Numsa Media Monitor Monday 15 August 2016

Numsa Media Monitor
                        Monday 15 August 2016
  A daily compilation of local, national and international articles dealing with
                             labour related issues
Eskom
Eskom expects Numsa to sign wage agreement
Gia Nicolaides, EWN, 13 Aug 2016
Eskom's Khulu Phasiwe says employees will get an increase of between 8.5 and
10% over the next two years.
JOHANNESBURG – Eskom says it expects the National Union of Metalworkers of
South Africa (Numsa) to sign a wage deal that two others have agreed to which has
brought the nationwide strike to a halt.
The National Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity signed the wage agreement in the
early hours of yesterday morning following a 14 hour marathon negotiation process.
Workers went on strike at several power stations across the country this week when
talks deadlocked over the weekend.
All employees are expected back at work on Monday.
Eskom's Khulu Phasiwe says employees will get an increase of between 8.5 and
10% over the next two years.
“We have also increased the housing allowance by R160 per month and next year it
will increase by R140 per month bringing the allowance in total to R3,000.”
http://ewn.co.za/2016/08/13/Eskom-expects-Numsa-to-sign-wage-agreement
Numsa
BASF seeks to block strike action

Shaun Gillham, HeraldLive, 12 Aug 2016
Specialist manufacturer BASF is seeking a court interdict to stop protest action at its
Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth after members of the National Union of Metal
Workers of SA (Numsa) downed tools on Wednesday.
The South African subsidiary of the global manufacturer said yesterday it regarded
the strike at its Mobile Emissions Catalyst Plant in Struanway as illegal.
The union, however, claims the strike is protected and legal.
About 70 Numsa members were still staging the strike over wage demands at the
gates to the plant yesterday afternoon.
The workers’ demands are not linked to the current automotive industry wage
negotiations, but to previous wage agreements.
Speaking at the plant yesterday, Numsa organiser Xolani Ntshibilili said its “peaceful
protest action” was directed at compelling the company to pay workers back pay
owed following the implementation of a wage increase earlier this year.
http://www.heraldlive.co.za/basf-seeks-block-strike-action/
BASF workers on strike because of dispute over back pay
Joseph Chirume, Ground Up, 12 August 2016
Workers say that they are owed money for first half of 2016
Workers at BASF's chemical manufacturing company in Port Elizabeth are striking
over non-payment of an annual salary increase. Workers are demanding back pay
as per what they claim is an earlier agreement with the company.
Workers, led by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa)
downed tools on Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement with company
management.
The strikers have been picketing and singing revolutionary songs outside of the
company.
Numsa's Luvuyo Pokomela said: "The company employs about 310 workers and
90% have joined the strike. The company agreed in January to increase our pay by
7% but did not honour that and promised to pay that in April. They then postponed to
July. We need the whole amount from January to July. They have to pay us that
back pay up to July." A company statement however claims that 60% of employees
are on strike.
Pokomela denied the company's claim that the strike was unprotected. "The strike
started on Wednesday after the required 48 hours notice had lapsed on Monday
following a series of meetings with the employer. The union had no choice but to
take the position as per the union general meeting of July that resolved to demand
our back pay from management. "

Another Numsa shop stewart, Xolani Tywakadi said: "A letter of demand was sent to
BASF by the union on 28 July. The employer only responded on 2nd August saying
that our strike was illegal. They also said all decisions were done at the head office
in Germany not in South Africa. They also said it was a global issue affecting many
companies. "
BASF spokesperson Linda Brown issued a press release in which she said "While
BASF respects the right to strike, the company [regards] this strike as illegal and has
applied for a court interdict to prevent continued action. ... Contingency plans are in
place to ensure that all production needs are met and that the impact on customers
is minimised. "
http://www.groundup.org.za/article/basf-workers-strike-because-dispute-over-back-
pay/
South African workers
Fawu's fight in AB InBev's takeover of SABMiller pays off
Ann Crotty, Business Day, 15 August 2016
WORKERS at South African Breweries (SAB) who own shares through the Zenzele
scheme are to get an average advance payment of about R32,000 when the deal
with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) goes through, following a hard-fought battle
by the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu).
The deal was struck on Friday, after Fawu had threatened to strike over the issue.
The union had complained that while 1,700 SAB managers would receive a $1.9bn
early payout on their share options, workers had to wait until the Zenzele scheme
matured in 2020.
SAB initially offered an immediate payout of about R16,000, which would have been
an interest-bearing loan against the value of the shares when they vest. SAB had
wanted to charge Zenzele members interest on the prepayment equivalent to 85% of
the prime rate.
The improved offer, which is largely attributable to Fawu’s determination, doubles the
amount proposed originally by SAB and removes the requirement that recipients pay
interest on what is essentially a prepayment of dividends.
Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola said the revised terms fell considerably
short of his union’s demands and were far less generous than the payouts enjoyed
by management, but he was pleased industrial action was off the table.
"The matter was before the (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration)
and industrial action was looming," he said.
Masemola said that although the SAB employees were relatively well paid, they had
debts they were keen to pay off. "This debt burden weakened their resolve to fight."
Masemola’s determination to ensure that the Zenzele scheme was included in
discussions about AB InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller and that employees should
benefit as much as management has won the union support among white-collar
workers at SAB who face an uncertain future under the new owners.

"The merger conditions have guaranteed manning levels at the company, but it’s
unclear what will happen to the quality of jobs. White-collar workers are joining us
now, not in droves, but in surprising numbers," Masemola said.
AB InBev said in a statement that it was pleased to have reached agreement with
Fawu on enhancements to the Zenzele scheme.
When the megabrew merger is completed, Zenzele participants will receive a total
R1.5bn, up from the original R750m.
"We have also confirmed that we will guarantee that Zenzele participants will benefit
from the premium implied by the revised cash price of £45 per share being offered to
SABMiller shareholders," AB InBev said.
In terms of the new deal, Zenzele participants will receive a R32 dividend for every
participation right they hold. The R32 is equivalent to the previous five years’
dividends. The prepayment will be deducted from the final payout when the scheme
matures in 2020.
Each blue-collar worker has an average of 1,000 participation rights.
SAB employees hold 40% of the Zenzele participation rights equivalent to 18.5-
million shares in unlisted SAB. In terms of the original plan, the SAB shares were to
be converted into SABMiller shares in 2020.
AB InBev has committed to converting the Zenzele participation rights into cash at a
minimum value of £45, the price paid to SABMiller shareholders. Zenzele
participants will also benefit from any accretion in SAB value up to 2020.
SAB employees account for just 9,146 of the Zenzele scheme participants. Liquor
store owners and taverners, who account for another 30,000 plus, will also benefit
from the deal agreed with SAB.
Although the Zenzele discussion was withdrawn from consideration before the
Competition Tribunal, the merging parties are required to implement a new black
economic empowerment scheme when the Zenzele scheme matures.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/retail/2016/08/15/fawu-s-fight-in-ab-inbev-s-
takeover-of-sabmiller-pays-off
Lily Mine workers opt for severance packages
ANA Reporter, Independent Media, 14 Aug 2016
Barberton - A number of Lily Gold Mine workers in Barberton in Mpumalanga have
taken voluntary severance packages and left the mine, according to the mining
company.
Lily Mine director of operations Mike Begg told the African News Agency (ANA) that
the company was still under business rescue administration.
“Some of the workers took severance packages and left but there are many others
who are still here,” he said.

Begg did not reveal the number of workers who had taken severance packages.
He said no efforts were currently being made to retrieve the bodies of Yvonne Mnisi,
Pretty Nkambule, and Solomon Nyerende from underground.
The three were trapped underground in February when the lamproom container they
were working in fell into a massive sinkhole created by a collapsed crown pillar.
Rescue operations were launched in February in an attempt to recover the bodies of
the three workers, but later aborted as the mine was declared unsafe.
Lily Mine, which is owned by Vantage Goldfields, subsequently applied to be placed
under business rescue administration.
“The workers have still not been paid [their outstanding salaries for April and May].
The remaining workers and all of us are still hoping to find funding. The survival of
the company will also be determined by the business rescue administration,” said
Begg.
A Canadian gold mining company Afro Can Resources pledged to provide funding
but failed to meet its commitments, he said.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its affiliate the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) marched to Lily Mine on June 12 and demanded that
management prioritise the recovery of the three workers and pay the other workers
their outstanding salaries. Cosatu also wanted government to establish a
commission of inquiry into the Lily Mine disaster.
Cosatu Mpumalanga secretary Vincent Mlambo said on Sunday Lily Mine “did not do
enough” in its efforts to recover the bodies of the three workers.
“They only tried to rescue those workers twice. We have seen rescue operations in
other mining companies being carried out for more than 24 hours,” he said.
Mlambo and Mpumalanga NUM northeast regional secretary Phillip Mange said they
were not aware that some Lily Mine workers had taken voluntary severance
packages.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/lily-mine-workers-opt-for-severance-
packages-2056791
Union defends poor strike turnout
Theto Mahlakoana, Sunday Independent,14 Aug 2016
Johannesburg - Members of the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied
Workers Union (Ceppwawu) found themselves in a quandary and were forced to
shelve serious internal issues to join a strike.
Workers in the petroleum and pharmaceutical sectors affiliated to Ceppwawu
downed tools three weeks ago, demanding a 9 percent salary increase, and
improvements on shift allowances.

Striking Ceppwawu members who spoke to Independent Media - having failed to
have a significant impact on fuel supply - said they were concerned about their
union’s incapacity.
Ceppwawu has been described as “dysfunctional” after it failed to submit audited
financial statements to the labour registrar, while neglecting to hold regular
constitutional meetings and a congress every four years.
At Engen in Joburg, just five men stood outside the premises where a picket was
supposed to have been held on Thursday. The union blamed the poor showing on
miscommunication between officials and members and said the demonstration had
been held elsewhere. What was clear though was that some workers were on the
job, with trucks entering and leaving depots normally.
Sasol employees continued to work as usual.
Union general secretary, Simon Mofokeng whose term in office lapsed in 2014, said
it was to be expected after being on strike for a number of weeks, some members
would begin to stay home, and that the union would take action against Sasol.
“When other employer members see Sasol not being on strike now, they don’t see
any reason why there should be a settlement while Sasol is still operational,” said
Mofokeng.
He was grateful for the CCMA’s intervention in the dispute this week, after the
National Petroleum Employer’s Association explained to workers a stagnating
economy and weak global oil prices bound them to the 7 percent on offer.
Ceppwawu’s long list of challenges includes a close brush with de-registration last
year.
Mofokeng attributes the failure to hold a congress to factional battles. Central to the
in-fighting is understood to be millions of rands accumulated through a trust set-up
for members.
Mofokeng rubbished claims the strike had been held to galvanise support for the
union.
“If the union was not functional... you would not have an organisation as we speak
that has concluded more than five agreements in the industry. We still remain the
majority union in the industry,” he said.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/union-defends-poor-strike-turnout-2056749
Ramaphosa appoints national minimum wage advisory panel
SABC, 14 August 2016
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as chairman of the committee of
principals of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), has
appointed a seven-person panel to advise on an appropriate level at which the
national minimum wage could be set, the Presidency said on Sunday.

The Nedlac committee of principals comprised representatives of government,
labour, business, and the community, charged with, among others, determining the
national minimum wage, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said in a
statement.
In his State-of-the-Nation Address on June 17, 2014, President Jacob Zuma called
on Nedlac social partners under the leadership of Ramaphosa to address low
wages, wage inequalities, and the national minimum wage, and violent and
protracted strikes.
Ramaphosa has now, in consultation with Nedlac social partners, appointed the
panel of advisors to assist Nedlac in setting the level of the national minimum wage,
taking into account work done thus far by Nedlac technical task-teams.
The panel members are:
– Professor Imraan Valodia (chairman): part-time member of the Competition
Tribunal and a commissioner on the Employment Conditions Commission;
– Mamokete Lijane: Aluwani Capital Partners macro strategist responsible for macro-
economic and fixed income strategy and asset allocation;
– Dr Debbie Collier: associate professor in the department of commercial law at the
University of Cape Town;
– Professor Murray Leibbrandt: pro vice-chancellor – poverty and inequality at the
University of Cape Town;
– Ayabonga Cawe: economic justice manager of OXFAM South Africa;
– Dr Siphokazi Koyana: skills development and training expert with local and
international experience; and
– Dr Patrick Belser: international expert, senior economist at the International Labour
Organisation.
“The appointment of the advisors takes place against the background of consensus
among Nedlac social partners to introduce a national minimum wage as part of
efforts to restore the dignity of the majority of South Africans, address the triple
challenges of poverty, under-development, and inequality, and reduce pay
differentials while maximising job creation. Deputy President Ramaphosa has
extended his gratitude to the panel members for availing themselves to perform this
important national task and wished them well in this endeavour,” Mamoepa said.
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/32db42004ddc2469af37bf1caade0c3d/Ramaphosa-
appoints-national-minimum-wage-advisory-panel-20160814
South Africa
Showdown looms as university fees are set to rise
Elaine Swanepoel, Rapport, 14 Aug 2016

Universities and the department of higher education may be heading for another
showdown with student protesters, as it emerged this week that National Treasury
had not budgeted for zero increases in tuition fees at universities next year.
This was part of the grim picture that emerged about the finances of South Africa’s
universities at the Fees Commission, which began its hearings into the matter this
week.
The commission, appointed by President Jacob Zuma following last year’s student
protests, is investigating fee-free higher education.
But cash-strapped universities – some of which rely on tuition fees for more than a
third of their income – should not expect a helping hand from the government.
A presentation made by Treasury to the commission on Friday showed that,
although the smallest part of the budget was spent on higher education, it was
already stretched thin.
Michael Sachs, the head of Treasury’s budget office, said: “Prospects for economic
growth are limited and Treasury forecasts that state debt will amount to R2.3 trillion
by 2018.
“It will be difficult to channel money to higher education from elsewhere.”
Sachs added that, as a result of there being no increase in tuition fees last year,
Treasury had been forced to redirect R16 billion that was meant for service delivery
and local government to higher education.
He confirmed that the government had not budgeted for no increases in tuition fees
for 2017.
“We will adjust the budget if we have to, but it would be better if we could come to an
agreement, to ensure that important government functions are not compromised,” he
said.
This news follows various presentations from universities and the department of
higher education, which show that the financial sustainability of universities rests
increasingly on the shoulders of students, with government subsidies covering fewer
expenses and donations from the private sector declining.
According to a presentation by the higher education department, fewer students are
paying tuition fees following last year’s #FeesMustFall protests – even those who
can afford to do so.
This comes at a time when student debt is skyrocketing and universities are
increasingly reliant on tuition fees.
Gwebs Qonde, director-general of higher education and training, said that over the
past two years, student debt had almost doubled, from R3.6 billion in 2012 to R5.3
billion in 2014.
This amount did not include the money owed by students to the National Student
Financial Aid Scheme.

Qonde said five universities indicated that they had made a loss in 2014.
Over and above these universities’ battles to collect tuition fees, student debt is often
in excess of the amount of money the institutions collect in a year.
At Unisa, University of Johannesburg and Rhodes University, tuition fees make up
almost half of the total income.
At University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), University of Pretoria (UP), Stellenbosch
University, University of Cape Town and North-West University, tuition fees comprise
a third of total income.
In its presentation, UP that it would make a loss of R100 million in 2018 if tuition fees
for next year were not increased by at least 8%.
On top of this, the department of higher education has told universities to set aside
money for planned repairs to equipment and infrastructure, which is estimated to
cost R25 billion.
Qonde admitted that state funding had decreased by 3.4% per student in real terms
over the past 11 years, as a result of inflation and a growing student population.
“Universities spend the majority of their budget on salaries (53%), but despite that,
the relationship between students and academic personnel worsened in past years,”
said Qonde.
Private sector investment in tertiary education is also decreasing.
According to Wits vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib, private sector donations
declined from R51 million in 2010 to R37 million in 2015.
As a solution, universities are proposing a sliding-scale method of determining tuition
based on household income.
The more money students or their parents earn, the more they will have to pay to
study.
“Tuition fees should be a contribution to the cost of higher education and not a
means of excluding people from it,” said Professor Cheryl de la Rey, UP’s vice-
rector, in her presentation.
On Friday, police were deployed to Wits in anticipation of an announcement
regarding fees later that day.
Various student organisations began mobilising on Facebook, but Higher Education
and Training Minister Blade Nzimande cancelled his announcement at the last
minute.
http://city-press.news24.com/News/showdown-looms-as-university-fees-are-set-to-
rise-20160814
Fresh protests shut Rio’s Richards Bay mine
Paddy Harper, City Press, 14 Aug 2016

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s troubled subsidiary, Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), closed
on Friday after fresh protests by the KwaMbonambi community in the wake of the
assassination of a local youth leader and his cousin two weeks ago.
The protests are set to continue tomorrow as community attitudes harden towards
the company, which many locals hold responsible for the murder of the two young
men by hit squad.
Pearl Nhlenyama, the secretary of the community youth committee at
KwaMbonambi, said they would continue protesting until RBM addressed the killings.
Nhlenyama said that the company had “ignored” the murder of committee member
Thokozani Mbika (33) and his cousin Ndoda Mbika (36).
The two were riddled with AK-47 and 9mm bullets on Sunday, July 31, at
Thokozani’s home in Mankwathini, a village close to the mine. Thokozani had been
involved in a two-day protest the week before which had stopped production at the
mine.
“People who are benefiting from RBM and who want us to stop protesting are behind
these murders. RBM needs to take this seriously”
He was to have chaired a meeting to discuss further protests on the day he was
killed.
Thokozani’s killers – who shot Ndoda after mistaking him for Thokozani’s activist
brother – left a note threatening the lives of youth and other community leaders
involved in protests – aimed at forcing RBM to employ more locals and give them
contracts – if they continued demonstrating.
“We cannot sit and do nothing when our community members are being killed.
People who are benefiting from RBM and who want us to stop protesting are behind
these murders,” said Nhelenyama.
“RBM needs to take this seriously. One more death and this company is leaving. We
all are afraid that we are going to be the next to be killed; we have to do something.”
Heavily armed riot police spent most of Friday in skirmishes with community
members, who gathered at the intersection leading to RBM to demand that the
company’s management meet them.
Police had earlier cleared a number of barricades made from trees, rocks and
burning tyres which community members had erected to block the Dune Route road
to the mine – located in the Sokhulu and Mbuyazi tribal authorities – which employs
2 000 full-time and 2 000 contract workers.
RBM staff arriving for the 7am shift were turned back because of the blockades,
while administrative staff operated from its offices in the Richards Bay central
business district as they had been informed of the intention to protest by community
leaders who had attended a meeting to discuss the killings.
Shortly after 10am, police forced community members, who had gathered in an open
space next to the road, to disperse despite the fact that they were no longer blocking
the road. Community members burnt another barricade in the road, after hearing that

RBM management would not be coming to address them. Police fired tear gas at the
protesters and swept through shops and houses at the roadside in efforts to arrest
them. The protesters fled, but promised to return to continue demonstrating.
RBM community relations manager Fundi Dlamini said that mine operations had
halted and blamed “a small group of people” from the community.
She said they had assigned a task team to manage the situation, and would
“endeavour to ensure that the safety of our employees is never compromised”.
Dlamini said that negotiations with the community – which had taken place in a
forum convened by then economic development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu earlier this
year – were ongoing and that RBM had approached the minister for an urgent
meeting.
“RBM remains of the firm belief that all our engagement with stakeholders should be
guided by the appropriate existing structures,” said Dlamini.
Mabuyakhulu was succeeded by Sihle Zikalala in June, following a Cabinet reshuffle.
Premier Senzo Mchunu was replaced by Willies Mchunu.
Bheko Madlala, Zikalala’s spokesperson, said the MEC “remains committed to
finding a lasting solution to the conflict at KwaMbonambi”.
“We need to make sure that we find a solution which accommodates the needs of
both the community and the company,” he said.
However, Madlala was unable to say when the process would be restarted.
Adding to this is tribal conflict. Lulama Cele Boughey, of the Free KwaMbonambi
Campaign, has been lobbying for a resolution to an impasse over the Mbuyazi
chieftainship. The dispute has prevented RBM from paying R30 million in land claims
to the community as control of the settlement must be run through a trust overseen
by the sitting chief.
She told City Press that the resolution of the tribal conflict was “essential” to ease
tensions in the area.
In 2009, then Premier Zweli Mkhize deposed Inkosi Sibusiso Mbuyazi, replacing him
with his cousin Mkhanyiseni. Sibusiso died, but his widow, S’thembile, has
successfully gone to the high court to secure the right to claim the chieftainship on
behalf of her minor son, Photokuhle.
The premier continues to defend the action brought by S’thembile. In the meantime
the money, which is being held in trust by RBM, accumulates at R1.5 million a year.
Three neighbouring communities, which also host RBM, have each been paid out a
lump sum of R15.5 million, and each get paid R3 million a year.
http://city-press.news24.com/Business/fresh-protests-shut-rios-richards-bay-mine-
20160814
Local elections aftermath
Eastern Cape ANC councillor-in-waiting and wife killed

Jenni Evans, News24, 13 Aug 2016
Cape Town - Eastern Cape police have formed a high level task team to investigate
the murder of ANC councillor-in-waiting, Zolile Malangeni, and his government
employee wife Ntombovuyo this week.
The couple was killed in their home in Mayamuleni, Tsolo, on Thursday night, with
two small children present, said police spokesperson Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela on
Saturday.
The children were both 2 years old.
Malangeni's wife died at the house, and Malangeni died later in hospital. The
children were not physically harmed.
Fatyela said nobody has been arrested yet, but the provincial commissioner of
police, the cluster commander and members of the specialist police unit the Hawks
visited the scene on Friday and have formed a task team to investigate the murders.
In a statement condemning the shooting, the SA National Civics Organisation
(Sanco) said the two children ran and locked themselves in the bathroom and were
found later by villagers.
Sanco spokesperson Jabu Mahlangu said Zolile Malangeni, aged 55, worked as a
senior manager at OR Tambo Municipality's Ntinga Development Agency and 49-
year-old Ntombovuyo worked at the Local Economic Development department at
Mhlontlo municipality.
He said they were having supper when they were killed at point blank range.
Concerned that the murders might be political, he urged communities to protect their
councillors, and called on authorities to catch the people responsible quickly.
"Too many lives have been lost to political thuggery and the senseless violence
which undermine the outcome of democratic processes and the wishes of our
communities," he said.
"Only prompt arrests and successful prosecution of those who have robbed our
communities of their trusted leaders will serve as a deterrent to discourage post
elections political killings."
Distraught ANC regional chairperson Xolile Nkompela said Malangeni had been
earmarked for the position of Speaker in the Mhlontle local council at a meeting
earlier this week after winning ward 7 in Mhlontlo with 90.03% of the vote. The local
council falls under the OR Tambo District Municipality.
According to a report in the Mail & Guardian, Nkompela himself escaped an attempt
on his life last December, but his bodyguard Zukile Nyontso was killed during the
attack. He was the Speaker at Mhlonto at the time.
He said on Saturday that at the meeting this week, names were proposed for the
positions of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Speaker. Malangeni was a former Speaker at
the council and was a front runner for the position for the new council to be formed
after the 3 August local government elections.

He was also the ANC branch chairperson in his area and had been very active in the
community.
"We need all the help we can get to catch those people," said Nkompela.
Two people were arrested in connection with that earlier attack on Nkompela while
he was driving with his bodyguard and brother.
Former ANC chairperson of the OR Tambo region was among those arrested and
released on bail. They would appear in court again in September, said Nkompela.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/eastern-cape-anc-councillor-in-waiting-
and-wife-killed-20160813
ANC’s blame game
Hlengiwe Nhlabathi, Nosipiwo Manona, Setumo Stone & S’thembile Cele, City
Press, 14 Aug 2016
The ANC’s top leadership ignored and kept secret an internal report that laid bare
the party’s problems and warned of disaster in the local government elections
Danny Jordaan did not provide his expected winning magic. President Jacob Zuma
should have been left to deal with the Nkandla debacle by himself.
The full stadiums at election rallies during the latter part of the election campaign
gave a false impression about ANC support.
These are some of the assessments coming through from the governing party, as
the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meets for a four-day lekgotla in
Pretoria to assess what went so wrong in the recent municipal polls.
An internal research report, compiled in May last year – 12 months before the
election campaign was launched – indicates that the ANC knew it would do badly in
the August 3 polls.
This, the report warned, would be because of a decline in voter support in the metros
and widespread disaffection with the party and its leaders.
It admitted that the “DA [was] growing stronger” mainly among whites, coloureds and
Indians – but was also gaining traction with a small percentage of black voters.
The internal report was presented to the party’s top six officials.
Leaders familiar with the report said it was not acted on and was kept secret from
lower ANC structures for fear of demoralising the party’s volunteers.
It is unclear whether it was raised at this weekend’s postmortem.
The report found that ANC supporters were increasingly worried that the
organisation was being used to put the interests of “self-serving and uncaring
individuals before those they represent”.
It went on to propose that to restore voters’ trust, the ANC must deal with
“misbehaving” leaders who “undermine its credibility”.

It urged a focus on delivering services to poor communities, doing away with
populism and sticking to its principles and policies.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, a document drawn up by an ANC regional leader, Crispian
Olver, revealed that poor election machinery and management, voter apathy and the
“Zuma and Danny factors” had cost the party support.
Regarding SA Football Association president and former senior MP Jordaan, who
was deployed to Nelson Mandela Bay by Luthuli House a year ago – in an effort to
save the ANC’s ailing fortunes in the metro – Olver wrote:
“We did not make significant inroads into the northern areas [coloured areas] and
Danny was not a winning formula for our township voters. Our claims to be rooting
out corruption were undermined by the ongoing [world football governing body] Fifa
scandal.
“The regional leadership was ambivalent about using Danny as the face of the
campaign, and spent months in a silly process of ignoring the mayoral candidate
[Jordaan]. This was not helped by Danny’s failure to work with the ANC campaign
machinery or align and integrate his campaign with [that of] the ANC.”
Olver also wrote that the party was “hampered by self-sabotage”, whereby those left
disgruntled by the list process actively tried to sabotage its campaign.
He said Eastern Cape provincial leaders caused unhappiness by “crudely tampering”
with outcomes from branches.
And regarding the “Zuma factor”, the document found that “we underestimated the
effect of the moral shenanigans of our national leaders”.
However, Zuma’s backers at this weekend’s meeting sought to blame the Gauteng
leaders for losing crucial votes in the Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni
metros, as well as the Mogale City Local Municipality.
ANC support fell below 50% in all these cities.
City Press has learnt that the Gauteng ANC, chaired by Paul Mashatile, came under
fire for adopting an election strategy that sought to exclude Zuma and thus “drift
away from the collective”.
“They are not special and it must never happen again,” said an NEC member who
was present in the discussions.
However, Mashatile’s provincial executive committee would not be disbanded.
City Press heard that among those who took Gauteng to task was the ANC head of
elections and campaigns Nomvula Mokonyane, who said the province thought it was
“special” and “unique” because it had been the only one that initially refused to
campaign with Zuma as the face of its elections.
Mokonyane has herself been blamed for a lacklustre campaign and speaking out of
turn.

But Gauteng insiders said there had, in fact, been a standard agreement not to use
Zuma’s face.
“We went and wooed [former presidents] Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe for
those reasons. As Gauteng, there [was] a decision never to use a poster of JZ, never
use a T-shirt of JZ – or else,” said an insider.
Labour federation Cosatu said it would not blame individuals, because the ANC had
a collective leadership.
General secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said the turnout at rallies gave a false
impression that the ANC campaign was on track.
“On August 1, we were confident, judging by the attendance at rallies. But people
decided differently when it came to the vote,” he said, adding that Cosatu did not
expect the results to be that bad.
“There must be no finger pointing or apportioning of blame to individuals, but all our
alliance formations must conduct a frank and honest introspection on how they
contributed to the current election results,” Ntshalintshali said.
The SA Communist Party (SACP) said it was important that post-election corrective
action be taken “in a sober, unifying and nonsectarian manner”.
Blaming and disbanding Gauteng’s leadership would have a devastating effect, it
said. “Blaming one another would [lead to an] irreversible demise of the movement.”
SACP’s deputy secretary-general, Solly Mapaila, said it would have preferred that
the alliance had had a chance to assess the election together, as “we all participate
in the alliance”, but would wait for the ANC to do its own assessment.
Pointing out that national issues had taken centre stage in the polls, he cited
Nkandla and factionalism as major reasons for the ANC’s losses.
“Decisions that are patronising do not help the integrity of the organisation and its
principled stance. As a result, this could also compromise the party in the eyes of the
public,” said Mapaila.
Predictably, there were also attempts to blame Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for
tweaking the formula to determine the numbers of councillors in municipalities in
September 2014, when he was cooperative governance minister.
But an expert at the Independent Electoral Commission said the update to the
formula only dealt with the number of seats per council based on voter registration,
and not the calculation of seats.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told a media briefing on Thursday that the
formula “gives space to smaller parties rather than being fair and proportionate”.
“We are putting [it] on the table for discussion whether it is a correct formula or it is
stretching too much to give a voice to the smaller parties,” he said.
National support for the ANC has been on a downward trend since 2004, with the
exception of KwaZulu-Natal.

The party was also grappling with low ANC voter turnout, with numbers comparable
to those for the DA in 2014.
This trend continued in these municipal polls, with ANC voters – unhappy with the
leadership and the imposition of ward candidates – staying at home, giving the
opposition a much higher turnout.
The ANC’s May report anticipated that turnout for the municipal elections could be
worse than 2011, when the opposition mobilised 7% more than the ANC in its voting
districts.
Mapaila said the ANC and its allies needed to do “deeper reflection”.
“We need to go back and rekindle ourselves with our base, and engage them
sharply,” he said.
http://city-press.news24.com/News/ancs-blame-game-20160814
ANC coalitions with ‘racist’ DA must not happen, Bheki Ntshalintshali says
Karl Gernetzky, Business Day, 12 August 2016
UNION federation Cosatu says it will lobby for alliance partner the ANC to avoid co-
ruling hung municipalities with the DA.
Taking aim at SA’s largest opposition party on Friday, Cosatu general secretary
Bheki Ntshalintshali said the DA remained the primary threat to the aspirations of the
working class.
"We do not want a coalition with racist political parties that are there to defend the
interest of white monopoly capital," Ntshalintshali said during a briefing in
Johannesburg.
The ANC was expected to enter into "principled coalitions" to rule metros with no
clear majority, he said.
The results of SA’s fifth local government polls have left four of SA’s eight
metropolitan municipalities without a majority. The ANC slipped about seven
percentage points in the election to 54%, its worst electoral performance since 1994.
Political parties are scrambling to arrange coalitions ahead of a August 20 deadline
for municipalities to hold their first council sitting.
Cosatu said on Friday that the results of the election were a clear "strategic set-
back" for the tripartite alliance but the ANC remained the clear winner in the polls,
the results of which should not be exaggerated.
"Whilst we are not blind to the fact that there is consistent decline in the ANC’s share
of the votes in many areas, we denounce an imposed public narrative that seeks to
paint a picture that the ANC has lost the local government elections and that the DA
has won," Ntshalintshali said.

Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said on Friday the federation had only done a
preliminary analysis of the results, but would revisit the issue at its next central
executive committee meeting.
On Thursday, the ANC was engaged in a meeting of its national executive
committee, which ends on Sunday. Dlamini said on Friday that Cosatu expected the
ANC to announce that it had clearly studied the full implications of the results.
"What we are looking at is to get a message from the ANC that indeed that the
message is understood clearly from the voters of SA," he said.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2016/08/12/anc-coalitions-with-racist-da-
must-not-happen-bheki-ntshalintshali-says
Cosatu cautions ANC against DA coalition
SABC, 13 August 2016
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has cautioned the African
National Congress (ANC) not to enter into election coalitions with the Democratic
Alliance (DA), branding them as racist and representatives of white minority capital.
The labour federation briefed the media on the ANC's poor showing in several
metros in Johannesburg in the local government elections.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini says the results are a wake-up call for the ruling
party.
“There was a clear message sent by the voters to our movement to get to
understand the levels of impatience that are there about a number of issues that
need to be resolved and remain unresolved. Of course, Cosatu mentions the issues
of e-tolls, labour brokers, [and] the issues around the national minimum wage.”
Secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said the DA “remained the biggest threat” to the
aspiration of workers and black people.
“Cosatu wishes there could be a re-run and in the case where ANC decides to enter
into coalitions, we want the ANC to only enter into principled coalitions…the
message from Cosatu is that we do not expect the ANC to work with the DA,”
Ntshalintshali told reporters in Johannesburg following an urgent meeting to assess
the 2016 Local Municipal election results.
Ntshalintshali said his organisation did not discuss the other opposition parties with
whom the ANC was engaged with in coalition talks.
Labour brokers would have a field day should such a coalition take place, putting
millions of jobs in jeopardy, he said.
“If the DA and their labour broking friends have their way, million more workers will
be plunged into poverty and despair, and we will be on our way to a national
catastrophe. This is the same party that went to Parliament and moved a motion on
the Bill calling for the scrapping of the right to strike.”

Although the ruling party led with the most votes nationally, it lost ground in key
metros such as Tshwane and the Eastern Cape’s Nelson Mandela Bay.
The governing party failed to receive an outright majority in Johannesburg, Mogale
City and Ekurhuleni. With no outright majority attained by the parties in the metros,
coalitions have to be formed in order to govern.
The ANC top leadership is holding a national executive committee (NEC) meeting in
Irene, Pretoria to dissect the outcome of last week’s election results.
Ntshalintshali said there should be no “finger pointing or blaming of individuals” over
the ANC’s performance but that an “honest introspection” was needed by the
alliance partners. Cosatu wanted an urgent alliance meeting, he said.
“We’re calling for an urgent alliance meeting to develop a shared perspective on the
challenges and the way forward. The ANC as a people’s movement must revisit what
it stands for and remain true to its own mission,” he said.
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/23d699804dd8da1b8bb7bf1caade0c3d/Cosatu-
cautions-ANC-against-DA-coalition-20160813
International
Comment and opinion
ANC cannot look beyond here and now
Xolela Mangcu, Sunday Independent, 14 Aug 2016
For as long as the ANC rides the wave of materialism they will deserve the curse
and the wrath of the youth in the 2019 election.
Antonio Gramsci has been on my mind since last week’s historic local government
elections, when black people said to the ANC: “No more, this far and no further with
your kleptocracy.” I have always known this moment would come, and said as much.
The black community has never blindly followed the ANC. Historically, we have
always come in all ideological shades and political forms, from the Unity Movement
to the PAC and the Black Consciousness movement, and then of course the reality
of all the homeland political parties.
Add to that the generation of independent, young activists who have reshaped the
very language of our politics over the past couple of years. And then there are the
educated middle classes who are too smart to be sold the lie that only the ANC
“liberated” black people.
The fact of the matter is we all contributed - all our movements did, inspired by
forgotten heroes such as Jafta Masemola and Muntu Myeza, to name just a few.
Add to the plurality the newly born political movements - including the new kid on the
block, the Economic Freedom Fighters. The ANC has done some really scurrilous
things under Jacob Zuma but nothing beats the expulsion of Julius Malema and
Numsa by Zuma’s allies in Cosatu.

They were the political equivalent of digging your own grave, especially after they
drove out Numsa and Zwelinzima Vavi, some of the most energetic troopers for the
ANC in the past.
Like Trotsky in the aftermath of the failed 1905 revolution they say: “All our estimates
and slogans... were based on the assumption of a victorious revolution, and not of a
defeat.” But then Trotsky also admitted: “We achieved then neither a republic nor the
transfer of land, nor an eight hour working day.”
While it is easy to characterise the election results as a continuation of Tony Leon’s
call on whites to “fight back” in 1999, this is a black fight back. Instead of blaming
white people for voting their interests we would do well to heed what Steve Biko
once said: “While it may be relevant now to talk about black in relation to white, we
must not make this our preoccupation, for it can be a negative exercise. As we
proceed further towards the achievement of our goals let us talk more about
ourselves and our struggle and less about whites.”
What is at stake is the entire project of black liberation that the ANC has all but
betrayed. In the subsection of the Prison Notebooks titled “Wave of Materialism” and
“Crisis of Authority” Gramsci wrote about the paradox of political parties that were
dominant and yet faced declining moral authority: “This means precisely that the
great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies, and no longer
believe what they used to believe previously.”
This constitutes a “historical break” but the break does not happen through a
sudden, cataclysmic upheaval, as happened in France between 1789 and 1815 or in
Russia in 1917.
Instead of an active revolution dominant parties face a “passive revolution”: “in the
sense that a whole series of questions which piled up individually... have precisely
formed a mound... which objectively reflects the fact that a new social force has been
constituted, and a weight which can no longer be ignored”.
Gramsci was quite explicit about this new social force, which he referred to as “the
problem of the younger generation”, who had lost all faith in the ability of the older
generation to lead.
There can be no greater example of this loss of faith in the older generation than the
student protests on our university campuses - another space where “the old is also
dying and the new cannot be born”.
At universities retired old codgers recycle their racist shibboleths about why black
people are not ready to occupy senior academic positions. In the 19th century they
said black people were not ready for salvation. In the 21st century they say we are
not ready or interested in the academy.
We know what happens when the old try to decide for the young. In Britain it led to
Brexit, and in South Africa it has given us an equal mix of feckless black political
leaders and embittered old crocks at places like UCT. Gramsci must have been
anticipating the old crocks when he wrote: “The defenders [of the status quo] are not
demoralised, nor do they abandon their positions, even among the ruins, nor do they
lose their faith in their own strength or their own future.”

But you cannot meet their stamina with stamina. These folks don’t tire, and that’s
because for them much more than “standards” is at stake: university transformation
is an existential threat to an entire culture of white supremacy that has always been
at the foundations of the South African university.
I am afraid that to transform such a culture will require a particular way of thinking
among students. That will begin with making a distinction between what Gramsci
metaphorically described as the “war of manoeuvre” and the “war of position”. He
argued that while the “war of manoeuvre” was the equivalent of organising in the
trenches (e.g. #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall), the “war of position is not, in
reality, constituted simply by the actual trenches, but by the whole organisational and
industrial system of the territory which lies to the rear of the army in the field.”
That organisational system includes what I have previously described as the
knowledge-ideas complex. Pulling down a statue should be just one step towards
constituting new modes of knowledge in the university. That is where the students
would now be better advised to focus their energies, if black people are to have
cultural and intellectual power in the long run.
Thus, the ANC gloating about elections is far from the real strategic goal of any
movement for change. As Gramsci put it: “The State was only an outer ditch, behind
which there stood a powerful system of fortresses and earthworks.”
Former Sowetan editor Aggrey Klaaste said it even more elegantly: “Political
kingdoms do not stand up on their own, pristine and exultant as a galvanising
abstraction. They need all sorts of power structures to underpin them, including
people who have academic clout.”
That is why the old codgers are freaked out by educated black people, and that is
why the ANC makes a mistake in refusing to fund higher education.
This is where the narrow vision of the party has been most pronounced - the inability
to look beyond the here and now, to think beyond self-interest. The young people
punished them for it, deservedly so. For as long as the ANC rides the wave of
materialism, then for that long will the party deserve the curse and the wrath of the
youth in 2019.
This column will now appear intermittently. I am headed for Harvard University, to be
among colleagues who will not look at me through 19th century glasses. The gaze
can be debilitating, even for an old horse like this one. I need a break. Badly. Adieus!
Mangcu is Professor of Sociology at the University of Cape Town and Harry
Oppenheimer 2015 Fellow at Harvard University.
http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/opinion-anc-cannot-look-beyond-here-and-
now-2056686