Talks to end wage strikes continue behind closed doors
By Sapa At an undisclosed location, mine representatives will continue to meet with Amcu – whose members downed tools demanding a basic salary of R12 500. Talks to end the protracted wage strike in the platinum sector will continue behind closed doors at an undisclosed location in Johannesburg on Thursday, the Chamber of Mines said. Anglo […]
Platinum strikes: Discussions to determine platinum belt, AMCU’s future
Greg Nicolson – The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) strike in the platinum belt has now been going for three months. The union was locked in discussions with Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin late on Tuesday night. These discussions will determine whether employees go back to work or the […]
Living in a shack won’t inspire the poor: Malema
By SAPA – EFF leader Julius Malema on Tuesday claimed he could not inspire the poor if he was living in a shack himself. “We don’t want them to stay in shacks, that’s why we can’t stay in shacks,” he told reporters in Johannesburg. “How are you going to inspire them when you are also […]
Share your bed at Bara
KATHARINE CHILD – Adults and children have taken to sharing beds at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, so severe is the overcrowding. Professor Bonita Meyersfeld, director of the Centre for Legal Applied Studies, at Wits, said she had seen photographs of adults sharing beds at the hospital. A doctor who asked not to be named said […]
THICK END OF THE WEDGE: How inequality and not poverty seems to threaten our social fabric
By Peter Bruce THE former chief of the SABC, and now the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF’s) candidate for premier of Gauteng, Dali Mpofu, sent out an interesting tweet on Monday: “The new enemy of ALL Sans is POVERTY. We can ONLY defeat it by DECISIVE state intervention in the economy in favour of THE POOREST. […]
Soweto residents tell ANC treasurer to create more jobs, houses
Sapa Residents of Freedom Park, Soweto, on Wednesday called on the ANC to create jobs and houses.African National Congress treasurer Zweli Mkhize was on a campaign trail in Freedom Park, Soweto. He was accompanied by former soccer player Kgomotso “Tso” Vilakazi, Derrick Spencer, and Miss Soweto, Makhanani Chabalala to woo residents’ votes.”As you can see, […]
Africa’s number one economy, for wealth evaporation
By Patrick Bond Jim O’Neill – the Goldman Sachs banker who in 2001 coined the idea of a Brazil-Russia-India-China ‘BRIC’ serving as “building bricks of the 21st century world economy” – has another bright idea. He recently announced a new fascination with the Mexico-Indonesia-Nigeria-Turkey countries, which “all have very favourable demographics for at least the […]
Debt, uneven development and capitalist crisis in South Africa: from Marikana microfinance mashonisas to Moody’s macroeconomic monitoring
By Patrick Bond The power, vulnerability and destructiveness of financial markets have spiraled out of control in a South Africa that by 2012 was amongst the most unequal, economically volatile and protestintensive in the world. The scourge of debt made itself felt in many sites, but of interest in both criticizing and promoting solutions is […]
A story of South Africa: Mining, Migration, Misery
J Brooks Spector Mining and migration have gone hand in hand since the Neolithic era, but the special impact of industrial strength mining and Apartheid brought special characteristics and problems that live on to today. J. BROOKS SPECTOR contemplates the result. Back in the mid-1970s when this writer first came to South Africa to work, […]
LETTER: Trade unions are vital
Michael Bagraim ROELOF Botha, an economic adviser to PricewaterhouseCoopers, says the Congress of South African Trade Unions has had a role in destroying 1-million jobs. This research might have truth to it, but trade unions perform a vital function in the workplace. Read full article here
