Cape Times 2023-01-04

THE South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has warned its members to brace themselves for battle ahead as salary and wage negotiations are expected to start this year. The union national office-bearers (NOBs) called on Samwu members to be active participants and mandate the union for increases “in line with the forever increasing cost of living”. “Our members should be prepared for the battle ahead, especially given the austerity measures which have been adopted by the government,” the union leaders said in a media statement. The NOBs announced that they have themed 2023 “Year of the Member” on the back of the cries expressed by members regarding the type of service they received. “In the new year, we will ensure that members and their service come first. It is…

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has until the end of this week to comply with a court order to hand over the complete records of government’s state of disaster decisions to Sakeliga, or face an application for contempt of court. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in November ordered Dlamini Zuma to comply by December 22 with the information request that Sakeliga submitted to her in December 2020. This included a request for all records on which she relied when she declared the national state of disaster in March 2020, for each time that she extended it, and for each of the regulations that she published during that time. According to Sakeliga, the minister has failed to comply with the court order to hand over…

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mabalula says the Phala Phala report will not be discussed when the 55th national conference resumes its business this week because it’s not on the agenda. Addressing the media at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg yesterday, Mbalula insisted that only the reports from the commissions and constitutional amendments would be discussed. He was speaking on the state of readiness for the party’s 111th anniversary celebrations, also known as the January Statement. Flanked by his two deputies, Nomvula Mokonyane and Maropene Ramokgopa, Mbalula said the conference would take place tomorrow and on Friday at venues in each province. The ANC adjourned the five-day national conference that saw the re-election of its president Cyril Ramaphosa and other Top 7 officials. Delays with the registration of the more…

WITH the Department of Correctional Services’ (DCS) festive season security operations still under way, the department has issued a stern warning to correctional centres that it would discipline those who possess and smuggle contraband at its facilities. The DCS expressed concern at the proliferation of cellphones and the smuggling of prohibited substances. The department also plans to launch a full-scale investigation after a group of inmates allegedly became unruly and barricaded a sectional gate at the Boksburg Correctional Centre on Monday during a mandatory search operation by the department’s national task team. This was part of its festive season security operation. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said yesterday that calm and order had since been restored. “The DCS shall never hesitate to act with vigour to ensure that there is no…

WHILE thriving illegal male initiation schools continued to wreak havoc across the country, inadequate parental care in failing to disclose the underlying chronic diseases of their children was also blamed in some of the 20 deaths of Eastern Cape initiates, and two initiates in the Western Cape. Challenges existed in all provinces during the current summer initiation season, which was expected to come to an end later this month, according to the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders (NHTKL). Deaths and injuries were reported at both legal and illegal schools. While the NHTKL awaited full reports from all provinces, the Eastern Cape so far has the highest number of incidents. In another incident in that province, two initiates, both aged 19, drowned at about 10am on December 14 and…

THE brutal murder of an on-duty nurse in the Eastern Cape has prompted the Public Servants Association (PSA) to once again call for stricter security measures to ensure the safety of health workers. Similarly, the Western Cape Health Department has called on communities to create safer spaces for all. The 36-year-old nurse was dragged and then shot by gunmen who pretended to be visiting a patient at Zithulele Hospital in Mqanduli on Christmas Day. Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana was reported to have said that two unknown suspects allegedly arrived at the hospital ward, pretending to be visiting a patient. The motive for the killing was still under investigation. Kinana said yesterday no one has been arrested and investigation continues. The PSA, representing thousands of health professionals across the…