Job subsidy risks job cuts, warns Vavi


Johannesburg – Thousands of people striked and marched across the country in support of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) to demand more policies to fight employment and poverty.

Numsa, the largest worker organisation in the country with 340 00 members, which largely represents workers in the auto and metal sectors, is at odds with the ANC over how to tackle youth joblessness.
It takes exception to the Employment Tax Incentive Act for companies to employ more young people, which the union says will discriminate against older workers.
March in Jozi

Around 3 000 people wearing the union’s trademark red t-shirts and berets marched in Johannesburg’s Rosebank business centre.
“This incentive is causing division between workers,” said Leepile Khumalo, an artisan and union representative.
“It’s not an incentive for employers to employ,” he told AFP.
Petrol attendant Patience Modisakeng accused authorities of failing to support struggling workers.
“We want the government to improve conditions, so that more jobs are available,” she said.
March in Durban

At a march in Durban, suspended Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said the act would not reduce unemployment.
“Employers will employ more young workers, line their pockets with the generous subsidy, while retrenching an equal or greater number of older workers,” said Vavi.
Numsa currently has frosty relations with the ANC-Cosatu alliance, accusing them of betraying their socialist roots.
The union supports Vavi, who is fighting a suspension for an alleged affair with an employee – a charge his backers slammed as trumped-up because of his vocal criticism of President Jacob Zuma.
Millions of South Africans are growing restless with growing inequality between rich and poor two decades into democracy.

AFP

Nkandla upgrade necessary- Radebe


Pretoria – All measures recommended by the security cluster and implemented by the public works department to President Jacob Zuma’s private home in Nkandla were necessary security upgrades, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday.
“The retaining wall, cattle kraal and culvert, fire pool and water reservoir, accommodation for security personnel and visitors waiting are all essential security features which ensures physical security and effective operation of security equipment,” he told reporters in Pretoria.

“These are critical in the delivery of security services to the president timeously.”
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Top officials fail in Nkandla report


Johannesburg – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has been scathing in her Nkandla report of the conduct of government ministers and top officials involved in the Nkandla upgrades.
The building of a clinic on Zuma’s doorstep would benefit the family forever, Madonsela found, and the official acts and omissions that let this happen were an act of maladministration and improper conduct.
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Govt to ‘reflect’ on Nkandla findings


Pretoria – The government welcomes Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday.
“Government will reflect on the findings and recommendations contained therein with a view to determining the way forward,” he told reporters in Pretoria.

“The ministers of public works, police, defence have taken full accountability for this project and through government investigation, has unearthed issues of maladministration and corruption in this project,” he said.

Radebe said the Special Investigating Unit is investigating the matter “to bring those in the public and private sectors who are implicated to book”.

Madonsela released her final report on the security upgrades to Zuma’s homestead in KwaZulu-Natal earlier the day.

She found that Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from the upgrades.

Madonsela recommended that the president pay back a percentage of the cost of measures which were not related to security.

SAPA

Zuma takes positives on Nkandla report


Johannesburg – The presidency has reacted to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home, saying it would be used as an added tool to address claims of maladministration.
It noted in a statement that Zuma directed the Special Investigating Unit in December to probe alleged maladministration in the security upgrades at Nkandla.

He had also appointed an inter-ministerial task team to look into the matter.

“In this context, the public protector’s report will be an additional tool which will fall under the consideration of President Zuma in addressing allegations of maladministration.”

In her report released earlier in the day, Madonsela’s found that Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from the upgrades to Nkandla.

The presidency said Zuma “has consistently been concerned about the allegations of impropriety around procurement in the Nkandla project”.

Zuma would study the findings and recommendations of the public protector in the context of the existing government interventions.

“[He] will communicate his response in due course.”

The presidency said Chapter 9 Institutions, such as the public protector, were vital for strengthening democracy.

“President Zuma reaffirms the important role of the Chapter 9 institutions and emphasises that the country should take pride in their existence, as we celebrate 20 years of freedom and democracy and guard against the abuse and misuse of these institutions.”

SAPA

NWest Exco applauds parental acceptance of life saving immunization


North West Provincial Executive Council (Exco) has applauded parental acceptance of the roll out of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine as an effective life saving immunization.

“The Community mobilization and consultation with school communities has ensured that parents are informed to make healthy lifelong decisions for their children. The HPV vaccination campaign is an investment in the health of our young girls and that of future generation of women from contracting cancer of the cervix,” Premier Thandi Modise said.

The provincial government has budgeted R6 million for the roll out of the national vaccination which commenced with the first dose being administered as from the 17 February-14 March 2014 through the Integrated School Health programme implemented by sub district school health teams. For the adequate lifetime protection against cervical cancer to be achieved, the World Health Organisation recommends that a minimum of two doses should be administered with a six months interval between doses before a girl is sexually active.

Girls aged nine and above in grade 4 in all public schools across the province who received the first dose will receive the second dose to be administered from 29 September to 24 October 2014.

From next year, the target will be extended to other groups but girls in grade 4 each year will be the main target group.

Cancer of the cervix caused by HPVs transmitted through sexual contact is among the common cancers affecting women in sub-Saharan Africa. Women in the region are said to be 5 times more at risk than their European counterparts.

In South Africa cervical cancer is ranked as number 13 on the list of causes of deaths among females resulting in 67000 cases and 3498 annual deaths while it is among the first ten causes of death for women above the age of 45 years in the North West Province.-TDN
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A girl who was raped and set alight dies


Johannesburg – The 9-year-old girl who was set alight after being raped in Delft, Cape Town, three months ago, has died, Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the girl died on Tuesday morning at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, where she had been receiving treatment.

The girl was found by relatives after a 27-year-old man allegedly raped her then set her alight in bushes along the R300 highway.

The man abandoned his bail application during his last appearance in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court in January.

He faces charges of rape, sexual assault, abduction and attempted murder, and is expected back in court on 27 March.

The National Prosecuting Authority said the man could not be identified as he had not yet pleaded.

SAPA

Mr X a muderer-Mpofu


Pretoria – An SA Police Service (SAPS) protected witness, identified as Mr X, is a murderer, liar and habitual criminal, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Monday.
Dali Mpofu, for the arrested and injured miners, opposed a special arrangement sought by the police to have Mr X testify from a remote location, through a video link.

“He is a multiple murderer and a self-confessed habitual criminal, having at least three murders under his belt. We have not been told what the deal is [between the police and the witness],” said Mpofu.

“Has this habitual criminal been charged, has he been promised immunity? Is he exchanging his so-called safety for frying other people falsely? Is he staying in some posh hotel so that he can come and lie?”

The man identified as Mr X was apparently part of the group of protesting Marikana miners who underwent a ritual that includes two sangomas, the burning of live sheep and swallowing the ashes on 11 August 2012.

In Mr X’s sworn statement, seen by Sapa, he details how the belligerent miners attacked and killed Lonmin security guards Hassan Fundi and Frans Mabelani.

Hassan’s body parts were removed and taken together with Mabelani’s ashes for further muti rituals, according to Mr X.

He details how the sangomas cut Fundi’s parts into smaller pieces and mixed with blood and burnt to ashes.

“We were instructed by the inyangas [traditional healers] to stand in a line and the ashes were put in our mouth using a spoon which we licked and swallowed,” Mr X wrote in his affidavit.

“After this, the inyangas told us that they had accomplished their mission in protecting us from police bullets, made us fearless, strong and invisible to the police.”

Cop killings

Mr X also narrates how he, with other protesters, attacked and killed some police officers on 13 August.

He said they also robbed the officers of their cellphones and service firearms.

Sesi Baloyi, for the police, brought the application, requesting the Farlam-led inquiry to give an order that Mr X should testify in-camera from a remote location.

Baloyi said Mr X’s name would be disclosed only to the commissioners of inquiry, and lawyers for the wounded and arrested miners, but they could not disclose his identity to anyone.

She said it was inherent for the commission to exclude certain members of the public from the inquiry while someone testified.

When Mr X testified, the police wanted only the commissioners, lawyers, and accredited media to be present in the auditorium.

Mpofu said once he received Mr X’s picture, he would share it with his clients.

“The commission cannot be asked to grant an order whose practical effectiveness is doubtful. As soon as Mr [Dumisa] Ntsebeza gives me the photo, I am going to share it with them, all 300 of them,” said Mpofu.

“Mr X says the whole crowd intended to attack the police, it’s so far-fetched that it borders on being ludicrous. All those people, 3 000 people [at the koppie] have a right to refute what is being said about them.”

Testifying in-camera

Mpofu said it was beyond the authority of Farlam to instruct that Mr X testify from a remote location far from the auditorium in Centurion.

“SAPS is entitled to protect its witnesses … they have the methods to meet those dangers. They can provide him with security, we won’t quarrel if he is brought here surrounded by hundred people – that is SAPS’ problem,” said Mpofu.

“He must be sitting in that chair [in the auditorium] like anybody else.”

Evidence leader Kameshni Pillay supported the application to have Mr X testify in-camera through a video link.

“On a factual basis, having regard to all the factors, it has been shown to be reasonably necessary for Mr X to testify in-camera and via the video link,” she said.

She said the life of Mr X and his family would be in danger if the commission demanded that he travel to testify daily at the public hearings in Centurion.

The inquiry is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related violence at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in the North West.

The police shot dead 34 people, mostly striking mineworkers, wounded over 70, and arrested 250 on 16 August 2012 while trying to disarm and disperse them.

In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed.

The public hearings resume on Tuesday.

SAPA

A thief stuffs 20 sheep in Toyota Tazz


Johannesburg – A Toyota Tazz with 20 sheep inside landed an Mpumalanga man behind bars in Ermelo on Monday, police said.
The man was caught by patrolling police between Lothair and Mpuluzi, said police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi.

“Police were busy with their routine patrol when they spotted a suspicious-looking Toyota Tazz.”

He said all passengers seats were removed and the vehicle was loaded with the livestock.

“The driver failed to produce any permit to transport the stock or proof of purchase on request.”

Sixteen of the sheep had died of suffocation when the police stopped the man.

Hlathi said the interrogations revealed that the sheep were stolen from a farm in Lothair.

The man would appear in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Mpumalanga police chief Lieutenant General Thulani Ntobela said the man could be further charged with animal cruelty.

“Twenty sheep in a Toyota Tazz? How on earth can somebody do such a cruel act? This is quite strange and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

SAPA

Thuli Madonsela baffled by Joemat-Pettersson’s action


Johannesburg – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela believes no court of law is likely to conclude she was irrational in finding that Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson had acted recklessly in the awarding of a tender, her office said on Monday.

“The public protector further firmly believes that no court of law is likely to find that with the facts before her, she was irrational in finding that the minister acted recklessly and improperly,” said spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi in a statement.

This was in respect of preserving the sea patrol and research functions of the department of agriculture.

Joemat-Pettersson was taking the public protector to court to challenge her report on the tender to manage the state’s fishery vessels.

Masibi said Madonsela commended the minister for respecting the rule of law by seeking to get a higher authority to review her decision.

“She [the public protector], however, believes the action is premature as the president has to apply his mind to the report and decide what to do with it.”

Joemat-Pettersson told a media briefing in Cape Town on Sunday, “I will be asking the North Gauteng High Court to declare that the report including the findings and recommendations, are reviewed, corrected and, or, set aside.”

Papers were served on Madonsela on Friday, according to Kanthi Nagiah, the head of legal services in the department.

Legal action

Joemat-Pettersson said she was launching the legal challenge because Madonsela refused to reconsider her findings that the minister was guilty of improper conduct and maladministration in regard to the tender.

Madonsela had responded that her findings were final, the minister said.

“The public protector further advised that if I wished to challenge the findings, I should engage the president or subject the report to legal review,” she added.

“I am thus following the advice of the public protector by taking the report on legal review.”

In her report, titled “Docked Vessels” and released on 4 December, Madonsela recommended that President Jacob Zuma consider disciplinary action against the minister.

This was due to Joemat-Pettersson’s “reckless dealing with state money and services, resulting in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, loss of confidence in the fisheries industry in South Africa, alleged decimation of fisheries resources in South Africa and delayed quota allocations due to lack of appropriate research.”

Madonsela said the director general in the presidency should chart a course for taking action against Joemat-Pettersson within 30 days.

Her probe followed a complaint from the DA.

R800m contract

The DA asked Madonsela to probe the awarding of an R800m contract to the Sekunjalo consortium to manage the department’s fleet of research and patrol ships.

The contract was later withdrawn.

Joemat-Pettersson said she had consulted two senior advocates who supported her view that it was wrong of Madonsela to find her “guilty” early in December of delaying quota allocations when the deadline to issue these were only at the end of that month.

Joemat-Pettersson refused to say whether Zuma had raised the report with her, firmly stating that their discussions were not the subject of Sunday’s media briefing.

Her announcement came before Madonsela was due to release her long-awaited report into the refurbishment and security upgrades at Zuma’s home in Nkandla on Wednesday.

The department launched a tender process in 2011 before Smit Amandla Marine’s contract to manage the vessels expired.

Smit Amandla complained that documents in which it tendered for the new contract had been leaked to the rival Sekunjalo Marine Services Consortium.

The department had awarded the deal to Sekunjalo but subsequently withdrew it and ordered Smit Amandla to hand over the management of the vessels to the navy in less than a month, which drew a rebuke from Madonsela for the “abrupt” handover.

The navy was unable to keep the fleet seaworthy, forcing the department to issue an emergency tender to restore them to that state.

SAPA