the original post was published by © Legal Resources Centre – summary by Vuka.news:

 LRC Demands Action

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is calling for urgent action after the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Basic Education failed to pay Early Childhood Development (ECD) stipends since August 2023. This has left over 130 ECD centres in financial trouble. Despite many attempts by the LRC, Friends of South Africa ECD Forum (FOSA), and the KZN ECD Alliance, the issue remains unresolved. On 29 October, the LRC sent a letter asking for a clear payment plan by 15 November and full payments by 29 November. If these deadlines are missed, the LRC plans to take legal action.

Background – When the responsibility for ECD shifted from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, the National Treasury provided funds to support ECD centres. But irregular payments have left many centres struggling, especially in poor communities.

How This Affects ECD Centres – The missed payments have forced ECD centres to make difficult decisions:

• Centre Closures: Many centres have closed or are thinking about closing because of money problems, especially in areas where ECD services are limited.
• Higher Fees: Some centres increased fees, causing parents to withdraw their children.
• No Free Meals: Centres are asking parents to send lunchboxes, but this pushes parents to remove children as they rely on the free meals.
• Unpaid Staff: Workers are not paid regularly, making them lose motivation.
• Poor Nutrition: Centres cannot afford healthy food and must buy cheaper options.

This situation harms children’s learning, safety, and health.

What’s Happening Now

The KZN Department has made some payments but has not explained the delays. The LRC, part of the Real Reform Campaign, asks everyone to join a sit-in on 20 November to demand answers and long-term solutions.

• For media inquiries, please contact: Puleng Mosia  063 011 4333 puleng@lrc.org.za  

The post Immediate Action needed on Unpaid ECD Stipends in KZN appeared first on Vuka News.

By Chris Gilili – the original post was first published on Elitsha: summary by Vuka.news

Criticism of Proposed Eskom Tariff Hikes

• Residents and civil society groups heavily opposed Eskom’s proposed 40% electricity tariff increase during Nersa’s Cape Town public hearings.
• Many residents, especially from low-income areas like Gugulethu and Mitchells Plain, said they cannot afford higher electricity costs.
• Bulelwa Seti, a Gugulethu resident: “I am an unemployed mother of three kids… I cannot afford to spend over R300 on electricity.”
• Betty Wilson, a Mitchell’s Plain resident: “I have to decide whether I buy bread and not have electricity. This will worsen our suffering.”

Nersa’s Role and Process

• Nersa is holding public hearings across South Africa until early December to gather feedback on Eskom’s tariff proposal.
• A decision on the tariff hike will be announced on 20 December 2024.
• Charles Hlebela, Nersa spokesperson: “We want to get views and comments… These comments will be taken into consideration by the energy regulator.”

Eskom’s Justification for the Increase

• Eskom said the hike is necessary to fund coal supply and maintain electricity supply.
• Transitioning to renewable energy is a goal but will take time and government support.
• Caleb Cassim, Eskom representative: “Eskom cannot solve the challenges it’s faced with alone.”

Opposition from Grassroots Organisations

• Cry of the Xcluded condemned the hikes, stating they would worsen energy poverty in South Africa. “Rising tariffs deepen energy poverty and force families to choose between electricity and food.”
• Their demands include:
  • Stopping electricity privatisation.
  • Transparency in Eskom operations.
  • Universal free electricity of 350 kWh per month.
  • Investments in renewable energy and local manufacturing.

Next Steps

• Nersa hearings will continue in several cities, including Durban, Bloemfontein, and Midrand, over the coming weeks.

The post Eskom comes under fire at Nersa public hearings appeared first on Vuka News.

by Hennie van Vuuren for Open Secrets

Open Secrets exposes a military squad allegedly responsible for acts of torture and murder. The evidence implicates at least four units of the SANDF in crimes dating back to 2019. They are the elite Special Forces Brigade, the Military Police, Defence Intelligence and Defence Legal Services. The lead Special Forces operative allegedly involved was also the subject of a criminal investigation by Hawks investigator Frans Mathipa shortly before Mathipa’s assassination by a sharpshooter. All this raises concerns of a large-scale criminal conspiracy within the SANDF.

The first two parts of our Russian Doll investigation revealed a SA National Defence Force Special Forces unit to be the owner of at least one luxury German car that accompanied cargo loaded off and possibly on to the sanctioned Russian ship Lady R in Simon’s Town in December last year. We, in turn, linked that vehicle to a Special Forces operation three weeks later at the Mall of Africa in Midrand, the day alleged Islamic State financier Abdella Abadiga and his bodyguard were abducted from the mall. Importantly, the person hot on the spoor of this group — Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Mathipa of the Hawks — was assassinated on 6 August this year.  

The mystery of the missing rifles

Our story today is rooted in a crime that took place some three years before the Lady R incident. On 23 December 2019, 18 R4 rifles and three pistols were reported as stolen from the strongroom safe at the SA Army Engineer Formation base south of Pretoria.

News of this was leaked to the media and it quickly made headlines across the country. This was not without reason: R4 rifles are the workhorse of the SANDF and can fire more than 600 rounds a minute. In the wrong hands these 18 rifles could cause mayhem. In this investigation, Open Secrets focuses on the hunt for the missing rifles by the SANDF. 

Empty rifle cases: On 23 December 2019, 18 R4 rifles and three pistols were reported as stolen from the strongroom safe at the SA Army Engineer Formation base south of Pretoria. (Photo: Supplied)

Our sources speak out

Witnesses both within and outside of the government have provided evidence to Open Secrets. Their account of events exposes a broad criminal network within the military. Its members appear to hanker back to a time when military death squads operated with impunity in South Africa. Accordingly, we will not name sources. 

In this article, we draw on a source who was present when some of the most egregious human rights violations took place. Their account is supported by two further sources with a contemporaneous understanding of events.  

Where we have independently corroborated information this has been made clear.

While we expose the names of military operatives alleged to have committed grave crimes, it is crucial to note that we have drawn on insights from brave public servants and members of the public who, like the murdered Hawks officer Frans Mathipa, are committed to the democratic constitutional order.

Our investigation also draws on the circumstances of an SANDF board of inquiry established to investigate complaints of alleged criminal activity within the military. The board was headed by Defence Intelligence Brigadier-General John Moorhouse. According to a source who has direct knowledge of the work of the Moorhouse Inquiry, it heard the testimonies of dozens of witnesses and focused extensively on corruption and abuse of office in the military. It also heard evidence of torture, including some of the information we report on today.

Despite the Moorhouse Inquiry having wrapped up hearings almost six months ago, the final report, the same source says, appears to be gathering dust on the desk of the chief of the SANDF and possibly that of the minister of defence. It is imperative that the contents of the report, and the record and evidence presented, are made public immediately.

We now turn to the investigation into the missing rifles. But for contextual information or where we indicate otherwise, the story is as told by our sources.  

Military Police start the investigation 

The head of the Military Police, Rear Admiral Mokgadi Maphoto, appointed a team from the ranks of the Military Police to investigate the rifle theft from the army engineering base. The team included Lieutenant-Colonel Doris Phindani Netshanzhe (then holding the rank of major), the acting commanding officer at the Thaba Tshwane Military Police Office. Thaba Tshwane is a vast military complex south of Pretoria,  not far from Freedom Park and the Voortrekker Monument. It is about 4km from the engineering base where the rifles went missing. 

The Military Police soon established that while the doors of the strongroom were damaged with an angle grinder, this could only have been intended as a ruse. No angle grinder would have been able to open the massive steel door. Rather, the thieves had simply unlocked it. Camera footage confirmed that it was indeed an inside job.

The Military Police identified Lance-Corporal Sidwell Babini Tyawana and Sapper Tumelo Christian Mongale as suspects. Tyawana, who had left the base to join a training exercise in Oudsthoorn, was flown back to Pretoria, a distance of more than 1,000km, on a South African Air Force Caravan aircraft around the time of his arrest.

Military Police believed that Tyawana was the mastermind of the theft and had sold the weapons to criminal enterprises on the East Rand. Tyawana was arrested on 3 February 2020 and Mongale two days later. Both were granted bail when they appeared before a military court at Thaba Tshwane two months later.

We do not know Tyawana’s current whereabouts and if he is indeed alive, but according to records in our possession he was recorded as absent without leave (awol) on 24 April 2020, two days after having been granted bail by a military court. Given the covert nature of military justice processes, we do not know the outcome of the case.

While in custody, Tyawana swiftly agreed to cooperate with Military Police and Defence Intelligence. According to a presentation that Military Police head Maphoto made to Parliament on 27 August 2020, Tyawana actively assisted the investigation in identifying suspects or locations for investigation. This was presumably in the hope that he would be freed in return for his cooperation.

Tyawana’s cellphone was used to contact the purchasers of the rifles. Once contact was established Defence Intelligence could, and indeed did, use cellphone surveillance technology to track the suspects’ whereabouts. It is not known if this was done with a court order. In this way, Tyawana was the bait used to lure unwitting individuals into the arms of military investigators.

‘By any means necessary’

Netshanzhe, the Thaba Tshwane Military Police acting commander, said at the time that then Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula wanted the weapons to be found and returned by “any means necessary” as this was proving to be an embarrassment to the SANDF.

We do not know for a fact that the minister uttered these words, as it is hearsay — but as South Africa’s history during apartheid shows, security officials are quick to interpret instructions such as these literally.

Quoted in Daily Maverick, Mapisa-Nqakula referred to a group of 12 suspects arrested within days of the theft being discovered as “unpatriotic” and “self-serving thugs”, while their attorney described their detention as unnecessary.

According to a presentation made by Maphoto to Parliament in August 2020, charges against seven of the 12 were withdrawn and five were still to appear in court. We have been told that the 12 suspects, which did not include Tyawana and Mongale, were all eventually released as there was no evidence implicating them in any crime.

Special Forces lead the hunt 

On the night of 4 February 2020, a team was assembled at the Thaba Tshwane military base. Their aim was to retrieve the missing rifles based on information obtained from Tyawana. The team consisted of two Defence Intelligence officials, two Military Police officials and a dozen Special Forces members in plain clothes. The presence of Military Police at this point would have been essential, for the military cannot simply usurp policing functions without authorisation.

Netshanzhe and a Colonel Mokone from Defence Intelligence were informed of the objectives of this mission. However, the Special Forces were in charge. They, in turn, were commanded by a man who used the name Musa or Mike.

Open Secrets has since established that Musa or Mike is in fact Colonel Sunnybooi Pinny Wambi. (See “Who is Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi aka ‘Musa’?” below.)

He is the very person who led the Special Forces “training exercise” (as the SANDF would have it) at the Mall of Africa on the same day and time that Abadiga, the alleged Islamic State financier, and his bodyguard were abducted. He was also a prime target of the investigation by Mathipa, the slain Hawks investigator, into Abadiga’s abduction. We established that the same cellphone number was used by Wambi and Musa. This was further confirmed by a WhatsApp profile photograph.

The vehicles carrying the group included a Mercedes-Benz, Toyota Conquest and Nissan Micra. These cars left the military base in a broken convoy. Approximately 10km outside the base the convoy reassembled and stopped on the side of the road. One of the Special Forces members then opened the boot of the Mercedes-Benz. Inside was a man known only as Nyambose. He had been badly beaten, possibly tortured. He was given some money for taxi fare and told by the Special Forces to “walk and don’t look back”. Nyambose is assumed to have been abducted by Special Forces as part of their “investigation” into the missing rifles.

The convoy then headed towards the East Rand, to Springs, as directed remotely by a Defence Intelligence officer using cellphone tracking technology. The vehicles then headed to Kempton Park, where the convoy stopped again near a McDonald’s outlet in the city centre. Here, at lightning speed, they abducted a 35-year-old man named Sphamandla who had been lured by Tyawana to meet them. Sphamandla was bundled into one of the cars and driven back to Thaba Tshwane military base, with the vehicles once again in convoy.

Torture at Thaba Tshwane

The convoy arrived at Thaba Tshwane at about midnight, stopping at the Thaba Tshwane Military Police area office. Sphamandla was taken to the Military Police bar known as Karob (Afrikaans for “carob”) where he was stripped naked, tied to a chair and tortured. He was beaten so badly with branches and sticks that his skin eventually took on a green hue. The beatings were accompanied by shouts of “Shaya! Shaya!” (Beat! Hit! in isiZulu) by Wambi and others who appeared to enjoy this sadistic task. At certain intervals the torturers used ice-cold water to waterboard him, a torture technique which simulates drowning.

The chief interrogator was reportedly Wambi, assisted by Netshanzhe. Other members of the team milled about outside the bar.

Wambi reportedly repeatedly asked Sphamandla in isiZulu, “Where are the weapons?”, to which he replied that uShukela (“Sugar” in isiZulu) was the one responsible. uShukela is believed to be the nickname for Tyawana.  

At about 3am, the bar went quiet. Sphamandla had been beaten so viciously that he could no longer see. He was taken to the Nissan Micra and made to sit on the back seat. He declined an offer of water, requesting a beer instead. The man we know only as Sphamandla took a sip of the Hansa, then breathed his final breath.

Sphamandla’s body was taken back to the Karob Bar where attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Wambi intended to bury Sphamandla in the grounds of Special Forces headquarters at Speskop, southwest of Pretoria. Speskop is located about 4km south of the Thaba Tshwane military base and has served as the headquarters of the Special Forces for many years. It is in the middle of the Swartkop Park Nature Reserve, providing a large buffer zone between the base and nearby suburbs.

A hero’s welcome

A gathering took place at Thaba Tshwane in May 2020 to welcome the final recovered R4 rifle back to base. This took place in the midst of Covid-19 when the movement of South Africans was heavily restricted during one of the toughest lockdowns in the world. A small gathering of military officials was brought together, including Brigadier-General Eric Mnisi (the head of legal at the SANDF) and Doris Netshanzhe. Five BMW X5s, with blue lights blazing, met the welcoming party at the base. Wambi stepped out of one of the vehicles and handed over a weapon with the words, “Your last one.” The assembled dignitaries clapped.

This date accords with Mathopo’s presentation to Parliament; he, however, stated that the last four rifles were recovered. 

Brigadier-General Eric Mnisi. (Photo: Supplied)

Who is Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi aka ‘Musa’?

Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi led a “training exercise” at the Mall of Africa where Abdella Abadiga, the alleged Islamic State financier, and his bodyguard were abducted. This was the SANDF’s version in court papers following attempts by Abadiga’s brother to locate him and secure his freedom through an urgent application.

We have identified Wambi as the coach of a football team of teenage players known as Young Pirates FC in Sedibeng. On the soccer team’s various social media platforms, he is consistently identified by the nicknames Sanza or Musa.

It is worth noting that Wambi was given the rank of major in court papers in February 2023 following the Abadiga abduction. In court papers submitted by the SANDF in July 2023 (in response to Mathipa’s quest to gain access to Wambi’s cellphone records) he is referred to as a colonel. If accurate, this suggests a promotion in 2023 following the Abadiga abduction.

Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi. (Photo: Supplied)

Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi. (Photo: Supplied)

Who is Lieutenant-Colonel Doris Phindani Netshanzhe aka ‘Mama Skebenga’?

According to one source, Military Police official Doris Netshanzhe earned the nickname of “Mama Skebenga” (Mama Gangster) from Special Forces officers. We have been told that she was swiftly promoted from major to lieutenant-colonel shortly after the completion of the R4 recovery operation. She also enjoyed the privilege of a training course in Cuba. 

Open Secrets has obtained a revealing statement made under oath to the Lohatla Military Police concerning threats allegedly made by Netshanzhe to a Military Police platoon commander. The platoon commander opened a case of intimidation against Netshanzhe at Lohatla military base which is still the subject of a Military Police internal investigation.

The context of the complaint is that Netshanzhe intervened in aspects of processing a rape case at a military base in a manner that the platoon commander thought was unprocedural and could bungle the investigation. The platoon commander is independent of Open Secrets sources. According to the statement, on 8 November 2022, the platoon commander was sitting outside a court at Khatu attending to a matter concerning the sexual assault.

Netshanzhe had wanted the platoon commander to be elsewhere and, according to an affidavit from the platoon commander, stated in a loud voice outside the court, in front of members of the public: “[Lieutenant,] you don’t know me very well. I talk to the Chief [of the] SANDF and Admiral Maphoto [head of Military Police] every day. I am well connected, I am untouchable. General Mnisi of Legal is my boyfriend. I work with Special Forces; we make people disappear. I was investigating officer on the weapons case. That is all over, where are they?” 

The platoon commander, not knowing the context, states: “I did not understand her.”  

Lieutenant-Colonel Doris Phindani Netshanzhe. (Photo: Supplied)

Lifting the veil 

South Africa has a long and complicated history of denying military complicity in criminal activity. At the end of apartheid it was a requirement of the political settlement that neither the apartheid nor liberation militaries should be held to account for criminal activity. At the time, the two primary hidden hands in South African political life — the military and corporate South Africa — were unchallenged lest they undermine the nascent democratic order.

More recently there has been no investigation of the impact of State Capture on the SANDF, notwithstanding the consistent rumours of the close political allegiance between the former chief of the SANDF Solly Shoke and the Zuma administration. As we reported in Part Two of the Russian Doll investigation, the military was the driving force behind draconian State of Emergency regulations drafted shortly before Zuma was pushed into leaving public office.

The Ramaphosa administration has not rocked the military boat, apparently for fear of it turning on him. Its support was, after all, crucial during the July 2021 rioting and looting instigated by a pro-Zuma faction.

However, this investigation exposes alleged criminality within the military which must be investigated and prosecuted by authorities outside of the military. For now, the targets of the alleged torture squad have been people, like Sphamandla, on the margins of society. However, if the Special Forces killed Mathipa, then it must be on account of a greater sense of power and protection. 

Members of Parliament and aspirant MPs should know that if they do not push now for accountability there is no telling who will be next. This should give them all, including the President, sleepless nights until we have seen accountability.

Note

Detailed questions were sent to the following parties named in this article. None responded at the time of publication. Should a response be forthcoming in the next few days, it will appended to this article. They are:

General Rudzani Maphwanya, chief of the South African National Defence Force;

Siphiwe Dlamini, spokesperson for the SANDF/Department of Defence;

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Speaker of Parliament (former minister of defence);

Brigadier-General Eric Mnisi, SANDF legal head;

Lieutenant-Colonel Doris Phindani Netshanzhe;

Colonel Pinny Sunnybooi Wambi; and

Lance-Corporal Sidwel Babini Tyawana (all his messages bounced back undelivered) 

Open Secrets is a non-profit organisation which exposes and builds accountability for private-sector economic crimes through investigative research, advocacy and the law. To support our work visit Support Open Secrets.

The post Russian Doll 3: EXPOSED — the SANDF ‘Torture’ Squad appeared first on Open Secrets.

The post Russian Doll 3: EXPOSED — the SANDF ‘Torture’ Squad appeared first on Vuka News.

By Marcus Low – the post #InTheSpotlight | SA has started a TB revolution – can we see it through? appeared first on © Spotlight.

Summary by Vuka.news:

1. TB Rates in South Africa: TB cases have declined from 500,000 (2005) to 330,000 (2023), but the pace is too slow. South Africa remains a high TB burden country with 427 cases per 100,000 people.

2. HIV and TB Link: HIV compromises immune systems, making people more vulnerable to TB. Rising antiretroviral therapy use since 2008 has helped reduce TB cases by improving immunity. TB diagnoses are hindered by late detection, leading to widespread transmission before treatment. “Earlier identification of people in early stages of TB disease is really critical if we hope to control TB,” says Professor Thomas Scriba.

3. Advances in TB Understanding: TB is no longer just classified as latent or active; an intermediate stage, sub-clinical TB, exists. Sub-clinical TB patients can be infectious without symptoms, complicating control efforts. Early treatment of sub-clinical TB could prevent lung damage and reduce transmission.

4. TB Testing Revolution: Molecular tests now give results in hours versus weeks and are widely used in public healthcare. Portable X-ray machines enable community testing but need follow-up molecular tests. New saliva, stool, and blood-based tests are being developed.

5. Targeted Universal Testing (TUT): TUT tests high-risk groups, like those with HIV or recent TB exposure, even without symptoms. Early results show TUT increases TB detection significantly.

6. Challenges in Sustaining TB Control: TB programs depend heavily on international funding, posing sustainability risks. Political support and public awareness campaigns, akin to those for HIV, are vital.

7. Research and Local Innovation: South African universities are leaders in TB research, focusing on early detection and treatments. Investing in local TB solutions could reduce reliance on international donors. “The outcome is very much still in doubt…TB claimed 56,000 lives in the country last year.”

The post #InTheSpotlight | SA has started a TB revolution – can we see it through? appeared first on Vuka News.

By Corrpution Watch – the post Gcaleka: fight against corruption needs resources, ethical leaders appeared first on © Corruption Watch.

Summary by Vuka.news:

1. Key Features of the Zondo Commission

• Advocate Paul Pretorius highlighted the independence and effectiveness of the Zondo Commission (2018–2022) in uncovering state capture.
• Its success stemmed from:
  • Vigilance and awareness from civil society, anti-corruption bodies, and whistle-blowers.
  • Support from media, academic research, and the Public Protector’s State of Capture report.
• “Critical to the success … of the Zondo commission was that it was an independent commission of inquiry chaired by an independent judge.”

2. Addressing Corruption in South Africa

• Pretorius emphasized the severe societal threat posed by crime and corruption: “We are in serious trouble as a result of crime, corruption, and the violence and the threat to our society that accompanies it.”
• Civil society must rekindle the urgency that led to the Zondo Commission’s formation.

3. Challenges of Resources and Capacity

• Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka stressed the need for resources to combat corruption effectively:
  • The Zondo Commission cost R1 billion, while Thuli Madonsela’s earlier investigations faced funding denials.
  • Ethical leadership and proper resourcing of anti-corruption institutions are critical: “What is critical, from our perspective … is the issue of ethical leadership.”

4. Ethics and Oversight

• Ethics reforms, such as amending the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, are crucial but delayed.
• Gcaleka highlighted flaws in government and legislature oversight, particularly in procurement and budget approval: “Oversight and accountability play a critical role, and that is in the hands of the legislature.”

5. Broader Institutional Reform

• Ethical leadership must extend beyond government to all arms of the state: “Institutions like ourselves find ourselves having to account in Parliament to the very same people who were in government.”

The post Gcaleka: fight against corruption needs resources, ethical leaders appeared first on Vuka News.

Election posters in Maputo. Image credit James Wan via African Arguments CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

By Africa Is a Country

Join us on November 21st as we discuss the politics underlying the popular uprising in Mozambique with António Bai, Anne Pitcher, and José Jaime Macuane.

On October 9, Mozambicans cast their ballots in the general election. The National Elections Commission declared a sweeping victory for Frelimo, which has governed the country since independence in 1975. The election results upset the set-up, with Podemos replacing Renamo as the leading opposition party. But Podemos leader Venâncio Mondlane rejected the results, claiming an outright victory. According to observers, the elections were marred by irregularities, including ghost voters, fake observers, ballot box stuffing, and fictitious tabulations. Under pressure, the Constitutional Council ordered the National Elections Commission to hand over the original tabulations. But the commission, which is dominated by Frelimo appointees, has been less than cooperative. In mid-December, the Constitutional Council is due to announce the final outcome. 

In response to the fraudulent elections—and the subsequent murder of opposition lawyer Elvino Dias and Podemos leader Paulo Guambe—an unprecedented wave of protest action has taken hold across the country. Heeding the call by Mondlane, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, some marching peacefully and others blocking strategic logistical arteries, including the ports and national borders. The forces of repression have responded erratically, shooting tear gas into homes and live ammunition at protesters. While the casualty count is inconclusive, thousands are estimated to have been arrested, hundreds have been shot and at least 40 have been killed over the last week. 

As António Bai of the Bloco 4 Foundation argues, the persecution of oppositional voices and the closing of political space ultimately undermine the legitimacy of the state and public trust in state institutions.

To understand the politics of this popular uprising, it is important to reflect on Mozambique’s political economy. Over the last decades, there has been a rapid expansion of the extractive sector, which along with adjacent industries, absorbs 90 percent of foreign direct investment but generates only 15 percent of formal salaried employment. The growth of extractive industries has accelerated the expropriation of land and natural resources, undermined the redistributive role of the state, and ultimately resulted in its militarization. As Professor Anne Pitcher details, there is a close relationship between the national oligarchs, who have been able to amass wealth as intermediaries, global capital, and the Mozambican military establishment. For Professor José Jaime Macuane, the propensity to conflict—from skirmishes with Renamo to the jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado—reflects the fragmentation of political settlements between elites within the governing coalition and between the governing and non-governing coalition.

Join us on November 21 as we discuss the politics underlying the popular uprising in Mozambique with António Bai, Anne Pitcher, and José Jaime Macuane. William Shoki and Ruth Castel-Branco will moderate the webinar.

António Bai is a researcher at Bloco 4 Foundation, where he transforms academic articles into animations. He has a bachelors and a masters degree in political science from the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. He publishes on social protests and freedom of expression in Mozambique.

Anne Pitcher is the Joel Samoff Collegiate Professor of Political Science and Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. Her published work examines electoral and party politics, political economy, the distribution of public goods, and political violence in Africa. Most of her research over the past 30 years has been conducted in Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, South Africa, and more recently, Kenya.

José Jaime Macuane, is an associate professor of political science and public administration, at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. His areas of interest focus on the theory of democracy and democratization, political economy of development, and state reform.

Ruth Castel-Branco is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her published work examines the changing nature of work, worker movements, and the redistributive claims on the state.

Watch it live on YouTube here.

The post Mozambique and the politics of popular uprising appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Report | Empty Promises: The struggle for equitable access to water in South Africa first appeared on © PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute.

By Tracy Ledger

SUMMARY by Vuka.news

Water as a Human Right DOWNLOAD REPORT

Water is vital for life and wellbeing. Access to enough clean water is crucial for health, sanitation, and quality of life. In 2010, the United Nations recognized access to water as a human right.

However, only 52 countries, including South Africa, guarantee this right. South Africa’s Constitution (Section 27(1)(b)) states that everyone has the right to sufficient food and water. Policies emphasize universal access to affordable water. Key affordability issues include:

1. Policies must provide clear and specific measures for affordability.
2. Paying for water should not stop households from affording other basic needs like food or shelter.
3. The state must ensure water is affordable and take action, including providing free water when necessary.

Despite these commitments, South Africa faces serious challenges:

• Water services have worsened over the past decade.
• The minimum water amount provided is below World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
• Poor households face water cuts if they cannot pay.
• Implementing the Free Basic Water policy has been difficult.

A human-rights approach requires the state to assess whether people can afford water based on their actual situations. If they cannot, the state must act to ensure access.

The post Report | Empty Promises: The struggle for equitable access to water in South Africa appeared first on Vuka News.

Mining affected communities led by Macua and Wamua protested outside the DMRE offices in Tshwane this week. All photos by Lilita Gcwabe

BY Lilita Gcwabe – this post first appeared at © Elitsha

‘Nothing about us without us!’ protesters demand of the mining industry.

Thousands of people from mining affected communities in Limpopo , Carltonville, and the North West, marched to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on the 14th of November 2024 to show their determination to exercise their right to free, prior and Informed consent (FPIC) and have gathered an extensive mandate from thousands of communities across the country. 

“This march is part of Macua’s attempts to making sure that the voices of mining affected communities are central to the MPRDA, which fails to address ongoing issues around consultation, consent and fulfillment of community development obligations by mining companies,” reads their memorandum.

A varied crowd of the elderly and the young, the protesters met at the Jubilee Park in Pretoria to prepare for the march ahead.

The post In pictures – Mining affected communities march to DMPR appeared first on Vuka News.

The post ‘The real MCF is back’, say Mxube and co. after reinstatement appeared first on Vuka News.

Staff at TB HIV Care provide methadone at a drop-in centre in central Cape Town. Archive photo: David Harrison

Research shows that people are more successful at quitting heroin when they enrol in opioid agonist therapy (OAT) programs, which provide prescribed medicines to block withdrawal symptoms.
Government has largely failed to fund OAT. Instead, it has invested in abstinence or detox-based rehab programs that are usually unsuccessful.
The government appears to be changing tack. In July it advertised a pilot OAT program to begin next year at two government clinics – one in Mpumalanga and another in the North West.
Concerns have previously been raised that state-sponsored OAT could lead to an uptick in methadone overdoses, but some researchers say these risks can be managed by ensuring that users take their medication at clinics under the watchful eye of clinicians in the first weeks or months of their treatment.

The government is preparing to trial a medically-assisted treatment program to help heroin users who want to quit the drug. This is after long resisting this approach, in favour of drug-free rehab programs that have yielded low success rates.

In July the national health department requested bids to run a pilot program to provide opioid agonist therapy (OAT) to heroin users. OAT is a form of treatment in which people who are quitting heroin (or reducing their intake) are provided with medicines, called opioid agonists. These drugs block the painful withdrawal symptoms that occur after a person quits heroin.

The health department has until February 2025 to appoint a service provider to run the pilot, which will run for 20 months. It’s supposed to operate at two primary healthcare facilities – one in Emalahleni in Mpumalanga and another in Madibeng in the North West. These locations were chosen as they reportedly include a “high number of people” who use heroin.

The opioid agonist drug to be used in the pilot scheme is methadone, a syrup that is taken once a day. OAT programs usually offer it alongside other forms of assistance, such as counselling or therapy. The medicine is typically administered for a minimum of six months.

Clinical trials show that heroin users are more successful at kicking the habit when they’re provided with methadone than when they’re sent to drug-free rehabs. For the treatment to work, however, people need to take it for several months or even years. This allows them to establish a more stable social environment (for example, getting off the street, finding work, and re-establishing family relationships) before slowly tapering off the medicine.

Many countries, such as the US and UK, provide OAT free of charge. But South Africa has historically taken a more conservative approach. People who are suffering from heroin withdrawal at public hospitals can be provided with methadone, but only for up to ten days. This short-term option is called detox therapy, and research shows that it isn’t as effective as longer-term OAT programs.

Similarly, at government-funded rehabs, users are either expected to quit cold-turkey, or are provided with one to two weeks’ worth of methadone. There isn’t any national-level data on the success rates of these rehab programs but the available evidence isn’t promising.

One study looked at 300 heroin users who went to state-funded rehabs in Johannesburg. It found that three months after the program had ended, two-thirds of them had gone back to using heroin, and many of those that had stopped were simply on other substances. For instance, the number of people using crystal meth (commonly known as tik) had increased. The researchers partially attributed these disappointing results to the lack of OAT.

After getting new needles and syringes from a mobile program at a site in Wynberg, Cape Town, a man prepares a small dose of heroin nearby. Photo: David Harrison

The government has slowly been changing tack. In 2018 civil society groups and academics made a submission to the National Essential Medicines List Committee requesting methadone for long-term OAT at public clinics. The committee is an advisory body that helps select which drugs the government should buy for public sector patients.

This led to a period of consultation. In 2021, the committee published a review which stated that OAT is more effective at reducing heroin use than drug-free or detox-based programs. But it expressed “concerns that the current service delivery platform [South Africa’s system of primary health facilities] is not adequate to deliver [OAT] safely, considering the risk of respiratory depression in toxicity and the risk of diversion to illicit drug markets”.

The committee thus recommended that OAT be conducted from pilot sites first, in order to see whether government clinics have the capacity to run these programs safely. The health department states that this “will help to inform the rollout [of] OAT in the country in a safe, cost-effective and efficient way”.

Effects of methadone

For people who are dependent on heroin, withdrawal can come just a few hours after their last hit. The symptoms can include fever, body aches and intense fatigue. The American author, William Burroughs, who used heroin for years wrote that it “is a feeling as if the life energy has been shut off so that all the cells in the body are suffocating”.

Heroin users who live on the street are constantly hustling to buy enough heroin to stave off these looming withdrawal symptoms.

Users in Cape Town’s Joe Slovo township told GroundUp that they needed at least six quarter gram shots a day (though usually more), which cost R25 a pop. This comes to R150 a day. To support this they engage in a range of odd jobs that provide immediate cash, such as carting scrap metal to recyclers or assisting small informal businesses with cleaning up.

The hustle becomes all-consuming. It’s for this reason that OAT can be so powerful for those who are looking for a way out. By blocking withdrawal, people can exit the constant street hustle, and instead begin to make long-term planning decisions – applying for jobs, finding a steady shelter, and building relationships.

Risks shouldn’t be overstated

OAT is not without its criticisms.

According to a 2023 study, the hesitancy to roll out OAT at South African clinics has partially been motivated by the fear that patients may overdose on methadone. This is in part because in the US, thousands have died of methadone overdose.

The US Centers for Disease Control notes that these deaths have primarily been linked to the use of methadone for pain relief however, rather than as an OAT drug. The rate at which people have overdosed on the drug has dropped in the US since the country’s regulator curbed the use of methadone for pain relief. This is despite the distribution of methadone for OAT programs going up significantly over the same period.

Meanwhile, evidence from Norway shows that when that country rolled out a national OAT program, total overdose deaths from opioids came down, as the program helped people to get off illicit drugs like heroin.

According to Dr Andrew Scheibe, a medical doctor and harm reduction researcher at the University of Pretoria, “most overdoses on methadone are [linked to] pain medication, and not so much around its use for opioid agonist therapy”.

Scheibe notes that there are risks linked to methadone use in OAT but these can be managed. “The highest risk of overdose on opioid agonist therapy is in the first couple of weeks of use. So in the first couple of weeks or even months, people are on direct observed therapy.” In other words, they take their medication at the clinic under the watch of clinicians.

Doing this from primary healthcare facilities in South Africa will require additional resources. According to Andy Gray, who sits on the Essential Medicines List committee, “there has been a fair bit of back and forth with the national health department on questions of capacity [at primary healthcare clinics]”. Gray noted that this is also given the “need to provide comprehensive services to users, not only OAT”.

According to Scheibe, while observed daily treatment is needed in the beginning of OAT “it is also important that people can [transition] to take-home methadone when they’re stable, because that then allows them to resume other parts of their lives”. Scheibe says that “the COVID epidemic pushed many countries to allow take-home methadone … and there was no change in overdose deaths due to methadone as a result”.

In the US, following lockdown regulations, OAT clinics began providing users with weeks’ worth of methadone at a time, after previously requiring daily observed treatment. A paper in Lancet Public Health reviewed six studies which analysed the impact of this and found “no evidence of increased methadone overdose risk as a result of the [more flexible] guidance”. (Though one study has since come to the opposite conclusion).

Prices coming down

A final concern about OAT has previously been the high price tag of methadone, which has historically been provided by a single supplier in South Africa – Equity Pharmaceuticals. But in recent years prices have come down as new products have entered the market. These include a product by Adcock Ingram called Adco and another by Umsebe Healthcare called Misyo.

Both of these products were registered by the country’s medicines regulator, SAPHRA, in 2021. But Misyo only came to market in 2023, while Adco was launched in February 2024.

Equity is still the government’s supplier of methadone, as the most recent tender was awarded in 2023, before the new players were able to bid. A new tender will be issued in 2026 however.

At present, Adco sells at R368 (including VAT) for a 100 ml bottle, and there are 10 milligrams of methadone per ml.

Users on OAT start on a low initiation dose, and steadily increase their daily intake until they reach a stabilisation dose. This level varies across individuals, though the global recommendation is 60-120mg a day.

At a stabilisation dose of 90mg, the Adco product cost about R33 a day – a lot less than the R150 people pay for heroin in Joe Slovo. These prices would inevitably come down even further once they were negotiated on tender.

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Almost R1-billion has been spent on the Telkom Tower complex in Pretoria which was meant to house the national headquarters of South African Police Service. Now government may dispose of it. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson revealed on Thursday in Parliament that nearly 80% of public works projects are currently delayed, and the troubled Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria is a prime example.

The complex, purchased for R700-million in 2016 to serve as the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters, was evacuated in February after being declared unfit for human habitation.

“These incomplete projects don’t just stand as unfinished structures. They are monuments to inefficient management, corruption, lost opportunities, deferred dignity and unfulfilled promises to the public,” said Macpherson.

In March, we reported how then police minister Bheki Cele had been working from home for four years due to the state of the Telkom Towers.

About R1-billion has been spent on upgrades over ten years. Yet the building still bears the Telkom sign and costs millions annually in security alone. Out of nine buildings in the complex, only one has ever been occupied by SAPS, leaving R592-million worth of building vacant, a portfolio committee oversight report said.

The committee’s oversight visit in October revealed numerous problems. The Department of Labour had found faulty electrical wiring and unmaintained fire extinguishers and air conditioning systems. The committee also noted non-functioning lifts, water damage and flooded parking bays.

Yet a facilities management service provider still holds a contract for maintaining the North Wing, despite the building being unoccupied.

The minister announced that the department is considering either repurposing the complex or removing it from its portfolio entirely.

He also revealed that out of 206 current infrastructure projects, 164 are experiencing delays, costing nearly R3-billion over several financial years.

“These delays are not just figures in a report, they represent stalled progress, halted economic growth, and deferred services for millions of South Africans,” said Macpherson.

On Wednesday the portfolio committee recommended that the minister brief the committee quarterly, submit a report within 30 days on a previous forensic investigation, and initiate a new independent investigation into the procurement and failed refurbishment of the Telkom Towers complex.

The oversight report also noted that the utilisation of the Telkom Towers had been intended to alleviate the pressure on the private lease budget, but instead SAPS continues to pay “excessive amounts” for private leases while government-owned buildings remain unused.

Macpherson announced that contractors who fail to meet their obligations will face immediate consequences, including blacklisting.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson revealed on Thursday in Parliament that nearly 80% of public works projects are currently delayed. Photo: Matthew Hirsch

GroundUp experimented with AI Claude 3.5 Sonnet in the editing of this article.

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Long queues in February 2024 outside the SASSA office in Khayelitsha. Archive photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana

Western Cape Provincial MPLs had a heated debate on Thursday over SASSA’s failure to provide services to beneficiaries in the province.
About 45% of South Africans depend on social grants.
SASSA has left beneficiaries sometimes facing months without payments.
Several MPLs called for SASSA CEO Busisiwe Memela to resign.
ANC MPLs said the provincial government must look for solutions, not play “the blame game”.

Tensions ran high during a debate at the Western Cape legislature on Thursday. MPLs voiced their frustrations over failures by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to provide adequate services to the province’s social grant recipients.

Wendy Kaizer-Philander (DA) opened the debate by condemning the situation and describing the failure of SASSA as a crisis. “Social grants are more than just a financial transaction,” she said. “It’s a promise that, regardless of your circumstances, the government will provide a basic level of support.”

About 45% of the country depends on social grants.

Kaizer-Philander said grants are a lifeline for many, and the ongoing delays have left families in “unacceptable” conditions.

“While people suffer and wait, SASSA’s leadership remains untouched, shielded by bureaucracy, and comforted by perks and bonuses,” she said.

She called for the resignation of SASSA CEO Busisiwe Memela, saying she has failed to address the longstanding issues at SASSA since taking office in 2019. “Under her leadership, it has gotten worse,” she said.

Chinelle Stevens (PA) was equally scathing. “The high level of corruption and incompetence at SASSA calls for the immediate resignation of the CEO who is clearly unfit to hold office,” she said.

“The malfunctioning IT systems and endless delays are causing widespread suffering,” said Stevens.

She said beneficiaries often face long queues or are left without payments for months. She called for a commission of inquiry to investigate fraud and corruption in the agency.

Francois Kamfer (ANC) acknowledged the challenges but said the provincial government must do more than merely “highlight the problems”.

“People in the Western Cape deserve more than just discussions. They deserve action and work towards solutions,” he said.

He pointed to difficulties in Khayelitsha and Eersteriver, where infrastructure delays at SASSA offices have made matters worse. He urged the provincial government to release land for more SASSA offices to be built.

“The blame game”

Rachel Windvogel (ANC) said, “We need to stop the blame game. The MEC is responsible for raising these issues at the MinMEC [meetings of the Minister and MECs] and with all the role-players. But he is nowhere to be found. Dololo. Stop the hypocrisy,” she said.

Windvogel said grant payment delays were not solely a SASSA problem but linked to challenges within the South African Post Office.

“SASSA has tirelessly advocated for grant beneficiaries to change their payment methods. Yet many are reluctant to do so. It is high time that the public representatives in this house step up and assist in this regard instead of engaging in armchair criticism,” said Windvogel.

Provincial DSD MEC Jaco Londt (DA) said SASSA’s service was “not a complete failure, but it’s not optimal”. He said over 1.7 million people in the province received social grants in October.

He said the Western Cape government had taken proactive steps to address the issue, including holding monthly meetings with SASSA’s leadership.

Londt said there were higher rates of disability grant approvals in the province than nationally.

“From July to September 2024, 75% of disability grants were processed in the Western Cape, compared to just 40% nationwide,” Londt said.

Londt said staffing shortages and infrastructure issues continued to constrain SASSA’s ability. He called for more resources to be allocated to SASSA to address the growing needs of the province’s most vulnerable.

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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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GroundUp has been monitoring the queues outside Eskom Louis Trichardt office since the week ending 8 November. Every day there are long lines of people, some from surrounding villages such as Elim, Valdenzhia, and Kutama Sinthumule. Photo: Bernard Chiguvare

Elderly pensioners wrapped in blankets sit on the cold pavement outside Eskom’s Louis Trichardt offices. They have come to upgrade their electricity meters before the 24 November deadline. After that date, meters that have not been upgraded will no longer accept electricity tokens.

On Thursday morning GroundUp found more than 170 customers queuing. Some said they had to return more than once. Basic facilities are lacking. Two elderly women were seen urinating against the office’s concrete walls due to the lack of toilets.

Annah Manganye, 68, from Valdenzhia, 40km away, arrived at 6:30am and was 172nd in line. “If I don’t get served today, I won’t come back because I don’t have transport money,” she said.

The office, which serves residents from surrounding villages, including Elim, Valdenzhia and Kutama Sinthumule, has three staff members. Eskom manager Netshavheni Nenguda said, “When we started this programme last year, most customers didn’t visit to upgrade their meters. Now with the cutoff date approaching, the numbers are increasing.”

He said the office was committed to serving everyone in the queue the same day.

Patrick Sikhutse, chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum, has called for an extension of the deadline. “The process is very slow, and not many customers are served per day,” he said.

But Eskom’s website says there will be no extension.

To upgrade there should be no need to go to Eskom offices. But customers appear to be struggling.

Eskom customers should first check their meter’s status by entering a code. If an upgrade is needed, they must obtain Key Change Tokens from vendors and follow a three-step process to enter the new codes.

In response to the issues with the new electricity meter system, Eskom referred GroundUp to its website that explained the process (see below).

Nenguda advised customers to carefully follow the instructions when entering their token numbers.

“Customers should always begin with the set of numbers labeled as number 1. This is not necessarily the top set of numbers on the slip, so they need to check the labels carefully. Once entered in the correct order, the electricity should load automatically,” he explained.

GroundUp is experimenting with AI Claude 3.5 Sonnet in the editing of articles.

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The post COP29 must Prioritize Africa’s Just Energy Transition and Climate Justice appeared first on groundWork.

Press Release

COP29 must Prioritize Africa’s Just Energy Transition and Climate Justice

 In 2024, Africa has faced some of the most devastating climate events in recent history, reinforcing the need for action at COP29

 s Africa endures some of its worst climate impacts to date, the world must acknowledge that COP29 is an urgent crossroads. Across the continent, record floods, droughts, wildfires, and cyclones are not only devastating communities but also signalling that the current global approach to climate action is failing those on the frontlines. Africa contributes just 3% of global carbon emissions, yet its communities are shouldering an outsized share of the climate burden.

In 2024, climate disasters have taken a harsh toll across the continent. Flooding in Eastern Africa displaced over 1.5 million people, Cyclone Batsirai left millions in Madagascar and Mozambique in dire conditions, and wildfires in North Africa are ravaging ecosystems and agricultural land, and displacing communities. Meanwhile, prolonged droughts in the Sahel and conflict-driven famine in Sudan have created a humanitarian crisis for over 20 million people. The deepest injustice of it all is that while the continent contributes little to global emissions, it suffers some of the most severe consequences. The message for COP29 is clear: systemic, transformative change in global climate action and finance are long overdue.

A Just Energy Transition: Beyond Fossil Fuels to Community Power

Africa’s energy future should centre on renewable, democratic, community-led solutions. Solar and wind energy hold immense potential for the continent, yet investment remains low. Over 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, while fossil fuel projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) expand at the cost of communities and ecosystems. COP29 must phase out fossil fuel projects and redirect investment toward locally owned, renewable energy systems that serve African people, not corporate profit.

We need a just transition that is led by communities, ensuring that they are not only recipients of energy but also have ownership and control. Energy justice must be at the forefront, prioritising those who have long been forced to bear the costs of a climate crisis they did not cause.

Equitable Climate Finance: Addressing Debt and Fair Funding for Adaptation

Africa’s climate response is hampered by inadequate and unjust climate finance. Despite a pledge of $100 billion annually from developed countries, Africa receives only a fraction, with funds often structured as loans that deepen its debt crisis and echo colonial patterns. COP29 must secure public climate finance that focuses on the needs of peoples across the continent, adaptation, loss and damage, and renewable energy, in the form of grants, not loans. The Loss and Damage Fund may have been operationalised at COP28 but COP29 must ensure that it’s fully resourced and accessible, free from bureaucratic barriers.

Africa’s just energy transition depends on democratic integrity and accountability

Recent elections in Mozambique highlighted the need for strengthened democratic processes. Meanwhile, countries rich in natural resources see little benefit due to governance challenges and corporate profiteering. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, mineral exploitation, particularly of cobalt and lithium critical for global renewable energy supply chains, has led to severe human rights abuses. Communities endure displacement, health hazards, and environmental degradation at the hands of corporations. African resources must serve African people.

Corporate accountability is equally vital. Global demand for minerals essential to the renewable energy transition has driven severe exploitation in African regions, often involving human rights abuses and environmental degradation. COP29 must champion mechanisms that hold corporations accountable, ensuring that human rights and environmental standards are adhered to. Extractive projects must prioritise local ownership, benefiting African communities rather than perpetuating patterns of exploitation.

Empowering Women, Youth, and Indigenous Peoples

 omen, youth, and Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet play pivotal roles in advancing resilience and adaptation. Women, particularly in agriculture, are often the first to respond to climate impacts, while youth are at the forefront of climate activism. Indigenous communities, custodians of ecosystems across Africa, have invaluable knowledge on biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use, and climate resilience. However, they are often excluded from climate discussions and threatened by large-scale projects.

COP29 must ensure these groups have a central voice in decision-making, with financing for capacity-building and must recognise and protect Indigenous rights, their land and their knowledge.

A Call for Climate Justice

 At COP29, global leaders have an opportunity to take transformative action by prioritising Africa’s needs, voices, and sovereignty. Africa’s energy justice is inseparable from its climate justice. A renewable energy transition rooted in equity, self-determination, justice and sustainability is not only essential for Africa but also a model for the world. This shift must be supported by public and fair climate finance, technology transfer from the Global North, and a genuine respect for African sovereignty.

As the world gathers at COP29, the stakes are higher than ever. Africa is calling for action, and it is time for global leaders to respond with commitment, solidarity, and a vision for a sustainable, just future.

For media enquiries contact:

Kholwane Simelane – Africa Energy Transformation Project Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Africa.

kholwani@foei.org, +27 81 772 8843

Kevin Munyoli – Communications Coordinator, Africa Just Transition Network

acncomms@groundwork.org.za, +254 755 439875

Tsepang Molefe – Media and Communications Campaigner, groundwork

media@groundwork.org.za, +27 74 405 1257

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“Every year, Khanya College looks to expand its network of writers to better cover working class communities especially. This year, Khanya College organised workshops in Johannesburg and Cape Town, these workshops were also aimed at building a movement for alternative…”

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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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Khayelitsha’s most common dread disease – diabetes, first appeared on WWMP .
Khayelitsha’s most common dread disease – diabetes

14 November marks World Diabetes Day, and residents of Khayelitsha received expert advice on how they can prevent and manage diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. There are more than 4.3-million people living with diabetes in South Africa, according to Dr Abraham Opare, project manager for the ORBIS-World Diabetes Foundation, Diabetic Retinopathy Project.

At the event held at Khayelitsha District Hospital on Thursday, Opare said diabetes is in most cases caused by bad lifestyle choices. “People are either not physically active or the kind of foods they eat are not healthy enough. As a prevention measure we encourage people to be more physically active, and you don’t have to make the physical activity look like work. Even dancing or taking short walks. We also encourage people to eat a lot of vegetables, those available to them in the community. People must also avoid stress and get enough sleep,” said Opare.

Assistant manager at Khayelitsha Day Hospital, Bulelwa Gaji, said one of the biggest challenges in the context of Khayelitsha is that many people still don’t take diabetes seriously. “Diabetes is a lifestyle disease; it can be controlled through exercise, diet and compliance to medication. In our facilities, people always complain about not having money for the diet. We try to educate them that it’s not about eating expensive food but rather staying away from certain types of food. Another challenge we have is, after people have been diagnosed, they don’t want to come back and continue with medication,” said Gaji. 

The migration of people to other provinces also disrupts their keeping to a medical regime. “People will come and get diagnosed with diabetes and once they feel better will go maybe to the Eastern Cape and upon their return, their diabetes has gotten worse and out of control and they have to start afresh,” she told Elitsha. The rate of diabetes in Khayelitsha and across the Cape Town metro is very high, she said, looking at the numbers in the hospital database. In her assessment, it is the most common controllable disease.  

She said they battle with convincing patients to take care of their own health. “We need more awareness; we have health promoters who go around and teach people what diabetes is and how people can control it and prevent complications,” she added.

Calls for access to treatment in low-income countries

On Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) released a statement calling on pharmaceutical corporations Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and all insulin manufacturers to take urgent action to increase access to treatment. “80% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to insulin pens is extremely limited due primarily to high prices. Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi control and monopolise the diabetes market, making business and manufacturing decisions that affect people’s access to insulin and often setting prices of their newer insulins as high as they want.”

Current market prices and pharma markups. You don’t want to be diabetic and American. Graphic supplied

According to the MSF, such decisions effectively block access to more practical treatment with pens for people living with diabetes around the world, and particularly in poorer communities and countries.

Exercise and diet is key 

Dr Deon Minnies, director of the Community Eye Health Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT), called on communities and individuals to make better decisions when it comes to their health. “The main reason we are here today is to remind people that your health is in your own hands, it’s not in the doctor’s hands. Diabetes is developed over a long time, mainly through lifestyle problems, maybe eating the wrong diet, eating too much sugar, and a lack of exercise and allowing yourself to become overweight. That is how it develops,” he reiterated.

“If you keep your heart rate well and fit. Exercise has so many benefits not just for diabetes. Not even a lot, just 30 minutes a day of exercise directed. Watching your diet and refraining from sugary food like biscuits and drinks. Balance your diets with green vegetables, that should keep diabetes away. Once you have diabetes you are at risk of getting complications, which may include losing sight, or have greater risks of having heart attacks and so on,” said Minnies. 

The post Khayelitsha’s most common dread disease – diabetes appeared first on Vuka News.

14 November marks World Diabetes Day, and residents of Khayelitsha received expert advice on how they can prevent and manage diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. There are more than 4.3-million people living with diabetes in South Africa, according to Dr Abraham Opare, project manager for the ORBIS-World Diabetes Foundation, Diabetic Retinopathy Project.

At the event held at Khayelitsha District Hospital on Thursday, Opare said diabetes is in most cases caused by bad lifestyle choices. “People are either not physically active or the kind of foods they eat are not healthy enough. As a prevention measure we encourage people to be more physically active, and you don’t have to make the physical activity look like work. Even dancing or taking short walks. We also encourage people to eat a lot of vegetables, those available to them in the community. People must also avoid stress and get enough sleep,” said Opare.

Assistant manager at Khayelitsha Day Hospital, Bulelwa Gaji, said one of the biggest challenges in the context of Khayelitsha is that many people still don’t take diabetes seriously. “Diabetes is a lifestyle disease; it can be controlled through exercise, diet and compliance to medication. In our facilities, people always complain about not having money for the diet. We try to educate them that it’s not about eating expensive food but rather staying away from certain types of food. Another challenge we have is, after people have been diagnosed, they don’t want to come back and continue with medication,” said Gaji. 

The migration of people to other provinces also disrupts their keeping to a medical regime. “People will come and get diagnosed with diabetes and once they feel better will go maybe to the Eastern Cape and upon their return, their diabetes has gotten worse and out of control and they have to start afresh,” she told Elitsha. The rate of diabetes in Khayelitsha and across the Cape Town metro is very high, she said, looking at the numbers in the hospital database. In her assessment, it is the most common controllable disease.  

She said they battle with convincing patients to take care of their own health. “We need more awareness; we have health promoters who go around and teach people what diabetes is and how people can control it and prevent complications,” she added.

Calls for access to treatment in low-income countries

On Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) released a statement calling on pharmaceutical corporations Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and all insulin manufacturers to take urgent action to increase access to treatment. “80% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to insulin pens is extremely limited due primarily to high prices. Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi control and monopolise the diabetes market, making business and manufacturing decisions that affect people’s access to insulin and often setting prices of their newer insulins as high as they want.”

Current market prices and pharma markups. You don’t want to be diabetic and American. Graphic supplied

According to the MSF, such decisions effectively block access to more practical treatment with pens for people living with diabetes around the world, and particularly in poorer communities and countries.

Exercise and diet is key 

Dr Deon Minnies, director of the Community Eye Health Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT), called on communities and individuals to make better decisions when it comes to their health. “The main reason we are here today is to remind people that your health is in your own hands, it’s not in the doctor’s hands. Diabetes is developed over a long time, mainly through lifestyle problems, maybe eating the wrong diet, eating too much sugar, and a lack of exercise and allowing yourself to become overweight. That is how it develops,” he reiterated.

“If you keep your heart rate well and fit. Exercise has so many benefits not just for diabetes. Not even a lot, just 30 minutes a day of exercise directed. Watching your diet and refraining from sugary food like biscuits and drinks. Balance your diets with green vegetables, that should keep diabetes away. Once you have diabetes you are at risk of getting complications, which may include losing sight, or have greater risks of having heart attacks and so on,” said Minnies. 

The post Khayelitsha’s most common dread disease – diabetes appeared first on Vuka News.