Monthly Archives: April 2014

Malema thanks ANC for firing him


Johannesburg – Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema is grateful that the ANC expelled him from the party, The Star reported on Tuesday.

Speaking to a crowd in Moloto, Mpumalanga on Monday, he said: “We want to thank the ANC for expelling Julius Malema.

“Without that, we would not have known the true revolution. The ANC only talks about positions… but we speak of true messages. We thank them for expelling us. It was a nice thing,” Malema was quoted as saying.

Malema, who headed the ruling party’s youth league, was expelled in 2012 after he was found guilty of sowing divisions within the party.

He promised the Moloto community that he would deliver on reportedly unfulfilled promises President Jacob Zuma made to them in 2011.

“We spoke about this killer road (while) speaking about the suffering of the people here,” Malema said, referring to the notorious Moloto road.

“Here is the road killing people day in and day out, but nothing is being done.”

He promised to expand the road and construct a railway line which would link Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

“We will introduce a speed train to transport you to Pretoria in less than 30 minutes,” Malema said.

  
– SAPA

“White employer accused of ill-treating workers”


By Obakeng Maje
Zeerust- The Congress of South African Trade Union in the North West province condemns the continued exploitation of workers by Zeerust Metro.

“Since the merging of the previous owners, Cash and Carry, and the current one, Metro Cash and Carry, the workers have been complaining about their future with the current employers.
Workers have been dismissed unfairly; others took packages and others were retrenched” warns Cosatu North West provincial secretary Solly Phetoe.

Cosatu said workers are currently racially exploited by the current white management and they work under very bad conditions with no protective clothes.

One of the workers worked for thirty years and continues to be exploited and being treated as a new comer.
COSATU North West visited workers during the May Day mobilization and election program and found that workers are being exploited; many of the security work under bad conditions and when it is raining they are expected to work under the tree with no shelter.

“As the federation in the North West we demand that the current employers explain to workers who is their real boss and why workers are exploited in the manner that they are racially exploited.
We call on the DoL to do an inspection as a matter of urgency and take action against the poor conditions of workers and non-compliance of the company, including making sure all racist cases are registered with the Human Rights Commission” Phetoe said.

Cosatu also call on the company to release its report on employment equity and their program for skills development for the workers.

The COSATU Provincial Secretary, with the SACCAWU leadership visited the company on 23rd April 2014 at 14h30.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

“Zeerust Toll gate remains expensive”


By Obakeng Maje
Zeerust- The Congress of South African Trade Unions say they are highly disappointed with office of the Minister of Transport and the acting DDG of that office.

“It is on record that both the office of the minister and the office the acting DDG are playing delaying tactics. Since 2011 we have been promised that they are convening task team meetings to deal with the current challenges we are facing with the expensive toll gate of Swartruggens” Cosatu North West provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said.

Phetoe said they have submitted memorandums since 2011. “We have been at that toll gate picketing, demonstrations, blocking the toll gate peacefully, since 2011 up to now, and we have been promised that the task team dealing with the expensive toll gate, the alternative road and the state of our roads in the North West.”

Cosatu said they are disappointed that dates of meetings are planned and then postponed just a day before the meeting. They say this has happened more than ten times. Phetoe said it is on this basis that they must now start being unruly for the minister to act.

“We are convinced that being peaceful protestors does not give government time to act on our demands. We have been very patient and respecting the office of the minister, not knowing that we are wasting our time, not knowing that we are talking to leaders who do not respect the views of our poor working class” he said.

Cosatu said at their last action or protest action on 21st Feb 2014, the office of the minister made promises that they will convene the task team meeting and that the toll will not being increased until there has been a meeting with COSATU and other stake holders.

The meeting was convened for 24th March and postponed to 16th April 2014 and then postponed further to 15th April 2014 until further notice.

According to cosatu, this is clear disrespect and being undermined by their own government.
“We call on all our members to take the action against the expensive toll gate seriously, as resolved in our last PSSC, that we will intensify our campaign against the e-tolling system, the expensive toll gate and labour brokers.”

“We are aware that we are punished for being peaceful, for being respectful to our government. We are punished for following the procedure of applying and following the Gatherings Acts” he said.

He said by then that they will go back to the N4 road and the expensive toll gate on (25th April 2014) from 13h00 until the next day.

“We now demand that the minister come and explain to the masses of the poor people and the road users why she has been treating us like kids for the past four years and why she is not able to respond to our call and respond to our memorandums”.

Cosatu call on all the people of the North West to start boycotting all the toll gates on the N4 road. Cosatu call on the people of Botswana who are using that toll gate almost every day that they must support them by boycotting the fees of that toll gate.

The alliance also call on all the taxi industry, all truck drivers and all farmers to bring their taxis, trucks and tractors to support their action against the expensive toll gate.

“We are pleading with alliance and MDM structures to support our campaign” he said.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Cosatu: All roads lead to Olympia stadium for Worker’s Day Celebration


By Obakeng Maje
Rustenburg-The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West province will be celebrating workers’ day on 1st May 2014 at Olympia stadium, jointly with the alliance and with the support of the communities around the Bojanala platinum belt as part of preaching peace to the rest of the people of the North West, in particular in the platinum belt, Cosatu provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said.

“We are calling all workers in the North West not to allow employers again to dictate for them on whether they can celebrate their workers’ day or not. It is the workers’ right with their families to attend May Day celebration as part of their public holiday” Phetoe said.

COSATU North West will be celebrating the workers day provincial on 1st May 2014. All workers across the North West province are expected to travel from all four regions to Rustenburg Olympia stadium to celebrate the workers’ day as this will also used to mobilize workers to vote for the ANC on the 7th May 2014.

This will take place only six days before national elections.

Cosatu said as the federation in the North West they want to warn the employer, in particular the farmers and retailers who continue to refuse workers to celebrate their workers’ day.

“This time we calling all workers not to go to work on their day which is the 1st May 2014, workers’ day” Cosatu said.

Phetoe said all workers must report any employer who refuses to let them to celebrate their workers day and those who refuse to let workers participate in the coming national and provincial election on 7th May 2014.

“We are aware that farmers and retailers are already threatening workers who will be joining the masses of the people during workers’ day and voting day that if they go and participate in those activities, they must not come back to work. Some farmers are already preparing to evict workers if they go out to those activities” he outlines.

Cosatu said they are calling on those employers and their lawyers that this time they will find them right at their main gate demanding that they be prosecuted for undermining workers’ constitutional rights.

He said farmers in the North West and Sun City must know that Cosatu is ready for them, as they will be marching to Sun City before the celebration day to demand the full reinstatement of all workers who were dismissed for attending their workers’ day in 2013.

“We have been waiting for too long, following the procedure, requesting our government and the Sun International board to intervene. Till today, two years down the line, our members are still on the street with no food and no work due to exposing the racial discrimination led by the Guptas during May Day of 2013” Phetoe said.

Cosatu also warned farmers in the following areas – Ottosdal, Brits, Tigane, Vryburg, Stella, Bosdam and the chicken farm at Lichtenburg. “Must know that those days are our workers day. No trade off. We call the IEC of the North West to intervene now and make sure that all those farm workers have access to the voting stations in the in entire North West.”

Phetoe said the DoL must make sure that all workers celebrate their workers’ day unconditionally.

He also warns Retailers such as Shoprite, Choppie’s, Game, Metro and others to release all workers to celebrate their workers day and to vote on 7th May 2014.

“We are requesting the media people to help the workers explain their rights publicly” he concludes.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Mbalula denies stoning incident


JOHANNESBURG – Minister of Sports and Recreation Fikile Mbalula has shrugged off claims that he had to leave an election rally at Freedom Park in the North West on Sunday due to stoning by unionists.
Various reports in the media claim Mbalula had to be evacuated in a bullet–proof vehicle after Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) members began throwing stones at cars.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

4,000 loot Rustenburg shopping centre


JOHANNESBURG – Police have confirmed an entire shopping centre next to Impala Platinum’s number 9 shaft in Rustenburg was looted and several houses and a community hall torched between Sunday night and the early hours of this morning.

In a remarkable case of public disorder, around 4,000 people started gathering near the shopping centre at midnight shortly after the nearby hall was set alight, police say.

It’s still unclear who the looters are but it’s suspected the incident is linked to the lengthy strike by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).

The strike, which has entered its third month, has left many mineworkers in the platinum sector without food or any other income.
The police’s Thulani Ngubane says they can only confirm one arrest so far which was related to the arson case.

He says the incident was a culmination of violence which started yesterday afternoon.

“There’s a continuous investigation we’re embarking on to make sure we bring the perpetrators to book,” he adds.

The police are not yet able to say how much money was lost by businesses at the shopping centre.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Nkandla committee postpones investigation


CAPE TOWN – The Parliamentary ad–hoc committee considering Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s Nkandla report has postponed its work until after the 7 May elections.
The ANC has used its majority on the committee to vote in favour of deferring the matter to the next session of Parliament which will only be convened after the country goes to the polls.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Ex-convicts: gangs, drugs a bad life choice


Cape Town -Dressed up in orange prison uniforms and shackled at the wrists and ankles, former convicts took to the streets of Beacon Valley with the message that “crime doesn’t pay”.

Clive Petersen, John Palm, Nicholas Isaacs and Jeremy Davis each spent time behind bars for crimes ranging from theft to murder.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Gauteng will be main focus of final sprint


Cape Town -It’s down to the wire in the chase for May 7 votes as election campaigns wind up with a focus on Gauteng, the country’s hotly-contested economic heartland, where the ANC, DA, and the Economic Freedom Fighters host their final rallies next weekend.

On Monday, the IFP holds its Siyanqoba rally at Ezinqoleni in the Ugu municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, while United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa two days ago held a final campaign rally in Rustenburg, North-West, where his party has been actively canvassing on the strike-hit mine belt.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Baby’s tiny coffin brings mourners to tears


Joahnnesburg -The sight of a tiny coffin containing the body of six-month-old baby Bulelwa Ganda left mourners in tears on Sunday.

Dozens of women who had arrived for the funeral service wept openly, many reaching out to one another for comfort, as the baby girl’s pink-and-white coffin with gold handles was carried out of a community hall in Blesbok, Springs, on its way to the gravesite.

The coffin containing Bulelwa’s mother, Manini Princess Ganda, 22, followed behind her daughter’s.
For more http://www.iol.co.za