In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Thursday, 29 August 2019.
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All Gauteng state hospitals and clinics fail OHSA safety audit News24 reports that not a single state health facility in Gauteng has been assessed as complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), according to a statement DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom issued on Thursday. Bloom indicated: "This bombshell information is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng legislature. According to Masuku, 'all facilities audited received either a non-compliance finding, such as a contravention and/or improvement compliance notice and fire contravention.'" The following facilities were the most non-compliant: Bheki Mlangeni Hospital; Far East Rand Hospital; Tembisa Hospital; Kopanong; Mamelodi; George Mukhari; Ekurhuleni district clinics; Johannesburg district clinics. Bloom said he was dismayed that occupational safety had been so neglected at Gauteng hospitals and clinics, endangering staff and patients. "We were lucky that no lives were lost when there was a fire at the Bheki Mlangeni hospital earlier this year, but safety measures need to be stepped up at all hospitals. It highlights once again how grossly unprepared the provincial health department is for the planned National Health Insurance (NHI) which requires properly accredited high-quality health facilities," Bloom said. Read the full original of the above report by Riaan Grobler at News24 Bank of Lisbon building, site of deadly Johannesburg CBD fire, to come down in November The Citizen reports that the Bank of Lisbon building that previously housed the Gauteng health department in central Johannesburg will be turned into a heap of rubble in November. But it will be rebuilt as part of a multibillion-rand project to renew government buildings in the City of Joburg. The building was gutted by a fire that claimed the lives of three firefighters and injured several others in September last year. Gauteng executive committee member for infrastructure development and property management, Tasneem Motara, advised on Wednesday that the building was damaged beyond repair. A contractor has been engaged to implode the charred remains. Motara said the building would be rebuilt as part of her department’s ambitious five-year Kopanong Precinct development project to rebuild and refurbish 18 buildings in the city to house various government departments. The project is a public-private partnership and is expected to mobilise R10 billion through investment. It is hoped it will also contribute to the renewal of the Joburg central business district (CBD). The MEC said the other buildings identified for the project would be refurbished, with a few changes. Read the full original of the above report by Eric Naki at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cosatu response to Mboweni economic strategy plan expected soon BusinessLive reports that trade union federation Cosatu discussed finance minister Tito Mboweni’s economic strategy document on Wednesday after it was released for public comment earlier this week. Initial reactions from within the ranks of the tripartite alliance have been cautious, with the partners opting to give detailed commentary only after reading and discussing the document. Cosatu forms part of the alliance, together with the SA Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC. The document released by the Treasury proposed critical reforms, indicating that SA’s economic trajectory was “unsustainable”. It is not yet known what Cosatu’s position would be. But given the nature of the proposed reforms, such as to consider selling Eskom’s coal-fired power stations, some pushback can be expected. Cosatu is opposed to privatisation. Mboweni’s release of the document late on Tuesday resulted in it being added to the agenda — already dealing with the economy — for discussion by Cosatu’s central executive committee on Wednesday. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the federation was expected to give its response to the document on Thursday after the meeting. The ANC’s head of economic transformation, Enoch Godongwana, said the party’s economic transformation committee would discuss the document and comment on it later. Read the full original of the above report by Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Government may have to give Eskom even more cash if it fails to raise required funds BusinessLive reports that Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane warned in Parliament on Wednesday that Eskom could run out of money as of end-March 2020 if it failed to raise necessary finance and this implied more funding from the government. He said this would be in addition to the R59bn already provided for by government and stressed the need to cut employee costs, including the salaries of top Eskom executives. Eskom’s funding requirement for 2019/2020 is R46bn of which 58% has already been secured. But the utility is experiencing challenges raising the required funding due to lenders’ concerns about its future sustainability, uncertainty about the government’s restructuring plan and a lack of clarity on the policy direction of the energy sector. Mogajane stated that obligations had to be imposed on Eskom to reduce costs. It could not simply rely on government funding. These obligations would have to include reducing labour costs, which left a lot to be desired and had to be addressed “head on”. The cost of employees — including top executives — was too high, he said. If the number of employees were to be retained, then salaries must be cut. He also said the recently appointed head of the chief restructuring office of Eskom, Freeman Nomvalo, was developing a financial turnaround which will be vital in the development of a sustainable turnaround strategy. Read the full original of the above report by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive. Read too, Treasury’s Dondo Mogajane outlines conditions for Eskom bailout, at BusinessLive SABC directors could be declared delinquent because broadcaster is trading under insolvent circumstances BusinessLive reports that the directors of the board of the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) could be declared delinquent because the embattled public broadcaster is trading under insolvent circumstances. It is technically insolvent and its falling revenues mean it cannot service its debt of almost R2bn. The Companies Act stipulates that it is illegal for directors of an insolvent company to continue trading after they become aware of its insolvent status. The broadcaster is struggling with a huge infrastructure maintenance backlog and an unsustainable wage bill. It has requested a R3.2bn government guarantee to stay afloat and to pay off some of its debt, but its bid for funding has so far been unsuccessful. The Treasury wants the broadcaster to first meet preconditions, such as removing noncore and nonperforming activities, maximising advertising revenues and clawing back expenditure on content. Briefing MPs on Wednesday, CFO Yolandi van Biljon said that in December 2018 the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) issued a notice to the corporation to show cause regarding reckless trading or trading under insolvent circumstances. “A response was provided to the commission, however, the commission indicated that the situation will be monitored closely. CIPC is following up on this matter on a monthly basis,” said Van Biljon. Read the full original of the above report by Bekezela Phakathi at BusinessLive. Read too, State will not ignore crisis at SABC, says deputy minister Kekana, on page 13 of The Star of 29 August 2019 Parliamentary Portfolio Committee opposed to retrenchments at Necsa Engineering News reports that Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy is opposed to any retrenchments at the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) in order to cope with the corporation’s current financial crisis. This was made clear during an oversight visit by the Committee to Necsa on Wednesday. Necsa briefed the Committee that, during the 2018/2019 financial year, it had had a cash shortfall of R463m. It has also forecast an additional shortfall of R325m during the current financial year. “Although a turnaround strategy will be finalised in two months, in the meantime the committee should be provided with a written plan that will be implemented urgently to prevent imminent job losses. We also invite the organised labour [sic] to write to the Committee with regard to what they believe to be problem areas within the entity and proposed intervention,” said committee chairperson Sahlulele Luzipo. The MPs also asked Necsa and its subsidiary companies, NTP Radioisotopes and Pelchem, to supply them with information about their mandates, board structures, and remuneration packages. Necsa assured the Committee that it would develop a turnaround strategy that was consultative, would deal with its cash shortfalls, and ensure its sustainability in the long term. Read the full original of the above report at Engineering News. Read the Portfolio Committee’s press statement at Parliamentary News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Take-home pay increased by 0.9% in real terms in July BusinessTech reports that according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index, take-home pay in SA increased above inflation in July 2019, thereby providing a slight boost to household spending. It increased by 0.9% in real terms year-on-year, while in nominal terms it increased 5.3%. Although the increases were still relatively low in July, household expenditure was given a boost through a lower inflation environment, the group indicated. The average real take-home pay was R14,177 compared to R14,049 in July 2018. Nominal take-home pay improved by 5.3% year-on-year to reach R15,584. Overall, total payments in nominal terms increased by 6.5% in July, indicating overall salary payments were still in a recovery phase. “Growth has been off a low base from July 2018 when government salary increases were a little delayed in some cases,” BankservAfrica said. This suggested that if inflation remained subdued, positive increases in take-home pay could be expected in the next few months, said economist Mike Schüssler. According to Schüssler, the increase in July was slower than June and May, but offered a more realistic trend, as wages carried over from May to June to officials for the national elections were now out of the system. Read the full original of the above report at BusinessTech Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Zandile Gumede withdraws her resignation as eThekwini mayor BusinessLive reports that eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has created a crisis for the ANC by holding on to the mayoral chain despite a provincial executive committee (PEC) decision instructing her to vacate office. On Wednesday, the inauguration of Mxolisi Kaunda as the new mayor of eThekwini was postponed after Gumede withdrew her resignation letter at the eleventh hour in clear defiance of the governing party’s decision. Mzomuhle Dube, spokesperson for eThekwini branches which support Gumede, said her withdrawal was discussed at a meeting on Tuesday. “What became prominent is that [councillor] Mondli [Mthembu] and Gumede appealed the decision by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committee to remove them to Luthuli House. They have not even seen the report that was used to axe them. In fact our lawyers had asked for it but it has not been given to them,” Dube said. Gumede’s decision to rescind her resignation was informed by her pending appeal case submitted to Luthuli House, Dube indicated. Gumede and uMsunduzi mayor Themba Njilo had resigned earlier this week after the PEC decided last week to axe them. Gumede and Mthembu are facing corruption charges. Read the full original of the above report by Zimasa Matiwane at BusinessLive Prasa announces IT executive’s dismissal over illegal contract Fin24 reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) announced on Wednesday evening that its group executive for information technology, Chris Mbhatha, had been found guilty for his role in the illegal awarding of a contract and had been dismissed. Prasa contracts have been the subject of a number of forensic investigations. The rail agency advised that Mbhatha was found guilty in the Siyangena Technologies matter, where a contract was found to have been illegally awarded. The contract was for the installation of automatic speed gates, electronic information boards and surveillance systems. "Prasa is currently pursuing Siyangena in an effort to recover the monies paid to it which amount to approximately R4.5bn," Prasa advised. Other executives who were charged in regard to the same matter have also been found guilty and dismissed after hearings. Read the original of the above report by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
Magistrates facing disciplinary action use ‘every trick in the book’ to delay hearings, parliament hears The Citizen reports that the Magistrate’s Commission told the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services on Wednesday that magistrates facing disciplinary hearings used “every trick in the book” to delay disciplinary proceedings against them. The commission’s ethics committee chairperson, advocate Cassim Moosa, and the commission’s Hans Meijer told MPs about four cases they were dealing with. In each case, the magistrates used tactics, including applications to the high court, firing legal counsel or asking for postponements in disciplinary hearings, to delay proceedings. One of the cases relates to Eric Nzimande, the regional court president of KwaZulu-Natal. There are 50 counts of misconduct against him. Nzimande was suspended in October 2018 and has pleaded not guilty. The commission is also dealing with the case of Bloemfontein chief magistrate Mziwonke Hinxa, who, it is alleged, committed rape. The commission also updated the committee on a case against senior magistrate and judicial head of the Mossel Bay District Court, Letitia Freeman, who is charged with 29 counts of misconduct, most of which involve false transport claims. The matter of Kempton Park chief magistrate Judy van Schalkwyk dates back to 2013. She is accused of abuse of power, attending to personal matters during work hours, gambling during work hours, borrowing money from subordinates and handing down judgments she had not written. Read the full original of the above report at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Burning tyres on tracks delay Cape Town trains on Wednesday morning News24 reports that Metrorail's services to the central line in Cape Town were suspended on Wednesday morning because burning tyres were placed on the railway tracks between Langa and Bonteheuwel by protestors. The situation meant that commuters already struggling with services severely delayed by signal equipment theft and vandalism, had to make other arrangements in the affected area, which included Kapteinsklip, Bishop Lavis and Chris Hani. In the meantime, a points machine near Bellville was stripped of components, which meant train drivers had to wait for manual authorisation before crawling along the line at a slow speed. This led to delays of around 60 minutes to the regular schedule. In the afternoon, Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said the protesters were cleared shortly after peak time, and the lines declared safe for operations. On the northern line some emergency repairs were done. "The rail network is stable, operable for afternoon peak and trains are running to schedule subject to the usual speed restrictions and sections under manual authorisations," Scott advised. Read the full original of the above report by Jenni Evans at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Deputy agriculture minister S’dumo Dlamini was not poisoned, says Cosatu’s Zingiswa Losi News24Wire reports that Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi has rubbished claims that her predecessor and the current deputy minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, S’dumo Dlamini, was poisoned. Dlamini fell ill last month and was admitted to hospital ‘for a severe headache’. Speaking on Thursday, Losi said the family had indicated that there was no truth to the allegations. “We have been interacting with his office and we do get reports that he is recovering. The family issued a statement and said that is not true. We cannot then speak on that matter. The family said there is no truth that the former president was poisoned. We are told he is progressing really well,” she said. Earlier this month, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte mentioned the gravity of Dlamini’s illness and said: “We are worried about him; he isn’t doing very well. We just hope that the cause is not poisoning. But whatever it is, we wish him well and we hope he recovers. He is a valuable member of our organisation and society.” Read the original of the above report at The Citizen
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