OSHABENI, South Africa — It was, by all accounts, an ordinary small-town political meeting. The leaders of the local branch of the African National Congress gathered in September at a convent here to discuss candidates for a newly vacated seat on the ward council, the lowest-level elected position in South Africa.
When it was over, Dumisani Malunga, the local party chairman and the front-runner for the seat, stopped at a friend’s house for a late meal of chicken curry. As he and another party official, Bheko Chiliza, drove home at 9:30 p.m., a gunman fired into their car. Their bloody, bullet-riddled bodies were later found sprawled on the ground beside the white Toyota hatchback.
Mr. Malunga and Mr. Chiliza were the latest casualties in an increasingly bloody battle for local political posts in South Africa. Dozens of officials, including ward councilors, party leaders and mayors, have been killed in what has become a desperate, deadly struggle for power and its spoils.
The killings threaten to tarnish the image of the so-called rainbow nation, whose largely bloodless transition from white minority rule to nonracial democracy has made it a beacon of peace, tolerance and forgiveness.
Amid rising corruption and waning economic opportunities, political killings are on the rise. Here in KwaZulu-Natal Province, nearly 40 politicians have been killed since 2010 in battles over political posts, more than triple the number in the previous three years, according to government figures. Over the past few years, dozens more have been killed in provinces like Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo.
The A.N.C., once a banned liberation movement engaged in one of the 20th century’s most important struggles for justice and human rights, is now in power, and it has come under harsh scrutiny for the rampant poverty, deep inequality and widespread unemployment plaguing the country. A wave of wildcat strikes that began in August, and the lethal crackdown against them, has fueled anger at a party seen as increasingly out of touch and whose leaders appear only to seek to fill their pockets.
That is a stark change from the A.N.C.’s early days, when people risked their lives and freedom to join the party and its fight to end apartheid. But in recent years, the party has sharply increased recruitment of new members, with little consideration for who joins and why.
Many new members come in search of wealth and power. Fewer than half of South African’s young black adults have jobs, and many lack the basic skills to find work after years of attending substandard schools in townships and rural areas. For these youths, politics is a seemingly certain route out of poverty. The rise in corruption has fed the belief that political posts mean kickbacks and contracts.
In the ranks of public servants, the post of rural ward council member in a speck of a town like this one would seem no great prize. The job pays about $150 a month, and its occupant must digest a steady diet of complaints from residents about the most fundamental ailments afflicting South Africa: schools that do not teach, taps that do not deliver water, crime that the police seem helpless to stop, jobs that are impossible to find.
But ward councilors are also a conduit for development projects in their areas, and they can influence the awarding of government contracts. The potential upside — earnings from bribes or surreptitious deals — is high.
“Due to the high rate of unemployment, people look for any opportunity to create an income and capitalize on it,” said Mzwandile Mkhwanazi, the regional chairman of the A.N.C. in the area that includes Oshabeni. “They are influenced by levels of poverty. They come up with any ways and means of getting money.”
Such changes in fortune explain why the post of ward councilor in Oshabeni, an impoverished town nestled in rolling hills about 15 miles inland from the Indian Ocean, was so hotly contested. When the woman who held the post died of illness in August, many local politicians were eager to throw their hats into the ring.
One of them was a young taxi driver named Sfiso Khumalo, the leader of the local branch of the A.N.C.’s Youth League. But Mr. Khumalo did not have a very good reputation, fellow Youth League members said. He was hotheaded, they said, and had spent nine years in prison for theft.
“We knew him as a stealer,” said Gcinile Duma, the secretary of the Youth League. “He had been in jail and was with the wrong kind of people.”
Other members of the local A.N.C. branch’s executive committee said they were worried that Mr. Khumalo was not a suitable candidate.
“Some people get into politics for the wrong reason, only for money,” said one local party leader who did not want to be named discussing party business. “Sfiso Khumalo was not looking to help people, only to help himself.”
Standing in his way was Mr. Malunga, 42, the party chairman and a popular local figure.
“People liked Dumisani and saw him as a good leader,” Ms. Duma said.
On Sept. 9, Mr. Khumalo attended the meeting at the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi Convent to declare his candidacy. There was no open confrontation between Mr. Malunga and Mr. Khumalo, people who attended the meeting said. But when Mr. Malunga was found shot to death near his house, few doubted who was the prime suspect.
“We told the police, ‘We know who did this. It was Sfiso Khumalo,’ ” Ms. Duma said.
After two days of investigations, the police arrested Mr. Khumalo, who promptly confessed that he had conspired with a local businessman to have Mr. Malunga killed. On Sept. 18, Mr. Khumalo was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The person accused of being his co-conspirator is still in court.
In a statement, the leader of the A.N.C. in KwaZulu-Natal condemned the violence and the culture it springs from.
“The A.N.C. can ill afford the development of the culture of the underworld, criminality and violent elimination of opponents,” said the provincial chairman, Zweli Mkhize. “Neither can the A.N.C. afford the association of political appointment to self-enrichment where ascendancy to office is not linked with capacity, competence and dedicated service to our people.”
Party officials paid for Mr. Malunga’s burial, and his brick and stucco grave looks lavish next to the unadorned earthen mounds in the family graveyard that hold his father, brother and nephew.
Mr. Malunga’s mother, Sizakele Malunga, has already buried 5 of her 11 children, but losing her youngest son was a special blow, she said. Mr. Malunga lived with her and kept her company in her widowhood.
“I am lonely, but nothing will bring him back,” Mrs. Malunga said. “I just try to make the time pass without him.”
Mukelwa Hlatshwayo contributed reporting.
Source: New York Times
Showing posts with label KwaZulu-Natal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KwaZulu-Natal. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
ANC KZN backs Jacob Zuma for ANC Presidency
ANC KZN NOMINATION CONFERENCE STATEMENT
25 November 2012
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday concluded its successful two-day conference which was characterized by frankness, robustness and a comradely spirit that made all sessions to be enjoyable and enlightening.
The conference was convened to consolidate KwaZulu-Natal's policy positions and to combine the province's nominations for preferred leadership to be elected in the National Conference of the ANC to be held in Mangaung in December 2012.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is happy that the conference was characterized by very productive debates on policy issues. Debates spanned from various and diverse views and individual expressions, scientific theory of our revolution to the experience gained through our daily involvement in our community struggles and serving within state institutions and platforms of service delivery.
Our province is once again leading the way by forsaking the foreign tendencies of coming to conferences for the sole purpose of voting for positions. The conference made history by dedicating more focus on policy matters in order to shape the transformation agenda and usher in a better life for all our people.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal strongly believes that the difference in the paths and direction the ANC will take post Mangaung depends on the thoroughness of the discussions and preparations to resolve issues that plague our country not on the face of the leadership cadres elected.
"Today (Sunday) we are concluding what has been a very democratic process. Our branches nominated their preferred candidates freely. The fact that more than one name per position were nominated was a clear indication ANC is a democratic organization," said ANC provincial Secretary, Sihle Zikalala.
After a very vigorous nomination process, ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal nominated the following cadres:
President: Cde President Cde Jacob Zuma [unanimous]
Deputy President: Cde Cyril Ramaphosa [841 votes]
National Chairperson: Cde Baleka Mbethe [863 votes]
Secretary General: Cde Gwede Mantashe, [unanimous]
Deputy Secretary General: Cde Jessie Duarte [834 votes]
Treasure General: Cde Zweli Mkhize. [833 votes]
The conference emphasized the importance of discipline, unity and political maturity to ensure that the ANC will remain united after the Mangaung conference.
Statement issued by the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala November 26 2012
Source: Politicsweb
25 November 2012
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday concluded its successful two-day conference which was characterized by frankness, robustness and a comradely spirit that made all sessions to be enjoyable and enlightening.
The conference was convened to consolidate KwaZulu-Natal's policy positions and to combine the province's nominations for preferred leadership to be elected in the National Conference of the ANC to be held in Mangaung in December 2012.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is happy that the conference was characterized by very productive debates on policy issues. Debates spanned from various and diverse views and individual expressions, scientific theory of our revolution to the experience gained through our daily involvement in our community struggles and serving within state institutions and platforms of service delivery.
Our province is once again leading the way by forsaking the foreign tendencies of coming to conferences for the sole purpose of voting for positions. The conference made history by dedicating more focus on policy matters in order to shape the transformation agenda and usher in a better life for all our people.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal strongly believes that the difference in the paths and direction the ANC will take post Mangaung depends on the thoroughness of the discussions and preparations to resolve issues that plague our country not on the face of the leadership cadres elected.
"Today (Sunday) we are concluding what has been a very democratic process. Our branches nominated their preferred candidates freely. The fact that more than one name per position were nominated was a clear indication ANC is a democratic organization," said ANC provincial Secretary, Sihle Zikalala.
After a very vigorous nomination process, ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal nominated the following cadres:
President: Cde President Cde Jacob Zuma [unanimous]
Deputy President: Cde Cyril Ramaphosa [841 votes]
National Chairperson: Cde Baleka Mbethe [863 votes]
Secretary General: Cde Gwede Mantashe, [unanimous]
Deputy Secretary General: Cde Jessie Duarte [834 votes]
Treasure General: Cde Zweli Mkhize. [833 votes]
The conference emphasized the importance of discipline, unity and political maturity to ensure that the ANC will remain united after the Mangaung conference.
Statement issued by the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala November 26 2012
Source: Politicsweb
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
SACP backs probe of ‘contract killings’ on KwaZulu-Natal coast
THE South African Communist Party (SACP) in KwaZulu-Natal has added its voice to calls for a dedicated police team to be established to investigate the "contract-killing industry" in the province, after the murder of two more African National Congress (ANC) branch leaders on the south coast on Sunday night.
There has been a spate of murders of political leaders in the province over the past year, mostly of ANC and National Freedom Party (NFP) leaders at branch level, and most cases remain unsolved.
"It is high time that … people put their heads together irrespective of political affiliation and come up with a strategy of ridding the province of the contract-killing industry," SACP Moses Mabhida provincial secretary Themba Mthembu said on Monday.
ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said that Oshabeni branch chairman Dumisani Malunga and branch secretary Bheki Chiliza had been shot and killed on Sunday night after a meeting. Political analyst Protas Madlala said the killings come barely two weeks after political parties in KwaZulu-Natal had held a joint summit to find ways to end politically motivated killings.
"We are very concerned with the killing of our comrades. This is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated," Mr Zikalala said.
Police spokesman Capt Thulani Zwane said no arrests were made. In July, ANC councillor Wandile Mkhize was murdered in a drive-by shooting near his home in Margate. Nhlakanipho Shabane, who was with him at the time, spent three weeks in a coma before dying in hospital. Two men have been charged in these murders.
Since the beginning of last year the NFP has lost 21 members to assassinations, which appear to be politically motivated. Mr Madlala said political leadership at local government level represented easy access to wealth in areas where unemployment was high and this might be behind the spate of murders. He said the latest killings did not appear to be linked to the election of new ANC leaders in Mangaung at the end of the year, as KwaZulu-Natal was the one province that was united in its support of the current administration. Mr Mthembu said the SACP in KwaZulu-Natal also firmly supported the current leadership. Mr Madlala said there was an "industry of people earning a living from this". Such people were also likely to have been involved in taxiindustry related killings. "Where is the intelligence in all of this?"
In eThekwini, the ANC’s biggest region in terms of number of branches, the cost of providing protection such as bodyguards for city councillors rose to R18m in the 2012-13 financial year from R2m the year before, and the city wants to increase this allocation even more.
Source: Business Day
There has been a spate of murders of political leaders in the province over the past year, mostly of ANC and National Freedom Party (NFP) leaders at branch level, and most cases remain unsolved.
"It is high time that … people put their heads together irrespective of political affiliation and come up with a strategy of ridding the province of the contract-killing industry," SACP Moses Mabhida provincial secretary Themba Mthembu said on Monday.
ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said that Oshabeni branch chairman Dumisani Malunga and branch secretary Bheki Chiliza had been shot and killed on Sunday night after a meeting. Political analyst Protas Madlala said the killings come barely two weeks after political parties in KwaZulu-Natal had held a joint summit to find ways to end politically motivated killings.
"We are very concerned with the killing of our comrades. This is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated," Mr Zikalala said.
Police spokesman Capt Thulani Zwane said no arrests were made. In July, ANC councillor Wandile Mkhize was murdered in a drive-by shooting near his home in Margate. Nhlakanipho Shabane, who was with him at the time, spent three weeks in a coma before dying in hospital. Two men have been charged in these murders.
Since the beginning of last year the NFP has lost 21 members to assassinations, which appear to be politically motivated. Mr Madlala said political leadership at local government level represented easy access to wealth in areas where unemployment was high and this might be behind the spate of murders. He said the latest killings did not appear to be linked to the election of new ANC leaders in Mangaung at the end of the year, as KwaZulu-Natal was the one province that was united in its support of the current administration. Mr Mthembu said the SACP in KwaZulu-Natal also firmly supported the current leadership. Mr Madlala said there was an "industry of people earning a living from this". Such people were also likely to have been involved in taxiindustry related killings. "Where is the intelligence in all of this?"
In eThekwini, the ANC’s biggest region in terms of number of branches, the cost of providing protection such as bodyguards for city councillors rose to R18m in the 2012-13 financial year from R2m the year before, and the city wants to increase this allocation even more.
Source: Business Day
Monday, September 3, 2012
Life for IFP councillor killers
Three men have been sentenced to life in prison by the Mtunzini High Court for the murder of an IFP councillor, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Monday.
"Bongumusa Ngema, 27, Douglas Ngcobo, 36, and Sanadu Phiri, 22, were convicted of killing Mfanafuthi Elliot Maphumulo in Gingindlovu," Captain Thulani Zwane said.
The men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday.
Zwane said 50-year-old Maphumulo was attacked and shot four times on February 25, 2009. Police later found his body in bushes near his house at the Mananda Reserve.
Source: Times Live
"Bongumusa Ngema, 27, Douglas Ngcobo, 36, and Sanadu Phiri, 22, were convicted of killing Mfanafuthi Elliot Maphumulo in Gingindlovu," Captain Thulani Zwane said.
The men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday.
Zwane said 50-year-old Maphumulo was attacked and shot four times on February 25, 2009. Police later found his body in bushes near his house at the Mananda Reserve.
Source: Times Live
Sunday, September 2, 2012
NPA won't divulge report on decision to drop Nkonyeni charges - DA KZN
ACTING KZN Prosecutions Director Moipone Noko has officially refused to release the report on why the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped fraud and corruption charges against two high-profile KZN politicians.
Advocate Noko wrote to the DA late Wednesday stating that the reasons for not charging KZN Speaker Peggy Nkonyeni and provincial Finance MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu are "confidential" and cannot be released. The DA will today officially submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the NPA to get this information. We believe that the NPA must make the record of decision public as it is in the public's interest to know whether the criminal justice system is free from political bias.
This is important given the massive network of politicians and officials in multiple provinces who are linked to dealings with controversial businessman Gaston Savoi. The DA has previously won a Supreme Court of Appeal case against the NPA for the release of the report on why corruption charges against President Zuma were dropped.
We believe that the precedent set by this decision should also apply to the KZN NPA's report on the so-called "Amigo's" case.
Source: Politicsweb
Advocate Noko wrote to the DA late Wednesday stating that the reasons for not charging KZN Speaker Peggy Nkonyeni and provincial Finance MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu are "confidential" and cannot be released. The DA will today officially submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the NPA to get this information. We believe that the NPA must make the record of decision public as it is in the public's interest to know whether the criminal justice system is free from political bias.
This is important given the massive network of politicians and officials in multiple provinces who are linked to dealings with controversial businessman Gaston Savoi. The DA has previously won a Supreme Court of Appeal case against the NPA for the release of the report on why corruption charges against President Zuma were dropped.
We believe that the precedent set by this decision should also apply to the KZN NPA's report on the so-called "Amigo's" case.
Source: Politicsweb
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
ANC KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE STATEMENT
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal held its ordinary Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting on July 30, 2012 at the Pinetown Civic Centre.
The meeting began with the ANC Provincial Chairperson, Cde. Zweli Mkhize's political overview, which mainly covered the political evaluation of the recently held National Policy Conference, the outcome of the Provincial Tripartite Alliance Summit, the assessment of the Nelson Mandela Day activities, the state of local government and the killings of political leaders across the political organisations.
The PEC made a thorough assessment of the Policy Conference and it was unanimously agreed that the Policy Conference was a resounding success and that it set a good tone for the upcoming 53rd National Conference in Mangaung later this year. The PEC received a report on the readiness of our province with regard to the forthcoming National Conference and it was very satisfied with the substantial progress that has been made in preparing for this critical conference. The PEC further adopted the action plan which will take the KZN province to Manguang.
The PEC also congratulated Cde Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for being elected as the Chairperson of the African Union and there was a strong feeling that her experience as the former Minister of International Relations, current minister of Home Affairs and the enormous role she has played in the African National Congress will help her confront the pressing challenges facing the African continent. The ANC believes that the management of issues in the African continent will definitely never be the same again.
The PEC applauded the new approach in dealing with African matters in its totality. This approach will assist the African countries to be able to address the African challenges in a comprehensive manner as opposed to isolate one country. The processes that led to the election of Cde Dlamini-Zuma provide an opportune time to address the new divisive influence on African Union agenda from former colonialists (Britain, France and others).
The PEC also commended all people who took part in a series of activities planned to celebrate the Mandela day activities in respect of former President Nelson Mandela, a global icon. Indeed, Cde Mandela is the product of the ANC hence we will remain humble to his achievement as an individual and as the leader of the ANC.
Through an intense lobbying from South Africa, the family of nations as represented in the United Nations declared July 18th as Nelson Mandela Day internationally to acknowledge the 67 years that the global icon dedicated to the service of mankind. The PEC noted that the ANC had well planned activities which included the building of houses for poor families and the renovating of public buildings.
On Service Delivery
In its effort to improve basic service delivery and uphold good governance at all government levels, the PEC resolved that the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal should host a provincial local government summit in September this year.
It is public knowledge that the ANC led government has done well when it comes to delivering services to the people and economic growth. However the actual implementation has proven to be more difficult and as a results service delivery and economic growth continues to experience set-backs. During the summit, delegates will thoroughly assess what has been achieved and meticulously diagnose the challenges hindering service delivery. The ANC has no doubt that this summit will help to carve a strategy to improve service delivery.
The PEC identified the poor communication from the government clusters to inform people of South Africa of the work done since the beginning of the term of office. The PEC agreed to enter into structured report-back community meetings. The ANC deployees from National, Provincial and Local Government will jointly report to constituencies in terms of achievements, challenges, projects to be undertaken and further mobilise community to actively participate in any development projects in their areas.
ANC Social Cohesion Summit
The Department of Arts and Culture recently hosted a National Summit on Social Cohesion which was addressed by President Jacob Zuma. The summit, which was held at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown Soweto, presented people with an opportunity to talk to each other about their values, aspirations and vision of a united South Africa. The summit was a resounding success. The summit's declaration called for government led summits at provincial and local level in the coming 12 months which will lead to the hosting of the national summit in 2017.
As a movement that promotes unity, the PEC called on government to host a provincial social cohesion summit before the end of this year. The ANC wants the summit to be attended by political parties, representatives of civil society, business leaders and government representatives.
Incidents Of Abuse
The spate of sexual violence perpetrated against young children and senior citizens in KwaZulu-Natal is a matter of grave concern. The PEC expressed outrage, anger and disgust at the rape of a 94-year-old at KwaSwayimane in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The ANC will continue to demonstrate outside the New Hanover Magistrate's Court when a 30-year-old man who allegedly raped a 94-year-old woman appears in court. The 30-year-old man will appear again in court on August 3.
The ANC has also learnt that another woman (aged 84) was allegedly raped in KwaSwayimane. We condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms and commend the South African Police Service for ensuring that the alleged perpetrator is arrested. The ANC will continue tomobilise communities to reclaim our streets from criminals and create a society that is safe for women and children.
PEC Sub-Committee Deployments
The ANC PEC sub-committees have been formed. These committees are very crucial in our organisation as they ensure proper coordination of ANC programs. They have been constituted to accommodate members of the ANC, Alliance, MDM structures and other individuals who command lot of expertise on relevant subject.
Sub-Committee Conveners
Peace And Stability
Cde Bheki Ntuli
Education And Health
Cde Lydia Johnson
Economic Transformation
Cde Mxolisi Kaunda
Social Transformation
Cde Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha
International Relations
Cde Yusuf Bhamjee
CRATA
Cde Bongi Sithole-Moloi
Organizational Development And Communications
Cde Sihle Zikalala
Legislature And Governance
Cde Ravi Pillay
Comrade Senzo Mkhize has been appointed as the new Provincial ANC Spokesman.
ANC And NFP Relations
The PEC received a detailed report on the state of the ANC and NFP relationship. The PEC noted the challenges in certain municipalities like in Imbabazane municipality, Mtubatuba municipality. The ANC will continue with the process that is in place to engage with the NFP at all levels to normalise the situation. The ANC entered to Memorandum of Understanding with the NFP knowing very well that it can't be just a smooth sailing there will turbulences on the way which require some principle leadership from both organisations.
There is a joint programme of ANC and NFP to visit all municipalities where there is ANC and NFP cooperation agreement to attend to issues of contestation amongst councillors. We hope the process will remove all bottlenecks and allow speedy service delivery without any disturbance.
Statement issued by Sihle Zikalala, ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, July 31 2012
Source: Politicsweb
The meeting began with the ANC Provincial Chairperson, Cde. Zweli Mkhize's political overview, which mainly covered the political evaluation of the recently held National Policy Conference, the outcome of the Provincial Tripartite Alliance Summit, the assessment of the Nelson Mandela Day activities, the state of local government and the killings of political leaders across the political organisations.
The PEC made a thorough assessment of the Policy Conference and it was unanimously agreed that the Policy Conference was a resounding success and that it set a good tone for the upcoming 53rd National Conference in Mangaung later this year. The PEC received a report on the readiness of our province with regard to the forthcoming National Conference and it was very satisfied with the substantial progress that has been made in preparing for this critical conference. The PEC further adopted the action plan which will take the KZN province to Manguang.
The PEC also congratulated Cde Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for being elected as the Chairperson of the African Union and there was a strong feeling that her experience as the former Minister of International Relations, current minister of Home Affairs and the enormous role she has played in the African National Congress will help her confront the pressing challenges facing the African continent. The ANC believes that the management of issues in the African continent will definitely never be the same again.
The PEC applauded the new approach in dealing with African matters in its totality. This approach will assist the African countries to be able to address the African challenges in a comprehensive manner as opposed to isolate one country. The processes that led to the election of Cde Dlamini-Zuma provide an opportune time to address the new divisive influence on African Union agenda from former colonialists (Britain, France and others).
The PEC also commended all people who took part in a series of activities planned to celebrate the Mandela day activities in respect of former President Nelson Mandela, a global icon. Indeed, Cde Mandela is the product of the ANC hence we will remain humble to his achievement as an individual and as the leader of the ANC.
Through an intense lobbying from South Africa, the family of nations as represented in the United Nations declared July 18th as Nelson Mandela Day internationally to acknowledge the 67 years that the global icon dedicated to the service of mankind. The PEC noted that the ANC had well planned activities which included the building of houses for poor families and the renovating of public buildings.
On Service Delivery
In its effort to improve basic service delivery and uphold good governance at all government levels, the PEC resolved that the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal should host a provincial local government summit in September this year.
It is public knowledge that the ANC led government has done well when it comes to delivering services to the people and economic growth. However the actual implementation has proven to be more difficult and as a results service delivery and economic growth continues to experience set-backs. During the summit, delegates will thoroughly assess what has been achieved and meticulously diagnose the challenges hindering service delivery. The ANC has no doubt that this summit will help to carve a strategy to improve service delivery.
The PEC identified the poor communication from the government clusters to inform people of South Africa of the work done since the beginning of the term of office. The PEC agreed to enter into structured report-back community meetings. The ANC deployees from National, Provincial and Local Government will jointly report to constituencies in terms of achievements, challenges, projects to be undertaken and further mobilise community to actively participate in any development projects in their areas.
ANC Social Cohesion Summit
The Department of Arts and Culture recently hosted a National Summit on Social Cohesion which was addressed by President Jacob Zuma. The summit, which was held at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown Soweto, presented people with an opportunity to talk to each other about their values, aspirations and vision of a united South Africa. The summit was a resounding success. The summit's declaration called for government led summits at provincial and local level in the coming 12 months which will lead to the hosting of the national summit in 2017.
As a movement that promotes unity, the PEC called on government to host a provincial social cohesion summit before the end of this year. The ANC wants the summit to be attended by political parties, representatives of civil society, business leaders and government representatives.
Incidents Of Abuse
The spate of sexual violence perpetrated against young children and senior citizens in KwaZulu-Natal is a matter of grave concern. The PEC expressed outrage, anger and disgust at the rape of a 94-year-old at KwaSwayimane in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The ANC will continue to demonstrate outside the New Hanover Magistrate's Court when a 30-year-old man who allegedly raped a 94-year-old woman appears in court. The 30-year-old man will appear again in court on August 3.
The ANC has also learnt that another woman (aged 84) was allegedly raped in KwaSwayimane. We condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms and commend the South African Police Service for ensuring that the alleged perpetrator is arrested. The ANC will continue tomobilise communities to reclaim our streets from criminals and create a society that is safe for women and children.
PEC Sub-Committee Deployments
The ANC PEC sub-committees have been formed. These committees are very crucial in our organisation as they ensure proper coordination of ANC programs. They have been constituted to accommodate members of the ANC, Alliance, MDM structures and other individuals who command lot of expertise on relevant subject.
Sub-Committee Conveners
Peace And Stability
Cde Bheki Ntuli
Education And Health
Cde Lydia Johnson
Economic Transformation
Cde Mxolisi Kaunda
Social Transformation
Cde Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha
International Relations
Cde Yusuf Bhamjee
CRATA
Cde Bongi Sithole-Moloi
Organizational Development And Communications
Cde Sihle Zikalala
Legislature And Governance
Cde Ravi Pillay
Comrade Senzo Mkhize has been appointed as the new Provincial ANC Spokesman.
ANC And NFP Relations
The PEC received a detailed report on the state of the ANC and NFP relationship. The PEC noted the challenges in certain municipalities like in Imbabazane municipality, Mtubatuba municipality. The ANC will continue with the process that is in place to engage with the NFP at all levels to normalise the situation. The ANC entered to Memorandum of Understanding with the NFP knowing very well that it can't be just a smooth sailing there will turbulences on the way which require some principle leadership from both organisations.
There is a joint programme of ANC and NFP to visit all municipalities where there is ANC and NFP cooperation agreement to attend to issues of contestation amongst councillors. We hope the process will remove all bottlenecks and allow speedy service delivery without any disturbance.
Statement issued by Sihle Zikalala, ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, July 31 2012
Source: Politicsweb
Friday, May 11, 2012
On 11 May 2012 the pro bono rule was published in Government Gazette No. 35313. Broadly the rule provides that all practising members who have practised for less than 40 years and who are less than 60 years old, shall perform pro bono services of not less than 24 hours per calendar year.
Pro bono services shall include, but not be limited to the delivery of advice, opinion or assistance in matters falling within the professional competence of a member, so as to facilitate access to justice for those who cannot afford to pay. The provisions of the KZN Law Society’s pro bono rule is similar to that of the pro bono rules of other provincial law societies, which is important for the development of a common approach and the development of a countrywide pro bono culture.
ProBono.Org is already working closely with the KZN Law Society and the organisations have agreed to a Recognised Structure agreement. As a Recognised Structure, individual attorneys and law firms can receive their pro bono legal work via ProBono.Org, and ProBono.Org will certify the pro bono hours done in fulfilment of the requirements of the rule.
Currently the Durban office of ProBono.Org has various pro bono opportunities to suit different size law firms and a range of legal expertise: matters via the Clearinghouse, Divorce Court Help Desk, Refugee Legal Clinic (Durban), Refugee Legal Clinic (Pietermaritzburg), Micro Trader Legal Support, Consumer Law Clinic, Masters Office Help Desk. Wills Project, and the Labour Law Advice Office.
Source: ProBobo.Org
Pro bono services shall include, but not be limited to the delivery of advice, opinion or assistance in matters falling within the professional competence of a member, so as to facilitate access to justice for those who cannot afford to pay. The provisions of the KZN Law Society’s pro bono rule is similar to that of the pro bono rules of other provincial law societies, which is important for the development of a common approach and the development of a countrywide pro bono culture.
ProBono.Org is already working closely with the KZN Law Society and the organisations have agreed to a Recognised Structure agreement. As a Recognised Structure, individual attorneys and law firms can receive their pro bono legal work via ProBono.Org, and ProBono.Org will certify the pro bono hours done in fulfilment of the requirements of the rule.
Currently the Durban office of ProBono.Org has various pro bono opportunities to suit different size law firms and a range of legal expertise: matters via the Clearinghouse, Divorce Court Help Desk, Refugee Legal Clinic (Durban), Refugee Legal Clinic (Pietermaritzburg), Micro Trader Legal Support, Consumer Law Clinic, Masters Office Help Desk. Wills Project, and the Labour Law Advice Office.
Source: ProBobo.Org
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Legal matchmaker joining resources and genuine need
IT SEEMS entirely apposite that ProBono.Org has the street address of Women's Jail, Constitution Hill; free legal work in SA may have had its roots in the criminal domain, but for services in matters of civil and public interest today, all roads lead to ProBono.
Odette Geldenhuys, founding director and board member of ProBono, says there were a lot of lawyers doing "good legal work, struggle work" pro bono in the 1980s and 1990s, all aimed at ending apartheid, but it was all funded by overseas donors. "As a result, the concept of lawyers doing free legal work outside of the political arena wasn't really developed, but even in the 1980s there was a need for services around labour laws and human rights issues, pass laws and land rights, many of which were handled by the Legal Resources Centre."
Geldenhuys was working as a lawyer during that time and allows they were "really spoilt and cocooned to an extent" as they were busy and externally funded, so didn't think outside of the box too much.
The Legal Aid Board (now Legal Aid SA) was established back in the 1960s as a state- funded institution - which it still is, although the pallor of the poor it helps has changed - but its focus soon became almost entirely criminal defence work.
"Part of the change agenda after 1994 was about increasing access to justice. We could build more courts, have lawyers do community service (which may become a reality soon) and we were throwing around ideas about pro bono work as done overseas," says Geldenhuys. "They were all positive things, but just as we were looking at increasing access to justice, the overseas donors were decreasing or withdrawing their funding."
In about 2001, Lawyers for Human Rights decided to have a conference about the concept of pro bono work, specifically addressing the civil side in terms of family law, land issues, healthcare, constitutional rights and the environment.
"About 50 nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) rocked up - and about thee lawyers," says Geldenhuys. "So we knew we were on to something!"
Lawyers for Human Rights and the Law Society started a website at which lawyers could sign up, but with nobody driving it, it died a quick death. ProBono's website is the rather odd, but accurate, www.probono-org.org.
The next impetus was Webber Wentzel, which in 2003 decided it was time to have a public interest department, started by Moray Hawthorn, one of ProBono's founding members.
"This wasn't as a 'nice to have' but a serious business department with a director, offering appropriate work for free," says Geldenhuys.
The move led to other firms discussing the same thing en masse - lawyers who were often opponents were now obliged to sit at the same table and play nice. They quickly realised the pro bono field was one where they couldn't afford to be competitive.
Meanwhile, Atlantic Philanthropies, that great donor to so many great initiatives in SA, undertook a feasibility study in 2002 to look at the need for something akin to the "pro bono clearing houses" they have in Australia and the US. The study showed it was needed as long as it could be properly managed.
In that same year, Geldenhuys left the legal world to make films, as one does, but in 2005 she decided she should "put one foot back in it". Hawthorn, a friend and former colleague, suggested she join one of the meetings - the same meetings of like-minded lawyers being held for years by then.
It was at this meeting, several years after their study, that Gerald Kraak of Atlantic Philanthropies said they were prepared to fund a pilot project if the firms at the meeting were prepared to support it. The answer was an unequivocal yes.
"I started and ran the project for a year," says Geldenhuys. "It was just me and a computer from Atlantic Philanthropies' offices. Due to my contacts with nongovernmental organisations and my Legal Resources Centre days, cases started coming in. A year later Atlantic Philanthropies agreed to four-year funding."
Today, ProBono's funders comprise an impressive list which includes some of the country's top legal organisations: Andrew Roberts Memorial Fund, Anglo American Chairman's Fund, Bell Dewar, Bowman Gilfillan, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr , Deneys Reitz, Dewey and LeBoeuf, the Johannesburg Bar Council, Johannesburg Legal Centre, LegalWise, Eversheds, The Atlantic Philanthropies, the United Nations Refugee Agency, Webber Wentzel, Werksmans, Claude Leon Foundation, The Wartenweiler Trust, L Wilson Trust and the Open Society Foundation.
ProBono has the capacity to send requests to more than 50 law firms in Jo burg and about 800 advocates at the Jo burg Bar. It also co-ordinates ProBono Law, a show on hosted Radio Today by Patrick Bracher of Deneys Reitz, which focuses on public understanding of the Constitution and bill of rights.
Geldenhuys calls ProBono a matchmaker: "Essentially, we match genuine legal need with the appropriate legal resources."
And a genuine case needs to be more than just a fight between neighbours, there needs to be some public interest or something that feeds into civil society.
The initial consultation with ProBono can be up to five meetings as colleagues, who are all lawyers, and sometimes external lawyers are consulted before determining whether or not a case has merit.
A means test of up to R5000 a month income is undertaken, but if a case is of a serious nature or has sufficient public interest, ProBono will facilitate free legal services without it. Such a case is the recent Sonke Gender Justice Network versus Mr Julius Malema in the Johannesburg Equality Court.
Sonke approached ProBono about Malema's statement that started with "when a woman didn't enjoy it, she leaves early in the morning", and ended with "you don't ask for taxi money from somebody who raped you".
Chris Todd of Bowman Gilfillan litigated the case, facilitated through ProBono, on behalf of Sonke, and won.
The Equality Court decided the statement "amounted to hate speech and/or harassment in terms of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act".
Malema was ordered to pay R50000 to People Opposed to Women Abuse and to apologise.
He hasn't done either and - take this as you will - is appealing.
"Sonke bravely initiated the case before going to ProBono. At the first hearing they didn't have lawyers and Malema arrived with representation. They got a postponement and went to ProBono, who came to us," says Todd, who confirms that Bowman Gilfillan is fully committed to representing Sonke as far as the appeals process goes. Like all cases taken on through ProBono, the commitment is unequivocal, as is the quality of services.
"When you take a pro bono case you can't give second-rate services because there's no fee-paying client," says Todd. "There is no compromising in any matter."
ProBono also runs three legal clinics at its offices every week around refugee law, HIV/AIDS and family law with the appropriate legal firms, as well as working off-site with three branches of Hospice in the greater Soweto area with Eversheds and Deneys Reitz, usually around issues of wills.
The demand for ProBono's services will see its Hospice work expand and they are opening a Durban branch next month. Geldenhuys is moving there to open and run the office and learn to surf.
"The number of law firms we can access will increase, and I expect the type of case we take on will differ. KwaZulu-Natal is far more rural and HIV far more prevalent, so I'm sure our matchmaking role will be a different and busy one.
"For instance, I've been told stories of companies employing specialist organisations with sniffer dogs to sniff out stowaways on ships. Apparently they're sometimes found - then never heard of again, which obviously falls under our work with refugee law."
No surfing medals are expected soon.
Source: BD Live
Odette Geldenhuys, founding director and board member of ProBono, says there were a lot of lawyers doing "good legal work, struggle work" pro bono in the 1980s and 1990s, all aimed at ending apartheid, but it was all funded by overseas donors. "As a result, the concept of lawyers doing free legal work outside of the political arena wasn't really developed, but even in the 1980s there was a need for services around labour laws and human rights issues, pass laws and land rights, many of which were handled by the Legal Resources Centre."
Geldenhuys was working as a lawyer during that time and allows they were "really spoilt and cocooned to an extent" as they were busy and externally funded, so didn't think outside of the box too much.
The Legal Aid Board (now Legal Aid SA) was established back in the 1960s as a state- funded institution - which it still is, although the pallor of the poor it helps has changed - but its focus soon became almost entirely criminal defence work.
"Part of the change agenda after 1994 was about increasing access to justice. We could build more courts, have lawyers do community service (which may become a reality soon) and we were throwing around ideas about pro bono work as done overseas," says Geldenhuys. "They were all positive things, but just as we were looking at increasing access to justice, the overseas donors were decreasing or withdrawing their funding."
In about 2001, Lawyers for Human Rights decided to have a conference about the concept of pro bono work, specifically addressing the civil side in terms of family law, land issues, healthcare, constitutional rights and the environment.
"About 50 nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) rocked up - and about thee lawyers," says Geldenhuys. "So we knew we were on to something!"
Lawyers for Human Rights and the Law Society started a website at which lawyers could sign up, but with nobody driving it, it died a quick death. ProBono's website is the rather odd, but accurate, www.probono-org.org.
The next impetus was Webber Wentzel, which in 2003 decided it was time to have a public interest department, started by Moray Hawthorn, one of ProBono's founding members.
"This wasn't as a 'nice to have' but a serious business department with a director, offering appropriate work for free," says Geldenhuys.
The move led to other firms discussing the same thing en masse - lawyers who were often opponents were now obliged to sit at the same table and play nice. They quickly realised the pro bono field was one where they couldn't afford to be competitive.
Meanwhile, Atlantic Philanthropies, that great donor to so many great initiatives in SA, undertook a feasibility study in 2002 to look at the need for something akin to the "pro bono clearing houses" they have in Australia and the US. The study showed it was needed as long as it could be properly managed.
In that same year, Geldenhuys left the legal world to make films, as one does, but in 2005 she decided she should "put one foot back in it". Hawthorn, a friend and former colleague, suggested she join one of the meetings - the same meetings of like-minded lawyers being held for years by then.
It was at this meeting, several years after their study, that Gerald Kraak of Atlantic Philanthropies said they were prepared to fund a pilot project if the firms at the meeting were prepared to support it. The answer was an unequivocal yes.
"I started and ran the project for a year," says Geldenhuys. "It was just me and a computer from Atlantic Philanthropies' offices. Due to my contacts with nongovernmental organisations and my Legal Resources Centre days, cases started coming in. A year later Atlantic Philanthropies agreed to four-year funding."
Today, ProBono's funders comprise an impressive list which includes some of the country's top legal organisations: Andrew Roberts Memorial Fund, Anglo American Chairman's Fund, Bell Dewar, Bowman Gilfillan, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr , Deneys Reitz, Dewey and LeBoeuf, the Johannesburg Bar Council, Johannesburg Legal Centre, LegalWise, Eversheds, The Atlantic Philanthropies, the United Nations Refugee Agency, Webber Wentzel, Werksmans, Claude Leon Foundation, The Wartenweiler Trust, L Wilson Trust and the Open Society Foundation.
ProBono has the capacity to send requests to more than 50 law firms in Jo burg and about 800 advocates at the Jo burg Bar. It also co-ordinates ProBono Law, a show on hosted Radio Today by Patrick Bracher of Deneys Reitz, which focuses on public understanding of the Constitution and bill of rights.
Geldenhuys calls ProBono a matchmaker: "Essentially, we match genuine legal need with the appropriate legal resources."
And a genuine case needs to be more than just a fight between neighbours, there needs to be some public interest or something that feeds into civil society.
The initial consultation with ProBono can be up to five meetings as colleagues, who are all lawyers, and sometimes external lawyers are consulted before determining whether or not a case has merit.
A means test of up to R5000 a month income is undertaken, but if a case is of a serious nature or has sufficient public interest, ProBono will facilitate free legal services without it. Such a case is the recent Sonke Gender Justice Network versus Mr Julius Malema in the Johannesburg Equality Court.
Sonke approached ProBono about Malema's statement that started with "when a woman didn't enjoy it, she leaves early in the morning", and ended with "you don't ask for taxi money from somebody who raped you".
Chris Todd of Bowman Gilfillan litigated the case, facilitated through ProBono, on behalf of Sonke, and won.
The Equality Court decided the statement "amounted to hate speech and/or harassment in terms of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act".
Malema was ordered to pay R50000 to People Opposed to Women Abuse and to apologise.
He hasn't done either and - take this as you will - is appealing.
"Sonke bravely initiated the case before going to ProBono. At the first hearing they didn't have lawyers and Malema arrived with representation. They got a postponement and went to ProBono, who came to us," says Todd, who confirms that Bowman Gilfillan is fully committed to representing Sonke as far as the appeals process goes. Like all cases taken on through ProBono, the commitment is unequivocal, as is the quality of services.
"When you take a pro bono case you can't give second-rate services because there's no fee-paying client," says Todd. "There is no compromising in any matter."
ProBono also runs three legal clinics at its offices every week around refugee law, HIV/AIDS and family law with the appropriate legal firms, as well as working off-site with three branches of Hospice in the greater Soweto area with Eversheds and Deneys Reitz, usually around issues of wills.
The demand for ProBono's services will see its Hospice work expand and they are opening a Durban branch next month. Geldenhuys is moving there to open and run the office and learn to surf.
"The number of law firms we can access will increase, and I expect the type of case we take on will differ. KwaZulu-Natal is far more rural and HIV far more prevalent, so I'm sure our matchmaking role will be a different and busy one.
"For instance, I've been told stories of companies employing specialist organisations with sniffer dogs to sniff out stowaways on ships. Apparently they're sometimes found - then never heard of again, which obviously falls under our work with refugee law."
No surfing medals are expected soon.
Source: BD Live
Monday, February 25, 2008
Don't sacrifice lives for profit, says Motsepe
No life could be "sacrificed" in the name of profits, mining magnate and businessman Patrice Motsepe told protesting workers at a ferromanganese smelter near Durban on Monday. Speaking to workers, who on Monday staged a protest at the Assmang smelter following Sunday's blast that claimed the lives of five people, Motsepe said: "There is no life that can be sacrificed in the name of profits or making money. I will not tolerate it."
Motsepe, who is the largest single shareholder in African Rainbow Minerals, which is a 50% shareholder in Assmang, said that the circumstances surrounding Sunday's accident appeared to be similar to an accident that happened at the smelter last year. Motsepe spoke to workers after meeting with the Assmang management as well as senior workers' representatives. The explosion and subsequent fire ripped through the number six furnace of the smelter shortly before 5am in Cato Ridge, about 60km from Durban. One person died at the scene while a further four died during the course of Sunday and Monday morning. After addressing the workers, Motsepe told journalist that he could not comment on the cause of the accident until the completion of investigations. "We are not representing shareholders' interests if there is no zero tolerance towards [poor] safety," he said. Following the blast, the smelter's six furnaces were shut down. Motsepe could not immediately say how much the shutdown was costing the company. However, even though the smelter had been shut down, the estimated 700 workers were still expected to report for work to ensure that they were paid.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister of social welfare Meshak Radebe and Durban mayor Obed Mlaba also briefly spoke to the protesting workers. Earlier in the day about 100 workers marched from the smelter to the Cato Ridge Country club with a coffin, which they then placed in the middle of a hall where a Labour Department inquiry into a manganese poisoning case at Assmang was being held. The inquiry had to be postponed and was resumed later in the afternoon when the workers returned to the smelter. The inquiry, headed by Vuli Sibisi, is investigating the alleged 40 cases of manganism caused by workers breathing in fumes with airborne manganese particles.
Manganism is acquired by over-exposure to airborne manganese and is a disease that affects the sufferer's central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Assmang executive director, Brian Brookeman, was about to give testimony when the workers marched into the hall with their coffin. On Monday, the Labour Department announced that the company would be subject to a second inquiry that would investigate the cause of Sunday's explosion. Labour department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said "a full-scale government investigation is under way following yesterday's [Sunday] massive explosion. The inquiry aims at establishing the cause of the tragedy, including any possible negligence or flouting of occupational health and safety measures," she said. On Sunday she said: "Labour inspectors who immediately arrived at the scene have in a preliminary report indicated that it is suspected that a water leakage into furnace number six caused the explosion to occur."
Earlier, National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said that the company's engineers had ordered that the furnace be shut down before the explosion "after it was detected to have a water leakage". "We do not know how and why it was operated by the night-shift staff operators, because it was declared unsafe to put it [the furnace] in operation and we believe drastic steps after thorough investigations should be taken," Numsa local organiser Siphiwe Ntsele said. He said it was the second blast in nearly three months. He claimed that a worker had died on December 14 2007, in a similar blast.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Monday condemned the blast and vowed to "pull all stops in getting someone to account for the deaths and injuries" in Sunday's incident.
Source: IoL
Motsepe, who is the largest single shareholder in African Rainbow Minerals, which is a 50% shareholder in Assmang, said that the circumstances surrounding Sunday's accident appeared to be similar to an accident that happened at the smelter last year. Motsepe spoke to workers after meeting with the Assmang management as well as senior workers' representatives. The explosion and subsequent fire ripped through the number six furnace of the smelter shortly before 5am in Cato Ridge, about 60km from Durban. One person died at the scene while a further four died during the course of Sunday and Monday morning. After addressing the workers, Motsepe told journalist that he could not comment on the cause of the accident until the completion of investigations. "We are not representing shareholders' interests if there is no zero tolerance towards [poor] safety," he said. Following the blast, the smelter's six furnaces were shut down. Motsepe could not immediately say how much the shutdown was costing the company. However, even though the smelter had been shut down, the estimated 700 workers were still expected to report for work to ensure that they were paid.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister of social welfare Meshak Radebe and Durban mayor Obed Mlaba also briefly spoke to the protesting workers. Earlier in the day about 100 workers marched from the smelter to the Cato Ridge Country club with a coffin, which they then placed in the middle of a hall where a Labour Department inquiry into a manganese poisoning case at Assmang was being held. The inquiry had to be postponed and was resumed later in the afternoon when the workers returned to the smelter. The inquiry, headed by Vuli Sibisi, is investigating the alleged 40 cases of manganism caused by workers breathing in fumes with airborne manganese particles.
Manganism is acquired by over-exposure to airborne manganese and is a disease that affects the sufferer's central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Assmang executive director, Brian Brookeman, was about to give testimony when the workers marched into the hall with their coffin. On Monday, the Labour Department announced that the company would be subject to a second inquiry that would investigate the cause of Sunday's explosion. Labour department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said "a full-scale government investigation is under way following yesterday's [Sunday] massive explosion. The inquiry aims at establishing the cause of the tragedy, including any possible negligence or flouting of occupational health and safety measures," she said. On Sunday she said: "Labour inspectors who immediately arrived at the scene have in a preliminary report indicated that it is suspected that a water leakage into furnace number six caused the explosion to occur."
Earlier, National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said that the company's engineers had ordered that the furnace be shut down before the explosion "after it was detected to have a water leakage". "We do not know how and why it was operated by the night-shift staff operators, because it was declared unsafe to put it [the furnace] in operation and we believe drastic steps after thorough investigations should be taken," Numsa local organiser Siphiwe Ntsele said. He said it was the second blast in nearly three months. He claimed that a worker had died on December 14 2007, in a similar blast.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Monday condemned the blast and vowed to "pull all stops in getting someone to account for the deaths and injuries" in Sunday's incident.
Source: IoL
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