In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Rampant corruption at Mpumalanga driving licence centres is compromising road safety, says MEC News24 reports that the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison has revealed that it is dealing with allegations of corruption at various driving licence testing centres in the province. This after an official was placed under precautionary suspension following allegations of corruption involving bribes at those centres. In a statement on Monday, department spokesperson Moeti Mmusi said the official allegedly led attempts to solicit bribes from driving school owners when they brought in applicants for testing at Mbombela testing centres. Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe said they would be looking into the allegations, as they negatively affected road safety. "The department is working hard to ensure safety on the roads. The war against road crashes and fatalities can only be won if we defeat the scourge of corruption," he indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zandile Khumalo at News24 Mpumalanga official suspended after protest over increase in bribe fee for bookings at driving licence testing centres TimesLive reports that a licensing official in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, has been placed on precautionary suspension after allegations that driving school operators were being asked for an increase in “bribe cash” to secure their clients' bookings. Earlier this month, driving school operators in Mbombela shut the entrance at the local traffic department facility in what they said was a protest against the bribe increase. In a statement, the department of community safety in Mbombela confirmed that an official had been suspended, and said the decision was due to “damning allegations that he was leading the attempts” to solicit more bribes from driving school owners when they brought in applicants for testing at the driving licence testing centre. “We view these allegations in a very serious light because we are fully conscious of its negative consequences on road safety. It is in this context that we will do all it takes to deal decisively with those implicated or found in the wrong,” the department indicated. Mpumalanga community safety MEC Vusi Shongwe said driving schools were an important stakeholder for the department as they played a huge role in road safety. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLive Traffic officer who 'needed a cold drink to quench his thirst' fails to set aside dismissal over R200 bribe TimesLive reports that a former Mpumalanga traffic officer dismissed for allegedly accepting a R200 bribe has failed to challenge his dismissal at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Gift Hleza approached the CCMA after his dismissal by the Msukaligwa (Ermelo) local government for bringing the municipality into disrepute. The dismissal came after Hleza was caught by undercover anti-corruption agents while conducting a speed operation on the road between Mkhondo and Msukaligwa in January 2020. He was arrested and granted bail of R1,500 pending the finalisation of his trial. Delivering an arbitration award on Thursday, the CCMA said Hleza’s version that he needed a cold drink to quench his thirst, as it was hot on the day, was dubious. The commissioner said the only inference that could be drawn was Hleza wanted payment in kind. The commissioner found that Hleza’s dismissal had been substantively fair. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLive. Lees ook, Verkeersbeampte kry op sy neus oor omkoopgeld, by Maroela Media Heavy sentences in traffic corruption cases TimesLive reports that on Thursday, Free State driving instructor Teboho Ernest Mosia, 45, was sentenced by the Bethlehem regional court to five years’ imprisonment for accepting a R5,500 bribe to organise a heavy vehicle driving licence for a motorist. Mosia disappeared with the money and failed to deliver the driving licence. He is expected to serve eight months in prison after the court suspended some of his sentence for four years. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said that in another case, former traffic officer Meshack Masenjwa, 37, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Middelburg regional court for accepting a R100 bribe. “The RTMC believes these decisions will spur the efforts of the corruption-fighting agents to identify and arrest more officers involved in bribery, corruption and fraud in the traffic law-enforcement sector,” the agency opined. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLive (scroll down)
Intercape lashes out at lashes out at Mbalula, takes legal action over plan to keep buses safe during festive season News24 reports that long-haul bus company Intercape has lashed out at Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula over what it calls a lack of urgency in dealing with attacks on its buses. Intercape filed papers with the Makhanda High Court in the Eastern Cape on Friday. The legal action follows a court order for Mbalula and Eastern Cape Transport and Community Safety MEC Xolile Nqatha to work with the police in developing a plan of action to secure the safety of Intercape coaches. In September, the court gave Mbalula and Nqatha 20 days to formulate the plan ahead of the festive season, during which inter-provincial travel peaks. Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said Nqatha filed an action plan on 28 October. However, on the same day, Mbalula gave notice of his intention to apply for leave to appeal the court order. Ferreira said in his responding affidavit: "It was this very dereliction of duty which required Intercape to institute these proceedings in the first place." He argued that notwithstanding Mbalula's appeal, it was imperative the crisis in the Eastern Cape be addressed without delay. The company added the transport minister had shown "ongoing disregard for the seriousness of the … life-threatening and endemic acts of violence and intimidation" against the long-haul coach industry. Intercape further argued Mbalula's application for leave to appeal was no reason for him not to have participated in the formulation of the action plan as he "remains duty-bound to participate". There have been more than 150 recorded violent incidents, including shootings, stonings and acts of intimidation directed at Intercape and other long-distance operators, allegedly by rogue taxi associations looking to control routes. The Eastern Cape is the epicentre of the campaign of violence. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24. Lees ook, Intercape kap minister oor langafstandbusse se veiligheid, by Maroela Media Gunmen rob teachers, pupils attending overnight study session at Pietermaritzburg school News24 reports that a group of teachers and pupils were robbed at gunpoint while attending an overnight study session at Georgetown High School in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday. It is alleged that three armed men accessed the premises after cutting the fence. A police spokesperson said the gunmen took 20 cellphones and wallets. According to Education MEC Mbali Frazer, the gunmen held a security guard at gunpoint and demanded keys to the school's offices. "The security guard and the educators refused to give the keys to the armed men, which led to the latter firing a series of gunshots as they shot at the padlocks in an attempt to open them. After several failed attempts to break the padlocks, the gunmen climbed over the wall to gain entry to the classrooms where the learners were busy with the study session. They robbed them of their cellphones and cash," Frazer reported. She said the pupils were "seriously traumatised by the incident". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Government faces renewed national shutdown threat from public servants EWN reports that the government is facing renewed threats of a national shutdown if it fails to give in to civil servants' wage demands. At least two unions have vowed to ramp up demonstrations amid deadlocked negotiations between the government and public service unions. The Public Servants Association (PSA) and the healthcare professionals union Hospersa reignited the threats during last week’s strike action. National Treasury has less than a week to respond to an ultimatum by the PSA and Hospersa. Public servants want the government to match their wage demand of 10% and continue a R1,000 monthly cash allowance beyond March 2023. The government has until Thursday to respond. Meanwhile, the 3% offered by the government is set to take effect from Tuesday. Cosatu-affiliated unions are also expected to put pressure on the government with threats of their own looming strike. The public service unions have warned of wide scale disruptions if the government opts out of negotiations at the bargaining council. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Nokukhanya Mntambo at EWN PSA strike has little impact at SA’s busiest borders SowetanLive reports that while the national strike by the Public Servants Association (PSA) disrupted services at government offices last week, it seems to have made little impact at Beitbridge and Lebombo borders, which are SA’s busiest exit and entry points. Government workers affiliated to PSA took to the streets on Thursday demanding a 10% wage hike from their employer. Their downing of tools saw several offices – mainly home affairs, labour and traffic departments – being closed for several hours. There were reports of long queues of trucks forming at the Lebombo gate in Mpumalanga. When Sowetan visited both borders at the weekend it seemed to be business as usual except for glitches caused by loadshedding in Beitbridge near Musina, Limpopo. On Friday, trucks and cars were frequently passing through the gates between Zimbabwe and SA without hindrance. Most locals explained that there had been a slight delay on Thursday morning due to a power outage but after 9am it was business as usual, with travellers from both sides going through. There was also little impact in Lebombo near Komatipoort in Mpumalanga. “We were told that our passports could not be stamped and processed because of a problem with the system and we had to wait for a while. But to be honest I have not seen any problems since then,” street hawker Johannes Mariba said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mandla Khoza & Zoe Mahopo at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
City of Joburg scrambles to resolve Samwu's wage disparity grievances after freeway barricaded News24 reports that the City of Johannesburg and the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) have given a team until Friday to come up with a solution to wage disparity gripes at the metro after members of the union barricaded a major freeway in the city over their grievances. Samwu members' decision to barricade the M1 in Johannesburg came after Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse failed to meet with them on Thursday and laid bare the impasse between management and labour at the metro over inconsistency in salaries and pay progression. At issue is the failure to properly implement a politically facilitated agreement (PFA) to resolve wage disparities among the metro's staff. The agreement was struck in 2016, but according to Samwu claimed it has still not been properly applied six years later. The metro and Samwu held a meeting late on Friday afternoon and agreed that the financially troubled city would spend this week assessing its ability to rectify the wage and pay progression disparities. Samwu provincial treasurer in Gauteng, Karabo Ramahuma said since 2016 when the PFA was struck, it had not been applied throughout the metro, adding that the metro had only chosen to apply the PFA depending on which department could apply the most immediate pressure on management. Phalatse pointed out that the metro's multi-party government had played open cards with labour about the budgetary limitations of the PFA's full implementation, Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at News24 City of Joburg gives assurance staff will get salaries despite financial woes The Star reports that the City of Johannesburg has reassured all employees that their salaries will not be affected by the city’s cash flow problems that have become a concern. Last week, opposition parties did not support the acquisition of a R2 billion loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The loan was meant to ensure that the municipality was able to meet its financial obligations, but the matter has become a political football between the DA-led coalition and the opposition bloc. Group Corporate and Shared Services MMC Leah Knott said despite reports that the municipality would not be able to pay its employees, the municipality would meet its financial obligations. “The ANC states that the salaries of 30,000 employees are at risk and yet, believing that, they still voted against a Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) loan application today. We want to assure all employees of the City of Joburg that their salaries, UIF, PAYE, pension and medical aid contributions are not, and never have been, at risk,” Knott said. She also said when the multi-party government took over the running of the City, it was faced with an expiring fleet contract and had to start from scratch. The contract is likely to affect waste collection in the municipality. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Itumeleng Mafisa at The Star
Qualifications of Johannesburg Road Agency’s CEO give rise to suspicion EWN reports that the qualifications of Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Tshepo Mahanuke have been called into question. According to a Daily Maverick report, Mahanuke claims that he has an honorary doctorate from the Trinity International University of Ambassadors, but it has been found that the doctorate can be bought for a small "support honorarium". It also reported Mahanuke insistsd that staff call him "doctor" or "professor" – despite him not having the qualification. His CV also claims he has a Master's degree in "competitive intelligence" from ACI College, Harvard Business School. But, Harvard does not offer such a Master's degree and the ACI or Academy for Competitive Intelligence is a separate college. 702's Bongani Bingwa asked Mahanuke to explain his qualification at the Trinity University of Ambassadors and he said: "I distance myself from that I never said that. I never went to bible college I distance myself from the comments being said." He was also asked about his degree and he stated: "I have a degree, and it's actually placarded online." Mahanuke advised a media conference was planned for Friday when he would give more details on his qualifications. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ray White at EWN. Read too, JRA boss bought a doctorate and claimed a Harvard Business School master’s degree that doesn’t exist, at Daily Maverick. And also, City of Joburg responds to JRA CEO allegations, at Engineering News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mbalula says Prasa’s ghost workers scam to be referred for criminal investigations The Citizen reports that Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says the ghost workers scam at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) will be referred for criminal investigations. He provided an update on Project Ziveze – an employee verification process – on Monday. The project was launched last year after irregularities were uncovered within Prasa’s ICT, human resource and payroll systems. Prasa earlier this year identified 3,000 employees who could not be verified due to the workers being without valid ID documents and the necessary work permits as required by law. Mbalula said Prasa employees were initially asked to come forward on a voluntary basis in order to be verified during phase one of Project Ziveze. However, only 14,268 of the 17,268 recorded employees on the state-owned entity’s payroll system presented themselves for verification. During the same period, 1,159 employees resigned. This led to a preliminary investigation being launched in which 2,143 employees were flagged and later grouped into the following categories: possible ghost workers; employees masquerading as someone else (identity theft); employees who submitted fraudulent qualifications; and employees facing serious criminally charges. Mbalula said the early investigation concluded that approximately 1,480 employees could not be physically verified and their documentation was non-existent as well. The investigation also revealed a number of instances where ID photos did not match the face of employees. Mbalula confirmed that Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was involved in the further investigations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molefe Seeletsa at The Citizen
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