In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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De Ruyter asserts that his R1bn-a-month Eskom theft estimate is 'conservative' Bloomberg News reports that according to the former head of Eskom, he probably underestimated when he put the amount of money that was being stolen from the state-owned company at more than R1 billion a month. Ex-CEO André de Ruyter also said internal resistance to measures he implemented to try and curb corruption at Eskom was hampering the effort. His comments were contained in a written submission to MPs that he is scheduled to deliver virtually on Wednesday. De Ruyter stepped down as CEO on 22 February – more than a month before his scheduled 31 March departure date – after censuring the government over corruption at Eskom and accusing senior members of the ANC of stealing from the utility. The graft took various forms at Eskom, including the “ghost delivery” of spare parts for equipment that was recorded throughout receiving processes, but not physically present, De Ruyter explained. Organised groups that mainly focused on crimes related to coal supply were associated with specific power stations and had their own identities, he indicated, citing the findings of an investigation. The submission to parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts repeats claims that De Ruyter first made in a television interview in February. Lawmakers plan to interview him about corruption, theft, maladministration, sabotage, lack of consequence management, cartels and other financial irregularities at Eskom. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24 Ramokgopa to fight loadshedding with diesel Bloomberg News reports that SA's electricity minister has proposed a plan to stave off deeper power cuts by increasing the use of diesel turbines, along with building more storage capacity to store the fuel. Eskom would need to increase its budget for diesel, Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa indicated in a presentation made to the ANC’s national executive committee. A special dispensation could reduce the cost by allowing Eskom to directly purchase the fuel, the plan showed. The strategy would result in the increased use of fossil fuels to mitigate electricity shortages. In the worst case scenario, SA could reach stage 8 power cuts, meaning 8,000 megawatts would be cut, according to the presentation. Diesel turbines running at maximum capacity could insulate the nation from two stages, about 2,000 megawatts, of power cuts, the presentation showed. Ramokgopa has also asked for the extended use of coal-fired units set for decommissioning over the next few years. An update of the schedule to shut stations down must be approved by cabinet by the end of June. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at Fin24. Lees ook, Eskom wil nóg druk op stelsel verlig, by Maroela Media Cabinet set to approve huge solar rollout BL Premium reports that the government is expected to announce a “mega” bid window for renewable energy procurement this week as well as an “aggressive” rollout of rooftop solar. According to Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the cabinet is likely to approve “a mega bid window of over 15,000MW of additional renewables” at a meeting on Wednesday. “That is the scale that we are thinking about to ensure we meet the energy mix contained in the Integrated Resources Plan of 2019, which anticipates exponential growth of the share of renewables in the energy mix,” Ramokgopa said at the Solar Show in Johannesburg. He has managed to garner the support of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC’s top leadership for his plan to extend the life of some of Eskom’s ageing coal-fired power stations. However, his comments on Tuesday suggest that the package of solutions he will present to the cabinet to deal with SA’s short- and long-term energy issues are weighted towards bolstering renewable energy generation. Ramokgopa said the government was also working with development finance institutions to design financing solutions for manufacturers to grow the local supply chain for the renewables sector. The government will also create a financing facility to ensure there is “equitable access to renewables”. A formal announcement is likely later this week. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Gwede Mantashe claims there’s no bad blood between him and electricity minister The Star reports that Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has denied speculation that there is no bad blood between himself and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. Last month President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Ramokgopa to work towards ending load shedding. "There is no fight between me and the doctor. Ramokgopa, we talk almost every seven days; we phone, we visit; we talk because our work is intertwined; I need to support him for him to do his duty fully," said Mantashe. Speaking in a radio interview on Tuesday, Mantashe said the two departments should be able to complement each other. He also said that the fight for renewables must not be transferred to the government and explained: "I don't want us to fight in government – a battle that does not belong to us. If the battle is between a minister of energy and renewable liberals, allow it to be in that space. Don’t transfer it to the space of government because it will actually pollute it. The government must sort things out, talk about them, and give the powers that are necessary to whatever minister, and there will be no fight about that.” When asked if the president send him a letter outlining the new energy distribution strategy and clarifying all of this, Mantashe said no. He indicated that there was now an agreement that was clear on his role and that of Ramokgopa's. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntombi Nkosi at The Star. Read too, Electricity Minister with no power, no budget, no oversight, no problem, at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Trial of man suspected of having killed six sex workers postponed to June IOL reports that Sifiso Mkhwanazi, the 21-year-old man linked to the murder of at least one of six women believed to have been sex workers, briefly appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. His trial was postponed to 2 June. It is believed that Mkhwanazi lured the women to his father’s panel-beating workshop in Selby Village, Johannesburg. He was arrested after the discovery of six bodies at the panel-beating business on 9 October 2022. During his last court appearance, the State requested the postponement due to outstanding DNA results and CCTV footage. State advocate Tshepo Mahange kaMzizi explained that some of the bodies were in almost skeletal condition and beyond recognition. So far, four out of the six bodies have been positively identified by their family members, while the DNA of the other two has yet to be confirmed. Mkhwanazi has only been charged with one count of murder so far because the State has been working on the identities of the other five bodies. According to police, Mkhwanazi was previously arrested on rape charges in June 2021, but the charges were later withdrawn. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL
South African food inflation was again up in March Engineering News reports that the Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy (BFAP) on Tuesday highlighted, in its latest 'Food Inflation Brief', that South African food and non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) inflation last month increased by a full percentage point, in month-on-month (m-o-m) terms. In year-on-year (y-o-y) terms, it was up 14%, which was almost exactly twice March’s headline consumer price index (CPI) inflation figure of 7.1%. Food inflation contributed 2.4 percentage points to the y-o-y CPI headline inflation figure (and 0.2 percentage points to the m-o-m CPI headline inflation of 1%). This was against a backdrop of local y-o-y CPI index increases of 8.1% for fuel and 8.2% for electricity and other fuels. These developments offset the global declining trend in food prices. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Food Price Index last month recorded a 20.5% y-o-y drop in oils, cereals, dairy and meat prices, and a 2.1% m-o-m decrease in cereals, oils and dairy prices. In March in SA, the food categories which suffered the highest y-o-y inflation were vegetables (20.5%), bread and cereals (20.3%), oils and fats (16%), dairy and eggs (13.6%), fish (10.7%), sugar-rich foods (also 10.7%), meat (10.6%), NAB (10.3%) and fruit (5.2%). There were some commonly purchased food items that saw y-o-y inflation last month of 30% or even more. These were maize meal, beef, onions and peppers. The price of the BFAP’s Thrifty Healthy Food Basket (THFB) increased by 15.3%, or R474, y-o-y, and by 1.8%, or R62, m-o-m. The BFAP expectations are that food price inflation in SA should ease in the second half of the year, Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read too, Families at risk of hunger as food prices continue to surge, at City Press
Draft basic income grant policy goes to government committees to explore 'series of proposals' News24 reports that a draft policy on a Basic Income Grant (BIG) for South Africans aged 18 to 59 has been submitted to state technical working committees for consideration, but there is no final decision yet on such an arrangement. On Tuesday, officials from the Department of Social Development (DSD) briefed the Select Committee on Health and Social Services on the department's annual performance plan. DSD acting director-general Linton Mchunu said regarding a basic income support grant: "DSD has embarked on extensive research and consultations, which have informed the policy proposals to be submitted for Cabinet consideration. We are looking at the group of 18- to 35-year-olds first and later the other age groups, until we get to 59. We have a series of proposals that we have put together. At this point in time, we have not concluded on those. These are all still proposals." Last week, it was reported that an agreement on the future of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant, or its replacement when the present temporary arrangement came to an end, had not yet been reached. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24
Son newspaper could see job cuts, fewer editions Fin24 reports that Son, the Afrikaans tabloid newspaper, may change from a daily to a weekly publication due to falls in advertising and circulation. Data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that Son's paid circulation dropped to 15,964 in the fourth quarter of 2022, from 66,043 at the end of 2017. Media24 CEO Ishmet Davidson explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated a "pre-existing and long-term structural decline in an already fragile print media sector". He added: "For many of our print titles, the benefits of prior interventions to offset the structural declines and keep them on the shelf no longer exist and they’ve run out of options in this regard." Son was once SA’s largest Afrikaans daily newspaper. Its circulation fell sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic, however. Davidson said the planned interventions at Son were expected to impact around 20 staff members, mostly in editorial and production. "We are fully committed to managing this highly sensitive consultation with compassion while following the process as prescribed by law," he indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24
SA Navy on recruitment drive nationally for divers The Citizen reports that the South African Navy is embarking on a massive nationwide recruitment drive for fresh divers for its ranks. Applicants should be South African citizens, and, if aged between 18 and 22, should have matriculated with pure mathematics. If older than 22 years, potential candidates should be in possession of a tertiary qualification, but should not be older than 26 years. The SANDF said in a statement that divers were integral to any missions and operations of the SA Navy and their invaluable functions included underwater and coastal reconnaissance, search and rescue, clearance diving, demolitions and salvage operations. “This is not a regular SANDF recruitment drive but a specific targeted search which seeks to recruit diver candidates for the SA Navy,” SA Navy‘s Captain Prince Tshabalala advised. Potential candidates will be put through a selection process that will include physical training and water activities. Successful candidates will be subjected to the Human Resources recruitment process and will form part of the 2024 Military Skills Development Skills Intake. This news report gives details of the venues where recruitment will take place. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Mabena at The Citizen
Frustrated unpaid CWP workers block Cogta offices in Pretoria, initially stop staff from going home TimesLive reports that community work programme (CWP) workers unhappy at not being paid blocked the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) head office in Pretoria on Tuesday evening, preventing many officials from going home. Departmental spokesperson Legadima Leso confirmed that workers were initially unable to go home due to protests at the department’s head office in Arcadia. Leso said that after consultation with the protesters, the department reached an agreement over late payments, and people were able to leave the office by 5pm. “The protesters are raising issue of late payments of stipends. The engagements went well, the department committed to pay the outstanding stipends on May 3,” Leso advised, adding that late payments emanated from a change in payment system for the CWP workers. The protest started on Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported and police had been on the scene. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at TimesLive
Solidarity threatens Legal Practice Council with court action over discriminatory advert On Tuesday, Solidarity threatened the Legal Practice Council in the Western Cape and nationally with legal action if it did do not withdraw an application for appointments in which only “black, coloured and Indian women” were invited to apply. According to the trade union, the actions of the Council “amount to blatant discrimination, and it is abhorrent that a body representing the legal profession would demonstrate such a disregard for the Constitution as well as the right to equality.” Riaan Visser, head of the Solidarity Law Network, observed: “On the face of it, it looks as if the Council wants to create first- and second-class law practitioners in the Western Cape. The applications are for appointments as arbitrators, mediators, independent experts and liquidators who will appear in the Council’s database. While appointments are made on the basis of race, one can only speculate whether the database will then also be structured on that basis.” Solidarity demanded that the Council, inter alia, should provide an urgent explanation regarding the decision to base the applications on race. “If we do not receive feedback from the Council by 2 May 2023, and particularly if the answers to our questions are not considered satisfactory, we will continue with corrective action,” Visser indicated. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News
Meals on Wheels suspends its CEO over work experience claim City Press reports that the directors of the nonprofit organisation, Meals on Wheels Community Services, have suspended their controversial CEO following the presentation of an allegedly damning forensic investigation report into her previous work experience. Meals on Wheels CEO Nelisa Mabenge was apparently suspended in the early hours of Sunday morning after the board held a late-night meeting to discuss the findings of an investigation by Mazars. Mabenge was investigated following whistleblowers’ complaints that she lied by claiming in her CV that she had worked as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s adviser. The Presidency has denied that Mabenge ever worked there. The board sat until 3:45am and nine board members voted for her suspension. Mabenge was appointed in March last year. She claimed in her CV that she worked as a strategic adviser in the office of the Presidency from 2018 to 2020. But, the organisation’s employees doubted Mabenge’s claim after noticing that she acted starstruck in front of Ramaphosa. “There is no way a person can behave like that in front of his former boss, taking selfies and being all over,” an employee remarked. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sizwe sama Yende at City Press (subscriber access only)
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