A shepherd lets sheep out to graze in the early morning. The commonage in Upington is hot and dry. There is very little for livestock to graze.

Small-scale livestock farmers in Upington using municipal owned common land face severe water and grazing shortages.
The farmers pay fees but say they receive minimal support as they struggle with water scarcity and frequent livestock theft.
A 2022 draft policy to empower emerging farmers and manage the common land has never been implemented.

Small livestock farmers on common land in Upington are desperate for water. The farmers’ kraals and grazing areas are on municipal commonage in this hot and arid town south of the Kalahari desert.

The Hondejag commonage lies between the townships of Rosedale and Paballelo. It is owned by the Dawid Kruiper Municipality, and according to draft municipal policy, which dates from 2022, it is to be used for the “empowerment of emerging farmers within the municipal area” and the “alleviation of poverty by making land available to poor residents”. This policy has yet to be applied.

Little grows on the sandy plains. And most of the 80 or so farmers on the commonage do not have access to water at their kraals for sheep, goats and cattle. There are communal water tanks supplied by the municipality, but the farmers say there is little water in the tanks.

Andre van Wyk, who farms on the Rosedale side of the commonage, said that the pressure in the water tanks is very bad and water only dribbles out, if at all. It is worst on hot days, he said.

“We are dependent on the vegetation,” said Van Wyk.

Andre van Wyk fills his tank with water that he had to fetch from home. He said that water pressure is very low.

Farmers have resorted to fetching water from their homes and carting it daily with their trucks to their thirsty livestock.

Rosedale farmers are also battling frequent livestock theft. There is no fencing.

Carl Stevens say she lost about 64 of his livestock in January.

They were either stolen or just lost, said Stevens. “My heart is sore.”

Farmer Frankie Koopman wondered how the municipality expected them to farm enough to export and make a livelihood.

“It is any person’s desire to make your farming successful, so it can provide for you. No one wants to farm just for the sake of it,” he said.

Carl Stevens said that over 60 of his livestock were either stolen or lost in January.

On the Paballelo side, farmers’ kraals are lined up next to one another and they are cramped. When the farmers were moved here they were told it was only temporary. That was in 2013.

“Look at how many people are here. There is no grazing here anymore. It is very cramped. There is nothing here anymore,” said farmer Paulina September.

Overgrazing and lack of water makes it difficult for the emerging farmers to feed their livestock. Yet they pay a fee to the municipality for each animal for use of the commonage.

“For eight months I haven’t had water here. There is no water,” said farmer Mangaliso Mashiyi. “Can they not take us somewhere where there is wetter ground?”

Mashiyi said the day they have access to water, they will have no trouble paying their bills.

Maria Lankalebalela has to transport bales of feed as there isnt enough food for the animals to graze on. She says that she is also struggling with access to water.

Aaron Ranayeke, a representative of the small-scale farmers at the Trust for Community Outreach and Education, said the draft commonage policy from 2022 would give the farmers more power to make decisions about the land. But the municipality had delayed implementing it.

“The municipality is running away from that power,” said Ranayeke.

The draft policy sets out a framework for the management of the commonage through a “Commonage Committee”. It is to consist of commonage users, representatives of the municipality and the departments of agriculture, water and SAPS. This committee will make recommendations to the municipal council.

Every commonage is also to have a management committee with emerging farmers as members. The management committee would be responsible for managing the commonage and reporting to the Commonage Committee.

There isn’t always water available for the animals when they return from grazing in the field.

The acting district manager of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture’s directorate for Agricultural Producer Support and Development, Andres Majaja, said that the management of the commonage is the “sole responsibility” of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality .

Majaja said the last commonage committee meeting for Dawid Kruiper Municipality was held on 14 February 2014. A meeting to revive the Commonage Committee was held on the 19 September 2024, but only two farmers attended the meeting, and “the meeting didn’t reach a desired outcome”.

He said the reason the meeting was badly attended was because the municipality had postponed meetings with the farmers so many times.

Another meeting, where farmers were due to address the council, was cancelled. The farmers were told this when they arrived at the municipal buildings.

Majaja said the fees farmers are paying to the municipality are for the use of grazing. The funds should be applied to maintain fences and stock water systems on commonage farms.

“On municipal grazing land, there are no sustainable agricultural management practices followed, and these grazing areas tend to be the first to show signs of drought when conditions are unfavourable,” he said.

Dawid Kruiper municipality spokesperson Patrick Williams promised to respond to GroundUp’s questions but had not done so at the time of publication, despite numerous follow-ups.

About 80 small-scale farmers live on commonage land in Upington. The area is hot with very little rain.

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The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) emphatically rejects the government’s plan to implement early retirement initiatives for public servants, which was announced during the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). This cost-cutting measure, aimed at reducing the public sector wage bill, threatens service delivery and jeopardises the livelihoods of thousands of working-class families.

The National Treasury has allocated R11 billion to fund the programme over the next two fiscal years, targeting approximately 30,000 employees for early retirement. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has attempted to justify this initiative by stating it will safeguard critical skills and avoid being a “free-for-all.”

SAFTU rejects this programme for the following reasons: The public service is already having a massive vacancy rate. The Home Affairs Department alone has only 37% of what it requires to make the country’s immigration policy functional. The Department of Health has 40,000 vacancies. The South African police service has up to 60,000 vacancies. As a result of these vacancies, South Africa’s ratios of public sector per to the population continue to deteriorate. For example:

a) South Africa’s police-to-population ratio is approximately 1:413, meaning there is one police officer for every 413 citizens (based on recent SAPS statistics). The UN recommends a police-to-population ratio of 1:450 as a general guideline.

b) As of 2019, South Africa’s doctor-to-population ratio was approximately 0.79 per 1,000 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 1 doctor per 1,000 people.

c) South Africa has 1.52 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least ten psychiatrists per 100,000. The situation is even more severe in rural areas, where the ratio drops to as low as 0.03 per 100,000.

d) In South Africa, the ratio of correctional services staff to inmates is estimated at 1:25 in some facilities. Some of our correctional services facilities have up to 148.5% overcrowding. Prison Studies Penal Reform InternationalThe United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) recommends ratios closer to 1:3 or 1:5 to effectively manage rehabilitation programs, maintain security, and uphold prisoner rights . Penal Reform International.

e) South Africa’s pupil-to-teacher ratio in public schools is approximately 29.8 learners per teacher by 2021. The global average pupil-to-teacher ratio in primary education is around 23. Reducing the public sector by 30,000 will make this situation worse. This proposition can only be made by a government that has lost touch with reality. It is a statement made by an uncaring state that has long abandoned the working class’s interests. Lastly, it’s a statement made by people who long contracted out of the public service who and their families receive better services in the private sector health, who have bodyguards and private security in their homes and whose children received education in the private sector.

SAFTU disputes the lie repeatedly told to the country that the public servants are earning too much. It is the higher echelons at the level of the Director Generals and the politicians who are earning way above their counterparts, including when compared to the first world leaders. This situation has worsened because of the so-called Government of National Unity, which has 32 Cabinet Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers. With a much larger population, Germany has 16 federal ministries, and the United Kingdom typically maintains around 20 prominent cabinet positions.

SAFTU warns that the plan to cut 30,000 public servants will result in the loss of experienced professionals, the erosion of institutional knowledge, and further strain on already overstretched government services.

Public servants are the backbone of critical sectors, including healthcare, education, and social welfare. Encouraging early retirements will likely worsen the capacity crisis in government departments, particularly in rural and under-resourced areas, leaving vulnerable communities to suffer the consequences.

SAFTU Strongly disputes the narrative that austerity measures targeting workers can rejuvenate the public service. True revitalisation requires investment in:

● Improved working conditions,

● Filling critical vacancies to meet the growing needs of the population,

● Addressing corruption and wasteful expenditure,

● Investing in skills development and youth employment initiatives without displacing existing workers and

● Strengthening public sector capacity to ensure quality service delivery for all South Africans. The Federation asserts that the root causes of the ballooning wage bill are not the salaries of hardworking public servants but the systemic mismanagement of public funds, corruption and prioritisation of elite interest over the needs of the majority.

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A bustling second-hand clothing market in Johannesburg. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro

Thousands of people have signed a petition opposing the SA Revenue Service decision to close a loophole in the tariff on clothes imported from outlets such as Shein and Temu.

Before 1 November, importers had to pay a 45% tariff on clothes above R500, as well as VAT. But a “concession” was applied for goods valued at less than R500, with importers paying a flat rate of 20% instead of a tariff, and no VAT. Exporters could therefore break up their orders into “small parcels” valued below R500 and escape the 45% duty and VAT.

According to Simon Eppel, director of policy and research at the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU), this allowed retailers such as Shein and Temu to sell their products more cheaply, undercutting local retailers, and undermining local factories.

As of November, imports under R500 are also subject to the 45% tariff and VAT. Announcing the change, SARS said it had noted “legitimate concerns” which had been expressed about the import of goods, especially clothing, by importers who had not been paying customs duties and VAT, resulting in unfair competition.

As a result, SARS said, VAT would be introduced on these imports, and the duty would be reconfigured from 1 November.

Undeclared goods

South Africa’s Retail-Clothing, Textile, Footwear and Leather Masterplan launched in 2019 was designed to strengthen local factories and increase jobs in the industry.

According to Eppel, more than 20,000 jobs have been created, and there has been an increase in locally-sourced clothing, accessories and footwear by almost 60%.

The Masterplan also includes measures to minimise customs fraud, which Eppel says is one of the biggest challenges facing clothing manufacturers. Goods are misclassified or under-invoiced to evade tariffs and then sold at deflated prices, undermining local factories. Under the Masterplan, SARS has increased inspections and seizure of goods.

Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation, said that illegal activity is difficult to quantify, but that there are differences of billions of rands between exports declared in China and imports declared in South Africa.

He said he supported the new tariffs.

But Free Market Foundation policy officer Zakhele Mthembu told GroundUp that people who relied on cheap clothing will not be able to afford those products anymore.

“The government, after being lobbied by local businesses, has the intention of making imports more expensive so that consumers would buy the already expensive clothing sold by South African retailers,” Mthembu said.

More than 24,000 people have signed a petition on change.org, calling on SARS not to implement the change. “South Africans cannot afford this, we buy from Shein and Temu because we cannot afford clothes from local businesses, the point of Shein and Temu is affordability,” the petition reads.

A consumer’s view

A GroundUp staff member bought a pair of fashionable boots from Shein for R300. She said locally they would have cost her several hundred rand more and she would have been reluctant to buy them at that price.

Comparing clothes across retailers is hard because one seldom finds exactly the same product for sale from more than one company. But an orange sundress from Shein is being sold for R132 (including the tariffs as far as we can tell). A similar dress at a local retailer is being sold for over R200.

A pair of women’s high-waist ripped jeans is being sold on Temu for R379. We found a similar product at a lower price on Superbalist. But an equivalent product in-store at a popular chain was over R500.

When we searched the Temu website, we were struck by how fast it is and the number of choices for an item like “men’s jeans”. The website of a very popular local clothing chain was much slower and had far fewer options.

But there are also numerous complaints online about quality and service. An article in The Guardian describes shopping from Temu as “playing a lucky dip”.

Also, returning goods in-person to large South African retailers like Mr Price or Foschini is usually straightforward. Ordering goods online is easy. Returning goods ordered online appears to be more frustrating and requires much more trust. Temu’s site describes a decent though complicated return policy; the consumer has to hope that a process that involves packaging it and sending it back via courier, will result in a refund.

There are numerous complaints on Hello Peter, a consumer review site, from people who struggled to obtain or return goods or get refunds from Shein and Temu. Nevertheless the success of these online exporters shows that many South Africans have confidence in their products and delivery model.

Poor working conditions

Shein and Temu operate their manufacturing primarily in China, where workers are paid very low wages in poor working conditions compared to South Africa.

Shein was founded in Nanjing, China, in 2008. It specialises in fast fashion. Temu, also a Chinese company, started in 2022. Both are online marketplaces, exporting products from China directly to consumers across the planet. Their Wikipedia pages list numerous controversies and criticisms of the companies, particularly with regard to labour practices.

We asked both companies to comment for this article but neither responded.

The post Tariffs on Shein and Temu: cheaper clothes versus saving jobs appeared first on Vuka News.

Sea Harvest and the striking workers are 1.5% apart in their negotiations over the wage increase. All photos by Mzi Velapi

By Mzi Velapi – this post was first published by Elitsha

Last year the company made profit of R282-million. – The strike by Sea Harvest workers demanding better pay and improved working conditions entered its second day. With solidarity support from workers at Selecta, a subsidiary of Sea Harvest, Sea Harvest workers at the production plants in the Waterfront and Airport industria, are demanding an across-the-board salary increase of 8% while the employer is offering 6,5%.

Independent Commercial Hospitality and Allied Workers Union (Ichawu) shopsteward at Viking Sea Food Centre, bought by Sea Harvest in 2018, Nkosana Ngubo said that they have issues with hourly rates that are not consistent for workers doing the same job. “You find that there are general workers whose hourly rate is R31 whilst others earn R27. We are not treated with respect and dignity as people who make profits for the company. The cost of living is high but they do not want to give us what is due to us,” he said.

Another shopsteward at the plant, Lungisa Botha said that the high turnover of personnel at the company is a challenge for the union. “We are still dealing with issues that were negotiated three years ago. I’m not sure how many times they have changed the HR manager and every time we need to start from scratch with a new manager,” he said.

A worker at Selecta, Lumka Makhohliso told Elitsha that they support the strike because they will also soon need the support of their fellow union members when they take on the company on issues of incentive bonuses and leave days. They are only allowed 2 leave days a month and forfeit a performance bonus if they take 3 days leave, she said. “We are part of the same union and we believe an injury to one is an injury to all.”

In a statement released yesterday, the company said that it was still willing to negotiate in good faith with the union. Ichawu’s organiser, Leo Bottoman said they are also willing to negotiate if the company presents a new offer.

The post Sea Harvest strike continues to second day appeared first on Vuka News.

By Mzi Velapi – this post was originally published on Elitsha

Summary by Vuka.news:

Strike Overview: Sea Harvest workers are on strike, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Workers include truck drivers, welders, forklift drivers, pipe fitters, and general workers. Strikes occurred in Cape Town city centre and outside the airport.

Wage Demands: Workers want an 8% salary increase; the company is offering 6.5%. Union representative Leo Bottoman said they aim to reduce the large pay gap between workers and management. Management earns three to four times more than workers, according to Bottoman.

Comparison to Competitors: Workers want their wages aligned with competitor I&J. A general worker earns R34/hour at Sea Harvest but R54/hour at I&J. Workers demand a minimum wage of R7,000 per month and an employee share scheme.

Additional Demands: Increase the night shift food allowance from R80 to R120. Introduce a cold room allowance due to harsh working conditions. Better protective gear for cold environments.

Worker Conditions: Justin Peterson, a forklift driver, earns R43/hour and works in frigid conditions (-18°C). Peterson supports four children and his wife on this wage. Bottoman claims workers’ pay grading is outdated and unfair.

Recent Safety Concerns: In May, a Sea Harvest vessel capsized, with 11 fishermen presumed dead. In October, a fire broke out on another vessel, prompting safety inspections of all fishing vessels.

• “The gap between what these workers earn and what the management earn is triple or even four times more,” – Leo Bottoman.
• “We are also demanding a cold room allowance and the food allowance for night shift to be increased from R80 to R120 as one cannot have a decent meal from R80,” – Leo Bottoman.
• “The fridges are set at -18%, so you can imagine how cold it is. They give us freezer suits, kidney belts, balaclava and socks. We are three drivers and a casual and we have to divide all the work between us. I earn only R43 per hour and I have to feed my four children and take care of my wife from that,” – Justin Peterson.
• “You will find out that people who were employed after me have a rate that is better than mine,” – Justin Peterson.
• “The company remains committed to negotiating in good faith for the long-term sustainability of the business, which will enable it to continue creating sustainable jobs for the long-term well-being of its staff,” – Anthea Abraham.

The post Sea Harvest workers go on strike appeared first on Vuka News.

Residents, landlords and immigrant spaza shop owners at a community meeting at Babs Madlakane Hall in KwaNobuhle, Kariega, on Thursday. Photo: Thamsanqa Mbovane

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is scrambling to legalise residential based enterprises

By Thamsanqa Mbovane

Hundreds of landlords in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality were shocked to learn that they have to pay R2,207 to apply for a permit to rent out “spaza shops”.

Landlords and immigrant spaza shop owners from Pakistan, Somali and Ethiopia were called to a meeting at Babs Madlakane Hall in KwaNobuhle, Kariega, on Thursday. The meeting was convened by SAPS, the community policing forum, and a group of pastors. The pastors have an office at the police station called Spiritual Crime Prevention (SCP).

Mthulisi Msimanga, director of land and planning in the metro, told the attendees: “You’re not allowed to run a business before our approval. The application assessment process takes between 14 and 30 days. You are only permitted to operate a home enterprise after the application has been approved by the municipality.”

“The landlords must visit the land planning offices on the third floor at Lillian Diedricks Building in Govan Mbeki Avenue, Gqeberha. We want landlords only, not spaza shop owners.”

Msimanga said, “These policies were made by the councillors and we must implement them.”

Aretha Plata, from the public health directorate, told the shop owners they also had to pay R796 for a business license.

“The first requirement before you come to our office is to get consent from the municipality’s town planning. After that we require you to have a waste removal paper … The landlords must use a registered service provider or the municipality to collect rubbish legally.”

The third paper that businesses should have is pest control, because in shops there are dangerous chemicals that can contaminate or poison food.

The fourth requirement is food safety training, whether selling sealed food or takeaways, she said.

“You are not supposed to do decanting. Anything you sell is supposed to have a label and an expiry date. We don’t allow decanting,” said Plata.

Apostle Nceba Jantjies, of SCP, told the gathering, “We have elderly people who make a living by renting out their houses to foreign nationals for over 15 years … The municipality failed long ago to address this situation.”

“We are seeing the hall is packed and that means foreign nationals care; they want to adhere to the law.”

Mnyamezeli Luphondwana, a landlord, raised his concern: “Changing our houses to business premises could make the government take away our [social] grants.”

As the meeting adjourned, shop owners pushed and shoved to get application forms from municipal officials.

The post Spaza shop landlords shocked by R2,200 permit fee appeared first on Vuka News.

Four years after the landmark Concourt Mahalangu ruling, domestic workers are still unable to access compensation. Archive photo: Bernard Chiguvare

UIF registration system works poorly

By Kimberly Mutandiro and GroundUp Staff

Employers are evading accountability when domestic workers are injured on the job, Pinky Mashiane, founder of United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA), told a roundtable discussion organised by the Social Economic Rights Institute at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The discussion comes on the fourth anniversary of the landmark Constitutional Court Mahlangu ruling in 2020 that gave domestic workers the right to be covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).

Following the ruling, the Department of Labour made amendments to allow for the inclusion of domestic workers and called on employers to register their employees and contribute to the fund. It also embarked on a nationwide awareness campaign.

But Mashiane says many employers have still not registered their workers for Compensation or with the Unemployment Insurance Fund or even implemented the national minimum wage.

She said few of UDWOSA’s 820 members are registered for both COIDA and UIF.

Some domestic workers are afraid they will lose their jobs if they demand registration.

Mashiane said the Department of Labour needs to take action.

Hannah Kaisa said none of her three employers since 2015 registered her for UIF. She was unable to claim any benefits when her employment was twice abruptly terminated.

“The Department of Labour should make inspections in private residential areas where we work and compel our employers to register us,” she said.

“All we want is for our rights to be recognised,” said Talent Ncube. She was unfairly dismissed two months ago and she is struggling because she has no UIF.

Chiedza Maphosa, a domestic worker with a Zimbabwe Exception Permit, lost her job in 2023 and has been struggling to access her UIF money for the past year.

“There have been issues with the department officials failing to understand the validity of my permit. At first, they asked me to bring a valid permit. When I told them that the permit was extended, they told me that they needed to do some verification first. To date, I’m still waiting,” she said.

Maggie Mthombeni, from IZWI Domestic Workers, which represents mostly immigrant workers, said they had cases where UIF deductions were made only to discover later the workers were never registered.

Deputy Director from the Compensation Fund Sifiso Dlamini said the department had only received 43 claims, of which 40 were for occupational injury.

UIF registration system makes it hard

In 2020 GroundUp published a story explaining how one of our staff members attempted to register a domestic worker on the UIF system. The attempt ended in failure because of a myriad system problems including difficulty resetting a password.

On Friday a GroundUp staff member tried to register a domestic worker on UIF. Again the system presented barriers. The staff member discovered that he was still registered on the UIF system. He asked for a password reset, but no password reset email arrived (he checked his spam folder).

While some employers may not be registering their domestic workers out of choice, many who wish to comply with the law have likely been frustrated by a poorly implemented computer system.

The post Union criticises employers for not registering domestic workers with UIF. But it’s not so simple appeared first on Vuka News.

this post first appeared on SAFTU

BY SAFTU

The South African Federation of Trade welcomes the turnaround of South African Airways( SAA), the state carrier. SAA has been plagued by maladministration, corruption, and a negative balance sheet for many years.

The Interim Board of SAA presented the results of its turnaround at its Annual General Meeting on November 20, 2024. The report stated that the long-struggling state-owned carrier recorded its first net profit of R252 million in ten years for the financial year 2022/23. In addition, the carrier’s balance sheet registered positive equity of R4.7 billion settled all its legacy debt obligations, and became debt-free.

The change in SAA’s fortunes comes at a critical time in the mainstream economic discourse, a time when it has become trite that SOEs are a burden on the national fiscus that must, therefore, be sold off to the private sector, which is a paragon of efficiency, clean governance and not prone to corruption. South Africa’s Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, expressed this view in an interview with the Sunday Times in July 2024. Echoing mainstream economic opinion, Mashatile stated that he would prefer the public carrier be sold. Or if not, he would at the very least like it to go into the so-called public-private partnership to unburden the national fiscus.

The drive to sell off state-owned entities, which presents itself as an evidence-backed objective scientific conclusion, is ideological smoke and mirrors. It is an attempt to manufacture public consensus in the interest of capital. It is based on the neoliberal dogma that sees the private sector as inherently efficient, corruption-free, and providing affordable goods and services to the public. The mandate is public evil, private good. This logic explains the deafening silence of the National Treasury in its latest Medium Term Budget Policy Statement about the R3.8 billion requested by the business rescue practitioners to conclude the South African Post Office business rescue process.

But the push for the privatisation of SOEs under the guise of efficiency is a neoliberal Trojan horse whose belly is pumped full of unaffordable prices, the exclusion of the overwhelming majority of the working class from services, and massive profits for private corporations.

The SAA is not the only SOE to have recorded a positive balance sheet. In September 2024, the Airports Company South Africa(ACSA) announced an after-tax profit of R472 million for the financial year 2023/2024. Moreover, ACSA increased its revenue by 16% to R7 billion from the previous R6 billion recorded in the last financial year. Before, interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation earnings increased by 51% to R2.9 billion from R1.9 billion. All this while the entity is operating in a hostile, globally competitive market.

The turnaround of these two SOEs belies the neoliberal truism that SOEs are an inherent fiscal liability and must, therefore, be sold off to the almighty, the all-knowing, and the ever-efficient private sector. Further, the turnaround lends credibility to our long-held position. If recapitalised, administered with due diligence by competent personnel, and corruption weeded out, SOEs can return to their former glory. Had the South African Post Office (SAPO) received the R3.8 billion requested by the business rescue practitioners to complete the business rescue, it would have been turned around. Had Telkom not been allowed to undermine the Act that established it by handing over the telegraph business to British BT (British Telecom), SAPO would not be in the dire straits it is today.

The cash flow problems that have haunted the SAPO compelled it to enter into business rescue three years ago to avert liquidation. In this process, the SAPO received R2.4 billion from the Treasury as part of the business rescue deal. With these funds, the business rescue practitioners settled the entity’s debt obligations and restructured it with the business rescue plan. Since entering business rescue, the SAPO has registered progress. Between June 2023 and June 2024, the SAPO has turned its net asset value from a negative R7.9 billion to R840 million, bringing it into solvency. Furthermore, the SAPO has since seen operations improve – reducing backlogs in its mail centre and completing data centre migration.

The neoliberal mantra that SOEs must be sold off has been thoroughly negated by the successes of SAA and ACSA. SAA and ACSA exemplify how Eskom, Prasa, Transnet, Denel, and other critical SOEs can be rehabilitated in public hands.

The post SAFTU ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS TURNAROUND appeared first on Vuka News.

this statement was originally posted by the Centre for Environmental Rights

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 21 November 2024

We, members of the Stilfontein Solidarity Committee (SSC), composed of various civil society organisations, stand united in our concern over the ongoing situation inStilfontein. We are deeply troubled by the recent xenophobic remarks made by representatives of the state. Such utterances not only fuel division but also betray the principles enshrined in our Constitution and our historical commitment to unity and inclusivity.

Xenophobia:
We call upon the state to reject the allure of cheap populism for electoral gains. The government must remember its constitutional and historical obligations to fight against all forms of fascism and hate. An agenda of inclusion is fundamental to building a society that is caring and prosperous, where every individual, regardless of origin, can contribute to and benefit from our nation’s growth.

The members of the SSC are eminently aware that the state has tried to characterize the artisanal mining question within simple xenophobic terms, but as the SSC, we wish to reject such narrow simplistic characterisations and wish to remind South Africans that there are thousands of families who survive off the scavenging activity of artisanal mining in a situation where communities face up to 80% unemployment and where they are denied economic opportunities that are on their door- step.

Since the advent of Colonial Mining in South Africa, when the then colonial state passed laws to force black men to enter the mines for a slave wage, the mining houses have been recruiting young black men to work on the mines from across Southern Africa and many of these Southern African communities have become as much part of the mining landscape (Labour Sending Areas) as had millions of South Africans over the past 150 years.

Many communities who have historically relied on mining to fuel their local economies are left destitute and jobless after the mines have closed. Artisanal mining has often filled the void left by the departure of these mining companies, but government has failed to understand the dire situation ghost towns like Stilfontein face, once the mines have left. The state must take responsibility for the ways in which they have allowed mining companies to operate with impunity and for allowing these mining companies to leave open holes in the ground and have allowed mining companies to abandon workers from other countries, leaving them in South Africa without jobs and without alternatives.

The solution must be one that does not victimise the poor workers and communities who are simply trying to eat, but which holds mining companies who have grown stinking rich off our national wealth, to account.
The state should be the custodian of the weak and marginalised not of the rich and greedy mining companies who flight Trillions of rands out of our country each year.

Economic Structural Issues:
The structural economic conditions within the mining sector demand urgent attention and intervention. The mining sector has the potential to significantly reduce unemployment and uplift communities if only the government would engage collaboratively with local communities and civil society to implement progressive and inclusive legislation. We urge the Government to work with us to fast-track amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) so that lasting solutions can be crafted which do not criminalise poor and marginalised communities. These solutions must allow those with the skills and interest to generate wealth in safe and regulated ways, so that these abandoned mines can help to stimulate local economies and uplift the entire community, as the wealth extracted will not be flighted off to Europe.

Amendments to the MPRDA:
We urge the Minister to deal urgently with the proposed amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), which we have delivered to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources on the 14th of November this year. These amendments include a range of proposals to regulate the ASM sector and for ensuring greater community inclusion, and benefit from, the mining sector.

Law Enforcement and Community Safety:
The lack of consistent day-to-day policing has left a vacuum in our society across the board, allowing criminal elements, including gangs, to exploit the situation. This is not just a problem in areas where Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) occurs but is a national issue which can be found everywhere, especially where poverty, and the retreat/ or failure of policing intersect.

The problem in mining affected communities where ASM takes place is made even worse by the fact that the sector is not regulated, and where the lack of government regulation has allowed criminal syndicates to gain the upper hand. This has led to manifestation of a state of lawlessness and has left affected communities in terrifying and traumatic ways. The presence of law enforcement should not be reduced to mere photo opportunities like “vala umgodi” was intended to be, instead, it requires a sustained commitment to community safety and justice.

Community safety cannot be achieved without the community and the solutions to isolating and getting rid of the criminal syndicates must include not only community involvement on day-to-day policing initiatives but must also include a plan to deal with the economic exclusion and hunger faced by the community. Anything less will be papering over the cracks only for it to resurface further down the line. We call on the state to offer holistic solutions rather than simply lashing out with violence.

Call to Action:

We call upon: The Public and Media:
To join us in demanding the safe release of the miners trapped in Stilfontein. Your voice can make a difference in ensuring that human rights are upheld even in the face of the state failures to regulate the ASM sector and the absence of police in the day-to-day policing of our communities. We also call on the public to join your local community organisation and to ensure that we become part of the solutions to hold the state to account for allowing this state of decay and lawlessness to take hold and to get involved in local efforts to drive criminal syndicates out.

The Government:
To accelerate the process of amending the MPRDA to reflect a more inclusive and
community- focused approach to mining. This legislation must not only regulate but also
empower, ensuring that mining operations contribute positively to the socio-economic
fabric of our nation. To urgently work with communities to find lasting and sustainable solutions to their economic exclusion and to collectively work to isolating criminal elements. Considering these issues, we advocate for:

1. Immediate action to ensure the safety and rights of all individuals involved in
mining activities, legal or otherwise, while working towards solutions that provide
alternative livelihoods

2. A robust dialogue between the government, mining communities, and civil society
organisations to develop policies that genuinely address the root causes of illegal
mining, rather than merely the symptoms.

3. A comprehensive review of policing strategies to ensure they are proactive,
community-oriented, and capable of addressing the security vacuum that has
allowed criminal gangs to thrive.

We stand resolute in our belief that through unity, dialogue, and inclusive policymaking,
we can transform the mining sector into a beacon of hope and prosperity for all South
Africans. Issued by the Stilfontein Solidary Committe and endorsed by the following organisations:

1. MACUA – Mining Affected Communities United in Action
2. SAFTU – South African Federation of Trade Unions
3. GIWUSA – General Industries Workers Union of South Africa
4. LHR – Lawyers for Human Rights
5. SAGRC – South African Green Revolutionary Council
6. BMF – Bench Marks Foundation
7. FHR – Foundation for Human Rights
8. CALS – Centre for Applied Legal Studies.
9. AASA – ActionAid South Africa
10. LMN- London Mining Network
11. CER- Centre for Environmental Rights
12. LRC – Legal Resources Centre

For media enquiries contact MACUA-WAMUA’s media and communications manager, Magnificent Mndebele at 064 785 9746 or magnificent.mndebele@macua.org.za

The post Press release: Statement from the Stilfontein Solidarity Committee on the Stilfontein Mining Crisis. appeared first on Vuka News.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions(SAFTU) is disgusted by the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut policy rates by a mere pittance of 25 basis points. This quarter of a percent cut in the context of such an extremely high-interest regime will not provide any reprieve for those struggling to meet their debt obligations. Most importantly, these unjustifiably high interest rates will continue to throttle the economy.

The SARB’s reduction in the policy rate by this fraction of a percent does not translate into anything significant for those struggling to honour their debt obligations. The repo rate has been cut by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 7.75% from 8%. The prime lending rate has also been adjusted to 11.25% from 11.5%.

If a borrower receives the prime lending rate of 11.25% (and nearly all pay 1-3% higher), then a bond repayment for a house of R750 000, which was R7,998 before the cut, has now reduced to R7,798.05, which will put a mere R199,95 in that borrower’s pocket. What can one do with less than R200,00 – buy a few loaves of bread, perhaps?
When the economy reopened following the COVID-19-induced lockdown, the SARB began raising interest rates to fight inflation, which it said was caused by ‘exogenous factors’—that is, the war in Ukraine, global supply chain bottlenecks occasioned by the lockdowns, etc. Yet, despite its admission, the SARB continued to raise rates to levels unseen in recent periods.

The annual consumer price inflation fell to 2.8% in October—the lowest since the COVID-19-induced lockdowns, when it was at 2.2%. This figure puts the official consumer price inflation below the SARB’s target range of between 3.0% and 6.0%.
The mainstream commentariat has welcomed these figures with celebratory acclaim as proof of the effectiveness of the SARB’s inflation targeting. The SARB certainly pats itself on the back for a job well done.
This is the best example of a surgeon declaring that the operation has been successful, but the patient has died.

Deindustrialisation and unemployment
The daily reality of the working class continues to be unemployment, poverty and communities ravaged by crime. With unemployment at 12.2 million people, with over 30 million people living below the upper-bound poverty line, with working class children malnourished and dying like flies from poisoned food because the government has dismally failed to enforce its own laws, with 71% of the youth aimlessly roaming the streets without hope and some consumed by an epidemic of drug addiction, the working class has absolutely nothing to celebrate from the SARB’s “job well done” in bringing inflation down.

The SARB has always insisted that it is not responsible for the high levels of South Africa’s unemployment and the social ills that flow from it. Further, the SARB has always insisted that job creation is within the remit of industrial policy, not the central bank. And that its role in the economy is to “defend the value of the rand in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth”. Nothing else. The SARB claims to have excelled at this role.

However, SAFTU contends a direct link exists between the high levels of South Africa’s unemployment and how the SARB exercises monetary policy – the SARB’s claims notwithstanding. The SARB fights inflation by raising interest rates, increasing the price of credit and thereby reducing economic demand. That is, it fights inflation by inducing defaults, bankruptcies and retrenchments. Put bluntly, the SARB fights inflation by intentionally creating unemployment – by making the working class the sacrificial lamb. Therefore, its fanatical commitment to inflation targeting must be understood from a class perspective. It asks: “Which class in society ought to shoulder the burden of inflation?” And it answers resoundingly: “The working class! “The SARB’s monetary policy is based on the neoliberal dogma, which conceptualises macroeconomic policy in line with the dictates of unrestrained movement of capital – in the interest of the capitalist class. Hence, its successive relaxation of capital and exchange controls since 1995. The logic is that capital in its money and commodity form must be allowed to roam the global economy easily, exiting countries with inefficient markets and entering profitable ones. According to neoliberal wisdom, it is in this way that countries compete to have efficient markets; thereby, growth, employment, and prosperity follow. The relaxation of trade and capital controls is based on this logic.

But all that the relaxation of capital and exchange controls has done is enable illicit financial flows and place the economy at the mercy of financial speculators, forex traders and all financial swindlers. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated in 2023 that, annually, South Africa lost $62 billion or R1.1 trillion (16% of 2023 GDP) due to illicit financial flows (IFFs). These outflows include tax evasion, money laundering, profit shifting by multinational corporations, trade mis-invoicing, and corruption. The issue is part of a broader challenge across Africa, where an estimated $89 billion (around R1.6 trillion) is lost yearly-exceeding the aid received from Western countries. This money could be used to build schools and hospitals and address infrastructure backlog.

Further, the relaxation of exchange and capital control has imposed an imperative of high interest rates on the economy to entice forex traders and speculators for fear of capital flight. This has enabled international financiers to make short-term speculative trades at high rates of return at the expense of the productive economy.
This monetary policy, coupled with an industrial policy obsessed with low-wage export-led growth, has facilitated the deindustrialisation of the South African economy. Year after year, the manufacturing sector has continued to shed jobs, with the recent QLFS recording that the industry has lost 20,000 jobs.

Bankers Paradise
The result of the SARB’s rate hikes has been a massive transfer of wealth from the working and middle classes to bankers and financiers. Not only have the banking executives reaped hefty pay and bonus packages, reflecting how well banks are doing, but banks themselves have seen their profits soar to undreamt-of heights. Recent figures revealed that banking executives of South Africa’s five main banks—Standard, Nedbank, Investec, FNB, and Capitec—made a combined R456,24 million in salaries. One man alone – Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala – received a total remuneration of more than R83 million in 2023.

By 2022, two years after the COVID-19-induced lockdowns, the banking sector was recording huge profits, with Capitec Bank, FNB, ABSA Group, and Standard Bank registering above 10% profit increases. This transfer of wealth to the bankers, aided and abetted by the SARB, is the source of the hefty packages accruing to top banking executives.

On the other hand, the working and middle classes are increasingly finding it difficult to meet their debt obligations. DebtBusters’s Debt Index for the fourth quarter of 2024 revealed that consumers applying for debt counselling indicated that they allocate 66% of their take-home to servicing debt – the highest debt-to-service ratio since 2017. It further revealed that South Africans earning R35 000 monthly spend 72% of their take-home pay on debt servicing costs.

Central Bank Independence: technocratic dictatorship
The SARB’s independence, which gives the Monetary Policy Committee free and unrestrained power to exercise monetary policy, is accepted by the mainstream economic pundits without question. This rule by technocracy, in which the MPC has the power to determine the economic and social fate of millions of people outside of democratic debate, is touted as the best way the economy should be run. Free and open discussion of monetary policy is disallowed, and the MPC is inoculated from politics. The depoliticisation of economic policy and its surrender to a group of unelected monetary policy committees is deeply problematic. It is class politics presenting itself as neutral and in the interest of all when, in fact, the actions of the MPC are in the interests of the financiers to the detriment of the working class.

The working class under siege

The official inflation figures notwithstanding, the working class continues to pay unjustifiably high prices for essential foods it needs to live. In its recently released Essential Food Price Monitoring Report, the Competition Commission revealed that input costs of basic food items have declined, yet their retail prices remain unjustifiably high. Put differently, the retail prices do not reflect the decline in input prices, which were said to have been responsible for the retail price increases.

This is in a country in which 47% of the population relies on social grants – of whom 18 million are on permanent grants, while 8.5 million are on Social Relief of Distress Grant of R370 even though in September 2024, twice as many – 17.2 million – applied. Three years earlier, there were only 13.8 million SRD applicants, and 4.1 million were first-time applicants. Broken down by gender, 54% were women. By educational qualification, 44% had completed matric, and 5.5% had a tertiary degree. The limitation on payment – to 8.5 million instead of 17.2 million – seems to be the artificial austerity instructions of the International Monetary Fund, which, from mid-2020 when South Africa borrowed $4.3 billion during Covid-19, has outsized power.

Fourteen of the food items the grant recipients depended on increased by R24, while the whole grant system saw an increase of a measly R10. 23. Between September 2023 and September 2024, the household food basket increased by 1.9%, from R5155.77 to R5225.68. So, while official inflation figures have come down, and the SARB is congratulating itself, the working class continues to pay unjustifiably high prices for essential foods it desperately needs to survive.
Instead, we need exchange control tightening and enforcement and a much greater interest rate cut to have the freedom to lower rates without fear of capital flight.

The post SAFTU ON THE SARB’S INTEREST RATE CUT appeared first on Vuka News.

A system of ropes and pulleys has been set up to rescue zama zamas trapped deep underground in Stilfontein, North West Province. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

On Friday 15 November, as news spread that hundreds, if not thousands, of illegal miners were stuck underground without food in Stilfontein, police minister Senzo Mchunu arrived in a blue-light brigade.

A convoy of government officials, activists, community members and journalists sped from the town’s police station towards the abandoned mine where the zama zamas had been digging for gold before their supplies were cut off in a sweeping clampdown dubbed Vala Umgodi.

The men were deeper than 1.5km below the surface, near the bottom of an old mine shaft that stopped operating more than two decades ago. Six weeks had passed since any food had been allowed to reach them.

The police station lies opposite the ruins of a recreational club for white mineworkers, now overgrown with shrubbery. Stilfontein was once a prosperous settlement, but the closure of many of its mines left a hole in the economy. Beyond the edge of the town, the convoy passed a series of flattened mining compounds where zama zamas dig by hand for leftover gold, creating shallow pits in the earth. Some desolate shacks had sprung up alongside these diggings and children stood outside, watching the cars stream by.

Further along the road, men in gumboots were looking for gold on a mound of rocks left behind by the mines. They were ignored by the police. In every direction across the landscape rose ghostly white mine dumps.

The turnoff to the abandoned shaft was flanked by an avenue of trees planted when the mine still operated. Its buildings had since been demolished, including the towering headgear used for hoisting mineworkers and ore to the surface. The entrance to the shaft had been sealed off, along with an adjacent ventilation shaft for pumping fresh air underground, but in 2019 zama zamas blew these open to access the deep tunnels beneath.

The cars parked and a few hundred people hurried down a dirt track to where the minister was being shown the site. The crowd gathered at the old ventilation shaft, a hole in the ground surrounded by heaps of rubble. People had scrambled up the sides of this uneven slope and were peering over the edge into a black cylinder of concrete that dropped for two kilometres straight.

There was no barrier, only Special Task Force policemen in masks who intermittently pushed people back. If anyone fell it would have taken more than 20 seconds for them to hit the bottom.

An official from the Department of Defence, dressed in a smart black suit, looked at the shaft and muttered, “They wanted us to go and rescue these guys, but it’s impossible.”

A mass of tangled, broken rope, formerly used for lowering zama zamas and food underground, hung over the edge. Suspended over the hole was a heavy orange pulley. A rope of nylon webbing, long enough to reach the trapped miners, looped over the pulley and dropped into the darkness.

The police minister was surrounded by a scrum of cameras. He was led toward the rim of the shaft, his entourage adopting the ginger movements of people on a precipice. A few minutes later the minister departed, followed by most of the crowd.

Perched on the rubble around the mine were about 50 young men, many of them wearing facemasks or balaclavas. As the area emptied they stood up and gathered near the rope.

Men involved in a rescue operation wait near the mineshaft. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

Earlier that week, the police had granted them permission to conduct an informal rescue operation. Some food had been lowered into the shaft and at least six people had been pulled out, along with one dead body. Police have not yet released further information about the death.

Now a man leaned over the edge and bellowed down the shaft, his voice reverberating for a long time. The wind was blowing and its echo rumbled in the shaft. The man yelled again, listening for an answer.

At his signal, the waiting men took the rope and started pulling, marching away from the shaft and peeling one by one off to rejoin the front of the line. Someone was harnessed far below, dangling below a distant glimmer of light.

“You’re just hanging in the dark, waiting for the rope to break,” a zama zama who has been lifted in and out of abandoned mines in Stilfontein told GroundUp. “It’s like you’re already dead.”

Police chased the remaining reporters away from the shaft before the rescue team brought the next man to the surface. “Don’t burn bridges,” a brigadier in charge of the operation warned, when questioned about this.

Top left: Google Earth image of the mine in 2004. Bottom left: Google Earth image of the mine in April 2024. Right: Ihsaan Haffejee’s photo of approximately the same area taken this week.

The men returned the next day to continue. They were made to sign indemnity forms before being led past a line of police tape where journalists and film crews had gathered, forbidden from crossing.

At around noon, in sweltering heat, the first zama zama was pulled out. He wore gumboots, a bright yellow rain suit and a balaclava. His safety harness was messily knotted and it took a while to untie him. He was dehydrated and very weak. He was lowered to the ground and someone tugged off his rain suit, followed by the balaclava. He had a round, youthful face and a dazed expression. His eyes flicked from side to side, watching the people around him. The sun beat down as he sprawled in the dirt.

Soaked in sweat, the men who had been working the rope went to rest in scraps of shade cast by shrubs growing in the rubble. Others huddled beneath a bulk carrier bag that had been used to deliver packs of instant porridge to the stranded miners a few days prior.

The police have argued that the zama zamas entered the mines willingly and therefore are not trapped. In the past few weeks, more than a thousand illegal miners have surfaced via the elevator of an operational shaft in Stilfontein, but not all areas of the tunnel network connect there. Illegal miners have a system for bringing men up from abandoned shafts, but rescuing hundreds at once is a formidable task.

As the rescued man lay in the heat, his fingers and feet began twitching. There were no paramedics at the shaft; there wasn’t even water. Activists and community leaders who had been observing the rescue shouted at the police until an ambulance arrived.

After being placed on a stretcher, the man was carefully searched for gold. He had a tube of toothpaste in one pocket that the police emptied and smeared on the ground, waving a metal detector over it. Then the sirens blared and he was driven away.

The next man who came up had a gaping head wound from being struck over the head by a rock in a fight over food. One of his shoulders appeared to be dislocated. He was crying.

Three more zama zamas came up that day. The last man was in the worst condition, emaciated and shaking. He had gone without ARV medication for weeks, he said, and had been living underground for more than two years.

This is part two of a series. Read part one: Stilfontein’s dangerous and desperate illegal mining industry.

Kimon de Greef is writing a book on zama zamas.

The post Scenes from a zama zama rescue appeared first on Vuka News.

Former Expanded Public Works Programme worker Ntsoaki Tautona has been living with other protesting workers in the gardens near the City Hall in Durban for about a month. They want the City to reinstate them. Photos: Tsoanelo Sefoloko

By Tsoanelo Sefoloko – the original post appeared on GroundUp – summary here by Vuka.news

Workers Sleeping Outside: Former workers from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) have been camping outside Durban City Hall for a month, demanding their jobs back.

Contracts Terminated: Their contracts ended in July. Many had been working on temporary contracts for over a decade.

Budget Cuts: The eThekwini Municipality reduced EPWP hires due to a major budget cut. Only 1,276 workers will be hired for the 2024/25 year, compared to over 4,000 previously.

Age Restriction: New job applications are limited to people aged 18–35, leaving older workers excluded.

Failed Legal Action: The workers’ union, MATUSA, has taken the municipality to the Labour Court several times without success.

Homelessness: Many workers cannot afford rent and are living in the garden with their belongings.

Personal Struggles:

• Nokukhanya Fakude, 52, a worker for nine years, cannot pay R3,000 in rent. “The landlord has decided to lock me outside and I don’t have any family here in Durban. I have asked the neighbour to allow my children to stay in her room while they are writing exams.”
• Zethembe Dlamini sent his family back to Greytown, causing his children to drop out of school. He feels helpless about providing for his family. “I was shocked to hear that our contract ended. I see myself as a man who cannot take care of his own family now.”
• Living Conditions: The workers endure harsh weather, using plastic sheets for cover when it rains.

Dozens of former municipal workers employed on contracts through the Expanded Public Works Programme picketed outside City Hall on Friday.

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The South African Federation of Trade Unions is extremely concerned that the unfolding situation in the Stilfontein Margaret shaft may end in a tragedy. We call on the government to, without any further delay, facilitate and engage the leadership of the mineworkers and the nearby communities to persuade the mineworkers to come out from underground.

Cutting off food and water supplies—with what can only be described as malicious intent, a vindictive act—without a strategy for directly and indirectly engaging with these mineworkers is not helpful. The community leaders, including those with family members underground, made countless offers to help bring up the mineworkers. However, the community report includes in the media that the police have removed the structure they use to bring up these workers. This means there is no way to get these workers up from the underground. We do not understand why police – who supposedly have the expertise to negotiate with hostage takers – are not taking the community leaders at their word. This facilitation must include conditional provision of water, food, and medicines, as reports show that some artisan mineworkers are now dehydrated and too weak to find their way to the surface. They need food, water, and medicines immediately.

Background leading to this crisis.

The mining industry, together with the agriculture sector, has a long history of being the primary beneficiary of colonialism, apartheid and capitalism. In addition to the Southern African region, immigrant workers were uprooted from Europe, and China in support of mining. Coercive schemes, such as the dog and hut tax, were developed to force peasants off their land to work in the mines and farms in South Africa. Workers across the Southern African region were also recruited under the most horrendous conditions, with at least 60% coming from three areas in particular: Lesotho, the former Transkei within South Africa and Mozambique. Other sites of mass recruitment were Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Malawi.

Trillions of dollars were made – especially from what was once at its peak a century ago, half the world’s historic supply of gold – and, by the 1970s, contributed up to 21% of the GDP. At peak, there were 488,000 mineworkers in 1988 in gold mines alone. The bosses hired mineworkers to make these massive profits because their labour could be kept at very cheap levels. After all, families were not allowed to stay with them for 11 months of the year – passing the social reproduction costs to women back home. Families were destroyed through the migrant labour system and single-sex hostel system. The disease burden in mining was horrific, with tuberculosis, silicosis and HIV-AIDS rampant, and brought home to their families.

The depletion of minerals and the introduction of technology have cut the numbers drastically. There are only 477,000 official mine workers, and in gold mining, only 93,000.

Regrettably, the ANC government never prioritised the beneficiation and building of the secondary industries that would have moved workers to other sectors of the economy. Indeed, neoliberal policies associated with joining the World Trade Organisation on disadvantageous terms in 1994 led to a decline in manufacturing from 24% of GDP to 12% today.

The biggest mining houses, especially the Anglo American/DeBeers conglomerates and Gencor (now part of the world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton), escaped South Africa with their historic profits, evading their responsibilities to workers and environmental restoration.

In the dog-eat-dog world of mining capitalism, there were no ‘Just Transition’ or scaling-down plans to train and retrain workers to survive.

As a result, the once mighty cities dominated by the mining industry are turned into ghost towns where sinkholes and dust flowing from the mine dunes continue to kill thousands in the working-class communities. These workers recruited from the most economically depressed regions of South Africa, such as the eastern part of the East Cape, as well as neighbouring countries, are now starving at home, with many dying from the diseases they contracted whilst working in the mines.

The rise of the phenomenon of artisan mining

In their rush to make huge profits, the mining bosses moved to deeper mines and other parts of the world, where they discovered more minerals, leaving behind areas with substantial deposits that, at the time, were not profitable. The gold price has been especially volatile, with external factors such as financial crises, monetary policy shifts, wars and new competition affecting the price. As waves of currency printing in 2009-13 and 2020-22 hit the world economy, the gold price spiked to record levels of nearly $2800/ounce.

The price of gold (inflation-adjusted), 1915-2024

A combination of mining companies and underworld mineral traders operating in the black market returned to the thousands of retrenched mineworkers to recruit them to work now through subcontractors, paying them only 50% of what they used to earn with no other benefits.

Workers driven by hunger but sitting at home dying one by one, and therefore more vulnerable than before, returned to the industry. So cruel is the system that if fathers have passed away, their sons are recruited. It is estimated that there are between 30,000 and 100,000 artisanal miners nationwide, insultingly called Zama-Zamas. This industry generates between R5 and R21 billion annually. There is a market for this industry. The production is sold to the mines, the black market, and international illicit mineral traders. The government knows this but has done nothing to regulate this new feature of the mining sector. Thousands of mineworkers perish as they work in an unregulated and extremely dangerous/hazardous mining industry, exposing themselves not only to rock falls that maim and kill them but to chemicals in these abandoned mines. Some chip away at pillars where gold seams are apparent but where the resulting collapse of mines and artificial earthquakes result.

The government still needs to enforce its laws:

The Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) demands that mining companies obtain certificates when they close their mines. The act gives this power to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) when satisfied that the mine closure meets regulatory standards. The regulations include:

The Environment Management Plan compels mining companies to prepare and submit the Environment Rehabilitation Plans before starting operations. These plans include environmental plans at the time of closures.

Mining companies are supposed to put aside financial resources to cover the costs of mine closures. These funds are supposed to be reviewed occasionally to ensure that they are adequate.

The National Environment Management Act (NEMA) outlines broader environmental obligations to protect the country.

The Mines Health and Safety Act requires mine shafts and tunnels to be safely closed or sealed at the end of the mine’s life to prevent unauthorised entry.

Yet the Auditor General revealed in 2022 that about 6,000 abandoned mines were unsafe and unrehabilitated. After mining companies have amassed wealth to their satisfaction, super-exploited the working class, and extracted the minerals, they abandon unrehabilitated mines, leaving a trail of ghost towns, environmental destruction, and poverty.

The Cabinet has now developed amnesia. They have entirely forgotten the mining industry’s history. They have now forgotten that they have failed to enforce their legislation to prevent the unfolding tragedy in Stilfontein. When eight young women were brutally raped a year ago, the government cried crocodile tears as they now take no responsibility for their failure to implement their own laws.

Two weeks ago, SAFTU issued a statement noting that we have asked lawyers to consider if there are no grounds for a class action against the government for its failure to protect the citizens from consuming stale and poisonous food staff sold to the public under unhygienic conditions in contradiction to the provisions of the Food, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act of 1972, National Health Act of 2003 and Municipal By-Laws.

SAFTU believe that the death of so many children and mineworkers, including the atrocities allegedly committed by some of the undocumented artisanal miners, must be placed squarely on the shoulders of the government.

We shall ask the lawyers to explore the possibility of initiating class action. The government will only take responsibility for its failures once held accountable. Scandalously, today you have a Minister such as Khumbuzo Ntshavheni arrogantly telling the country, to the excitement of the xenophobes, that mineworkers will be ‘smoked out’ and calling workers criminals without any due regard to the background the government of the people should appreciate.

Sies! Inspired by the Minister, some xenophobic members of the public have callously called on the government to put cement slabs on the Margaret shaft and kill all the estimated 4000 artisan mines underground.

We warn that the SAPS cannot simultaneously be investigators, prosecutors and judges. No one has a right to take anyone’s life away. Whilst SAFTU cannot and is not condoning any illegality, including the presence of undocumented workers involved in this illicit industry, we are opposed to any temptation by the police and government to trample on the human rights of anyone just because they are in South Africa illegally. Starving people to death will be correctly regarded as another premeditated murder similar to the first massacre of mine workers in Marikana.

Part of the problem leading to this gross negligence by the government is that too many of its leaders are businessmen and women with direct interests in the mining industry. This is also witnessed in the shameful fact that today, South Africa is the leading source of coal supply to Israel (which imports Mpumalanga mines’ output to provide an electricity grid which relies on coal for 18% of power). In turn, their actions fuel a genocide that our diplomats and lawyers are condemning in The Hague courts, making the government look greedy and hypocritical. Two people with close historical connections to ANC leadership – Patrice Motsepe and Gill Marcus – are connected to genocide profiteering via Glencore, with Trade Minister Parks Tau telling Parliament in September that he does not want to risk annoying the World Trade Organisation by stepping in to halt this travesty. Colombia and Türkiye have halted their coal sales. All the regulations we have referred to are costly and will undermine greedy mining bosses’ drive to maximum profit. If the cabinet members and their families have interests in the profits, it goes without saying that they are conflicted. SAFTU calls on all Ministers or their families not to have any business interests in the industries they regulate. We reiterate our call for nationalisation of the mines, the banks and monopoly capital – the 1955 Freedom Charter mandate – so that the profit motive no longer puts these thousands of workers’ lives at such terrible risk.

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By Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia 

First Spaza Shops, Now Street Vendors—What’s Really Behind the Government’s Plan to Regulate Informal Traders?

Johannesburg – In a move that’s left many scratching their heads, the South African government is expanding its crackdown on informal traders, targeting not just spaza shops, but now street vendors, too. For those of us on the ground, trying to get by, this plan feels less like regulation and more like an attack on ordinary people just trying to make a living and the criminalisation of poverty.

• The informal economy is the only place where it is possible to work for our livelihood as the number of people who are unemployed in our country increases at an alarming rate.

Black African women continue to be the most vulnerable with an unemployment rate of 39,9% in Q2:20241.

• According to Stats SA-Black African unemployment rate has consistently been higher than the national average and other population groups over the past 10-year period.

Instead of focusing on addressing what amounts to a humanitarian crisis of poverty, inequality and systemic unemployment – the state wants to place more people in conditions of abject poverty by taking away any means of survival in this move.

It started with spaza shops—government officials claimed it was about enforcing safety standards. But now, the target includes street vendors who depend on selling their goods day-to-day to support their families. We’re talking about people from all backgrounds, locals and migrants alike, who form the backbone of South Africa’s informal economy. The question everyone’s asking is: How will these new regulations actually be implemented in a fair way that doesn’t worsen poverty or fuel anti-immigrant tensions?

Here’s what we know:

1. No Support, Just Rules: The government’s “plan” has no support in place for vendors to help them comply with these new requirements. Vendors aren’t getting training, resources, or even clear guidelines on what’s expected. How can someone be expected to meet standards they haven’t even been shown? It’s setting people up to fail.
2. Health Standards Without a Plan: Government officials say it’s about safety, but they’re only focusing on punishing vendors, not the suppliers who put these dangerous products on the streets in the first place.
3. Is This Even Practical?: There’s been no clear plan on how this will be rolled out. How will officials even begin to “enforce” these rules? Without consulting with vendors or considering the potential impact, this approach risks stoking xenophobic tensions by making it easy to blame migrant vendors for health risks that aren’t their fault.

So, what should be done? Here are a few ideas:

• Go After the Real Culprits: If the government is serious, they need to target the companies selling these banned pesticides to vulnerable shopkeepers, not the vendors who are just trying to make an honest living.
• Stop Making Enemies of Informal Traders: Informal trade is crucial to our economy. It employs tens of thousands who might otherwise be jobless. The government should work with vendors and Spaza shops instead of imposing regulations that risk killing their businesses.

One thing’s for sure—these communities are tired of being targeted while the bigger issues are ignored. For now, though, these questions remain unanswered. Until we see a real plan, this feels less like progress and more like punishment for those already struggling.

Contact Information

Email: media@kaax.org.za

Phone: +27 68 552 2510

This press statement was released by Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia on 11 November 2024

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“Youth unemployment is one of the most devastating economic issues affecting the country. We spoke to community members in the neighbourhood of Phola Park, in Thokoza, east of Johannesburg. And, from those interviews, at least 70% of the respondents were…”

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By Luvuyo Mjekula

The Employment and Labour Department says its inspection of Makana Municipality’s buildings last week was a scheduled exercise.

Asked if the decision to inspect the buildings had anything to do with the much-publicised raids carried out by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Hawks recently, the department’s spokesperson, Ziphozihle Josefu, said inspections are carried out in line with annual plans, purely implemented by the department’s inspectors.

Employment and Labour Department inspectors conducting inspections at one of Makana Municipality’s recently condemned buildings. Photo: Luvuyo Mjekula

“This particular inspection was scheduled as per the inspectorate plans.”

Grocott’s Mail reported last week that the traffic department and the engineering and infrastructure offices were served with prohibition notices and subsequently closed. This after the inspectors found offices with broken ceilings, roof leakages, no lights and carpet and water flooding.

The department said this was non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its inspectors have the authority to take action if they discover “significant OHS violations that pose an immediate danger to workers”.

In a statement, the municipality confirmed that a number of buildings “were condemned due to various structural issues such as bad lighting, leaking roofs and damaged floors”.

A broken roof in one of the rooms at the Engineering and Infrastructure building in High Street. Photo: Luvuyo Mjekula

Josefu said a third building accommodating the caretaker was also prohibited.

She said inspectors are tasked with regulating employment laws through regular inspections. “The decision to prohibit the abovementioned offices is as a result of non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA),” she said.

The offices cannot be opened until identified health and safety hazards are dealt with, Josefu stated.

It is the municipality’s prerogative to find space for the affected employees, she said. “The goal is to ensure that workers are not exposed to hazardous conditions whilst the necessary corrective measures are being implemented.”

She said as soon the contraventions have been rectified, “an inspector will verify, and if all is in order, the notice would be revoked”.

Josefu said after issuing a contravention notice, follow up inspections are conducted to verify the extent to which corrective measures are being implemented. Compliance is confirmed when the workplace meets the relevant OHS regulations and standards.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in Makana welcomed the department’s actions.

Caucus leader Luvuyo Sizani said the party was not surprised by the closures.

DA Makana caucus leader Luvuyo Sizani said the party welcomed the inspections but was not surprised by the subsequent closure of certain buildings. Photo: Luvuyo Mjekula

“The closure of these buildings came as no surprise to the Democratic Alliance in Makhanda, as we believe that this was long overdue. We have repeatedly raised the matter in the Social Development Portfolio Committee, along with union members and municipal employees. These are not the only buildings that are a risk to employees.”

Sizani said the party welcomed the steps taken by the department to ensure that the safety of the employees is prioritised. “However, the matter must not end there.”

He said the Democratic Alliance would take its own immediate steps.

Firstly, we will approach the municipal manager to urgently find alternative and appropriate premises for both departments, so that our residents are inconvenienced as little as possible.
Secondly, we will bring the matter of other non-compliant buildings, such as the Local Economic Development building, to the attention of the Department of Employment and Labour for their assessment.
In a caring DA government, we would ensure the safety of our employees by accommodating them in buildings which comply with labour law, and we would ensure that our residents, who have endured too much municipal incompetence already, are catered for by municipal departments at all times.

Sizani said this was another blow for the municipality. He said the closures “came hot on the heels of a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) raid on the beleaguered municipality last week”.

“When it rains, it pours,” said Sizani.

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By Mzi Velapi – this post appeared originally on ©Elitsha

SUMMARY by Vuka.news:

“Increased Police Harassment: As the festive season approaches, sex workers report heightened police harassment. Lloyd Rugara from Sisonke National Sex Workers Movement notes, “Unlawful arrests are more common during this time of the year… A sex worker who is a mother can get arrested for going to a shop to buy food for her children.”

Police Extortion: Pam Ntshekula from Sweat claims police exploit street-based sex workers by demanding sexual favours in exchange for avoiding arrest. She says, “The police tell the sex worker to give them a blowjob or sex. They take advantage of the vulnerability of sex workers because they threaten you with arrest without proof.”

Stigma in Healthcare: Ntshekula adds that sex workers face significant stigma when accessing healthcare, making it challenging to receive necessary services.

Criminal Record Consequences: Connie Mathe from Asijiki Coalition highlights the lasting impacts of criminalization, saying, “If you get arrested as a sex worker you get profiled… To clear your name takes up to 10 years for one arrest,” adding that multiple arrests can make clearing one’s name impossible, affecting future job opportunities.

Call for Decriminalization: Sex worker advocates want the repeal of South Africa’s Sexual Offences Act, which criminalizes sex work. Emily Craven, director of Sweat, explains, “This is an ancient piece of legislation… All the provisions around sex work remained… [In] 2007, the Sexual Offences Amendment Act criminalised buying sex.”

Legislative Delays: Activists say the push to decriminalize sex work has been delayed by government changes, and no majority party exists to lobby effectively. Mathe states, “We wrote a bill… submitted it to the ministry of justice… but unfortunately we had a government change… We haven’t heard from them since.”

Legal Case for Rights: Mathe reports that a legal case to advance decriminalization is scheduled for next March. She asserts that decriminalization would reduce stigma, eliminate criminal records, and improve rights access, noting, “People will be able to access their rights and the choice of work would be respected.”

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BY SAFTU – this statement was first published by SAFTU: summary below by Vuka.news

Condemnation of Upcoming Democracy Conference: SAFTU criticizes South African organizations (Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, Defend our Democracy) for supporting a United States of America (US)-backed democracy conference (Nov 20-22, Johannesburg), organized by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). NED is viewed as a U.S. imperialist tool that threatens South African sovereignty.

Call for Withdrawal: MISTRA (Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection) withdrew from hosting. SAFTU urges other local groups and South African keynote speakers (Mathews Phosa, Roelf Meyer, Mbali Ntuli) to withdraw.

Concerns Over Keynote Speakers’ Backgrounds: Mathews Phosa: Connected to corrupt dealings and Israeli-linked arms trade, Roelf Meyer: Former apartheid-era negotiator seen as blocking economic democracy, and Mbali Ntuli: former Democratic Alliance member, representing privileged elite interests.

Context of U.S. Politics: The conference follows the election of a U.S. government SAFTU labels “fascistic” and led by Donald Trump, viewed as supportive of Israeli actions against Palestinians. SAFTU highlights inconsistencies in U.S. democracy, such as the Electoral College system and voter suppression against African Americans.

NED’s Origins and Imperial Role: It was established in 1983 to continue the CIA’s covert global influence operations more openly. SAFTU argues NED operates globally to advance U.S. interests by funding media, business groups, and “civil society” to align with American policy.

U.S. Interference and Overthrows: SAFTU lists numerous instances of CIA involvement in foreign government overthrows (1945-2014), indicating a long history of undermining other nations’ sovereignty to favour U.S. interests.

NED’s Function in South Africa: SAFTU claims NED is in South Africa to monitor and influence public opinion, potentially undermining South African democracy in favor of U.S. objectives.

SAFTU’s Call for Resistance: Urges South Africans to reject NED’s influence and to not attend the conference. Calls for “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” against U.S. imperialism and its initiatives, as South Africans do with Israel.

Consequences of Aligning with NED: SAFTU warns local organizations supporting NED risk losing public trust and betraying South African values of genuine democracy. Suggests they could redeem themselves by denouncing NED and the upcoming conference.

Broader Global Call to Reject U.S. Imperialism: SAFTU foresees global resistance to Trump’s policies, predicting trade wars and U.S. retaliations, especially towards countries like South Africa. Concludes with a strong stance: South Africa and the world should reject Trump’s “proto-fascist” approach to democracy and U.S. imperialism.

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