “stone unturned” in finding the murderers.

 

ENCA reported that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union official had been expected to testify before the Farlam Marikana commission of inquiry.

 

The commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed in violence related to a strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in August last year.

 

In April this year, lawyer Dali Mpofu – who is representing miners involved in last year’s police shootings in Marikana at the commission of inquiry – was robbed and stabbed while walking on the beach in East London.

 

Previously in March, a sangoma who was meant to testify at the Farlam Commission, was shot and killed outside his home in the Ludeke Holt village in Mbizana.

 

At the funeral of Alton “Ndzabe” Joja in April, Uncedo service taxi association president Ntsikelelo Gaehler claimed his murder was a result of taxi wars.

 

Earlier this year, the Farlam Commission heard that Joja was believed to have performed rituals on protesting Lonmin mineworkers before the police shooting on 16 August.

 

  SAPA

Shots fired at Marikana police


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Police came under fire as they passed Wonderkop en route to a crime scene at the Nkaneng informal settlement near Marikana, North West police said on Sunday.

 

Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said Marikana police were called to a murder scene on Saturday evening.

 

“According to the members there were a lot of people gathered there and some started shooting at police and police responded [by firing live ammunition].”

 

He said the crowd dispersed and they proceeded to the scene.

 

“We have not received any reports of casualties.”

 

Ngubane said the matter was also reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

 

When police arrived at the crime scene they found that two brothers were killed and two women were injured in a shooting.

 

Allegedly a group of armed men, wrapped in blankets and wearing balaclavas, stormed into a shack on Saturday night.

 

They apparently asked the two brothers – who were twins – about the whereabouts of another man.

 

Ngubane said when the brothers said they did not know the man, they were shot.

 

“The one brother who was shot two times died on the scene, while the other brother died on arrival at the Andrew Saffy hospital.”

 

Two women who were in the shack at the time of the shooting were wounded.

 

One was shot in the thigh while the other was hit with a panga. They were taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday.

 

Amcu regional organiser

 

A North West regional organiser of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), identified as Steve Khululekile, was also shot an killed in the same area on Saturday evening.

 

Ngubane said four men, who on Saturday came to Billy’s Tavern near Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine shaft two in Rustenburg and shot and killed the 46-year-old man, remained on the run.

 

North West Premier Thandi Modise condemned the murders.

 

“Though nothing suggest that the two incidents that occurred near Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine and Nkaneng informal settlement near Marikana are connected, we wish to reiterate our earlier appeal for calm and call on police not to rest until those responsible for the callous murders are behind bars.”

 

She appealed to members of the public to come forward with information that might assist police in their investigations.

 

Ngubane said the murders were being investigated and it would be too early to say if they were linked.

 

“That is still the subject of an investigation at this point. We do not want to preempt any of the outcomes.”

 

The Amcu official had been expected to testify before the Farlam Commission, eNCA reported. 

 

The commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed in violence related to a strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in August last year.

 

Jimmy Gama, Amcu’s national treasurer, hinted in an interview with AFP that the assailants might have been NUM supporters.

“They were associated with another union… Of course there is one union that we are in competition with in this area.”

 

The inquiry has already been clouded by other deaths.

 

In March, a traditional healer who had reportedly performed rituals that would protect striking miners before last year’s clashes, was killed.

 

And two other witnesses have committed suicide, according to local media.

 

A NUM leader from the same area was shot dead at his house last October.

 

 

 

SAPA

Brothers killed in North West shooting


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Rustenburg-Two brothers were killed and two women were injured in a shooting at the Nkaneng informal settlement near Marikana, North West police said on Sunday.

 

Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said a group of armed men, wrapped in blankets and wearing balaclavas, stormed into the shack on Saturday night.

 

They apparently asked the two brothers – who were twins – about the whereabouts of another man.

 

Ngubane said when the brothers said they did not know the man, they were shot.

 

“The one brother who was shot two times died on the scene, while the other brother died on arrival at the Andrew Saffy Hospital.” Two women who were in the shack at the time of the shooting were wounded.

 

One was shot in the thigh while the other was hit with a panga. They were taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday.

 

 

SAPA

Dark days for Amplats workers


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Johannesburg – Trade unions say they will fight the planned 6 000 job cuts at Anglo Platinum (Amplats) [JSE:AMS], with one saying it is a declaration of war, while another plans its next move.

 

Trade union Amcu will consult its members over the weekend on the announcement that Amplats could cut 6 000 jobs instead of the 14 000 it predicted earlier, its spokesperson told Sapa on Friday.

 

Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela said that workers were not officially informed but that the meeting would hopefully take place over the weekend.

 

Amplats on Friday announced that it will cut 6 000 jobs, less than half the 14 000 initially proposed, as it strives to restore profits.

 

The company is expected to have talks with unions and chief executive Chris Griffith said this process was expected to take an additional two to three months.

 

“Declaration of war”

 

“This is a declaration of war,” said National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka after the company’s announcement.

 

“They have always known they were going to retrench 6 000. It was a big lie that it was 14 000.”

 

Seshoka said NUM had told the company on Thursday that it was “totally opposed” to the planned job cuts.

 

The union intended approaching the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration to declare a dispute, and it would strike.

 

The Congress of SA Trade Unions expressed outrage over the announcement and said it would support the NUM in whatever action they decided to take to save jobs. 

 

“Thousands of families face losing their only breadwinner and communities… will be devastated by the impact of such heavy job losses,” Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said.

 

“This illustrates why Cosatu has consistently called for the nationalisation of the mining industry, so that it can be run for the benefit of the workers… and not for the profit of shareholders.”

 

Franz Sterhing, divisional manager for mineral resources at Uasa, said it needed some time to process the news.

 

“Yes, we have received the revised plan, we will take a look at it, and give us some time to go and discuss it with our branches.”

 

“Tooth and nail”

 

But it would fight job reductions “tooth and nail”.

 

“How can you agree that someone loses his job? But [one] must get to a point where [you] agree that this is the only way out,” he said.

 

Sterhing said a meeting with the company was planned for Monday. 

 

It would also prefer to resolve the matter by avoiding court action and other legal challenges, he said.

 

Uasa is the majority union within the supervisors’ unit at the company, with NUM representing the balance in that unit.

 

Mine workers at the company reportedly did not expect any retrenchments, Reuters reported on Friday.

 

“Everyone is surprised”

 

“Everyone is surprised”, Sphamandla Makhanya, a worker committee member at Amplats told the news angency.

 

“We were not expecting any retrenchment at all. We can’t allow this.”

 

“But before we do anything, we are going to have a mass meeting with the workers to decide what to do next,” Makhanya said.

 

For Amplats, reining in costs and cutting production enough to raise the global price of platinum, which is used for emissions-capping catalytic converters in motor vehicles, is crucial to getting back to profit.

 

The company said it would now aim to produce 2.2 to 2.4 million ounces a year, up from the 2.1 to 2.3 million ounces targeted in the original plan.

 

The revisions should deliver R3.8bn ($423m) in savings by 2015.

For more http://www.news24.com

NWest Premier Modise concerned as two murdered near Marikana


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The North West Premier Thandi Modise has expressed concern regarding shooting incidents around mining communities that claimed the lives of two men including an AMCU regional organiser that also left two women injured on Saturday.

 

“We condemn in the strongest terms possible these senseless attacks. Though nothing suggest that the two incidents that occurred near Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine and Nkaneng informal settlement near Marikana are connected, we wish to reiterate our earlier appeal for calm and call on police not to rest until those responsible for the callous murders are behind bars,”

 

Premier Modise appealed to members of the public in the said communities to come forward with information that might assist police in their investigations.

 

“The faceless instigators of violence within these communities have to be unmasked and brought to book soonest so that violence does not become a way of life in these communities,” Modise emphasised.

 

According to police, a group of armed men, wrapped in blankets and wearing balaclavas, stormed into a shack in Nkaneng informal settlement and allegedly asked the two brothers – who were twins – about the whereabouts of another man.

 

North West Police Spokesperson Brigadier Thulane Ngubane said that when the brothers said they did not know the man, they were shot.

 

“One of the twins who was shot two times died on the scene, while the other died on arrival at the Andrew Saffy hospital. Two women who were in the shack at the time of the shooting were wounded.One was shot in the thigh while the other was hit with a panga. They were taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday,” said Ngubane.

 

He said that as police made their way to the scene of the shooting, they met a group of people in the Wonderkop area who started shooting at them.

 

 

“Bullying” Guptas wanted problematic passports


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The “bullying” Gupta family tried to muscle their way into getting diplomatic passports.

It is one of the many outrageous demands the Guptas have made on the government of President Jacob Zuma: that the Department of International Relations issue the three brothers, Ajay, Atul and Tony, with diplomatic passports. The request, made last year, was rejected by the department.

“Bullying” Gupta wanted problematic passports


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The “bullying” Gupta family tried to muscle their way into getting diplomatic passports.

It is one of the many outrageous demands the Guptas have made on the government of President Jacob Zuma: that the Department of International Relations issue the three brothers, Ajay, Atul and Tony, with diplomatic passports. The request, made last year, was rejected by the department.

For more http://www.timeslive.co.za

NWest Premier Modise condemns AMCU organiser’s murder


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North West Premier Thandi Modise condemns in the strongest terms the murder of regional organiser of trader union AMCU who was shot dead in Rustenburg on Saturday.

 

In appealing for calm and calling on members of the public to assist police in their investigations, Premier Modise appeals to police not to leave any stone unturned until those responsible for the callous murder are behind bars.

 

“Workers should resist the temptation to be drawn towards violence against each other by faceless people and give the investigation a chance,” said Modise.

 

Premier Modise wishes to convey her condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the union official who was murdered.

 

 

 

According to police, the 46-year-old man was killed at Billy’s Tavern near Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine shaft two,just before 1pm.

 

 

 

SAPS Provincial Spokesperson, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said that the deceased was watching soccer and having a good time with his friends in the local tavern when four men, dressed in blue overalls, came into the tavern and one of them shot the man four times in the back, at close range with a 9mm pistol before the suspects fled the scene on foot .

 

“The man said to be the regional organiser of AMCU in the Rustenburg platinum belt died on the scene, all other people who were with him in the tavern ran for cover,” Ngubane said.

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Nwest Premier Modise calls for a give-back to mothers


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North West Premier Thandi Modise says the greatest gift any mother, particularly those in their old age deserves is to be loved and cared for. In calling for a give-back to mothers and for their protection against all forms of violence in her special message for Mothers Day celebrated today the world over, Premier Modise said that mothers are God’s greatest gift to mankind.In wishing mothers the world over a joyous day, Premier Modise said that without a mother any child and home is poorer.“Their love nurtures, their teachings lay the foundation upon which teachers and the whole of society builds. Their tenderness everyone misses even when they have grown old. Their empathy soothes because they care deeper. Though others might desert us, their hopes and dreams for us are higher, their deeper love guarantees no betrayal. We all feel safer in their loving arms, comfortable on their bossom even in our old age,” said Modise.In calling for intensified action against the scourge of rape which in recent months have claimed elderly women as victims, Premier Modise said that heartless criminals who have no regard for human life and respect for women, girl children and the elderly should have no place in society.“Elderly women deserve to age gracefully and their valuable lives protected against all forms of violence and not to be robbed of their dignity or be defiled by perpetrators of sexual violence some of whom are old enough to be their great grand children,” she added.