In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Wednesday, 9 December 2020.
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Two Eastern Cape police commanders at head office die from Covid-19 on same day News24 reports that two police commanders at the Eastern Cape police head office in King William's Town have died on the same day of Covid-19. Brigadier Melikaya Ngodi, 56, and Colonel Makhaya Marhwanqa, 58, had met recently at a police operation. Ngodi was the provincial head of the Operational Command Centre, while Marhwanqa was the commander of the centre's War Room component. They both succumbed to Covid-19 on Sunday, Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana advised. The two had 35 years of service each, having joined the SA Police Service (SAPS) in 1985. A shocked provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga has suspended all non-critical meetings and operations. In a letter addressed to all employees, Ntshinga said all SAPS personnel must be restricted to their place of work "as far as possible”. He added: “Movement between and within buildings by personnel must be limited. Visits to the provincial head office, district commissioner's offices and accounting stations must be limited to only those matters that cannot be finalised by means of email correspondence, scanned documents, telephonic engagements or virtual meetings." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24 Thirteen people rushed to hospital after fire broke out at chemical factory in Pinetown on Tuesday News24 reports that thirteen people were taken to hospital after a chemical factory went up in flames in Pinetown, west of Durban, on Tuesday. According to Advanced Life Support paramedic Garrith Jamieson, the fire started after 11:00. Otto Volek Road was completely closed off as firefighters fought to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire is as yet unknown. Jamieson said no deaths were reported and several people were treated and stabilised on the scene. "At this stage, the latest update is that 13 people have been transported to hospital for various injuries,” he indicated on Tuesday The fire department had multiple units on the scene to tackle the blaze, but the strong winds made this “rather difficult". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24 Western Cape records 68 attacks on medical emergency officials this year EWN reports that there have been 68 attacks on medical emergency officials across the Western Cape this year, which is a marked increase from last year when 20 incidents were recorded. Most of the attacks occur in Cape Town. On Tuesday morning, two paramedics were on a call in Mitchells Plain when they came under attack. Despite being escorted by police to a patient's home in Beacon Valley, the paramedics were still attacked. A shot was fired at the ambulance, striking one of the paramedics in the chest, but luckily for him, he was wearing a bulletproof vest. This was not the first time the man has had a brush with death, as he was stabbed in the back in the same area in a separate attack. Director of emergency medical services Shaheem de Vries said the department did not issue body armour. “We are in the process of exploring body armour for the paramedics. There are strong arguments for and against this,” De Vries indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kaylynn Palm at EWN
Eskom Social Compact framework signed by social partners at Nedlac, but DA says it’s a ‘bailout by stealth’ which ignore the GEPF BL Premium reports that on Tuesday business, labour and the government kicked Eskom’s R488bn debt problem down the road as they signed a framework agreement detailing a set of broad rescue measures to stabilise the power utility. The Eskom Social Compact framework agreement was signed at the annual National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) summit. It sets out a range of interventions to turn around Eskom, which relies on government bailouts as it does not generate enough cash to service its mountain of debt. “Social partners are committed jointly to mobilising adequate financial resources for Eskom. The precise financing mechanisms will be evaluated taking into account all options available,” the document reads. Even though the signed framework has no specific details on how the money will be raised, it does indicate that financial institutions must comply with investor mandates and honour their fiduciary duties. But, DA shadow finance minister Geordin Hill-Lewis pointed out that the framework agreement ignores the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), which currently holds R104bn in Eskom debt. He said attempts by the GEPF to write off its debt in Eskom and to add an additional R100bn would be illegal. “The GEPF is unlikely to ever be able to approve such an obviously bad investment, because this will be contrary to their fiduciary duty to their members,” said Hill-Lewis. He also characterised the agreement as a sham and a “bailout by stealth”. Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks, however, said no commitment had been made on how much should be extended to Eskom. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, Eskom is a strategic asset that must be stabilised, says deputy president, at BusinessLive (paywall access only). And also, Government signs Eskom social compact, at Business Report
Auditor-General says R3.4bn of wrongly distributed Covid-19 relief funds returned to UIF coffers Independent News reports that on Wednesday Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke released the updated findings on the second audit of Covid-19 relief funds. She commended significant improvement and recoveries made by some of the state entities that were flagged for poor financial controls in the disbursing of the funds, including the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The findings were a follow-up to the first audit results that were released by then auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, in September, and which pointed to mismanagement and corruption in the disbursing of some of the R500 billion relief package meant to mitigate the effects of the virus. Makwetu had attributed shortcomings to poor financial controls and wrongdoing, including overpricing, unfair tender processes and potential fraud. Maluleke said the second audit had focused on the socio-economic spend and followed up on whether the recommendations the office gave to departments and state entities had been followed. She said the Department of Labour and Employment had taken corrective action since the release of Makwetu’s report. Maluleke hailed the department’s success in recovering some of the billions of rand that the UIF wrongly disbursed to illegitimate beneficiaries. “As we speak now, R3.4bn has gone back to the coffers of the UIF because there was responsiveness,” she indicated. Maluleke said the third instalment of the Covid-19 relief spend audit would focus on municipalities and the report would be issued next year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siviwe Feketha at Independent News. Read too, Auditor-general finds slight improvement in Covid-19 relief funds audit, at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Former Aurora mineworkers languish amid legal spat over money collected TimesLIVE reports that the Aurora Empowerment liquidators have approached the High Court in Pretoria in an effort to force lawyer John Walker to disclose how much has been collected from Aurora’s debtors, including the directors who were sequestrated. Among the intended beneficiaries of the monies collected, according to papers filed by the liquidators, are about 1,000 former workers whose battle for payment has been going on for more than 10 years. In the court papers, the liquidators claim they have not received a statement accounting for how the money collected was used. Aurora’s directors allegedly plundered assets before the liquidation, leaving the company unable to pay creditors and employees. In the subsequent sequestration, proceedings were successfully instituted against company directors Khulubuse Zuma, Shamilla Essay, Zobeida Bhana and others. Things, however, took another turn in the present case when the liquidators of the Pamodzi group of companies, which had assigned Aurora to manage its mining operations, applied to be part of the court case on the basis that they had a direct interest in the matter. They claimed that all monies collected were due to Pamodzi because Aurora stripped the mines, causing Pamodzi damage of more than R1.5bn. Walker has been given until 18 January to file his responding affidavit. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLIVE Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Consumer inflation eases slightly to 3.2% in November from 3.3% in October Fin24 reports that headline consumer price inflation slowed to 3.2% year-on-year in November from 3.3% in October, data from Statistics SA showed on Wednesday. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI was flat at 0.0% in November, from 0.3% in the previous month. Core inflation, which excludes prices of food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel and energy, fell to 3.3% year-on-year in November, compared with a rate of 3.4% in October. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation was also flat at 0.0% from 0.2% previously. Nedbank’s Group Economic Unit said the inflation numbers, while softer, pointed to the beginnings of some price pressure in certain categories, particularly food. The unit expects inflation to remain around 3% for the remainder of the year and to average 3.3% for 2020, “hovering well below the Reserve Bank’s 4.5% target for at least a year.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lameez Omarjee at Moneyweb
Government opens new battle with unions by offering three months’ wages to employees who haven’t been paid since March. Bloomberg reports that the government has started a fresh battle with trade unions in its effort to revive the bankrupt SA Airways (SAA), by offering three months of wages to employees who haven’t been paid since March. While the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) have agreed to discuss the matter, Numsa spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union could not yet say if it would accept or reject the three-month offer for SAA staff. “We can only say that the DPE must not forget that workers have made major sacrifices,” she pointed out. The SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) had previously indicated that it expected members to be paid in full, in line with the legal framework for a business rescue process. “It is extremely unfair,” Sacca President Zazi Nsibanyoni-Anyiam said. She added that the union was willing to discuss deferring some of the payment of salaries, or taking it in some form of equity. The offer would not be accepted “on our watch,” Grant Back, chairman of the SAA Pilots Association, said on Monday. The DPE released a statement on Monday urging unions to accept the three-month offer, citing the “deep cuts” the government has already made to fund SAA. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loni Prinsloo at Moneyweb
Ministers' performance agreements finally signed and published by President Ramaphosa News24 reports that the performance agreements President Cyril Ramaphosa entered into with each minister have all been signed and are available for public perusal. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in February, Ramaphosa announced that each minister would be expected to sign a performance agreement. "To strengthen the capacity of the state and increase accountability, I will be signing performance agreements with all ministers before the end of this month," he indicated on 13 February. He went on to say: "These agreements – which are based on the targets contained in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework – will be made public, so that the people of South Africa can hold those who they elected into office to account. We see these performance agreements as the cornerstone of a new culture of transparency and accountability, where those who are given the responsibility to serve – whether as elected office bearers or public servants – do what is expected of them.” As it turned out, the agreements were not concluded before the end of February, as Ramaphosa promised in his Sona, but only in early November. The agreements have now been published on the government's website. Each performance agreement has portfolio specific targets for each minister, and a general annexure labelled "explanatory guideline". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Gerber at News24
Teachers from four Orange Farm private schools protest over nonpayment of subsidies SowetanLIVE reports that a group of teachers from private schools in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, protested outside the offices of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) in the Joburg CBD on Tuesday over the nonpayment of subsidies for months. The teachers said they had not been paid for five months due to the department's failure to pay subsidies to four schools. They claimed they last received salaries in June. However, GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said the schools – Sinqobile Intermediate, Siyaphambili Secondary, Sikhumbuzo Secondary and Vutomi Secondary – had not received subsidies because they had been placed under administration in October. “These schools have submitted fraudulent annual financial statements. Subsequently, the department has put them under administration,” said Mabona. The schools apparently responded on 24 November to a request to make representations on the findings of audits conducted by the department and a meeting was scheduled for Tuesday to consider their representations. But, the GDE was surprised when the management arrived with a group of protesters. Sinqobile principal Spiwe Mehlomakulu denied that the school had been placed under administration. Shihungasi Khoza, a director of both Vutomi and Sinqobile schools, said: “The department is refusing to release our subsidies and we use the very same subsidy to pay our teachers. We are here until they release our money or else these buildings will not work today. If they don’t do so today, tomorrow we will be back here.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mpho Koka at SowetanLIVE
Asset Forfeiture Unit freezes R23m in assets of staff member in KZN premier's office TimesLIVE reports that the Asset Forfeiture Unit has frozen R23m worth of assets belonging to members of staff in the office of the KwaZulu-Natal premier. The unit restrained several immovable properties and vehicles belonging to the CFO in the premier's office, Ziphathie Mboneni Cibane, his co-accused in a criminal case, and their entities. The move followed an order granted by the Pietermaritzburg High Court against the staffers concerned. In July 2020, Cibane and three other staff members in the premier's office, Nomusa Zakwe, Thobelani Makhathini, and Sithembiso Msomi, appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court along with Gugu Kheswa of Phumalanga Communications. They were charged with tender fraud and corruption. In October 2020, they were joined by more accused. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) indicated in a statement: “The state’s case is that the [premier's office] staff, who worked in the supply chain management section, colluded and unlawfully co-operated with these service providers to manipulate the tender process. The properties restrained today (Tuesday) have a cumulative estimate value of R23.3m. These include 20 immovable assets including a boutique hotel and 40 motor vehicles. The items will be held under curatorship pending the outcome of the criminal trial. The accused are out on various amounts of bail and they return to court on April 30 2021.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgaugelo Masweneng at TimesLIVE Former crime intelligence CFO gets 10 years behind bars for slush fund corruption The Citizen reports that the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday sentenced Major-General Solomon Lazarus to 10 years behind bars in the “abuse of the Secret Service slush fund” case involving former senior crime intelligence personnel. A former chief financial officer (CFO) of the agency’s secret service account, Lazarus had motivated and approved the purchasing of vehicles that crime intelligence would use in covert operations. Money from a special account Lazarus and his co-accused had set up, which sourced money from the secret service account, was used to buy a KIA Picanto from Atlantis Motors. It was used by Lazarus’s daughter and was registered in his wife’s name. The car cost R55,000. Additionally, R39,194 was used from the special account to buy an all-terrain Honda vehicle and R27,432 was used to purchase a Honda CBR motorbike for Lazarus’s son. Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate, Sindisiwe Twala, advised that all of the undue benefits accrued by Lazarus were valued at a total of R237,939.65. Lazarus’s sentencing came after he was convicted of corruption. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
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