Publication Details Reference SA Protest News 1 -18 August 2009 (2009) SA Protest News 1 -18 August 2009.  : -. Summary 65 arrested following NWest protest The Citizen 17 August 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Sixty-five people were arrested for public violence following service delivery protests near Leeudoringstad on Monday, North West police said. About 500 people began burning tyres in the middle of the road in Kgakala township early on Monday morning, Captain Aafje Botma said. “We had to use rubber bullets to disperse the people as they were being violent and started throwing stones.” No one was injured during the protests, and the situation was under control. Those arrested would face charges of public violence and intimidation. Sapa Angry residents attack off-duty cop ‘We’d rather die than live here Kowthar Solomons & Francis Hweshe Cape Argus 17 August 2009 AN OFF-duty policeman who was attacked and beaten over the head with a large rock by protesting Khayelitsha residents is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, police said this morning. The officer, whose name police have declined to release, was attacked when he tried to drive through a barricade erected by residents of BT Section, Site C, Khayelitsha yesterday. He is stationed in Stellenbosch, and was off-duty and not in uniform at the time. Police used rubber bullets to disperse protesters late last week, but angry residents took to the streets again at the weekend. Residents in BT Section started protesting on Thursday night. Street committee spokeswoman Nosisa Mgoduka said the residents were angry with mayor Dan Plato. She said Plato had promised to move the community to a piece of land where there were services. “On (last) Monday he said there was no place for us. “He said that he would look for a place for us in the next six months. “That is what angered people. Police have also said that they are going to kill us if we keep protesting. “We would rather be killed by police while protesting than live in this place. It’s not safe here. We want a better place,” said Mgoduka. Yesterday the section of busy Lansdowne Road that runs through the area was barricaded with an empty shipping container and strewn with litter. Protesters stoned passing cars and dug trenches in the road. Rocks and cardboard were used to make barricades. Tempers flared when the off-duty officer, driving a Fiat Cento, tried to drive through part of the barricade. He lost control of the car and crashed into the pavement. Residents surrounded the car while the policeman and his passenger, who has not been identified, tried to start it. Angry words were exchanged, and the policeman pulled out a gun. This made the residents back off at first, but then they raced back to confront him again. A struggle ensued, and the police officer was knocked unconscious. Residents started assaulting the man and his gun was taken away. As he regained consciousness and tried to get up off the ground, one resident picked up a rock and slammed it into the policeman’s head and upper back. He collapsed again. His companion, bleeding from the forehead after also being attacked by protesters, fled into an alleyway between nearby houses. Police who were stationed nearby managed to get to the unconscious officer, who was taken away from the area in an ambulance. Plato said this morning that “violence and other forms of intimidation” would not be tolerated. He said residents of BT Section should use the city council’s “existing political structures” – such as ward councillors and ward forums – to air their concerns. The area was quiet this morning. Additional reporting by Murray Williams Protesters beat officer Michelle Jones 17 August 2009 After crashing his car in the midst of a service delivery protest, an off-duty police officer was assaulted by angry community members in Khayelitsha. The 35-year-old officer remains in a serious condition in hospital after he was repeatedly kicked by community members angry that he had driven down Lansdowne Road. Khayelitsha police spokesperson Anneke van der Vyver last night said it was not yet clear why the Stellenbosch police officer drove through the blockaded road. The protest started at about 3pm yesterday when angry community members dragged a shipping container to the middle of Lansdowne Road in Site C to block traffic. Large stones and rocks also blocked the road. They then set a number of tyres and rubbish piles alight in different spots along the road, police spokesman November Filander said. A turquoise Fiat Uno, driven by the constable, "drove recklessly" down the road and was suddenly stopped by a stone in the road. The car skidded for some time and then crashed into the pavement, Cape Times photographer Jeffrey Abrahams said. The constable and his friend had got out of the car to check the damage when they were approached by the community members, allegedly angry that the pair had driven recklessly down the road. After arguing for some time, the constable pulled out his service pistol, Abrahams said. Community members began beating and kicking him, until he lay face down on the road with a rock thrown on to his back. Said Van Der Vyver: "They assaulted him quite badly and took his firearm." No arrests had been made last night. michelle.jones@inl.co.za This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on August 17, 2009 Marching, not talking Nalini Naidoo (The Witness) 17 August 2009 A DRAWBACK of living in a capital city that is the seat of the provincial legislature is that every so often you have to run the gauntlet of protesting marchers. It can mean having to sit stewing in a traffic gridlock because the roads are blocked. Last week was a case in point when members of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) took to the streets demanding the resignation of Education Department head Cassius Lubisi, and four of his senior officials. Don’t expect it to get any better this week because the union has promised further rolling mass action. There’s to be more protests culminating in a night vigil followed by a march by thousands of union members. All of this to get five people to resign. Coincidentally, all of this is also happening in the week that marks President Jacob Zuma’s 100 days in office. In his State of the Nation address at the start of his tenure, the president said: “We reiterate our non-negotiables. Teachers should be in school, in class, on time, teaching, with no neglect of duty and no abuse of pupils.” Sadtu blames Lubisi and his four officials for the downfall of education in the province. The union could have told Zuma this and saved government the expense of including KZN school principals in his meeting with headmasters at the Durban International Convention Centre just the week before. In a memorandum giving reasons for its rolling mass action, Sadtu mentions falling matric passes, KZN’s massive maths failure and corruption within the department. These are serious accusations and one would have expected the union to ask for these officials to be fired rather than calling for their resignation. Why aren’t they doing this? Another question to raise is why the protest action now, so close to the end of year exams, when the drop in the pass rate and the poor maths performance has been known since the beginning of the year? Interestingly, high matric pass rates were recorded when the IFP ran the department. A subliminal message that can be read from all this action is that education was better off under the IFP. We know this can’t be the case, after all, Sadtu is part of Cosatu, which is an alliance partner with the ANC. So here lies the rub. As a member of the alliance, one would have expected that Sadtu would have raised its concerns about Lubisi and his cohorts in the many forums available to them. It also has the responsibility of not just alluding to corruption, but doing something about it; like laying charges with the police and making the officials accountable for their alleged actions. The union has made two allegations of corruption so far. The one is the more than R200 million paid to stationery supplier Indiza Motswedi. This matter is currently before the courts so the department has acted. The other allegation is that R1,5 million was injected monthly into the now defunct Remant Alton bus company. Under Lubisi, the Education Department for the first time received a clean report from the auditor-general (A-G). If there have been hidden payments made, this information must be made available to the A-G. There have been suggestions that the massive protest action does not have the support of all union members. According to media reports, a document was purportedly circulated by disgruntled Sadtu members accusing union leader Mbuyiseni Mathonsi and his followers of leading a smear campaign because his faction want senior posts in the department. The document has been dismissed by Sadtu chairman Chris Ndlela as the work of Lubisi sympathisers. Whatever Lubisi’s strengths and failings, remarkably little has been said by his political bosses. From reports, we know that he has the support of other teacher unions and is respected in education circles. We also know there is no love lost between him and Sadtu. The chilling of relations started in 2006 after the national public service strike when former Education MEC Ina Cronjé and Lubisi stuck to their guns on the no work no pay issue. Rolling mass action was a weapon used by the disenfranchised during the apartheid era when there was no access to the organs of the state. This was seen as a way of getting one’s voice heard. We now have a legitimate government and a president with a listening ear. Sadtu’s actions place Zuma’s government in a difficult predicament. If its massive protest this week results in the provincial government caving in and getting rid of these officials it will mean that all you have to do is shout the loudest and cause the most disruption and government will give in to your demands. This is hardly a message that Zuma will want to send out after just 100 days in office. Police swoop on Pagad The Cape Times 17 August 2009 Fifty-eight people, including Pagad (People Against Drugs and Gangsterism) executives Abeda Roberts and Osman Sahib have been arrested after attempting to march on a Lentegeur drug dealer in Mitchells Plain and are to appear in court on Monday morning. Following a visit to the Mitchells Plain police station by Premier Helen Zille and negotiations between police and Pagad lawyers, five juveniles arrested were released into their parents' care and 49 of the group were granted police bail of R300. Late last night Roberts, Sahib and two others remained in custody. On Saturday night, about 100 people gathered on a field in Lentegeur after a meeting in a hall next to the local mosque and planned a march, police said. Rubber bullets had been fired and a stun grenade thrown when the group failed to disperse after they were warned, police spokesman November Filander said. He said 36 men and 22 women were arrested and there were unconfirmed reports that several people had been injured by the rubber bullets. "Two of the arrested men had licensed firearms in their possession," he said. "The firearms were seized for investigative reasons. All the arrested persons will be charged for intimidation of police members and under the Illegal Gatherings Act, and are scheduled to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court (today)." Police claimed most of the people arrested were not from Mitchells Plain. A list produced by Pagad executive member Cassiem Parker yesterday showed, however, that most of those arrested had Mitchells Plain addresses and phone numbers. Yesterday, families of the group gathered outside the police station, where Parker had several briefings updating them on progress made in negotiations for the groups to be released on bail. Zille, who emerged from the police station after talks with Mitchells Plain police director Jeremy Veary, told the families that bail would be posted, and while they had every right to protest, it should be done legally. She urged people not to take the law into their own hands. In 2007 Zille was arrested in Mitchells Plain after she participated in an anti-drug march. Shouts of "Allah hu Akbar (God is great)" rang out as the five juveniles, their faces covered, and their parents emerged from the police station. Parker said earlier that police had used unnecessary force on Saturday's march and opened fire before the time given to disperse had elapsed. "Pagad has for a long time had programmes to oppose gangs and druglords and (Saturday night) was just one of them," Parker said. "We exercised our constitutional right to protest, and that gathering was not illegal. It became illegal only when a police officer said: 'You have five minutes to disperse.' "They try to say people outside Mitchells Plain are (coming here to fight druglords). "If this were so, it would be noble for people outside the area to come and help the Mitchells Plain community fight druglords." Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum chairman Michael Jacobs said Pagad had tried to re-establish itself in Mitchells Plain over the past three months and had held several community gatherings. He said Pagad had been invited to work with the Community Policing Forum but, he claimed, the forum's strategy of street committees had failed to curb druglords and gangs. "We gave them facts. In March 2008 we had 259 illegal shebeens. By 12 August this year there were only 95. There were about 40 known drug outlets," Jacobs said. "From April to August, we've closed down 15. We are intensifying our campaign and although it takes time, we are getting there. Pagad is trying to get a foothold. On Thursday night, a group went to a shebeen in the same area." Parker said proof of Pagad's effectiveness was that whenever it was active, drug dealing decreased. aziz.hartley@inl.co.za * This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on August 17, 2009 Poor can’t be silenced Sunday World 16 August 2009 UNDER THE GUN: Protests have exposed repressive state machinery Whether or not service delivery protests have been more frequent in President Jacob Zuma’s era is subject to inquiry as it is arguable that the conditions underpinning protests have been ever present in the townships. The flipside of this ideological onslaught is that much as the admission is made that “times are tough” for the working class, it must nonetheless “hold its tongue until the winds of discomfort have whirled to calm”. Linked to this is the assertion that the working class is weakening the Zuma administration through its actions. Firstly, the argument about weakening the Zuma government is feeble in the sense that it is the working-class vote that guaranteed the decisive victory of the ANC. Secondly, working-class organisations such as Cosatu followed by the YCL came forth and argued for a second term for a Zuma presidency, even though there are those who say that it is too early for succession to be raised because of fear of division. As long as they are healthy, I don’t find any problem for a battle of ideas because they are revolutionary in terms of building one another. On the contrary, the government can deliver in these tough times only if buttressed by the might of an organised and militant working class. It would be disastrous for the underclass to hold its tongue and limit its demands while the capitalist class is trying to tilt the current economic environment to restore profitability. The government must realise that transcending mass action demands that the needs of the people not business must dictate who gets what, when and how. The protests have also exposed the nature of the state’s repressive machinery and how it is used to suppress the poor. Matankana Mothapo, SACP Media Liaison Officer Speech delivered at the Nelson Mandela Bay Crime Prevention Summit by the Deputy Minister: Police, Fikile Mbalula 13 August 2009 Executive Council Councillors All protocol observed Ladies and gentlemen The Nelson Mandela Bay has a very strategic significance in the province and South Africa at large, not because of their rich status in the province, but, it is named after an iconic figure to ever grace the world, Nelson Mandela. The city's positioning, has to be characterised by love, peace and humility of uTata Madiba. The people of this area must have an association with this gallant leader of the people, thus being humble and eager to help others, especially now that the world's eyes are glued in our direction as the people of the South, hosting one of the major sporting events in the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The people of this area owe that to uTata Madiba, South Africa and the world. The iconic figure that walked and walks our streets is a symbol of honesty, love and reconciliation. It does not necessarily mean this iconic figure dwarfs us all but elevates us to greater heights of recognition to the global world. We are the children of Nelson Mandela. Today we are gathered here in this iconic Nelson Mandela Bay, and we need to ask ourselves, why are we gathered here? What prompts us to leave our lavish homes, offices and gather here? The people of the Eastern Cape, especially within the Nelson Mandela Metro, recently shocked the country with a number of highly publicised violent crimes, including the murder of a young school boy in a park and six children and a grandmother in Zwide. We are asking ourselves, kutheni? What has our society done to deserve these inhumane actions that we see? When I see a child, in my eyes I see my family, I see my daughter, I see my son, I see a bright future for my country. Why then do I act like this and take a life that is still pure, a life that is innocent? Kutheni Nelson Mandela Bay? When I see an old man or old woman, I see my grandmother or grandfather. I see a pillar of knowledge for the younger generation? I see someone who has gone this world and accumulated knowledge to share with the younger generation. I see myself gaining wisdom and knowledge from this defenseless community resource. So why do I kill a knowledge? Eastern Cape kutheni? Our actions are not only shaming us the people watching what is happening in the Nelson Mandela Bay on television, but, we are abusing and destroying the iconic name of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. What is happening and prompting us to be here is not like what Mandela thrived for. Why are we shaming the old man? Why can't we just be human beings and act humanly as in the principles that characterises uTata Madiba of humbleness, humility, peaceful and reconciliation? Ladies and gentlemen The constitution of the South Africa protects all its inhabitants. All of us have the right to live freely, that's what many of our leaders had to lose their lives during apartheid so that we can see peace and live freely. Through the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa the roles and responsibilities of the South African Police Services were laid down for the sake of ensuring citizens are free wherever they want to be at home, malls, streets, workplaces, community parks etc. As the constitution dictates, SAPS amongst others, is supposed to create a safe and secure environment for all the people of and in South Africa and again prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community. As part of this, the South African Police Services need to ensure that the community is brought upon in the fight against crime. The establishment of the Community Safety Forums is but, part and parcel of bringing all the stakeholders together to ensure that there is a broader participation by the community to tackle crime. Many instances, it has been reported that, many crimes are committed by people who know the victims. That is why when the investigations take place, the first people to be arrested are people who are related to the victims. This is a societal problem we are faced with. On Tuesday this week, south of Gauteng in a public place, Lenasia Mall, guards were shot by armed robbers while delivering money to the ATMs. We hear one of the guards died yesterday; May his soul Rest in Peace. We must be explicit, loud and clear we are tired of these animals masquerading themselves in human bodies killing our people like dogs. We should be equally vigilant and commit ourselves to removing these animals out of the society for good. It's time we say Washa, Wafa Tsotsi and to hell with criminals. It is time we kill these bastards! Or they will kill us. Now poor guards are in critical conditions and one is dead. The experts, say, since South Africa has reached a recession, actions like these Cash-in-Transit heists and armed robberies should be expected. They continue by saying that the number of patients in the Hospitals has increased due to stress-related illnesses caused by recession. Recession is a global problem, and we need together as South Africans join hands in the fight for positive economic growth for the better of our lives, but, this does not mean if this economic condition continues people should allow stress to determine and make a decision for them by committing crime, be it robberies, homicide, suicide. We hear recession makes the vulnerable to commit suicide or tend to crime because, some amongst us, have lost their jobs and others are going to lose their jobs. A person decides to take her/his life and the lives of those around him. Other people when relationships go wrong they turn to committing suicide or homicides. This is a problem, the reason we want the Police to be rooted within our communities it is precisely to avoid situations that could have been avoided. In any case when the court says a person is on a suicide-guard that should not only be the time when the SAPS works around that person. That's not Community Policing. Ladies and gentlemen We need to encourage a safe and healthy environment within which we live. We need to encourage the involvement of communities in the fight against crime. We owe all these to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. We must also stress it loudly that local government plays a critical role in the Local Crime Prevention, promoting crime prevention through multi-agency partnerships. As part of our mandate to expand and establish the Community Policing Forums, the Provincial Departments of Police and Community Safety should be taking the lead as these structures should be located within. This does not mean that the Community Safety Forums will take over the role of the SAPS at local level or creating another bureaucracy at local level in the fight against crime, but it is about strengthening the community involvement in the fight against crime. This will empower the Community Police Fora and the Community Safety Fora to play a meaningful part in the safety and security of our people. As police and community, we need to develop and implement a structured multi-agency approach to improve safety in our homes and the community. We must reduce crime and criminality by addressing the causes of crime through structured partnerships. We should acknowledge that crime and fear of crime seriously affects the way we live and the quality of life. As part of the National Policy Framework for Community Safety: A multi-agency government-community partnership approach, we should look at, amongst others, the reduction of crime, social crime prevention, improving environmental design principles on community safety, encourage and improve the citizen participation in the community safety initiatives and reduce re-offending and integrating ex-offender into the community. Those should form a base for your discussions later; on how do we structure our engagement as the community and the SAPS? Ladies and gentlemen Crime should not be out of control. We should not allow the criminals to dictate to us on how to live our lives. We should be able to say to criminals as Martin Luther once said "here I stand I cannot do otherwise". We should refuse to be afraid to be free human-beings because someone hates to see peace reigning in our communities and households. We are talking of Amending Section 49, on the use of Deadly Force when confronted with a life or death situation as the police officers. Currently as we speak, the statistics tell us that there are 95 police officers, who died this financial year. 44 died on-duty whereas 51 off-duty. As the police, we are saying one death too many. We can't allow a situation that say our police officers should every time when they wake up in the morning say "I am still alive". Why should a life of a Police Officer be like that? Our focus as communities and as lawmakers should be to prioritise the life of a police officer, in our thinking and engagement in the Amendment call of Section 49. Some people say Section 49 was not exclusively designed for the protection of police officers but for the perpetrator as well. In this case the perpetrator is seen as a victim, when in actual fact the victim is the Constitution-protecting Police Officer. Others already argue that Section 49 is ambiguous, if it is ambiguous let's correct it. It is our duty to defend the constitution and the people protecting the principles enshrined in our Bill of Rights. Ladies and gentlemen Currently we are working on the process of in-take of Reservists into the SAPS. We are hopeful that the experience they gained during their tenure as the Reservists will bear fruits for the country in the fight against crime. In this quest, we believe the new team of Officers will gain a lot in the Training Curriculum that the SAPS offer, and that when their intake has been finalised we would have a physically and mentally strong Police Man and Woman, who'll have good stature in the community. A police officer who understands the principles of Ubuntu, the police officer who understands the oath she/he took. You are now taking an oath to say washa, wafa tsotsi! As you get down to the work ahead, it is advisable that whatever we do we should do it with love for my community, both as Police Officer and the community members. We are committed to have a functional Local Police Stations with the intention of fighting crime with all our might. We have said all Station Commissioners will be in their uniforms combating the prevalence of crime. It is our commitment. Whatever we design and comes out of this summit it should also commit the leadership of the police to action. Together we can do more in the fight against crime. The recent public violence on Service Delivery should work as a lesson to us all gathered here, that, if my community is in turmoil like this, what is my responsibility? We have just established recently that in actual fact, there is an element of criminality perpetrated by aboTsotsi within our communities who have other intentions not related to service delivery, but use Service delivery protests as a tool to commit their intended crime. These criminals use politics, and when our focus is on the genuine issues raised by the community, they steal all the money from the poor foreign nationals in these communities. These criminals have established that our fellow poor nationals are not using Financial Services Institutions like banks to save their cash; they know they bank their hard earned-cash in their shops or homes. We can't allow these criminals to dictate to us using service delivery protests. When the poor communities genuinely protest, these thugs target poor small business owners by looting their shops and take all their hard-earned cash. As a word of encouragement to all the small business owners, be it foreign nationals or South Africans, there are other ways to protect your hard earned resources, services like Banks can stop many of these senseless crimes we have seen taking place in our country recently. We are not saying stop with your service delivery protests, but we say do this within the confines of the law and genuinely. Don't allow people with bad police profile to lead you. They might not mean what they mobilised you for. Do it responsibly with Police Officers there to protect you when you march to present your memorandum. I thank you. Issued by: South African Police Service 13 August 2009 100 days, 100 issues 17 August 2009 In Zuma's first months in office, inclusivity, interaction and basically wholesale change have been the order of the day, writes Pippa Green On the day that Gill Marcus’s appointment as governor of the Reserve Bank was announced, Gwede Mantashe received a text message on his cellphone. It said: “Once again people of my colour are being overlooked.” The secretary-general of the African National Congress replied tersely: “Actually Gill is much more black than yourself.” “Take her dresses, for instance,” he told a rapt audience at a Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) forum this week. Marcus, known among other things for her uniform dress of flowing African kaftans, has a political pedigree in the ANC that goes back nearly four decades. “Gill spent all her life in the ANC, so if you begin to classify her white for convenience, that would be disingenuous. She is the first woman governor of the Reserve Bank and we haven’t even had that discussion because we are not preoccupied by her complexion.” The message about Marcus’s colour echoed rumblings by at least one business columnist, and more explicitly by ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, that the “economic cluster”, ministries of finance, trade and industry, public enterprises and economic development, had gone to “minorities”. On a factual basis, said Mantashe, this was quite wrong. “There’s something called mining, there’s something called energy, there’s something called communications, transport, something called agriculture. Land and rural development is an economic department.” More crucially, he challenged the language. “In the ANC we don’t use the term ‘minorities’, we use the term ‘blacks’, and specifically Africans. This comes from our past. The ANC is not a Pan-Africanist organisation; we are a non-racial movement.” Only two whites – Barbara Hogan and Rob Davies – occupied economic cluster ministries and to use such racially charged language “would be to ignore their credentials in the struggle”. It is telling that Mantashe dwelt on the language. If there is one palpable change in the first 100 days of the Zuma presidency, it is in the discourse. It is a language that is more directly inclusive of the whole country and more left wing. It is a language that harks back to the latter days of the anti-apartheid struggle when the ANC and the internal Mass Democratic Movement adopted an explicitly “non-racial” discourse. This is in contradistinction to the language of a more conservative and undiluted African nationalism. But the inclusivity goes further than simply eschewing the notion that South Africans of Indian and coloured origin are “minorities”, or that whites who were part of the struggle can escape the burdens of their racial origins. “When Zuma said he wanted to appoint Pieter Mulder as deputy minister, imagine the eyebrows that were raised in the ANC,” said Mantashe, referring to the appointment of the Freedom Front politician, the son of an apartheid cabinet minister nogal, to the post of deputy minister of agriculture. “But we want to build an inclusive society.” Has the discourse changed in other ways too? “Absolutely,” says Dr Mamphela Ramphele, who chaired the Dinokeng Scenarios, a think-tank that was fiercely critical of government failures. “First of all, we have a president who is engaged, who goes to where the people are. The most impressive symbolic representation of his engaged presidency was his surprise visit to Balfour (in Mpumalanga, where there have been violent protests).” Mayors and councillors in many small towns “who believe they are a law unto themselves” are suddenly on the hop. Then there was Zuma’s meeting with school principals to discuss what Ramphele calls the crisis in public education. Certainly, there has to be a large question mark over a system that spends the greatest part of its budget on education, yet ranks among the lowest in the world in basic literacy and numeracy skills. “He acknowledged the need for discipline and accountability (in schools),” says Ramphele. Success will be measured, though, not only by a willingness to engage but by sufficient guts to take on key interest groups, specifically the teachers’ union. “I think there will be a willingness to take on certain stakeholders,” says the government’s Themba Maseko, not least because MECs and ministers will be held accountable for performance. South Africa has one of the highest rates of teacher unionism in the world, and the union has assiduously resisted performance management of teachers. Thus the simple recipe for success repeated like a mantra over the years, “In the classroom, on time, teaching”, will require the added ingredient of a big stick. Perhaps a sign of this, as one commentator pointed out, is that Thulas Nxesi, the erstwhile general secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, has been quietly tucked away in Parliament. It may be too early to draw up a score-card – government is rather dismissive of the “100-day” milestone, although it is indulging the media – but there are three other significant pointers to change. One is the new appointments, the second relates to responsiveness to the citizenry by those in power, and the third to the enhanced role of the ANC in governance. “One of the things that was said was that Zuma was going to appoint his associates and friends, and that has not happened,” Mantashe told the GIBS forum. This is partly true. Marcus may not have been “a friend”, although she is certainly a long-standing comrade of Zuma’s, as is Pravin Gordhan, the new minister of finance. And Bheki Cele, the new police commissioner, has an even closer association through his home base. Yet despite this, there is little doubt that the new incumbents are energetic, smart and visionary. Cele may need to temper his mouth more and there is also the question of whether he intervened in the fatal accident involving the inebriated Sifiso Zulu’s luxury car. The interim SABC board, tasked with salvaging the disaster that is now the broadcaster, has so far been impressive in its robust common sense, cutting expenses, stopping the luxuries and perks that were claimed as a right by members of the two previous boards and executive management, and instituting accountability. The presidential nomination of Judge Sandile Ngcobo to head the Constitutional Court also raised an eyebrow or two, not so much because of Ngcobo’s credentials (they are solid) but because Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke was overlooked, presumably for his publicly stated views on the importance of independence from the ruling party. Yet Ngcobo has been a progressive judge – his latest judgment on the unconstitutionality of the limited time frame to access information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act serves the essence of a democratic and transparent society and enhances media freedom. Cabinet includes some notable talent and is, as Mantashe pointed out, for the first time since 1994 representative of all the provinces. New Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has begun to tackle the country’s enormous health problems – exacerbated by his predecessor – with vigour. And key ministers such as Trevor Manuel in the Presidency and Ebrahim Patel in economic development have much in common beyond apparent differences in ideology. They are both ethical and hard-working, share an important past in the anti-apartheid struggle and a vision for a country that works. Then there is the question of the responsiveness of the new administration. “I’ve been in government for four years and it’s never happened before that commentators and analysts who have been very critical (of Zuma) have been invited to engage with the president,” says Maseko. “Responsiveness must be a culture,” said Mantashe at the GIBS forum. “If it’s not a culture it’s not going to happen.” The problem, though, goes deeper than a “cultural shift”. David Lewis, the erstwhile chair of the Competition Tribunal and an old union comrade of Mantashe from the 1980s, asked at the GIBS forum whether the ANC may reconsider its position on South Africa’s electoral system. “Don’t you think people feel quite distant from their elected leadership? We’ve often been in situations (in the union movement) where we’ve seen significant anger at union leadership … but they’ve had a direct means of channelling this anger into recalling those leaders.” Ramphele frames the same concern differently: “The whole approach of the post-apartheid government was to deliver free housing, free this, free the other. This has created expectations on the part of citizens, a passive expectation that government will solve problems. “It has led to a ‘disengaged citizenry’ coupled with a style of leadership in the previous administration that neither accommodated nor welcomed criticism. Thus when people’s expectations are not met, they revert to the anti-apartheid mode of protest which is destroy, don’t pay, trash. We are yet to grasp the role of citizens as owners of democracy,” she says. For Mantashe the electoral system is not the problem – in fact, he points out that a ward system accounts for two-thirds of councillors in local government. The result is a shocking lack of experience in municipalities – two thirds of councillors are first-timers. Yet Lewis’s question remains. The Zuma administration may have shown much attuned responsiveness in its first 100 days, yet there is little to enforce it other than the goodwill and sense of people such as Mantashe. Which brings us to this notable change in the first 100 days – the enhanced role of the ANC in government. “Who does run the country?” a young woman asked Mantashe at the forum. “The Presidency, or the ANC? And how many times a day do you speak to Zuma?” Mantashe was unequivocal in his reply: “Who runs the country is the ANC. I talk to the president as regularly as I can. If I pick up a controversial thing in the newspapers, I speak to him and say have you seen this, go and find out. I talk to the staff in the office to bring this to his attention. “It’s called political oversight. That is the responsibility of the ANC. I don’t want to be apologetic about it, we must do it more.” Although this may raise questions about the separation of party and state, it is a notable change from the previous administration, which ignored the ANC, to its ultimate detriment. The objective conditions today – severe revenue shortfall and economic recession – are more challenging than any other since 1995, when the country clawed its way back from the brink of bankruptcy. There can be no doubt that delivery, particularly of jobs, will demand toughness and sacrifice. Yet there seems reason for cautious optimism. “We have put together the building blocks of government, put institutions in place, made the right appointments,” says Maseko. So it will be in the next 100 or even 1 000 days that the real gains of the first 100 will be judged. Workers' protest turns violent Thandi Skade 14 August 2009 It was a scene reminiscent of the recent municipal strike - rubbish bins tipped over and contents sprawled along the streets, and filth blocking the entrance of the Krugersdorp Town Hall. Rocks, bricks and concrete rubbish bins turned on the side blocked the portion of Commissioner Street running in front of the Town Hall. This time around, the only difference was the splattered bloodstains on the ground telling the story of when pandemonium broke loose in the usually docile town of Krugersdorp, west of Joburg. Yesterday morning, around 30 SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) Mogale City West Rand branch members were injured after police shot hundreds of striking workers with rubber bullets - allegedly from as close as 10m. Police allege the protesters were taking part in an illegal march that had gone wild, and they were forced to open fire on the crowd after members resisted arrest. "At around 10am the protesters went on the rampage. They forced entry into the Town Hall and proceeded to intimidate workers from other unions not participating in the strike action," said Krugersdorp police spokesperson Captain Jacob Raboroko. He said that when police officers went inside the building, they found that the burglar bars on some of the windows had been damaged. When police went to arrest the protesters, they resisted, he added. But Samwu chairperson Kolisile Moyikwa denied accusations that members had vandalised municipal property and intimidated other workers. Raboroko said 61 people had been arrested and charged with malicious damage to municipal property and participating in an illegal march. o This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on August 14, 2009 Cop fires on Cape Argus team Kowthar Solomons 14 August 2009 A policeman fired a rubber bullet at a Cape Argus news team during a service delivery protest in Khayelitsha's Site C - despite the reporter having identified himself as a journalist. The reporter and photographer ran for cover when police opened fire at about 9pm last night on a small group of protesters burning tyres, clothing and furniture along Lansdowne Road. 'We want decent housing and electricity and all the other things he promised' Police had closed the road and started firing, allegedly without warning. Everyone in the area, including the Cape Argus news team, ran for cover, finding refuge in a near-by shack. There they and two residents were approached by a policeman and asked to raise their hands. The Cape Argus reporter complied, with his notebook still in one hand, and identified himself as a media member. Soon after the policeman lowered his gun, a colleague ran in. Ignoring the first policeman's warnings that the group was media, the second policeman fired a rubber bullet into the shack without warning. Earlier the photographer had been shot in the leg by a rubber bullet that had ricocheted off a nearby dustbin. The team was on the scene to cover renewed service delivery protests in the area, the first of which took place about three weeks ago, with people demanding action from Cape Town mayor Dan Plato. He met the residents at the time, promising them that he would address their grievances in two weeks. The angry residents at the scene said last night that they had waited long enough for the mayor. Resident Xolani Ngcube said they were sick of empty promises. "The mayor said he would deal with our problems in two weeks. That was three weeks ago. We want decent housing and electricity and all the other things he promised," he said. Children were among the crowd of protesters when police opened fire with rubber bullets, prompting residents to question their use of force. Resident Thandi Mswai said she could no longer trust the police. Police were still patrolling by late last night and the only signs of the protest were the fires still burning on the roadside. The police were unable to respond before the Cape Argus went to print today. o This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Argus on August 14, 2009 Oudekraal fight not over The fight to attain Oudekraal - the most contentious pocket of land in Cape Town - goes to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein next Tuesday, when owner Kassie Wiehahn will appeal to overturn a decision that denied him the right to develop the land. Located adjacent to Camps Bay, the property is considered one of the most sought after undeveloped pieces of land in the world, given its immense historical, cultural and religious significance. This legal action follows a successful application brought forward by the City of Cape Town, the SA Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra), the South African National Parks (Sanparks) and other interest groups in 2007 to overturn the township development rights on Portion 7 of Oudekraal. According to one of these interest groups, the Cape Mazaar Society (CMS), Wiehahn has strongly indicated his intention to appeal against the decision. The attorney representing the City of Cape Town and interest groups, Michael Edmonds, will be appealing to the judge to uphold the high court judgment and make a final decision on the issue. Role players have been in consultation with an environmental consulting firm representing a developing company called Property and Promotions Management, who have the option to purchase Portion 7 of the Oudekraal land from Wiehahn. This developer recently carried out a fact-finding mission has been carried out to establish the public's sentiment on the land in question. "Mr Wiehahn will continue to fight and will go all the way to the Constitutional Court, if he is granted leave to appeal. Which ever way the appeal goes...whether it is set aside or upheld...we are not very much concerned as there is no concrete plan yet. Geologists, archeologists and historians will first need to conduct a case study before drawing up any plan," said CMS spokesperson Mahmud Limbada. "However, our biggest fear is that if Wiehahn is granted the rights to develop, then the developer may opt out and hand over back to Wiehahan, who will just willingly develop the land." The prospect of development has seen a huge public outcry from various quarters given the implications of the site. Muslim civil society bodies such as the CMS and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) have been at the forefront of a campaign to preserve the site's heritage, where many significant kramats and graves are located. In August 2004, a thorough inspection and land survey of Portion 7 revealed that there were 53 graves and 3 kramats located on the land. However, the organizations argue the possibility that more kramats could exist and would be at risk if any development took place. According to Limbada, the developer has reassured that he will preserve the sites of heritage, religious and cultural significance. "If he is given the go-ahead, he has promised to preserve the kramats on the land. He has indicated that he has already appointed archeologists and historians to plot out the untouchable areas, which will be cordoned off. Besides the religious value, he said he would not destroy the natural landscape, which is a key aspect of its importance," said Limbada. The society has issued an appeal to people living in Bloemfontein to show their support at the court for the preservation of the Oudekraal estate. "We urge the Bloemfontein residents to protest at the court so the judge can see there is a strong public interest in the case. This action may be instrumental in determining his judgment," he said. VOC (Tasneem Mohamed) Govt addresses prisoner reviews By Mosidi Mohlakela (Government Communication and Information System) 14 August 2009 Bloemfontein - Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Hlengiwe Mkhize, says the department has taken steps to address discrepancies in the reviewing of inmates in correctional centres. She said inmates in correctional facilities that were run privately, as part of public-private partnerships, should enjoy the same rights as those in public correctional facilities. The latter are able to have the classification of their sentences reviewed from being in the Maximum Security category to a lower security category, such as Medium B. The deputy minister was speaking during a visit to the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC), a maximum security facility, one of two in the country managed through a public-private partnership, where a group of inmates had embarked on a six-day hunger strike in protest of the facility's reclassification policy. Many prisoners said they were unhappy about not being reviewed for years despite being ready and deserving to be in Medium B class prisons. Previously, the centre, as per its contract with government, was not mandated to reclassify the inmates. However, Ms Mkhize said the MCC policy should be aligned with the department's policies on correctional facilities to make sure all inmates enjoyed the same rights and treatment. "We should do away with the difference regarding the reclassification of inmates and focus on the same objectives of development and rehabilitation of inmates," she said. She added that reviewing of the inmates, of whom 700 are serving life sentences, had begun at the centre. The deputy minister, however, warned that although the inmate's cases would now be reviewed to ensure they are indeed ready to be moved to a lower security facility, the risk factors should be taken into consideration. "We can review our policies but cannot give a guarantee that the inmates will not revert back to their former ways once in a Medium B prison," she said. Another concern the prisoners raised was that they had been put in facilities which were far away from friends and family. However, Ms Mkhize said inmates could not be easily transferred because of overcrowding in other prisons. She, however, encouraged family members not to shun their relatives who were carrying out their sentences and provide support for their rehabilitation. The inmates have agreed to suspend their hunger strike. - BuaNews Rail workers to strike Reuters 15 August 2009 A South African rail workers' union said on Saturday its members would strike next week if the state operator did not restart wage talks, the latest in a wave of industrial action in Africa's biggest economy. The United Transport and Allied Union (Utatu) said a commuter rail strike seemed unavoidable after operator Metrorail broke off talks and agreed a pay deal with the larger South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu). A series of strikes and strike threats in the past few weeks has led to several above-inflation settlements in South Africa, including agreements in the gold and coal industries. State power firm Eskom said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with unions over pay and a housing policy, averting a strike that could have led to power cuts and hurt the economy. The unions helped propel President Jacob Zuma to power and want him to spend more on the poor, a policy that could be economically risky during a recession. Zuma said this week there was no "pandering" to labour. Utatu said in a statement it was on the verge of agreeing a 9,5 percent pay deal with Metrorail when the operator broke off talks to broker an 8 percent agreement with Satawu. It said that while Satawu was the larger union, most drivers and technicians are members of Utatu, so a strike could cripple the rail system. The union said it was pressing for a bigger wage increase after higher settlements in other sectors. The government gave council workers a 13 percent pay rise on July 31, nearly double the inflation rate of 6,9 percent for June. No one at Metrorail could immediately be reached for comment. - We promise and preen, but now we must deliver Mac Maharaj In Confidence Published 15 August 2009 The solutions cannot only be technocratic — we also have to learn to do things differently The plight of our municipalities — protest, prevarication and promise — were all captured in one short trip to the municipality of Balfour in Mpumalanga. President Jacob Zuma’s surprise visit to a municipality that symbolise communities deprived for far too long, and anger on the edge of explosion, was without fanfare. He went to look, see and listen. When he left, some felt this was a new beginning. The residents, caught in a moment of disbelief, warmed to the task of telling it like it is — without anger or cynicism and with a measure of trust. Then there was the mayor, absent from his post, who explained away his absence as a sudden illness, just as he explained the complaints of the community as matters beyond his mandate and within the remit of the provincial and central governments. What kind of beginning can we see in this? The problems are not new. They are there in the annual reports of the auditor-general. The central message of his reports is that there have been no consequences and no one has been held accountable. During mid-July, the new minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and his deputy launched Operation Clean Audit 2014. There would be no bonuses for senior civil servants whose departments receive qualified audits. Clearly, they took to heart the October 2007 message of the auditor-general that enforcing financial operating disciplines would substantially reduce the number of qualified audits. Although these are welcome initiatives, there is the nagging memory of Project Consolidate launched by former president Thabo Mbeki in his 2004 state of the nation address. Through co- ordinated interventions involving task teams from all three tiers of government, it was intended to help 136 of our 283 municipalities back to financial health. Two years later, the municipalities involved in this project were, in general, no better off than when the project was launched. It was also not possible to determine whether there had been actual improvements in service delivery. The protests that have raged through the country this year come from poor communities. They speak of a lack of basic provisions such as clean water, sanitation and electricity. The protests carry a simple message — the problems are growing deeper and bigger. There must be valuable lessons to learn from Project Consolidate. Indeed, there must be a sustained and determined effort to bring the municipalities to financial health. Rooting out corruption, inculcating a culture of service, adherence to policies and procedures, building capacity, employing the right person for the job, and enforcing transparency and accountability are essential to this campaign. The problems with regard to the provision of basic services are as demanding. We have to gear municipalities to expend their full capital budget, which is a measure of their ability to fulfil their mandate to provide basic services. In 2006, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro had spent only 4.9%, the City of Johannesburg only 9.2% and the City of Cape Town only 7.7% of their respective capital budgets during the first quarter of the financial year. As we move forward, we need to keep a firm grasp of the big picture while paying meticulous attention to the details at local levels. The solutions cannot only be technocratic — we also have to learn to do things differently. At the political level, we have allowed a passive form of accountability that is dependent on periodic elections to take root. This enables all sorts of corrupt practices to develop. Even branch meetings of parties in power are reduced to battlegrounds for access to tenders. Meanwhile, communities become disempowered and desperate. Politicians and bureaucrats avoid creating policies, procedures and practices that are visible and transparent. National and provincial governments should assist municipalities to explain to communities their plans, as embodied in the draft budget. This way, communities will gain insight into the choices and compromises being made and be able to air their views before the budget is finalised. The year’s programme should include mandatory feedback explaining progress being made and problems encountered. The entire process should not be a top-down communication exercise. It should engage and empower the community to give effect to their right to know and have a say. Let us find ways to make our democracy active and participatory so that the relationship between the elected, bureaucracy and electorate becomes a partnership infused with a dynamism that unleashes the talent and passion to serve the people. The space opened by Zuma holds a promise as well as danger. It could end up as mere hype and a PR stunt, or lead to real community engagement and improvement in the provision of services. Hou kop, hou koers, Mnr President. 7 -12 August Residents protest for service delivery in Mfuleni Nathan Adams (Eyewitness News) 11 August 2009 Residents of the Los Angeles informal settlement near Mfuleni in Cape Town, have staged a service delivery protest, demanding basic services like water and electricity. The protest forced police to block off the Old Faure Road. The group of disgruntled residents have dispersed, leaving behind the remnants of their protest. It’s believed the residents of the informal settlement were protesting over service delivery. Police on the scene hovered over the burning tyres and rubble left in the middle of the road. Residents broke down an outside toilet and threw pieces of concrete slab into the road. Police have not arrested anyone yet but will stay on the scene in case residents decide to protest again. (Edited by Danya Philander) CPUT protests kaput as fee hike dropped The Cape Argus 8 August 2009 Peace has returned to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology after the institution's council backed down on a proposed fee increase. Students will return to classes on Tuesday after an agreement was reached which includes reversing a council decision to increase an upfront tuition fee of R3 000 to R5 000 for students in residences, and from R1 800 to R3 000 for those who live off campus. Fresh negotiations around a new fee structure will be started and the SRC has agreed to be part of the meetings, SRC member Anda Bici said last night. The university erupted into violence this week forcing the administration to suspend classes on the Cape Town campus as well as at the Thomas Patullo Building satellite campus on the Foreshore on Thursday after three days of protest action During the violent protests police were called in and on several occasions opened fired with rubber bullets. A total of 37 students were arrested and have appeared in court. Yesterday students gathered at the Bellville-South campus where there was a tense stand-off with the police, but no incidents were reported. The students were waiting to hear the outcome of the council meeting. An independent commission of inquiry will be established to look at a number of other issues, including calls to remove vice-chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga from office and the vandalism that took place throughout the week, Bici said. Bici said they were happy to enter into negotiations with management because they were now confident that their voices would be heard. "We refused to be part of the processes before, as negotiations were always biased. Whether we sat in or not, it made no difference. Now we will listen to one another and negotiate in good faith." At the time of going to press university officials and the SRC were still working on a joint press statement. home.flash.net * This article was originally published on page 6 of The Cape Argus on August 08, 2009 Back to the books for CPUT students Jason Warner 9 August 2009 Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students return to class Tuesday after an "extraordinary" executive council meeting opened an investigation into last week's riots. According to a press release issued by the university, a two-person committee would "investigate the concerns raised ... and report back in two weeks time". "The meeting was convened just for the crisis. Students were allowed in that meeting to voice their concerns," said CPUT spokesperson Thami Nkwanyane. Nkwanyane said the investigators were neutral. "They're not from the university; they're outside of it all." The statement also said the university would "facilitate the release of the students who were arrested" and "all standing expulsions and disciplinary procedures" would be suspended until after the investigation. The students were objecting to a decision by the university's council to increase the upfront payment for next year from R1 800 to R3 000 for students living off campus and from R2 800 to R5 000 for students in residence. The National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) last week condemned the university for "serious mismanagement of the situation". The organisation said the proposed increase of upfront payments created a "barrier" to the "working class" who struggled to finance their education. Damage unacceptable - judge Karen Breytenbach 10 August 2009 Students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) have been ordered by the high court not to stage violent protests or damage property on the campuses, following violent clashes between students and the police last week. Three days of protests over an increase in fees payable on registration next year led to the arrests of 37 students, 34 of whom appeared in court on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property. As the university's executive council met on Friday to discuss the causes of the violence, its legal representatives - Vusi Twala of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and advocate Ashley Kantor - brought an urgent application before Western Cape High Court Judge Rosheni Allie to halt the violence. They asked for an interim interdict to prevent further damage to CPUT's campuses and residences, in the hope of being able to withdraw the application on Friday if conditions calmed down. If calm is not restored this week, CPUT is to ask the court on Friday that certain members of the Students Representative Council be interdicted from coming within 500 metres of any of the campuses with the intention of leading violent protests or inciting others to do so. Judge Allie said she would not curtail the students' democratic rights to protest and voice their opinions, and would not interdict registered students from coming onto the campus, but reminded a group of students present in court that violence and damage to property were unacceptable. The six respondents, SRC members Zukisa Nokoyo, Vuyo Zita, Thando Matross, Thato Moloalwa and Anda Bici and former SRC member Saziso Matiwane, were among the students lining the bench at the back of the small courtroom. Under the temporary order granted, the respondents may go on to campus only to use its library, computers and other movable items in the normal course of their studies. The order bars them from inciting others to resort to violent protest or cause damage to CPUT property, especially the main administration block in Bellville, where the executive council was meeting, or from intimidating any students, employees, staff or independent contractors of CPUT on the campuses or in the residences. They have also been ordered not to publish or distribute documents that make damaging but untrue comments about CPUT and not to incite others to do so. The students have a week to file answering papers. The students, who were represented by their friend, law student Lwandile Socikwa, were advised to get help in drafting court papers from an attorney from Legal Aid, the Legal Resources Centre or other such organisation. karen.breytenbach@inl.co.za 46 arrested for invading Alex houses The Sowetan 11 August 2009 Police have arrested 46 people for allegedly occupying RDP houses already allocated to other people, according to a housing activist. "The residents were arrested on Friday after they staged a protest and occupied empty RDP houses," said Daphne Sehota of the Alexandra Vukuzenzele Crisis Committee. During the protest police arrested 31 women and 15 men. They appeared in the West Gate Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and were told to go to the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court as they were not charged. "At the Hilbrow Court the magistrate reportedly left the court and told them to let him know when they finished processing the activists." Outside the court other residents were demanding that their fellow activists be heard in court. They were later sent to the Johannesburg Prison where they have been held since their arrest on Friday. "They were charged with malicious damage to property and trespassing," said police spokesman Inspector Moses Maphakela. Sapa Backyard dwellers demand change Francis Hweshe 11 August 2009 Angry backyard dwellers in Khayelitsha's Mandela Park - who burnt tyres in the streets of their neighbourhood - have given the provincial housing department a week to address their concerns or they will illegally occupy empty housing units in the area. The residents, who protested there on Monday as police and private security guards kept a close watch, say they are at their wits' end and want action now. Their leader, Loyiso Mfuku, said the residents had previously written to the department about their issues, but had received no response. And he said that if the department did not resolve their grievances soon, they would illegally occupy the 53 empty units in their community. The backyarders said they were "fed up" with their ANC ward councillor, Ryder Mkutswana, who they accused of failing them on service delivery. During their protest on Monday, the backyard dwellers charged that Mkutswana and SA National Civics Organisation leaders in the area were "parcelling out" or selling unoccupied RDP houses to their "friends, relatives and girlfriends". "The registration process for the houses is shady. They (leaders) are giving their friends and girlfriends first preference when filling out forms for the houses," one protester alleged. Another said: "We want a fresh councillor. We are fed up with Mkutswana. He is not concerned about us. There is no development in our area. "We are sick and tired of fraud and corruption." Yet another, showing off alleged receipts, complained of having bought an RDP house for R1 500 from a then community leader in 2006, which, he said, he had never received. "I want my money back," he complained, alleging that the seller was now working in the provincial housing department. The residents also expressed unhappiness over "outsiders from Gugulethu and Site C" getting "first preference" in the allocation of housing units in Mandela Park, "while we are getting nothing". "Our children should occupy these houses," said a mother of three, a backyarder there for about 20 years. The residents dispersed only after government official Mbongi Gubuza, from the housing department, addressed them briefly. He said Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela was scheduled to address them next Sunday. Meanwhile, Mkutswana denied any wrongdoing, saying that those who alleged that he was corrupt should "bring the proof". He was "hands on" in his constituency, he said, and the "issue of backyarders is at the top of my list". He said he would ensure that local backyarders were catered for when the empty units were handed to their new occupants. Mkutswana alleged that there was "someone" behind the protest, accusing the residents of "toyi-toying because they see these things on TV". Motherwell residents burn tyres in service delivery protest Rochelle de Kock 11 August 2009 ANGRY Motherwell residents are burning tyres and have blocked off the Addo Road to protest against poor service and housing delivery. Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said police were on the scene and the protest was under control. This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on August 11, 2009 Protests rage in Mfuleni Nathan Adams 11 August 2009 Los Angeles informal settlement residents near Mfuleni have staged service delivery protests over the past two days. Police were called in when disgruntled residents burnt tyres and rubble on the Old Faure Road next to the N2. The police's Frederick van Wyk said after toyi-toying on the weekend, residents protested again on Monday. "Police used rubber bullets to disperse the people. Two people were arrested for riotous behaviour." He added metro police and the SAPS were called in to disperse about 300 residents that gathered on Monday morning. Legal action considered after municipal strike Eyewitness News 12 August 2009 The City of Cape Town said it intended taking legal action against striking municipal workers who went on the rampage during a chaotic industrial action last month. During two protest marches held in Bellville and the Cape Town CBD last month, strikers vandalised city council property. The council now wants to recoup from trades union the cost of the damage. The city’s Kylie Hatton said a number of individual cases were being looked into. Saccawu plans strike at Makro, Game, Dion I-Net Bridge 12 August 2009 The union in the retail sector, Saccawu, said on Friday that it has failed to resolve its outstanding issues with Massmart stores Makro, Game and Dion, and is preparing for indefinite strike action from next week. This follows one-day protest action on July 24. "We call on Massmart Holdings (Makro, Game & Dion) to respect workers’ rights and the laws of the land and stop intimidating workers engaged in legitimate industrial action. We further call on them to negotiate in good faith," said the union on Friday. It said all strike action would start from as early as August 11. "We wish to reiterate to the public in general that this strike action is purely the making of an intransigent anti-union management who is hellbent on destroying the union and a refusal by them to concede to very reasonable and modest demands in the context of the current economic situation. "Over the recent years including the last financial year these same companies were among those who showed high levels of profit, now claim they can’t afford these demands," said the union. SABC settles wage dispute with unions SABC News Online 11 August 2009 The wage dispute between the public broadcaster’s management and employees has come to an end. Last week, Broadcasting, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union union members agreed to the 10% wage increase and today Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Media Workers' Association of South Africa (Mwasa) agreed on the same terms. The employees will be paid the 8.5% increase backdated to April 2009 and a further 1.5% which will be effected in December and also backdated to April. “We are extremely elated as the SABC to have CWU and MWASA finally agree on the terms of our negotiations. We are proud. It was an enduring, torturously long negotiations and this agreement means that people will be paid within the next five days. The situation has been stabilised, now its time to work,” says South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) CEO Gab Mampone. SABC staff embarked on their most vocal protest last month. They prevented non-striking employees from entering the SABC building in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, and threatened to block access to the studios of people due to be interviewed on SABC programmes. During the strike, there were serious problems in national television and radio broadcasting when SABC staff walked off the job. The SABC’s popular Morning Live show started 14 minutes late on one occasion as a result of the workers downing tools. The unions initially demanded a 12.2% increase as agreed upon in a multi-term agreement but eventually settled for 10% City warns commuters of mini-bus taxi strike Sapa 11 August 2009 The City of Cape Town has warned commuters of a minibus-taxi strike beginning on Wednesday and advised them to consider using alternative transport. The Western Cape National Taxi Alliance (WC-NTA) had indicated it would be embarking on a strike, the city said in a statement on Tuesday. "The city has had several meetings with the Western Cape National Taxi Alliance and has negotiated in good faith to address their concerns which include traffic fines, permits and warrants for arrest," it said. The WC-NTA had committed to the city and the mayor to raise issues in the interest of building good relationships. The city respected people's right to protest, but any act of violence and intimidation would not be tolerated, it said. The city would provide additional law and traffic enforcement in support of the SA Police Service to prevent this. The public were asked to report any incidents of violence or intimidation to the city's Metro Police Control Centre on 021-596-1999. Even-handed' approach to quell tension Sibusiso Mboto 10 August 2009 Complaints by ANC and IFP supporters about police heavy-handedness illustrate the tougher stance taken by police in the Greytown area in dealing with the political tensions over the recent killings of councillors and other political activists. Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu has expressed this view on the eve ahead of a march by the IFP Women's Brigade in Greytown today. The march is in protest at the recent murders of councillors, and over the by-elections on Wednesday in Ntembisweni, outside Greytown. Mchunu expressed optimism about the by-elections, and said the police had worked hard at defusing tensions. While locals were fearful of attacks, the provincial government had taken steps to ensure the safety of voters during and after the by-elections, he said. "These include the possibility of roping in the army if necessary." Praising the police, Mchunu said: "When both ANC and IFP supporters complain about (police) conduct, it means they are doing a good job. We would be worried if the complaints were only from one side." Mchunu is to meet Local Government and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube and other MPLs to discuss the monitoring of the by-elections. The provincial chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mawethu Mosery, said polling stations would close at 5pm to ensure voters returned home before nightfall. sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za Sexwale's Slumber parties fail to impress NGOs and Cynical residents Mail & Guardian 9 August 2009 Residents of Diepsloot were less than starry-eyed this week after a visit by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale. Diepsloot is one of many areas where service delivery failures have provoked incensed community members to take to the streets in protest. Sexwale confidently made his way through the smelly sludge in narrow alleyways in Diepsloot on Monday. Attended mostly by members of his department, local councillors and journalists, he said government officials need to expose themselves to the conditions in which poor people live. "I am here today on a listening campaign," he said. "I want to know, who are you, what are you doing here, what do you want and what made you come here?" He was embarking on a "journey" to assure residents that the government wants to put an end to informal settlements, he said. Most residents felt that it was just another political campaign. Even the minister's three-hour nap in one of Diepsloot's cold, windowless shacks failed to impress residents. "I don't buy into this publicity stunt," said Tshediso Kesi (30), a shack dweller who has lived in Diepsloot since 2000. Kesi said Sexwale's visit and sleeping in a shack was a joke and very patronising. "Look, the minister only wanted to calm us down after the protest. He is not the first top politician to visit Diepsloot and he is not the last. He thinks sleeping in a shack makes a difference ... we have been sleeping in them for years." Thamaga Masekoameng (24), who is unemployed, thought the minister sounded genuine and that his visit showed that he is concerned. But "that's how all politicians operate", he said. "We have heard it all before and unfortunately we will continue hearing these empty promises." Masekoameng and his mother, Mmamoshibudi, settled in their one-room shack in the mid-1990s and said they have applied for RDP housing more than five times. Said Masekoameng: "When we asked Tokyo about houses, he did not give us a clear answer ... he only gave us a lecture on government budgets and history. He only came here to console us. "He is fooling us ... there's no way that this matter is going to be solved now. We'll just wait for the next elections." Political analysts NGOs and service delivery experts agree with Diepsloot & Joe Slovo residents. "Indeed, it was a PR campaign," said Dr Ubesh Pillay, a service delivery specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council. "Since communities feel that conventional mechanisms of dealing with local government have failed, some form of higher-level intervention is necessary." Pillay said that after Sexwale's visit to Diepsloot, Joe Slovo, Langa, Guguethu, Delft and President Jacob Zuma's to Balfour, residents will expect follow-through. Without that, perceptions will strengthen that the visits are no more than PR exercises. Pillay said building houses in Diepsloot and other informal settlements is not a solution. "Many communities would like their informal dwellings and shacks upgraded. "In some cases residents prefer this to formal housing, as an informal settlement may be closer to economic opportunities." To deal effectively with poor service delivery, a short-term improvement plan in the most affected areas is necessary in addition to more ambitious national goals. Aubrey Matshiqi , an independent political observer, said the PR aspect of Sexwale's visit does not mean the government is unconcerned about the problems poor people were facing. "The visit shows that the minister cares -- but it should not suggest that the residents' problems will be solved any time soon," he said. Sexwale and his team will visit other townships across the country where there have been reports of poor service delivery, including the N2 Gateway in Cape Town and some townships in the Buffalo City, Mangaung and Durban areas. Zuma's visit to Balfour: What actually happened? Karabo Keepile 6 August 2009 President Jacob Zuma paid a visit to Balfour this week in the wake of recent service delivery protests. Listen to an interview with the mayor and watch a slide show. The day the president came knocking President Jacob Zuma’s surprise visit to Balfour, Mpumalanga, this week certainly ruffled a few feathers. The mayor Lefty Tsotetsi was not in his office -- ostensibly because of an upset stomach -- but he rushed back when alerted to Zuma’s visit. Zuma paid a flying visit to the area in the wake of recent service delivery protests, in which government buildings and shops belonging to foreign nationals were razed to the ground. Zuma's visit to Balfour: What actually happened? President Jacob Zuma paid a visit to Balfour this week the wake of recent service delivery protests. Listen to an interview with the mayor and watch a slide show. Mayoral secretary Douwlina Pretorious was reported to have been so surprised by Zuma’s entrance that she dropped a plate of food, but she told the M&G that this was not the case. Twenty-four hours after Zuma’s visit, Tsotetsi received another unannounced visit: from the M&G. This time Tsotetsi was at his desk and in a meeting with his municipal manager, Patrick Malebye. Pretorious said she wanted to set the record straight. M&G: So what happened yesterday? Douwlina Pretorious: We were sitting here working in my office, myself, as well as my daughter and then a lot of bodyguards came in. They asked if I am the secretary and I confirmed that I am the secretary for the mayor, then they said they have got a visitor for me and then I said OK then let him come in, and then the next moment the president walked in and I was very shocked but I didn’t drop a plate of food. There was no journalist in this office, it was bodyguards, the president, me, and my daughter. M&G: So you are saying the Times just came up with that story? DP: Exactly. M&G: What were you thinking when you saw the president? DP: I was surprised. I mean, you don’t expect something like that to happen in Balfour, but it was a great surprise. He greeted us, asked us how’s Balfour, made conversation and then he just waited a few seconds for the mayor. M&G: Where was the mayor at that time? DP: I don’t know if I can answer that. M&G: So you don’t know where he was? DP: I know where he was. (Pretorious looks at the communications officer, Mohlalefi Lebotha, who answers “But the mayor told you where he was. He says he was at home sick.”) DP: Yes, he was at home. He was sick. It’s the truth he was here until about 11 o’clock. I can say that if I am allowed to. As personnel, we are not allowed to talk to press so that is why I am asking him [Lebotha]. He was at home, that I told the president and he was fine with that and he said don’t phone him and I said ‘No we can’t do that,’ and then I phoned the mayor and he said, ‘No, I am already on my way’. M&G: So he wasn’t just taking a day off? DP: No, never. I have worked with him for three years and not once has he just taken a day off. www.mg.co.za Cut the stunts and do something real BOLEKAJA! – Andile Mngxitama (Sowetan) 11 August 2009 MINISTER of human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale spent one night with the Diepsloot poor – then he wrote a blow-by-blow account for the newspapers. Apparently he is now armed with the views and concerns of that communities’ poor and will be handing in a report to the cabinet. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this comical political posturing. The minister undertook this act of experiencing poverty for one night in full view of the admiring media. He endured, he reports, a night of untold discomfort. Impressive indeed! The ministers dramatics remind me of my shock and outrage at my first experience of Parliament. I was there to make a submission for an amendment of farmworkers’ laws to give them a little more protection. I was struck by how black parliamentarians demanded facts and “scientific” evidence that farmworkers in South Africa were living under conditions of semi-slavery. I wondered what could have induced this amnesia in people, some of whom had experienced farm life directly. We used to joke that once you get a big job in government or become a politician they give you an amnesia pill. What did Tokyo Sexwale think he could discover from shack life that is not already known by every black person his age? The one-night forays of the minister into the dangerous battlefield of Diepsloot sounds and feels like a huge publicity stunt. This comes down to turning our political and developmental challenges into a soap opera to amuse the masses and keep them hoping. But it also shows up the disingenuousness of politicians. Sexwale forgets completely that most people in Diepsloot were dumped there by the ANC government with promises of a better life for all. In fact, the minister has already blamed the “previous regime” for the service delivery protests we are witnessing right now. By previous regime he doesn’t mean the apartheid government but the ANC under Thabo Mbeki. Sexwale has even forgotten that he was once the premier of Gauteng and so belongs to the “previous regime” himself. The Sunday Times reported that Sexwale is buying a whole island in Mozambique – yet the people he represents, and in whose interests he had gone into exile and to jail, continue to live precarious lives in shacks and in poverty. Is this not the simple reality that must make us question what it means to be free? Hasn’t our freedom been sold under the tables of BEE deals? The housing question is a problem inherited by the post-1994 government. It needs a fundamentally different and democratic means to solve it. This solution must be related to other developmental challenges, such as income generation and livelihoods for the people. Building houses is not rocket science. But instead of empowering communities we have surrendered this area to white construction monopolies that have made shocking profits. A few examples since 2004: Aveng Group profits have grown by 1 854 percent from R170m in 2004 to R3,3bn in 2008, Murray and Roberts is up by 516 percent from R415m to R2,6bn and WBHO is up by 745 percent from R128m to just over R1bn. It’s embarrassing but true that the matchbox houses built in the apartheid era are of a higher standard than most RDP houses our government has built. We need to cut out the spectacles and get down to doing the simplest things. Revolt a symptom of historical pain Josette Cole Cape Argus 8 August 2009 There are moments in one's life, especially in the life of a political activist, social historian and, community development practitioner, when you are challenged to make a choice about where to focus energy. After several years of still being active but somewhat publicly "silent", I have decided to become a bit more publicly vocal, adding my voice, shaped and influenced by three decades of continuing commitment to attain political, social and economic justice, to the many voices (some old, some new) aired in the media on our country's complex and sometimes contradictory political and civic affairs. Doing this is not something I take lightly, given the cut and thrust of South African political life, especially in the political and socio-economic quagmire of the Western Cape, the place where I was born and will, most probably, die. So where to begin? I guess with some thoughts on one of the central news stories of the day - service delivery protests and growing evidence of a largely dysfunctional local government system. I am one of a rare breed of South African citizens, the kind who never gets totally surprised or depressed by the ins and outs and contradictions of national, provincial or municipal politics, wide scale generational (chronic) poverty, political tendencies, or social trends. What surprises me more is that it has taken so long to occur. I know from my own work and experience of my beloved country just how deep-seated the anger and rage is. What we must never forget is that while our experiences of life under apartheid may be different, with perspectives shaped by our own circumstances - political or self-imposed exile, prison, actively fighting the apartheid government on the streets, part of implementing the apartheid government's policies or in its security apparatus, a citizen or businessman or woman sitting on the fence or one of the many who either buried their heads in the sand, a bottle of wine or a bottle of Klipdrift - we are essentially a wounded nation and in need of deep healing. Touch the pain and you unleash a rage that runs like a red thread and festering sore, manifesting in "xenophobic" attacks, militant labour strikes, and increasingly violent service delivery protests. Understanding or unravelling some of what is going on, getting to the root causes of current events, demands remembering and, linking, the past to the present. Let's start with revisiting a story, entitled "Backyarders and politics behind violence", in Weekend Argus last Saturday, about the recent protests in the Masiphumelele settlement located along Kommetjie Road. This is the community that first evicted "foreigners" from their homes at the start of last year's "xenophobic" attacks and then publicly apologised and re-embraced those evicted back into the area. Reasons given for the protests range from what a local ANC spokesperson describes as the pent-up frustration of more than 4 000 backyard shack dwellers facing eviction from the area to make way for new housing development to the City of Cape Town's mayco member for economic development and tourism, who views the protests as "politically motivated and part of continuing destabilisation of the Western Cape by the ANC". This is a rather strange view on the ANC's political strength in a province where the party's election defeat resulted in the removal of the ANC's entire provincial leadership by the NEC, a public admission of the party's disconnection from its political and social base. But the voice that really got my attention in the article is that of former National Party member, now the DA's chosen chairman of the Western Cape's parliamentary portfolio committee for community safety, Mark Wiley. He tells readers that the "community (has) grown from 100 people to 25 000" in the last 20 years, that "any government in the world would struggle to cope with a population explosion like that" and, that "resorting to violence would not attract overseas donors". Oh, my word, where does one begin to respond? I guess by going back to the beginning. Let me explain why I say that history (and memory) matters. Masiphumelele is not the result of a random act of settlement history in the City of Cape Town. It is the outcome of a long and bitter struggle for the rights of black people, most of whom worked in the South Peninsula, for the right to live in what was then a prescribed "white" Group Area. Left with no alternative, people lived in makeshift zinc and wood homes in the bushes in and around the Noordhoek/Kommetjie area for many years. The issue came to a head in April 1986 when the then owner of Dassenberg Farm in Noordhoek, where most people lived at the time, threatened the people with eviction. How do I know all of this? Because at the time I was the director of the Surplus People Project (SPP), an NGO that actively and publicly supported the rights of black people to land and housing (tenure) in the province. The very same Wiley just happens to have been one of the people more vociferous about the need to remove the "Noordhoek Squatters" from the area. There followed a brutal and military-style forced removal (complete with helicopters) that relocated the entire community, in army trucks, to the dumping fields of a then very barren Khayelitsha (late 1987). Wiley certainly did not oppose this removal. Within months the people organised their own bakkies and kombis, moving back en masse during one night to a piece of publicly owned land across the road from the former Dassenberg Farm site. In 1989, after raids by the government's Squatter Prevention Unit and running court battles against eviction orders, residents were offered land in the area, thereby becoming the city's first recognised "black spot" in a white Group Area. In the early 1990s, through a process of local-level negotiations between the community and the Cape Provincial Administration, the community agreed to relocate to the site where they live now. It was one of five sites (Site Five) they investigated with the support of NGOs like the Development Action Group and SPP and subsequently renamed Masiphumelele. Given this community's deeply politicised settlement history why in the world would I be surprised to learn that families are actively refusing to move to far away Delft? What surprises me is why whoever came up with this option expected more than 4 000 families living in the community to acquiesce and quietly relocate. Also, how recycled politicians like Mark Wiley just keep turning up, even still setting up Joint Operation Centres to "protect police living in Masiphumelele and members of political parties other than the ANC"? When is the penny going to drop? Touch a pain that runs deep and has not yet healed and you will unleash our people's rage and anger. The time is long gone for the arrival of a more nuanced, historically informed, and sensitive development approach and practice on the part of politicians, planners, and public officials trying to address the challenges of post-apartheid social and community development. History tells us that those who choose to ignore, or write themselves out of, this country's deeply traumatic social history, do so at their own peril. # Josette Cole is a former UDF activist and director of the Surplus People Project and is the founder and chairwoman of the Mandlovu Development Trust. She is the author of Crossroads: The Politics of Reform and Repression. 7 10 August 2009 ] Thousands strike at Telkom Reuters 3 August 2009 Thousands of workers at South African fixed-line group Telkom began striking on Monday, South Africa’s Communications Workers Union said, the latest industrial action to hit the country despite recession. Contingency plans over looming Telkom strike Telkom staff to go on strike Telkom strike will put entire country on hold The protest at Telkom, Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone operator, began only days after the end of a five-day strike by tens of thousands of council workers that saw rubbish pile up on the country’s streets and key services paralysed. The union, which represents 44 000 workers, said about 3 500 Telkom workers in four of South Africa’s nine provinces began the two-day strike to push their demands for pay increases. "We expect that quite a sizable number of our members will heed the call for a stayaway," CWU General-Secretary Gallant Roberts told Reuters. "In the process some of the members in those provinces will also be picketing at some of the Telkom establishments." The wave of strikes in South Africa have challenged President Jacob Zuma’s economic policies over the past month, as the unions that helped bring him to power in April elections flexed their muscles, seeking a payback for their support. Zuma is in a difficult position. He is indebted to unions that are a crucial part of his support base, but boosting government spending could worry foreign investors in the midst of South Africa’s first recession since 1992. To end the council strike, officials were forced to agree a 13% pay rise, just below the 15% demanded by the unions and almost double the inflation rate. Further double-digit pay settlements in the private and public sectors would put added strain on Africa’s biggest economy, compounding the impact of a 31,3% increase in electricity prices last month to drive inflation higher. Pressure on the government has also come from poor township residents, who have demonstrated to back their demands for better living conditions for millions of blacks who still lack adequate housing, electricity and water 15 years after the end of apartheid. Rhodes workers still not satisfied Guy Martin 6 August 2009 Several hundred Rhodes University staff have been on strike since the beginning of this week and have been marching through campus in protest against the recent adjustment in the payment of support staff. “Everybody is angry and frustrated at the way the university is handling this issue,” said Sam Mzangwa from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu). “The workers wanted to march and vent out their anger.” “Now it's time we show to the whole campus we are not angry but dissatisfied,” said marcher Gladman Kondza. Around 500 staff members went on strike, from pay grades one through five. These include catering, housekeeping, estate, messenger and cleaning staff. They are protesting against the recent salary adjustment that came into effect on 1 July. Rhodes agreed to distribute R10-million among the lowest paid workers but Nehawu is arguing that too much went to the middle grades (6-18). The union is also concerned about the slim retirement plans of the lower grades. “That ten million has gone mainly to the skilled workers to attract and retain them.” Mzangawa said. “To us it's a kind of an insult.” “We did not want to go on this strike but we were forced to by Rhodes,” said Mzangwa. He added that Rhodes was reluctant to talk with Nehawu and had been preparing for a strike. However, Rhodes University spokesperson Lebogang Hashatse said informal discussions had been taking place. Teaching is continuing as normal and contingency plans have been put in place for security, housekeeping and catering, according to Zamuxolo Matiwana, Rhodes Internal Communications Officer. Residences have drawn up cleaning rosters and students are taking over cleaning duties. The dining halls are especially hard hit, but staff from other departments at Rhodes and students have been volunteering to help out. “It's a huge inconvenience for the rest of us, especially in res,” said Wiseman Ngubo, a third year student. He added, “If this strike didn't affect us I think we wouldn't care.” Some students are supportive of the strikers. “They have a right. They're people and should be treated like people,” said student Juni Demirkiran. However, others complain that the union is being unreasonable and should not be striking during a recession. Other students are unhappy that residence life has been interrupted. “We have to clean toilets! Ugh!” said Mabocha Mokobane, a third year student in residence. Rhodes is not sure how long the strike will last but will try and keep it to less than a week. Management closes CPUT Quinton Mtyala and Jo-Anne Smetherham 6 August 2009 Classes have been suspended at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's (CPUT) city campus following three days of often violent protests over proposed fee increases. Earlier on Wednesday students were forced to flee and 37 were later arrested as police opened fire with rubber bullets. In a terse statement on Wednesday night, university spokesman Thami Nkwanyane said: "The executive management this afternoon decided to suspend classes on the Cape Town Campus as well as at the Thomas Patullo Building (satellite campus) following three days of protest action by students. "Classes will only be suspended on Thursday and Friday. Lectures on other CPUT campuses will continue as normal." Anda Bici, a member of CPUT's student representative council which had called the strike on Monday, was equally terse on Tuesday night: "We'll do whatever it takes to make our voices heard even if the university is closed." Earlier police spokesperson Carin Loock said those arrested would be charged with public violence. The violence follows the university's failure to agree to the scrapping of all proposed fee increases, as demanded in a memorandum student leaders presented to management on Tuesday. At the university's last council sitting in June it was proposed that registration fees be increased from R2 800 to R5 000 for those students living in residences and from R1 800 to R3 000 for those off campus. Among other demands was the removal of Vice-Chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga. Shortly after midday students fled down Caledon Street, opposite an entrance to the campus. Some were later cornered by police in a cul-de-sac, where most were arrested. Police continued shooting at protesters, who retaliated with rocks while others fled to the city centre where police chased them as they mixed with lunchtime crowds on the Grand Parade as market stalls provided the perfect cover. "The position of student leadership is that we won't surrender. I'm angry, I'm numb, I can't understand why the management called SAPS to shoot at us." Douglas Fivaz of CP Securities, who were called in to guard the campus, said three of his officers were hurt when students pelted them with rocks. This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on August 06, 2009 Students protest over lack of hot water Sapa 6 August 2009 Lectures at the University of Limpopo's Turfloop campus came to a halt on Thursday after about 300 students demonstrated over what they termed the institution's deteriorating state, management said. "We hear that they are complaining over the lack of hot water," university spokesman Kgalema Mohuba said. "They also complained about transport issues and that printers were not working, but none of these complaints were lodged with us," he said. Students closed the library and lecture halls complaining about, among other things, sub-minimum exam entrance marks and the employment of lecturers. "We do not understand how they could infringe on the democratic right of others to attend classes," Mohuba said. "We will call on the law enforcement agencies to intervene if the situation gets out of control." After police were called to the campus, the crowd dispersed. Mohuba said classes would go ahead on Friday. - Sapa 5- 6 August 96 in court after plea for PetroSA shutdown jobs Cathy Dippnall (The Herald) 6 August 2009 Mossel Bay offshore rig shutdown in interests of safety SOUTHERN Cape police arrested 96 residents of KwaNonqaba near Mossel Bay yesterday after they staged an illegal protest to demand jobs from state fuel company PetroSA. The residents were arrested shortly after about 120 people started a protest march at a petrol station on the N2 highway near the refinery. They were complaining about tenders and jobs going to “outsiders” for PetroSA’s 37-day annual maintenance of its gas-to-liquids refinery and offshore natural gas rig during the October shutdown period. “The community said they believed they were not benefiting from job opportunities at PetroSA,” said police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie. The marchers appeared in the Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon and were released on free bail. PetroSA spokesman Russel Mamabolo said the company was surprised by the march, organised by a civic group called Sanco Mossel Bay. “We didn’t know about the march until we heard about it from community members.” Mamabolo said PetroSA had met local community stakeholders on numerous occasions and had explained how recruitment would be conducted for the firm’s shutdown activities. “The company is now surprised that the issue of the employment of local people during shutdown, raised by Sanco, is brought to the fore while recruitment has not yet begun,” Mamabolo said. Recruitment adverts, posters and pamphlets would be distributed within the community today, he added. Earlier this year, PetroSA appointed engineering management contractors Kentz and Grinaker LTA to oversee the R495-million annual maintenance programme at the end of next month. At the time, shutdown manager Sesakho Magadla said the decision to employ outside contractors was made in 2006 to “mitigate the risk of contractor non-performance”. PetroSA acting operations vice president Michael Nene yesterday said preference would be given to people from Mossel Bay and surrounding areas, “but the notion that people will be employed in big numbers is naive, especially during these tough economic conditions”. Nene said very few general workers would be employed, but there would be opportunities for people with previous shutdown experience as well as qualified artisans. Zuma surprises troubled community By Thandi Skade August 5 August 2009 The cries of residents of Siyathemba township in Mpumalanga, where the recent wave of service delivery protests started, has reached President Jacob Zuma's ear. Zuma on Tuesday paid a surprise visit to the troubled community to find out for himself what the residents' concerns were. He promised a reconfiguration of government and municipality structures, assuring residents that their cries for basic services, including a police station, a hospital and a school, would not go unheard. He acknowledged that things needed to change, saying: "We are already saying the government must operate differently." His strategy for now, he said, was to inform Parliament on what he had learnt so that a programme to address the specific needs of communities could be rolled out. He could, however, not provide a timeframe in which the programme would be implemented. In addition, he said municipalities needed to be audited and that those lacking basic services needed to be prioritised. As Zuma's convoy pulled into the dusty streets of the township, hordes of residents gathered, screaming "my president". He got out of his car and greeted a number of the residents while listening intently to their grievances. Key issues raised by residents included the lack of a police station; the incorporation into Mpumalanga without consultation; unemployment; and a lack of housing and health facilities. Resident David Mosuwe told Zuma he wanted the area to be incorporated into Gauteng because Joburg was more accessible in terms of sports facilities than Nelspruit. Residents also complained about the Home Affairs office, which is allegedly open only twice a week. The nearest Home Affairs office after that is 18km away, at a taxi ride cost of R32. Meanwhile, Siyathemba residents said promises made by mayor Lefty Tsotetsi two weeks ago had once again turned to naught. During an address on July 22, Tsotetsi promised residents that youth employment and development would take priority and that a "youth council in consultation with you" would be formed before August. Tutu denounces trashing of streets by striking workers Sapa 5 August 2009 Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Tuesday condemned the recent trashing of streets by striking municipal workers, saying their behaviour did not advance the cause of unionism. "I get annoyed when people trash streets and say that they are exercising their rights. They exercise their rights by infringing on other people's rights," he said in Durban. Speaking at the 25th anniversary of Tree, an organisation that specialises in early childhood development, Tutu said many had died for rights and freedom in South Africa. "Is this the freedom we fought for? People who died while fighting for these rights must be turning in their graves." Tutu also raised concerns about affirmative action and expressed dissatisfaction with how it was implemented. "I believe in affirmative action, but the way we have done it gives affirmative action a bad name. We put people in positions where they are bound to fail." He said the correct way to do it was by putting people under the tutelage of those who had experience. "We have had collapses in some towns such as Mthatha because of affirmative action that went wrong. We must acknowledge where we have made mistakes." Service-delivery hot spots Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has vowed to visit all areas in the country plagued by service-delivery problems and protests, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Tuesday. The government might have to "reprioritise" some of its programmes as a result of recent service-delivery protests, he said after visiting Balfour in Mpumalanga. Several government buildings and shops belonging to foreign nationals were burnt down during protests in the area last month. "Places like Balfour, which seem to be very remote, that's the places I'm going to be going to, unannounced, all the time, to get to know what are the problems, why didn't we deliver certain things," Zuma said. While warning against violence and crime during protests, he said residents' concerns were valid and he would raise some of their problems with relevant Cabinet ministers. -- Sapa 4-5 Augtust 2009 Vandalism deliberate - CPUT students Thandanani Mhlanga and Nikita Sylvester 4 August 2009 Students were expected to gather on the Cape Town and Bellville campuses of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) on Tuesday morning to discuss climbing tuition fees, and to embark on a second day of protests. Anda Bici, the chairman of the CPUT's central Student Representative Council (SRC), said on Tuesday morning that by 8am students had already started gathering on both campuses to discuss how the day's protest should proceed. On Tuesday students ran amok at both campuses, trashing the interior of several buildings and, on the Cape Town campus, raided the cafeteria. They emptied shelves, fridges and stole money from cash registers. Police had to fire rubber bullets at protesting students in Cape Town in order to disperse them. This came after students had pelted police with rocks, and after police had given students a warning ordering them to clear the area. In Bellville, students went to the second floor of the main administration building and searched for Vice-Chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga, who they believed was hiding in the building. After several minutes inside the building, with no response from administrators, the students started throwing milk cartons and boxes of stationery around. "There's going to be litter, there's going to be graffiti," said the central SRC's Maducu Mante. He said students were willing to use any means necessary to have their complaints heard. The SRC told the Cape Argus that vandalism was done "wholly on purpose", because students wanted to make the point that the way they were allegedly being treated by management was illegal. Police vans raced to the scene to drive students out of the building. Some students blocked the entrance of the administration building so that staff could not leave their offices, but dispersed after the SRC asked them to do so. The students were due to meet again on Tuesday at 8am. One student was arrested in Tuesday's fracas in Bellville, on charges of public disturbance and damage to property. In Cape Town, hundreds of chanting students descended on CPUT's central campus, marched through a number of faculty buildings and broke into one of the cafeterias. Some protesters broke down the glass door of one cafeteria, then cleaned out the fridges, took everything off the shelves and raided the cash register. The institution's registrar, Alwyn van Gensen, said yesterday that students had misunderstood the extent to which CPUT would push its tuition fees up next year. Students said that CPUT would hike its fees by R5 000 in 2010. But Van Gensen said final fees for 2010 had not been decided upon. Instead, the upfront payment required had been debated by CPUT's council and would be increased from R1 800 to R3 000. This article was originally published on page 3 of The Cape Argus on August 04, 2009 Cape Peninsula university suspends classes Classes at the Cape Peninsula University were suspended following protest action by students who were unhappy with proposed fee increases. Classes at the Cape Peninsula University were suspended on Monday following protest action by students. The central student representative council's deputy president Tinyiko Masondo said students were unhappy with proposed fee increases for next year. He said thousands of students had gathered outside the gates of the Belville campus to await feedback. Masondo said students on all campuses would continue boycotting classes on Tuesday if the fees were raised. Cops 'shoot' violent CPUT students By Natasha Joseph 4 August 2009 Riot police and students clashed violently at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's (CPUT) Bellville campus on Monday as protests over service delivery, facilities and fees continued for a third day. On Monday CPUT's Cape Town central campus was the scene of a mass demonstration which turned violent on Tuesday with police firing rubber bullets and stun grenades at students who had attacked them with stones. Tuesday's events culminated in the arrest of five people, four of whom were charged with public violence and one of whom was held on suspicion of trespassing. On Monday, the protests moved to Bellville and, by noon, 1 000 students were gathered outside the institution's main administration building demanding answers from CPUT vice-chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga about what they described as high fees and poorly maintained facilities. Mazwi-Tanga, surrounded by police officers and red-jacketed security officials brought in by the institution for major events and protests, told students that she had received a copy of the memorandum submitted to her on Thursday. However, she had "not made time" to read the memorandum - a statement which was greeted with roars of derision by the crowd - because Friday was a public holiday and she had been engaged in meetings on Monday and Tuesday, Mazwi-Tanga said. She said a meeting would be held between senior managers and student leadership yesterday afternoon, although she would only be able to join the meeting later in the day. "We will then outline our programme of action, and the (Student Representative Council) will consult you (about our decisions)," she told the crowd. Before moving back into the administration building, Mazwi-Tanga said: "I always treat the students at CPUT with respect." The assembled students jeered and booed in response to this. Some students dispersed, but the majority moved away from the administration building and blocked the main entrance of the campus, overturning dustbins and using potato crisp packets or black bags to cover security cameras which had been recording their every move. Cars which tried to exit the campus using the main interchange were turned back by students. Student leaders attempted to keep the demonstrators from leaving campus, but a large group defied these instructions and continued to move towards Modderdam Road, just outside CPUT's main gates. When police cars with flashing lights and sirens pulled up outside the institution, some students ran towards them before stopping and turning back towards the campus. At 2.30pm, a student leader announced that Mazwi-Tanga had refused to meet a delegation made up of representatives from several student political groups which had asked to join the SRC group. Students then started pelting the administration building with naartjies and rushed towards the building, which prompted the red-jacketed security guards to retaliate with truncheons and teargas. An hour later, staff were evacuated from the administration building. At 4pm, the protest turned violent: a police riot vehicle drove slowly towards the students. It was pelted with rocks, and police retaliated with rubber bullets and stun grenades. Students scattered in all directions, many screaming, and at least one woman was knocked unconscious in the chaos. A female student was treated for a minor injury to her stomach. The SRC issued a statement late on Monday in which it vowed that "commotion, brouhaha and 100% breach of peace are going to rule the day until management deliver on our demands". University spokesman Norman Jacobs said late on Monday that the institution would issue a statement today, as the meeting between Mazwi-Tanga and student leaders was ongoing. natasha.joseph@inl.co.za How many more migrants must die? Recent 'service delivery protests' assumed a xenophobic tone. Now we must address the issue of tolerance, and the upholding and protecting of migrants' rights, writes Kate Lefko-Everett Kate Lefko-Everett (The Mercury) 4 August 2009 RECENT weeks have seen the outbreak of numerous collective actions by South Africans, including strikes, protracted wage disputes and protests over service delivery, in communities across the country. In spite of President Jacob Zuma's campaign trail promises about bringing government closer to citizens and prioritising a pro-poor agenda, service delivery protests demonstrate that South Africans are unwilling to wait indefinitely for improvements in, for example, electrification and water services and, importantly, more responsiveness and accountability from local government. The notable rise in these actions in the past few years - referred to almost universally as "service delivery protests" - signifies that many citizens feel unable to influence government policy and decision-making, that their views are not sufficiently taken into account, and that the channels open to them for public participation - such as public hearings, izimbizo and integrated development planning processes - are often inaccessible or ineffectual. This growing discontent, and the sense among South Africans that their voices can only be heard through protests, has serious implications for trust and confidence in the legitimacy of government, and potentially, for compliance with the law. Ascribing the failure to effectively address these issues to this administration or the last for the purposes of scoring political points is not a useful distraction from getting to the work ahead, and quickly. A further worrying trend, however, is the xenophobic and anti-foreign tone that a number of protests ostensibly over "service delivery" issues have reportedly assumed. Several protests have descended into violence and attacks on migrants, their homes and their businesses. In Mpumalanga, foreign nationals have been evacuated from some volatile communities, after targeted looting and vandalising of businesses. However, it is critically important that in addressing citizen dissatisfaction with service delivery and government accountability, these issues do not become conflated with the separate and crucially important problem of ongoing xenophobia in South Africa. The issue of greater tolerance, and the upholding and protecting of the rights of migrants within South Africa's borders, is a longstanding one, and after 15 years of democracy, has still not been effectively addressed. Numerous attacks on migrants and refugees have occurred countrywide over the past few years. Recent protests aside, in June Somali business owners in Gugulethu, Cape Town, received anonymous letters demanding that they cease trade and leave the area. In spite of years of sporadic attacks, in which vulnerable Somali refugees have often been specific targets, when widespread violence broke out across the country in May of last year, many political leaders were nonetheless able to plead, with some plausibility, their shock and surprise at the levels of anti-migrant sentiment and the actions citizens were willing to take. Then deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad described the "unprecedented savage attacks" as a "totally unexpected phenomenon in our country". The deputy president at the time, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, expressed disbelief at the fact that "normal South Africans are anti their African brothers and sisters". However, a similar response is not acceptable this year. More than a year after the 2008 xenophobic attacks had largely been quieted, virtually no information has been made available to the public by this government or the last, about follow-up activities or new preventative measures. The National Prosecuting Authority, in a statement released early this year, indicated that about one in four of the 469 cases related to last year's xenophobic attacks had resulted in convictions. However, many cases have been withdrawn, often due to lack of evidence, particularly where large numbers of local residents were involved in attacks. The Consortium for Migrants and Refugees in South Africa also reported last month that there had been no convictions for crimes of rape or murder that took place during the attacks. Further, taking cognisance of the possible difficulties around securing prosecutions, even less has been said about other interventions, such as localised conflict resolution, restitution or restorative justice initiatives. And critically, what plans have been put in place to prevent violence and attacks on the scale that we saw in 2008? How many more attacks on migrants and refugees need to happen before the government treats these human rights abuses with the seriousness they deserve? South Africa is signatory to a range of international instruments that protect the rights of foreign nationals in the country. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of Refugees, and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugees in Africa. In addition, our constitution extends many basic rights to everyone in South Africa, including the right to life, human dignity, and freedom and security of person. These rights are not reserved for citizens only. Further, South Africa - like other countries in the world - will not be able to prevent migrants from coming to the country in future, as international borders become more and more easily traversed by tourists, students, job-seekers, entrepreneurs, World Cup fans, retirees, and of course, those escaping persecution, conflict, natural disasters and instability in their countries of origin. Nor should South Africa seek to isolate itself from other countries, and the cultural, intellectual and economic gains that migration brings. The ANC has released an all-encompassing statement that condemns "all criminal acts" of the recent weeks, including "violence against foreign nations" alongside "destruction of state and private property and looting of shops under the guise of service delivery protests". Similarly, Zuma has promised swift action against protesters involved in "violence, looting and destruction of property or attacks on foreign nationals residing in our country" as an act of "further criminality". Certainly, addressing the myriad complex issues and concerns provoking the current protests is of crucial importance for South Africa, and these must be addressed with urgency, but also with strong leadership, effective involvement of citizens in planning sustainable solutions, and dedicated follow-through. However, addressing citizen concerns should not be at the expense of simultaneous efforts to protect migrant rights. In South Africa, the human rights of one individual do not outweigh those of any other. As we have seen in the past year, treating xenophobia as simply a side effect of other "criminality" is not an effective response. Rather, there needs to be concerted work to educate citizens about the rights of migrants and South Africa's protection mandates to counter prevailing intolerance and discrimination and to prevent any further attacks before they happen. # Kate Lefko-Everett is project leader of the South African Reconciliation Barometer at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town. Sexwale beds down in Diepsloot sleepover Hajra Omarjee 4 August 2009 HUMAN Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale stood in a pool of sewage yesterday as he spoke to residents of the informal settlement of Diepsloot. The community, which is just up the road from the plush Johannesburg suburb of Fourways, took to the streets in a violent protest last month. Unperturbed by the smell, Sexwale was there to launch a listening campaign, as part of which he was to spend a night in several townships, starting last night in Diepsloot. The initiative comes three months into Sexwale’s term in office and two years before the 2011 local government elections. “We are standing on human waste. We are in Diepsloot. This is where we start our journey. We are starting a meaningful conversation with the people,” Sexwale said. While there are more than 2000 informal settlements in SA, the Diepsloot protest, which saw more than a dozen people arrested, got extensive media coverage. But Sexwale brushed aside criticism that his visit to the township would encourage more uprisings in other communities, saying the government had sent a clear message that violence would not be tolerated. “What is at issue here is that people are living in inhuman conditions. This is an honest attempt to hear the views. A genuine attempt to hear the problems of the people,” Sexwale said. The campaign had been endorsed by President Jacob Zuma , who saw the move as an effort to bridge the gap between the top leaders of the government and ordinary people. “The president cannot jump every time there are problems. That is why we are here,” Sexwale said. While it was originally reported that residents in Diepsloot were up in arms over poor service delivery, local municipal councillor Madlozi Ndlazi yesterday described the uprising as a simple act of criminality. “There is a burst pipe here. The municipality comes to mend it all the time. We decided that we had to move this row of shacks in order to replace the pipe. “The problem is that some of the shacks we needed to move had been turned into spaza shops. The owners spread the word that we were moving the community to Brits, that’s what started this,” said Ndlazi. His comment was supported by several residents Business Day spoke to in Diepsloot. However, residents also pointed a finger at Ndlazi for not destroying the shacks when occupants w ere moved into low-cost houses nearby, and accused him of renting them out. Ndlazi denied the allegation. About 150000 people live in Diepsloot, and about a third of these live in shacks. While basic services have been provided in most of the township, those in the reception area live in squalor. While the government has apparently moved people out of the reception area and into low-cost housing several times, the shacks were not destroyed and more people moved in. Community worker Bella Sehloho, said yesterday Sexwale’s visit had renewed the community’s hope. “We now have hope that JZ (Zuma) will deliver on his promises. Before they only came when they wanted us to vote. We have been living in poverty. The people here do not want a lot. We want land, we will build our own houses. We want jobs.” Mayor on ‘special leave’ after violent service delivery protest Alfred Moselakgomo (Sowetan) 4 August 2009 EMBATTLED mayor Clarah Ndlovu has been placed on “special leave” following a month-long violent service delivery protest in Mashishing, Mpumalanga. According to the ANC, Ndlovu has not resigned but is on leave with full pay. Speaker Joseph Pooe will act as the executive mayor while Nduna Mashego will act as speaker. And the DA is not happy. “This is proof that the ANC has no empathy for its constituency as monies sorely needed for the rendering of services are utilised to fill the back pockets of their councillors,” DA’s Anthony Benadie said yesterday. For more than a month, Mashishing residents near Lydenburg embarked on a series of protests, demanding among other things Ndlovu’s resignation. The local offices of the South African Social Security Agency and part of the local police barracks were torched. Telkom strike set to continue after talks fail on 12% pay rise Amy Musgrave 4 August 2009 A STRIKE by members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) employed at Telkom is set to continue today after the parties failed to reach an agreement on wage increases at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The telecommunications giant did not want to divulge the effect of the mass action yesterday, but the CWU said the strike had negatively affected service delivery. This included technical maintenance, installation of new lines and applications for new services, general secretary Gallant Roberts said. Hundreds of employees downed tools yesterday in protest against “poor” wage increases. The CWU wants the company to adjust employees’ salary scales and then grant a 7,5% raise on the new scales backdated to April 1. This would translate into at least a 12% pay rise. However, Telkom is offering 7,5% on the current salary scales with promises of introducing new salary bands on October 1. “This means the discriminatory salary disparity will remain unchanged and continue to disadvantage our members,” said Roberts. The protest would continue today because no agreement had been reached yet. Telkom would not comment on the details of the CCMA talks. “Telkom is still involved in discussions with organised labour and these talks continue today as well,” Telkom’s executive for employee relations, Meshack Dlamini, said. “The company has contingency measures in place to minimise the potential effect of industrial action.” The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has come out in support of the strike, which took place in Gauteng, KwaZulu- Natal, and the Western Cape. “Cosatu urges all its members to support all these activities by their comrades in the CWU and in particular to join the national march on August 11, which will take place if an agreement with Telkom has not been reached by then,” said the federation’s spokesman, Patrick Craven. Meanwhile, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has threatened “radical measures” if Eskom does not agree to a 14% wage increase. The parastatal is offering employees an 8% pay rise. “The failure by Eskom to adhere to these demands will leave the workers with no other option but to adopt radical measures that will have far-reaching implications,” Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese said yesterday. “This might include pulling out the plug and unleashing a blackout if need be; but we do not want to get to that point although Eskom is pushing us to that direction. This call should not be misconstrued as anti-Zuma administration or ANC. This is the only mobilisation tool and power which workers can use to advance their demands of decent work and better conditions of employment.” The union called on the government and Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan in particular to intervene on behalf of workers who were in support of the African National Congress’s commitment to create “decent work”. musgravea@bdfm.co.za 31 -July - 4 August Moutse residents vow to make municipality ungovernable SABC News 3 August 2009 Scores of Moutse residents have vowed to protest and make the Elias Motsoaledi municipality and surrounding areas ungovernable until they are reincorporated back into Mpumalanga. They are also calling for the resignation of certain members of Parliament. Community leaders have demanded a meeting with the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) Gwede Mantashe regarding the border issue. Norman Mathebe of the Moutse Demarcation Forum says the community feels strongly that they have been betrayed by their representatives, and are in the wrong province -- Limpopo. He says all public representatives voted into provincial, national government and municipalities, at both district and local level, will have to resign their seats if they agree with the majority. Moutse residents threatened to join the fray last week as the country was rocked by massive service delivery protests. The angry community is also demanding the axing of the Mayor. The community alleges that councillors are also working as contracted service providers in local projects of their municipality. The Secretary of the South African Communist Party's Stompo branch in Moutse, Patrick Aphane, confirmed to SABC News that they have recalled their ward councillor. The community is also complaining about lack of service delivery and the alleged mismanagement of public funds. Trollip to visit protest sites Sapa 3 August 2009 The Democratic Alliance's parliamentary leader Athol Trollip will embark on a tour of the country on Tuesday to talk to protesting communities about their problems so that he can raise these in the legislature. Trollip said the trip was prompted by the sometimes violent recent service delivery protests, since these made plain that people were frustrated because their concerns were not being addressed. "Citizens are tired of struggles they must face on a daily basis due to them not having access to basic services such water and electricity or proper housing and sanitation facilities." He said their plight was aggravated by the constant fear that came with living in areas with high crime rates. "The DA is strongly concerned over the dire circumstances the majority of South Africans live under and we believe that it is imperative that these citizens are given a means, other than through service delivery protests, to be able to voice their discontent and draw attention to the hardships they face on a daily basis. 'Parliament has increasingly failed to serve as the voice of the people' "Parliament has increasingly failed to serve as the voice of the people, there has been a severe lack of debate on issue of public importance and committees have also neglected their oversight role by failing to undertake visits to communities." The DA had recently complained about the lack of constructive debate in Parliament and said the ruling party failed to take questions from the opposition seriously. "We will listen to the problems of citizens first hand and we will then use the parliamentary mechanisms available to all of our MPs - including parliamentary questions, motions, calling for debates and membership in parliamentary committees - to ensure that these problems receive attention and solutions to these problems are sought at a national level," Trollip said. He said he would be accompanied by several DA MPs. His assistant Trace Venter said his first stop would be townships outside Cape Town, and from there he would visit trouble spots in all nine provinces over the next three months. - Sapa Students protest closes Cape university Sapa 3 August 2009 Classes at the Cape Peninsula University were suspended on Monday following protest action by students. SABC news reported the central student representative council’s deputy president Tinyiko Masondo said students were unhappy with proposed fee increases for next year. He said thousands of students had gathered outside the gates of the Belville campus to await feedback. Masondo said students on all campuses would continue boycotting classes on Tuesday if the fees were raised. Sapa Students trash campus Nikita Sylvester 3 August 2009 Hundreds of protesting students invaded the administration building on the city campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) this morning, smashing windows and breaking turnstiles to gain access. Inside, the students tipped over dustbins and ripped notices from the walls. At the time of going to press, nearly 500 students were inside the building, singing and brandishing tree branches. There were also reports that they had trashed the canteen Earlier, they invaded classes, forcing fellow students and lecturers to abandon their studies. One described the protesters as "very aggressive". It is believed that the protests are related to the increase in tuition fees for 2010. Technikon administrators were not available for comment. The Cape Argus could not see any security guards at the campus. One student, Melissa Nomda, said friends had warned her that some protesters were armed with knives. At CPUT's Bellville campus, protesters prevented students from accessing the main administration building to collect their new books for the third term. About 300 protesters had gathered at the building, but a student said classes had also been disrupted earlier. Jimmy Masondo, deputy chairman of the Student Representative Council, confirmed that the protesters had gathered at the Bell-ville campus. Three months ago, riot police and students clashed violently at the Bellville campus after protests first flared up at the city campus. At both campuses, riot police opened fire on students with rubber bullets and used stun grenades when the protests over service delivery, facilities and fees turned violent. On May 6, 1 000 students gathered outside the Bellville main administration building campus demanding answers from CPUT vice-chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga about what they described as high fees and poorly maintained facilities. Students unhappy with her response spilled into Modderdam Road and were driven back by pol-ice cars. Later that afternoon, students pelted police with rocks and the police responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades. At the time, registrar Alwyn van Gensen said the anger had been triggered by protests by contract workers employed by a cleaning service. Students had joined the protests, adding their own grievances. In June, contract cleaners again went on strike, prompting the university to obtain an interim interdict against trade union Nehawu and the workers. CPUT was formed by the merger of the Cape and Peninsula technikons. - Additional reporting by Ilse Fredericks This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on August 03, 2009 One-man protest in Joburg Sapa 3 August 2009 A prisoners' rights activist will stage a one-man protest at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg on Monday, while President Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai meet. "The aim is to submit a memorandum of grievances to... Tsvangirai about the gross human rights violations in Zimbabwean jails," SA Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights president, Golden Miles Bhudu, said in a statement. During his one-man protest, Bhudu will also submit an open letter to Zuma about his "deafening silence" regarding amnesty, clemency and sentence reduction for a number of prisoners, including political prisoners. African National Congress spokesperson Jessie Duarte said the meeting at Luthuli House would be closed, and she could not say what it would be about. Sapa 31 July -2 August Municipal workers call off strike JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Jul 31 2009 16:16 The five-day strike by South Africa's municipal workers is over, the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) said on Friday. "It's over ... we signed an agreement this [Friday] afternoon," Samwu general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo said. "Our workers will return to their posts on Monday," he said. The union agreed to a revised offer from the South African Local Government Association (Salga) of a 13% wage hike, he said. Samwu's members had initially demanded a 15% increase. Imatu's regional manager, Shadow Shongwe, said his union had also signed the wage agreement. "The wage dispute has finally been resolved and the agreement that is now in place has been endorsed by the unions." He said Imatu members would return to work on Monday at about 11 am. "By then we would have reached every corner of Imatu to convey the terms of the settlement," Shongwe said. The strike left rubbish piled up on streets and licensing offices closed. Pressure on the government has also come from poor township residents, who have demonstrated to back their demands for better living conditions for millions of black South Africans who still lack adequate housing, electricity and water 15 years after the end of apartheid. A double-digit pay settlement could put added strain on the economy, which fell into South Africa's first recession since 1992 because of reduced local and global demand. Analysts said above-inflation increases, such as the one won by Samwu and Imatu, could compound the impact of a 31,3% increase in electricity prices granted to Eskom last month and push inflation higher. "We believe such wage growth and the Eskom tariff increases will keep core inflation high over the next year," said Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets economist at Nomura International. Union power The wage increase won by the municipal workers is a boost for the unions, which helped the African National Congress win the general election in April and have been using their power to try to push government policy in a more populist direction. Investors, on the other hand, are keen for the government to stick to what they see as the sound economic policies that have helped shield South Africa from the worst of the global downturn. The government welcomed the deal ending the labour action. "As national government we are very happy and excited that finally agreement has been reached between the parties," Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka said. Samwu president Petros Mashishi said the union had no option but to strike. "We were forced into a situation of going to strike because the demands that we put on the table could not be met by employers". President Jacob Zuma has warned against unlawful action from strikers and protesters. "There is something wrong in our society if there are people ... who think that it is acceptable in a democracy to stone cars, loot shops and burn people's houses," Zuma said in a weekly newsletter on Friday. "We should nevertheless see these events as a challenge to work harder and more effectively to respond to the needs of our people." The ANC's labour union allies say the poor have borne the brunt of the recession, and note official data shows unemployment has risen to more than four million. -- Sapa, Reuters Samwu compromises on strike-ending deal Rahima Essop (Eyewitness News) Municipal workers union Samwu said on Friday while the settlement agreement with the SA Local Government Association is not what it wanted - it was a compromise agreement. A final settlement was signed in Kempton Park ending the four day strike. The strike saw thousands of workers down tool with violent protests and streets being trashed. The wage deal is a multi-year settlement meaning workers will get a 13 percent increase in the first year and over the next two years they will get increases which amount to CPI of 1.5 and two percent. COUNTRY COUNTING THE COST OF STRIKE The strike is believed to have cost the country millions of rand. Efficient Group Chief Economist Dawie Roodt said this may have an impact on foreign investors. “It’s fairly easy to catch up on production. For instance you don’t clean up rubbish removal for one week you can easily work double next week and catch up. The real impact on the South African economy is the message we’re sending to the rest of the world that we’re pretty a militant bunch in South Africa.” Heavy police presence at Durban strike 30 July 2009, 10:23 There was a heavy police presence at the municipal workers strike in Durban on Thursday. Large numbers of metro police were seen carrying guns and protective gear. The municipal workers were carrying placards reading: "We demand 15 percent" and "Sutcliffe must go", in a reference to eThekwini municipality manager Mike Sutcliffe . Workers sang and danced, carrying sticks and knobkierries, as the municipal workers strike entered its fourth day. Members of the SA Municipal Workers Union and Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union were striking for better wages. - Sapa Eighties comparison a cop-out Bilkis Omar 1 August 2009 The hard approach of the police to recent service delivery protests has been interpreted by some as comparable to the methods of riot police during the 1980s and early 1990s. But closer inspection suggests that this is unwarranted. A multitude of factors have caused pressure within the South African Police Service (SAPS) that could have led to police adopting a harder stance. First, only specialist public order police (Pop) members have the requisite level of training and expertise to deal with marches and protests. Ordinary members of police stations and the metro police generally do not have this training and should be acting only as back-up to the Pop. Indications are that in some of the recent protest marches, metro police and station members with only crowd-management training have been guilty of taking command of situations and ultimately of using force too hastily. Second, formal crowd-management training designed for station members and metro police officers who initially respond to incidents has been inconsistent and incomplete. Despite the shortfalls in training, these "first responders" are still required to police violent protests. Indications are that in recent protest actions station members have been acting in the absence of Pop members and neglecting standard crowd-management procedure. Third, in-service training, a routine, continual training requirement for members trained in crowd management, has not been undertaken systematically by station members. This raises doubt about their ability to deal with situations they now face. These three deficiencies can be attributed largely to the police organisational restructuring process in 2006 in which a number of Pop units were closed down and half of the human resource capacity was decentralised to station level. The result of all these factors has been a rapid recourse to aggressive police action often preceded by minimal and sometimes scant negotiations with the protesters. This is ultimately in violation of crowd-management procedure. This said, public order policing has progressed remarkably in the past 15 years. A softer approach has been adopted, by way of training by the Belgian police in 1996 and the enactment of the Regulations of Gatherings Act of 1993. This combination was intended to ensure that marches and events remain consistent with the Bill of Rights. The Act clearly prescribes procedures police have to follow when taking action against disorderly protesters. These procedures are designed to limit the use of force -- while bearing in mind the particulars of each situation. Factors taken into account include threat levels and aggravating factors such as the presence of weapons and criminal elements. The Act also requires the police to take the following steps: * Maintain ongoing negotiations with the protesters; * Continue with threat-level assessments; * Ask the crowd to disperse; * Order the crowd to disperse within a specified time in a loud voice and in two languages; * If within the specified time the crowd has not dispersed, a Pop member may order his members to disperse the participants and may for that purpose order the use of force; and * The degree of force must not be greater than is necessary and must be in proportion to the circumstances of the case. In crowd-management situations "force" denotes the use of minimum force, which includes the use of shields, rubber batons, stun grenades and water cannons. As a last resort, shotguns with rubber bullets may be used. Maximum force -- the use of live ammunition -- may be used only when there is a threat to life, including that of the police. The use of shotguns and rubber bullets has been a topic of much controversy in the past. Despite rubber bullets being reduced in size, the ricochet action caused severe injury. The SAPS's standing orders used to require that police fire rubber bullets at a 45angle into the ground in front of the protesters. Although this was intended to minimise the damage caused by the bullets, they have caused severe injury to protesters. A less damaging alternative has now been provided by the SAPS. When rubber rounds are used, these must be fired directly at the legs of protesters, but at a distance of 25m to 40m for reduced-size rounds, and a distance of 40m to 80m for normal rubber rounds. This alternative may be used only by members trained in the use of rubber rounds. Although police action in the past few weeks is of concern, it cannot and should not be measured against the heavy-handedness of the riot police during apartheid. But training, staffing and resource levels must be addressed to minimise the demand on the services of Pop members. If this situation is not rapidly rectified the ability of the police to deal with unruly behaviour (including that linked to the 2010 Fifa World Cup) will be placed in serious doubt. Bilkis Omar is a researcher in the crime, justice and politics programme at the Institute for Security Studies www.mg.co.za Mayco member stoned by protesters 31 July 2009, 06:55 A member of the city's mayoral committee had to beat a hasty retreat under police guard from angry protesters in Masiphumelele near Kommetjie when rocks rained down on the car in which she was travelling after a failed attempt at addressing housing concerns. Felicity Purchase, mayco member for economic development and tourism, later said the crowd was angry with her because she would not accede to their demands for land in the area to build their shacks. The protesters also alleged she had been disrespectful. The mayco member visited the area after repeated confrontations between police and angry residents that started before dawn yesterday morning. While residents barricaded roads and hurled missiles, police used rubber bullets, stun and smoke grenades. Purchase said backyard tenants who had been evicted by land owners in Masiphumelele were offered the chance to move to temporary relocation areas in Delft, but many had refused. "The natural way for the city to expand is north and east - there's simply no space in Masiphumelele. All vacant pockets of land have been earmarked for development," said Purchase. More than 100 residents of the area, all formerly backyard tenants, erected barricades in Pokela Road - the main entrance to Masiphumelele - from just before 5am yesterday, determined to be heard. At issue for most of the protesters are the continued evictions of backyarders brought about by the "People's Housing Project" in the area. Provincial government funds were released several months ago to provide building subsidies for title deed holders. The resultant housing boom meant that many tenants were asked to vacate the properties which had been rented out, as deed holders planned to build their homes. On Thursday, a fridge, tree cuttings and the contents of overturned wheelie bins littered the streets of Masiphumelele while police made an attempt at dispersing a steady crowd of mostly youngsters, that was spreading throughout the area. One of the protesters, Buntu Twasile, 23, said that they were demanding land in the area to build their homes. "People have been protesting the developments here in Masiphumelele for weeks and are justifiably angry at government officials for not listening to their demands. "We won't stop protesting until our demands are met. People like (provincial premier) Helen Zille have not been listening to our cries, that's why we've been forced on to the streets," Buntu said. As police armed with shotguns and firing rubber bullets moved through the area, several protesters were arrested and taken to awaiting vans parked in Kommetjie Main Road, where there was a heavy security presence. Another protester, Wendy Masiza, alleged her cousin had been arrested, even though he had not been protesting. Later in the afternoon, a crowd gathered in front of Ukhanyo Primary School for a meeting with Purchase, but it ended in chaos when the protesters were left dissatisfied by her answers about available land for housing in the area. Nontembiso Madikane, a community activist, said Purchase was responsible for the situation after police fired rubber bullets and several stun and smoke grenades at the crowd in response to rocks aimed at her car. "She shouldn't have addressed people like this (seated in a car over a PA system); she should've called the leaders to a meeting instead," Madikane said. Ocean View police spokesperson Nkosikho Mzuku said 12 people arrested are to be charged with public violence and would appear in the Simon's Town Magistrate's Court "soon". quinton.mtyala@inl.co.za Strikers leave chaos in their wake By Aziz Hartley, Sibusiso Ngalwa, Siyabonga Mkhwanazi and Sapa The Cape Times 30 July 2009 A municipal workers' march through Cape Town on Wednesday started peacefully, but ended with a trail of destruction left by some marchers who smashed advertising boards and rubbish bins and demolished display stands at Cape Town Station. About 2 000 strikers took part in the march arranged by the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Workers' Union (Imatu). The protest followed those at municipal depots across the province on Tuesday which were reportedly marked by intimidation. In Pretoria on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma urged the police to arrest striking municipal employees if they destroyed public property. Addressing a press conference, Zuma said the law-breakers should be dealt with as their actions infringed on the rights of others. "Violence and trashing is not allowed," said Zuma. Wednesday's turnout in Cape Town was lower than Monday's when about 3 000 workers marched through Bellville and delivered a memorandum to the South African Local Government Association (Salga). Samwu has called for a 15 percent wage increase and minimum pay of R4 020. Imatu chairman Mzi Sebezo said on Wednesday his union had demanded the same. Salga offered 11.5 percent backdated to July 1, an additional 1.5 percent in January 2010, inflation plus 1.5 percent in 2010/11 and inflation plus 2 percent in 2011/12. The association's offer - which was for three years - also included R4 000 minimum wage. Samwu has rejected a three-year agreement. Some protesters on Wednesday smashed street signage, broke litter bins and threw rubbish into the streets as they dispersed. * This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on July 30, 2009 Backyarders and politics' behind violence The Cape Argus 1 August 2009 The spark for the violent protests which rocked Masiphumelele this week was "backyarders" - families living in backyards - facing eviction after plot owners in the area received subsidies to build brick houses and moved to evict their tenants. This is the view of Dr Lutz van Dijk, board member of the Amakhaya ngoku Housing Association, which is building flats in the area. Phumzile Maqala, of the Masiphumelele branch of the ANC, said the protests were sparked by the frustration felt by up to 4 000 backyarders. However, Felicity Purchase, the mayco member for economic development and tourism, said the protests were politically motivated and part of ongoing destabilisation of the Western Cape by the ANC. Purchase said that while land was a real problem, the violence had been about politics. Purchase, who was forced to leave the area after her car was pelted with rocks by protesters on Thursday, said that several individuals were using legitimate issues as a smokescreen for their political agenda. On Friday a meeting was held with pastors and other stakeholders at the King of Kings Baptist Church in Sun Valley to try to thrash out a solution to the conflict which resulted in 12 arrests for public violence. Allegations of children being used as human shields by protesters. Patrick Diba, from the Masiphumelele Baptist Church, said the idea was to mediate between the groups and to create a platform to find a solution. He expressed disappointment at seeing police pick up stones to throw at protesters, which were not "proper policing methods" and had only served to inflame the crowd. Mzuvukile Nikelo, of the Life Changers Church, said he had been surprised at the protest. He said it appeared to be orchestrated by "faceless leaders". "If you don't buy in they threaten to burn down your house," he said. There are several housing schemes in the area which are using a combination of government subsidies and private donor money to build proper houses. But it means that those living in backyards need to be accommodated elsewhere. Maqala said some of them were told to move to Delft. "But how can you move a domestic worker earning R800 a month in Sun Valley to Delft?" He said several nature conservation sites had been identified for possible housing. However, Purchase and DA councillor Nicki Holderness pointed out that most of the land was in private hands and was very expensive. Holderness said that even if the land was made available, re-zoning and other legal requirements could take two years. She said not all land was suitable as some of it was in a wetland and underwater. Mark Wiley, the chairman of the Western Cape's parliamentary portfolio committee for community safety, said that in 20 years the community had grown from 100 people to 25 000. He said any government in the world would struggle to cope with a population explosion like that. Wiley added that resorting to violence would not help attract overseas donors. He said that a Joint Operations Centre had been set up in Ocean View following threats to police living in Masiphumelele and members of political parties other than the ANC. Pastor John Thomas said he was concerned that this week's protests could spill over into another xenophobic crisis because of the number of foreigners renting backyards at higher rentals than locals. "It's so easy for people to say that foreigners are taking our land which could spill over into xenophobia." Another meeting with all the roleplayers, including the protesters' leaders, has been scheduled for Sunday. It will focus on ways of preventing further violence, identifying land for "backyarders" in the short term and a long-term land strategy. * This article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Argus on August 01, 2009 Yes to protest, no to vandals July 31, 2009 Edition 1 AS THEY set off from Botha Gardens for city hall yesterday, marshals appealed to marching municipal workers not to trash Durban. Hats off to them for doing so - orderly protest and strikes are hard-won rights in this country, but vandalism and acts of destruction are not. Sadly the hot-heads among the strikers did not listen, contaminating a legitimate demonstration for a better deal. Not content to make their point peacefully, almost as though they feared it was not sufficiently compelling, they wrought havoc by tipping bins and strewing refuse in their path. It was done almost gleefully, inflicting disruption on others, flirting with thuggery, spreading the misery. While tossing about muck is less egregious than the arson, physical attacks and scale of intimidation we have seen elsewhere recently, it is a version of assault - criminal and unnecessary. Union organisers have clearly realised it is counterproductive, and have been told so by the government. But their pleas for order have been ignored by a percentage of strikers who persist in damaging their cause. Some did their worst in central Durban on Wednesday, and marchers scattered more health hazards and obstructions yesterday. When confronted with this behaviour this week, residents of Underberg opted to act rather than the usual hisses of disapproval and shaking of heads. They picked up the garbage - only to have a repeat of the vandalism the next day. Compared with other towns and cities, Durban's stoppages seem so far to have been less spiteful. This naturally wins a measure of sympathy with their quest for a decent wage. However, other union officials who dither over the morality and legality of mayhem, murmuring about possible provocation, compound the injury to society. It is they who fail their members, and South Africa, by equivocating and failing to show clear leadership on the conduct of protest South African workers erupt into renewed struggle Eugene Puryear 30 July 2009 Hunger, deepening poverty spark popular anger Recent events have shown just how explosive the South African political scene is. Working people have again erupted in struggle; fighting for basic rights such as social services and higher wages. Municipal workers protest in Johannesburg, South Africa, 07-09 Since the African National Congress was swept back into power, the Jacob Zuma-led government has been walking a tightrope. On the one hand, Zuma has signaled to international capital that he will basically continue the neoliberal policies that ANC governments have pursued since first gaining power in 1996. On the other hand, the ANC made its most central campaign promise the reduction of poverty. This basic contradiction lies at the heart of recent political tumult. The end of apartheid was a highly progressive development, yet it has brought new contradictions to South Africa. Some Blacks have become rich, but at the same time the gap in wealth distribution has broadened. In fact, the majority of working people in South Africa face economic conditions not that much better than those under apartheid. In May of this year, unemployment stood at 23 percent. South African capitalism, too, has suffered from the worldwide economic crisis, with South Africa’s main industry, mineral extraction, hit by thousands of job losses. The ANC is based on the cross-class coalition that defined it during the liberation movement. The ANC pulls together elements of the South African capitalist class and the working class, represented primarily by the main trade union federation COSATU and the South African Communist Party. This base is built from the ranks of the poor and working class. Despite having grievances, these sectors supported the ANC in the April elections. Cosmetic changes? In a nod to his left-wing coalition partners, Zuma made a few changes in how the government was structured. The SACP had pressed for changes that would promote development and lay the groundwork for a governing approach that truly placed reduction of poverty and creation of jobs at the center of its agenda. But as the SACP has itself pointed out, the new changes could easily be purely cosmetic, a sop to the left. Indeed, left-wing elements outside the SACP have argued this is likely the case. The one area all forces on the South African left, including COSATU, can agree on is the need to intensify popular struggles. Not content to take politicians at their word, workers have taken to the frontlines several times since Zuma was elected. Notably, construction workers on World Cup stadiums struck in early July and won a 12 percent raise. In July, numerous townships erupted in protests demanding better delivery of services. Basic social services, such as water and public transportation, are inadequate or non-existent in the townships, which are predominantly working class. Additionally, protesters representing the unemployed movement seized food without paying from two Durban supermarkets. They were protesting the fact that a great number of South Africans continue to live in hunger more than a decade after the end of apartheid. On July 27, central Johannesburg was shut down as more than 150,000 workers, mostly municipal employees, went out on strike seeking a 15 percent wage increase. Workers are angry that Zuma has not lived up to his promise to take action on jobs and poverty. Similar tensions during the presidency of Thabo Mbeki brought the ANC alliance the closest it has ever been to a left-right split. Since 2007, members of the SACP have argued for running independent candidates to avoid being stained by the right-wing policies of their coalition partners. This underscores the fragile nature of Zuma’s coalition. His balancing act between left and right can only work if he can make both sides content. But faced with the current economic crisis, Zuma is leaning toward more concessions to international capital than to the urgent needs of workers. Can the left-wing forces both inside and outside the ANC present a common front that can strongly link these various struggles together and move the body politic in South Africa to the left? The SACP and COSATU face being hemmed in by their participation in the government. For those left-wing forces outside the ANC, the challenge is to build bridges with the left forces inside the ANC to present a common front of struggle. The SACP, too, must overcome the challenge of past divisions. For those closely watching the unfolding struggle from afar, the main task is to stand firmly behind the workers of South Africa as they struggle for the full promise of post-apartheid society. Victory to the townships and the strikers! SA's optimism will survive these protests Gwede Mantashe (Sunday Independent) 2 August 2009 PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has drawn a line under recent violent protests, not least by appointing a tough police commissioner, Bheki Cele, with a strong track record of fighting crime. He has also placed fighting poverty and crime at the top of the political agenda and reaffirmed the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest in pursuance of their grievances. It is because of this renewed sense of hope and empowerment that expectations have risen countrywide since the elections in April, and it is why the annual wage negotiations and heightened public awareness of the need to make local government accountable to the people have escalated into what appears to be a countrywide protest. People are angry about the lack of service delivery over the past 15 years and they have a right to be. But we must not lose sight of the progress that has been made with the provisions of clean water, electricity and housing throughout the country. The ANC will not be diverted from its programme to improve the lives of the poor even in times of recession. And we will also be at the forefront of managing the tensions between rising expectations, which are necessary, and the constraints imposed on the government by the recession and lower growth rates, which are beyond our control. The ANC is clear that we have more work to do to improve the social conditions of people in our country. Perceptions of corruption and favouritism regarding tenders and employment frequently underlie the grievances. We see recent protests as rooted in local issues, rather than reflecting a national agenda. Some of the protests have occurred in areas where basic services have been delivered. The ANC not only understands the problem but also has put in place mechanisms to deal with grievances. Legislation is being debated that would bar public servants from involvement in other business ventures. We have met the residents in most of the affected areas. In some areas, new water and sewerage infrastructure can be implemented only by moving shack dwellers from land allocated for the projects. This leads to anxiety and in the instance of Diepsloot, a high-density community north of Johannesburg, has led to protests. We are determined to redress the developmental backlog we have inherited. But it is a matter of planning and budgeting and cannot be achieved overnight. Our reality in South Africa is that urbanisation and the settlement of job-seekers in the urban centres is often not respectful of well laid out plans. The recent labour strikes are an annual occurrence in our democracy. The ANC respects the rights of workers to declare disputes with employers and to strike if there is a deadlock. But we condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence that has accompanied some of the action. On appointing the new police commissioner, President Zuma condemned the violence and insisted that those guilty of looting, trashing of streets, damaging property and attacks on individuals be arrested and charged. The president has clearly indicated, in his first 100 days in office, his resolve to maintain South Africa's vibrant economy. He has delivered on his commitment to maintain the economic policies which have served the country well over the past 15 years. At the same time he has committed the government to a social agenda aimed at achieving social cohesion alongside economic stability. We are also mindful of the responsibility on our shoulders as a socio-economic microcosm of the world: if countries like South Africa, India and Brazil cannot develop a more equitable and sustainable system, then humanity and as a whole is in trouble. The government has made progress in transforming our economy and society since the first democratic elections in 1994. South Africa is a developing country with immense potential: we are a democracy and a nation of people determined to succeed. www.sundayindependent.co.za * Gwede Mantashe is the secretary-general of the ANC and chairman of the SA Communist Party. PHOTOS  Back

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