Pretoria – Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) president Joseph Mathunjwa accused Mines Minister Susan Shabangu of urging platinum mining companies to seek legal avenues against the union to try to halt its pay strike.
“We are in a protected strike… The minister of [mineral resources] advised mines to take us to court and dismiss workers. We want a new [mineral resources] minister,” Mathunjwa said.
“The minister has chosen to collude with foreign companies, to sue Amcu for millions.”
He was speaking at a march in Pretoria attended by thousands of members to hand over a memorandum of protest to President Jacob Zuma.
Amcu led a march to protest what it says are state and company efforts to break its six-week old wage strike.
The march came the day after wage talks collapsed between Amcu and Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS], Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Lonmin [JSE:LON], dashing hopes for an end to a stoppage that has hit 40% of global output of the metal.
There was a heavy police presence at the march, with armoured vehicles on standby, but the protest was peaceful.
Amplats said it is suing Amcu for almost R600m ($56m) for what it says are damages caused by its striking members stemming from vandalism and intimidation to prevent non-striking members from going to work.
The union has also been accused of violating picketing rules in an ongoing case in the country’s labour court.
Amcu has long rejected allegations it uses intimidation to keep its members in line and Mathunjwa on Thursday accused the police of using unnecessary force against it.
State resources have been used to destabilise Amcu, said Mathunjwa.
“The police have been used to harass Amcu members through unlawful arrests on questionable charges.”
Amcu said on Tuesday it had softened its stance for the first time, saying it now wanted staggered pay rises to bring the basic entry wage to R12 500 ($1 200) a month in three years’ time, over double current levels, instead of immediately.
The companies say this is unaffordable and are sticking to their latest offer of increases of up to 9%, setting the stage for a protracted showdown in the restive platinum belt.
The reaction to the latest strike from markets has been fairly muted so far, with players betting there are adequate above ground stocks.
This scenario could change as the strike looks set to become protracted with no date set for talks to resume and the two sides still poles apart.-SAPA
Daily Archives: March 6, 2014
Zuma booing infused in Satanism, says Mbalula
Johannesburg – Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula lambasted those who booed President Jacob Zuma when he walked onto the pitch at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
“These wolves hidden in the sheep skin were not victorious in their booing,” Mbalula said in Johannesburg on Thursday.
“The person they are trying to elevate in the personae of our president using platforms of national importance, they must know they have failed.
“We will defeat them politically, for all their ideas they stand for, because they are hooligans; cowards of non-description.”
Jeers and boos rang out as Zuma’s name was called out and he walked onto the field for the post-match ceremony following Bafana Bafana’s 5-0 thrashing by Brazil in an international friendly.
Zuma was ceremonially handing over the hosting of the Fifa World Cup to Brazil, the host nation for the 2014 edition starting in June.
He was joined on a stage by Mbalula, SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan and several Brazilian dignitaries, who received a commemorative plaque marking the event.
Zuma was famously booed at the memorial service for former president Nelson Mandela at the same venue in December last year.
Mbalula said political opponents should try to defeat a person through their ideas, rather than by booing them.
“They will be defeated because President Jacob Zuma will not diminish because of the booing. He is a tsunami, more than a hurricane,” Mbalula said.
“All of their plans, infused in Satanism at best, will never succeed in the future because their plans are nothing else but filled with evil.”
He said the attempt to embarrass the President and the country did not succeed as the celebrations on the night and the sounds of vuvuzelas drowned out their jeers.
“From what I’ve seen yesterday, I would like to congratulate the people of South Africa. It was a glorious moment – there was a vibe and even though it was raining, people came out in their numbers.”
SAPA
INTENSIFIED TB CASE FINDING TAKEN TO KLERKSDORP CORRECTIONAL SERVICE
By Obakeng Maje
Klerksdorp Correctional Service and the community of Alabama near Klerksdorp will take centre stage this TB Month. Health MEC, Dr. Magome Masike will lead a team of healthcare workers, Directly Observed Therapy Supporters and developmental partners in Intensified TB Case Finding to commemorate World TB Day on Friday.
The team will assemble at Alabama Community Hall at 08h30 before departing to conduct a door to door TB screening. Those found to have TB will be put on treatment immediately.
“Intensified TB Case Finding has been identified as one of the key priority areas critical to the success of the Department of Health’s effort to promote greater community involvement in disease management. It also focus on empowerment to deal with own health issues and promote an integrated healthcare management system” departmental spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said.
TB defaulter rate improved from 9, 2% in 2012 to 7,2% in 2013. This can be attributed to community health worker programme.
The Intensified TB Case Finding will be followed by a mass TB awareness scheduled to take place at Alabama Stadium.-TDN
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Two nabbed with illegal firearms in Zeerust
By Obakeng Maje
Zeerust- The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo commended SAPS members in Lehurutshe, Zeerust Cluster for arresting two suspects aged 33 and 36 for illegal possession of firearm on Wednesday at about 14:00 at Ntsweletsoku village.
The police received a tip-off from a member of the community about firearms that were kept at a certain house at Ntsweletsoku.
“They reacted quickly to the information and went to the house where upon search they discovered three firearms, a shot-gun and two rifles hidden underneath bed mattress wrapped with a blanket. Upon further search, 88 rifle ammunition, 81 shot gun live ammunition, 13 pellet gun bullets, 19 empty rifle cartridges and South African National Defence Force (SANDF) field jacket together with dirty clothes were discovered inside a plastic bag” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.
The two, Anna Setshogo(33) and Itumeleng Setshogo(36) appeared in Lehurutshe Magistrates’ Court today and the case was postponed until 7 March 2014 for further investigation.
The accused will remain in custody.-TDN
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25m registered to vote – IEC
Bloemfontein – More than 25.3 million voters will be eligible to cast a vote during the 2014 general elections, Chief Electoral Officer Mosotho Moepya said on Thursday.
Moepya has certified the voters’ roll, and some 25 390 150 voters will be eligible to vote in the national and provincial elections on 7 May.
This is 2 208 153 more – 9.5% – than in the 2009 elections.
Moepya said when the roll was compared with estimated voting age population estimates from Statistics SA, it showed a total of 80.8% of those eligible had registered to vote.
In comparison, registration levels stood at 80% in 1999, 84.6% in 2004, and 84.07% in 2009.
Provinces
Gauteng had the highest number of voters with over six million, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 5.1m, the Eastern Cape with 3.24m, and the Western Cape with 2.9m.
These four provinces made up almost 68% of all South African voters.
Women outnumbered men, with a total of 13.94m (54.9%) women compared to 11.45m (45.1%) men on the voters’ roll.
The roll also showed 49.57% of South Africa’s registered voters were under 40 years old.
The biggest age segment of voters was those between 30 and 39 years, followed by the 20 to 29-year-old group, and then the 40 to 49-year-olds.
Moepya said the certified voters’ roll was available for inspection at all the Independent Electoral Commission offices around the country.
– SAPA
Reeva had ‘devastating’ head wound
Pretoria – Reeva Steenkamp suffered a “devastating” head wound, which would have made it impossible for her to scream, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.
“It was a terrible, serious, devastating head wound,” Barry Roux, for Oscar Pistorius, told the seventh State witness, radiologist Johan Stipp.
He was making the point that Stipp could not have heard a woman screaming in the early hours of 14 February last year.
“A person with that injury would not have been able to scream,” said Roux.
Stipp’s home, in the Silver Woods Country Estate, Pretoria, is near Pistorius’s. He testified that he woke up around 03:00 to what sounded like gunshots, then heard a woman screaming and then three more “bangs”.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel rose and objected to Roux’s phrasing.
He said it could not be stated as a fact that the first shot killed Steenkamp, thus making it impossible for her to scream.
Stipp was the first doctor to see Steenkamp’s body lying in Pistorius’s home.
Pistorius is accused of the murder of Steenkamp.
He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
In September 2010 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
– SAPA
Mahikeng To Host Last Leg Of EFF Provincial Manifesto Launches
By Obakeng Maje
Mahikeng- The North West will go down in history as the province that ushered
EFF into the political arena as a vanguard of the poor and the poor
working class, says Economic Freedom Fighters North West spokesperson Neo Moroeng.
“It is fitting that the province will once more host
another momentous event by hosting the last leg of EFF provincial
manifesto launch” said Moroeng.
The event is scheduled to take place on the 29 March 2014 at Montshioa
stadium in Mahikeng.
Moroeng said the Commander In Chief Julius Malema is to
address a full capacity crowd as Mahikeng will be turned into a sea of
red as fighters converge on the North West capital.-TDN
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Bafana’s 7 worst defeats
While the national team licks its wounds in the aftermath, KickOff.com remembers Bafana Bafana’s worst defeats prior to South Africa 5-0 Brazil.
Last night Brazil inflicted our worst ever defeat since the country’s re-admission to international football in 1992, with the 5-0 being the first and only time South Africa have conceded five goals in a single match.
Previously the national team has conceded four goals in six different matches, and two of those came at the hands of the Nigerian Super Eagles.
16 August 1992
African Nations Cup qualifiers
Zimbabwe 4
Bafana Bafana 1
After our first three matches against Cameroon, in August 1992 Bafana Bafana got a reality check against Zimbabwe when they were hammered 4-1 in a match that saw Peter Ndlovu bagging a brace. The Zimbabwean media labelled Doctor Khumalo ‘Nurse Khumalo’ in Bafana’s first African Nations Cup qualifier. Bafana missed out on the 1994 African Nations Cup held in Tunisia.
10 October 1992
World Cup qualifiers
Nigeria 4
Bafana Bafana 0
Burly Nigerian striker Rashidi Yekini destroyed the Bafana Bafana defence and scored a second-half brace after Richard Owubokiri and Samson Siasia had opened the scoring. The match played at Surelere Stadium was also coach Stanley ‘Screamer’ Tshabalala’s last match in charge. He was replaced by Shakes Mashaba for the next game against Congo.
6 October 1993
International Friendly
Mexico 4
Bafana Bafana 0
Another Bafana Bafana coach – Augusto Palacios – bit the dust after the humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico. The match kicked off at 06h00 SA time and by the time most people woke up, Bafana were already 2-0 down. A young Mark Fish made his debut at the age of 19, coming on for Donald ‘Ace’ Khuse.
3 June 2000
US Cup
USA 4
Bafana Bafana 0
Bafana Bafana conceded 10 goals in three matches played during the US Cup in June 2000. The first four of those goals came against USA and it was followed by a 4-2 defeat against Mexico just four days later. The last match against Ireland ended in a 2-1 loss and the team went home with their tails between their legs.
27 March 2002
International Friendly
Georgia 4
Bafana Bafana 1
Three months before the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, Bafana Bafana played a friendly match against Georgia and Jomo Sono undermined the Europeans. Before they knew it, they were 2-0 down and Lesley Manyathela was sent off midway through the first half. At the beginning of the second half Thabang Molefe was shown his marching orders before Delron Buckley reduced the deficit with a well-taken strike. With 10 minutes remaining the Georgians added two more goals, making the scoreline 4-1.
31 January 2004
African Nations Cup, Group D
Bafana Bafana 0
Nigeria 4
Following the sacking of Shakes Mashaba as the Bafana Bafana coach, April ‘Bra Styles’ Phumo was given the responsibility of leading the team to the 2004 African Nations Cup. After winning the first match 2-0 against Benin, Bafana went into the match against the Nigerian Super Eagles with high spirits – but came out of it needing spirits.
5 March 2014
International Friendly
Bafana Bafana 0
Brazil 5
The less said the better.
—————————————
For an in-depth retelling of the 21-year history of Bafana Bafana, get your copy of BAFANA 21, on shelves now! Inside we detail the entire history of the South African national team, including a record of all 300 matches, under all 17 coaches, and all 36 captains! It’s your must-have resource for the national team.
For more http://www.kickoff.com
Safa: We did nothing wrong
Bafana Bafana raised eyebrows when they took the field with 46664 branding on their jerseys in the match against Brazil last night, but SAFA insists that they did not violate any of FIFA’s rules.
It is well known that FIFA is against any form of branding on players’ jerseys for international matches.
During the tour of Cameroon in 1992, Bafana naively had ‘Castle’ on their jerseys and were reprimanded by world football’s governing body
And when Egypt took on Bafana in December 1998, they played with a branded shirt and also faced an inquest.
“It was a friendly match and everything was cleared before the game kicked off,” SAFA communications director Dominic Chimhavi tells KickOff.com. “Everything we did was above board and no rule was violated.”
KickOff.com also contacted FIFA for their view on the situation, but we are yet to receive a response.
For more http://www.kickoff.com
NWest deploys team to coordinate flooding relief efforts
Majakaneng-An inter-governmental task team has been deployed to coordinate the
roll-out of relief efforts to about 150 household affected by flooding
due to heavy rains across several villages around Brits in the North
West Province.
A hundred houses and internal roads in Segwaelane are reportedly
affected by flooding as a result of heavy rains and the opening of
sluice valves at the Hartbeespoortdam which was overflowing.
A team from the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport is on
the ground to conduct inspections of all bridges in Segwaelane,
Majakaneng, Mothotlung,Oukasie, Maboloka, Bapong, Letlhabile, Mmakau
and Premindia.
Traffic officers have been posted to monitor danger roads to recommend
alternative routes to motorists.
The Madibeng Local and Bojanala Platinum District Municipality with
support of the Provincial Disaster Management has provided temporary
shelter, blankets and tents to the affected families.
South African Social Security Agency which is part of the Joint
Operation Centre that include the Department of Human Settlements,
Public Safety & Liaison and the South African Police Services has
started processing social relief of distress grants to the affected
families.
The Provincial Disaster Management Centre is on high alert as the
South African Weather Service has predicted more heavy rains in the
province over the next few days.-TDN
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