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Monday, 18 June 2018 14:40

Sowetan reports that troubled former Gupta-owned coal mine Optimum Colliery in Hendrina, Mpumalanga, is still on its knees four months after being put under business rescue.

The mine, one of two in the area formerly owned by the family, has struggled to improve despite being run by business rescue practitioners since the end of February.

Last week employees went on protest following two months of nonpayment by the main subcontractor in charge of the bulk of the mining operations on behalf of the mine.

Employees gathered outside the company’s offices, barricading entrances with burning tyres while demanding answers from business rescue practitioners.

Abram Mhlanga, an underground employee at the mine, said they had not been getting their monthly salaries regularly.

“It seems the company doesn’t have the money to pay salaries, our May salaries have not been paid,” Mhlanga said.

“This has affected our lives as we are expected to pay rent where we live... we can’t allow the situation to go on like this every month.”

One of the business rescue practitioners, Louis Klopper, said it would take a while to turn around the colliery, which he said they had found it in a disastrous state, with millions of profits having been “siphoned out of the company” every month.

He said although operations had improved, with exports taking place, restoring the mine was still a mammoth task.

“Millions were being siphoned out at the end of each month, so it’s going to take a long time to restore it to 100% efficiency,” Klopper said.

He added that they currently had a dispute with one of the companies subcontracted to run mining activities at the mine.

“We’ve had a dispute with one of the main subcontractors for the last three months. They’re insisting in a clause in their agreement that they get paid a certain minimum for production delivered irrespective of that production being delivered or not,” Klopper said.

He said under business rescue they were not allowed to prioritise one creditor over the other but said they were prepared to settle all costs incurred by their service providers in full.

Klopper said they had reached an agreement with one of their main contractors last week in which they made payments that would help settle the employees’ May salaries.

The Optimum colliery was bought by Tegeta Exploration and Resources from Glencore in 2016, a transaction described as irregular by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.

The original of this report by Isaac Mahlangu appeared on page 8 of Sowetan of 18 June 2018

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Monday, 18 June 2018 14:23

The Star reports that in the wake of the protests that paralysed Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital two weeks ago, stakeholders are struggling to say who should be held responsible.

Health workers descended on the hospital on May 29 demanding to be paid their 2016/17 financial year bonuses. They blocked hospital gates, interrupted theatres and trashed the hospital, causing an estimated R3 million damage.

Following the protests, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) opened an inquiry into the events.

Stakeholders including hospital management, the SA Police Service, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the Public Service Association and the provincial government were invited to share testimonies before the commission yesterday.

The commission’s Buang Jones said that by opening up the investigation, he hoped they’d be able to recommend steps to take to prevent future disruptions.

Gauteng Department of Health head Mkhululi Lukhele and Charlotte Maxeke chief executive Gladys Bogoshi, said that for several months, union workers had been protesting the fact that they did not receive their performance management and development system bonus last year.

Lukhele said the Life Esidimeni crisis had put more financial constraints on the already-stretched Gauteng Health Department.

Nehawu’s Lulamile Sibanda said this was not the first time payment of bonuses had been delayed. He said it happened almost every year.

Bogoshi and Lukhele pointed accusatory figures at the police, saying they did not help sufficiently and that the situation may have been prevented with more support.

Police spokesperson Roland Hendricks said police had been deployed immediately and were delayed from entering the hospital by fires and blocked entrances.

Lukhele said the department could improve by offering better communication, more transparency and compliance with regulations.

He reported that payment of bonuses would be made by the end of the month.

The original of this report by Lila Reynolds appeared on page 2 of The Star of 15 June 2018

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Saturday, 16 June 2018 11:51

Mail & Guardian writes that the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) faces its first test against corruption within its ranks as it prepares to deal with one of its most popular leaders accused of illegally using R600000 of workers’ money in two years.

The general secretary of the newly formed South African Liberated Public Sector Workers Union (Salipswu), Thobile Ntola, is being investigated by Saftu for corruption, and now faces a rebellion in the union’s ranks in Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

The investigation was initiated after Salipswu provincial officials demanded an explanation from Ntola for the expenditure of the money between 2014 and 2016, before the public sector union held its first conference.

“There’s R600000 that’s missing, and that is subscription money, the workers’ contribution. We are waiting to hear what is the final answer from Saftu as they are investigating,” Thabo Kondile, Salipswu branch chairperson in North West, said this week.

Salipswu was established by Ntola in 2014, only a few months after he had been expelled as president of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in May of that year for allegedly receiving monthly payments of up to R10000 from one of the union’s service providers.

Nearly four years later, Salipswu held its first national conference in Johannesburg last month, at which Ntola was elected general secretary after serving as interim chairperson.

Now Salipswu’s interim provincial leaders between 2014 and 2018 have produced a report that shows how tens of thousands of rands in workers’ subscription fees were allegedly stolen over a two-year period.

Mpumalanga Salipswu co-ordinator Ntsiki Hayward confirmed the case against Ntola, criticising Saftu for its lack of action on the matter.

“We were expecting that action three months back. But instead of them taking action against him, Ntola was elevated to the position of general secretary.”

A Salipswu leader in KwaZulu-Natal who has supported the investigation also claimed that the decision was being purposefully delayed to protect Ntola.

The alleged corruption was reported to parent body Saftu after the Salipswu interim leadership meeting and before the conference refused to take action against Ntola, Hayward said.

The report details invoices for a purchase of R300 000 at Game Stores and R50 000 spent on hotels from the union’s official credit card over the two-year period.

While fighting his expulsion from Sadtu, Ntola claimed he was being targeted for his support of the then freshly ousted Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.

On Monday Vavi and Salipswu officials met in Johannesburg to discuss Ntola’s fate, but were unable to agree on what action should be taken next.

For Kondile, the failure to deal with Ntola swiftly only reminds him of Cosatu, he said.

“We came to Salipswu and Saftu because they have this rhetoric that they are not going to tolerate corruption. So we are now expecting very harsh action against that person found guilty of misusing workers’ money,” he said.

Vavi confirmed the investigation is still ongoing and said: “At this stage we are not in a position to ... confirm if indeed there was misuse of funds.” But he said Saftu would not hesitate to take action against its own if they are found guilty.

“Saftu will act without fear or favour should it be established that any money from workers has been embezzled … Saftu is committed to fight against corruption within its ranks ... and this is a commitment we will not betray,” Vavi said.

Ntola did not respond to requests to comment on the allegations.

The original of this report by Govan Whittles appeared on page 13 of Mail & Guardian of 15 June 2018

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Thursday, 14 June 2018 08:41

Sowetan reports that former SABC executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng has higher education qualifications that are more valuable than matric.

This was said by his lawyer, Advocate Kgomosoane Mathipa, at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in Johannesburg, where Motsoeneng is fighting to be reinstated as group executive for corporate affairs at the broadcaster.

Mathipa said yesterday that Motsoeneng had qualifications which equated higher than a matric certificate and therefore SABC board member Krish Naidoo had no right to call him a “high school dropout”.

When Mathipa was asked by the Sowetan which qualifications Motsoeneng had, he referred the reporter to an SABC annual report which had his qualifications listed.

The report lists his qualification as Leadership Development Programme from the Gordon Institute of Business Science and is a national qualification framework level seven (Bachelor’s Degree).

He also has a national certificate in generic management, a certificate in radio journalism from Thompson Foundation as well as a certificate from the University of the Witwatersrand for analysis of contemporary social issues.

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela found in 2014 that Motsoeneng had lied about his matric qualification. He was acting chief operating officer at the time.

On Monday, Naidoo said he was considering suing Motsoeneng. “He called me a sellout when he did a public address last year, and in political terms a sellout has a particular connotation.

“It means you can’t be trusted, you’re a traitor, so I have been contemplating over the last few months whether I shouldn’t sue him for this,” he said after the adjournment of the matter.

Motsoeneng will be in the witness box today, where the SABC will cross-examine him.

The original of this report by Neo Goba appeared on page 7 of Sowetan of 13 June 2018

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Tuesday, 12 June 2018 14:30

Business Report writes that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has warned that the gold industry could be brought to its knees if a solution is not reached during the upcoming wage negotiations.

The union this week extended its R12 500 minimum wage a month to gold producers including Harmony Gold, Sibanye Stillwater and AngloGold Ashanti, charging that this was a living wage. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said the demand could put workers in a better place against higher taxes and fuel price.

Mathunjwa said the union also wanted an increase in benefits including severance pay to transport costs, longer maternity leave and a five-day work week instead of the shift system. “We cannot pre-empt the outcomes of these gold commodity wage negotiations,” Mathunjwa said. “We will engage the companies with facts and figures in persuading them in a living wage mandate and other conditions of employment.”

Amcu embarked on a five-month strike in the platinum belt in 2012, demanding a minimum wage of R12 500 in the sector. Thirty-four mine workers were killed by police, shot outside Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine near Rustenburg. Ten others, including security personnel and police officers, died in violent clashes days preceding the massacre.

Harmony Gold spokesperson Sihle Maake said the company was collaborating with other gold mining companies.

“We are not at liberty to say anything.” She referred further questions to communications agency Russell and Associates’ Memory Johnstone, who handled communication on behalf of the Minerals Council South Africa.

AngloGold Ashanti spokesperson Chris Nthite said: “The negotiations will get under way. We will respond in due course with our own offer. There will be intense negotiations.”

The National Union of Mineworkers, the biggest union in the gold industry, is reportedly demanding a two-year agreement, calling for entry-level underground pay of R10 500 a month.

Spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said negotiations in the sector had not yet started. He, however, confirmed that the union had submitted its demands to the Minerals Council of South Africa. The council’s Johnstone said gold producers had received the demands of all the unions participating in centralised collective bargaining. “The gold companies, under the auspices of the Minerals Council, will engage on the contents thereof during wage negotiations which will start in due course.”

The original of this report by Luyolo Mkentane appeared on page 15 of Business Report of 12 June 2018

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Monday, 11 June 2018 06:50

Business Report writes that Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has urged the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to prioritise the finalisation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MPRDA) Bill.

The NCOP is processing the MPRDA Bill, which will usher regulatory certainty in mining.

Delivering his budget vote speech at the NCOP yesterday, Mantashe said the finalisation of the bill would make South Africa an investment destination of choice for mining and upstream petroleum.

“We appeal to members of this House to assist in prioritising the finalisation of this bill. This is important, because together with the gazetting of the Mining Charter, enacting it will go a long way to contributing to policy and regulatory certainty.

“Such certainty will lead to increased confidence in our mining sector, resulting in growth, transformation and competitiveness,” he said.

The department recently finalised consultations in all provinces on the Mining Charter.

Mantashe said that prior to the presentation of the draft charter and its gazetting, the department would host a summit on the charter.

Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Godfrey Oliphant said the summit would be held before the end of this month.

He said the department had prioritised “proper” processing of applications for mining licences.

“A preliminary internal investigation shows that the backlog on new mineral right applications stretches as far back as 2012, while applications for renewal of prospecting right applications go as far back as 2010.

“The implication of unprocessed renewal applications is that it blocks any other party from applying for a mining right in that area,” said Mantashe.

He was concerned about the deteriorating health and safety record of the mining industry. Since the beginning of this year, 33 fatalities had been reported, he said.

“Together with the Mine Health and Safety Council, the Council for Geoscience, the CSIR, organised labour, employers as well as industry experts in rock engineering and seismology, the department is paying special attention into the issue of seismicity,” said Mantashe.

This report by Siseko Njobeni appeared in Business Report of 8 June 2018

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Saturday, 09 June 2018 09:13

Mail & Guardian reports that a labour court judge is accused of lying by a complainant who claims he ‘ignored’ his submissions

The appeal panel of the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) has ordered a probe into the behaviour of a labour court judge accused of misconduct in his handling of a dispute between energy company Sasol and a former employee.

Former Sasol employee Andile Maseko lodged a complaint against Judge Anton Steenkamp, accusing him of ignoring written submissions in his labour dispute with Sasol, allegedly lying about not receiving the documents and reaching an unfair judgment in favour of the company.

The complaint arose out of a protracted dispute between Maseko and Sasol about what Maseko said was his unfair dismissal.

Maseko’s application in court was dismissed by Steenkamp, who ordered that Maseko may not litigate further against the company until he had satisfied the costs orders against him in his previous cases against the company.

Steenkamp also said in his judgment that he had not received further written submissions from Maseko and his lawyers, a claim the disgruntled employee denies.

“The judge is lying when he says that he didn’t receive anything from my lawyers. This is serious misconduct … the emails were sent on the 10th, 11th and 12th of August 2016,” Maseko claimed in his submissions to the JCC.

Steenkamp, however, says he checked with his assistant, his associate and the registrar’s office, all of whom said they had no record of Maseko’s submissions to date. He has asked that forensic information technology specialists be called in to prove whether Maseko’s claim to have sent the emails is true.

“To suggest that I would record in my judgment that I hadn’t received

those submissions when the facts were to the contrary would mean that I would be recording an untruth, [which is] both an absurdity and an insult to my integrity as a judge and a human being,” he said in his response to the JCC.

He said that Maseko’s application “was the latest in a litany of applications” in the Labour Court, the Labour Appeal Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court over a period of at least seven years.

“He has failed to satisfy at least five costs orders against him,” Steenkamp said of Maseko.

The Mail & Guardian has seen a decision by the Judicial Conduct Committee’s appeal panel — comprising Gauteng deputy judge president Phineas Mojapelo, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo and Cape high court judge Patricia Goliath — that there should be an inquiry into Steenkamp’s conduct under section 17 of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Act.

This section of the Act refers to complaints of conduct that — if it were proved to be true — would be “serious” but “nonimpeachable”.

“The charge that a judge is lying is a serious one, which, if established, may have far-reaching consequences,” said the panel.

The panel also drew attention to the fact that Steenkamp had made a follow-up inquiry with Sasol’s lawyers before reaching his judgment, asking them if they had received submissions from Maseko’s representatives, but did not reach out to Maseko’s legal team to ask where the submissions were.

“As we know, he [Steenkamp] communicated with one side only: Sasol’s legal team. It is possible and tempting to make a decision and a finding based on the available evidence and the admitted failure of the judge to communicate with both sides … That conclusion would, however, leave gaps of information,” the panel said.

Yet Steenkamp said he had only reached out to Sasol’s attorney before making his decision because he was responding to an earlier email.

“I simply responded to her earlier email, indicating that she and her counsel would not file further submissions. Having already ascertained from the court staff that Mr Maseko had not delivered further submissions, I merely did so ex abundante cautela [to be extra cautious],” he said in submissions to the JCC.

“There was no obligation on the court to reach out to them [Maseko’s lawyers] because it was incumbent on them that they make sure they file their submission to me and also make doubly sure that they send something to the court,” he told the M&G this week.

He said he was confident his version of events would be found to be true in the inquiry.

If found guilty under section 17, Steenkamp could be given a written warning, ordered to compensate the complainant or reprimanded.

Maseko told the M&G this week that he believed Steenkamp was guilty of gross misconduct and ideally wanted to see him impeached, as provided for by the Constitution in cases where gross misconduct is found.

“Steenkamp has got to be fired but that is something I’ve got no power [over]. The JCC has got to do its job.”

Yet, noting that the JCC had ordered an inquiry under section 17 of the JSC Act, Maseko said he would realistically only seek an apology and compensation from the judge.

“I want to move on with my life and the way to move on with my life is when the JCC does what the law says it must do. They must get Steenkamp to apologise to me and give me the appropriate compensation.”

JSC secretary Sello Chiloane said that the nature of the complaint would inform the committee’s decision on remedial action, should this be required.

He added that this was not the first case of nonimpeachable misconduct to come before the JCC.

“There are a couple of cases where the complaint is not strong enough to warrant impeachment; it’s just that some of them have not been published,” Chiloane said.

“So people must not be under the impression that, as soon as a judge appears before the JCC for alleged misconduct, the complaint is always serious enough that it will lead to them being impeached.”

One such case was the stern reprimand given to Limpopo judge president Ephraim Makgoba last month, after he threatened to “deal with” advocate Tsundzuka Maluleke “professionally and legally” during a discussion over a matter that appeared before his court.

The JCC found he had acted in a “manner unbecoming of a judge [and had] in effect threatened to use judicial power improperly”. It ordered that Makgoba be reprimanded.

Based on a report by Dineo Bendile that appeared on page 11 of Mail & Guardian of 8 June 2018

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Wednesday, 06 June 2018 12:20

Afro Voice reports that the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has distanced itself from what its provincial secretary Jaycee Ncanana is calling “acts of criminality” following allegations by the Ugu district municipality that striking workers are responsible for sabotaging water supplies in the area.

For over a week now, thousands of Ugu residents have been left with dry taps and reliant on water tankers as the strike rages on.

Municipal workers, some represented by Samwu, downed tools last week following the implementation of no work, no pay after they embarked on an illegal strike in March. The deductions came into effect in May, leaving many angry at the salary cuts.

Ncanana, who condemned the alleged acts of sabotage, said they were willing to negotiate with the municipality and denied the allegation that Samwu members were part of the sabotage. “They must present us with proof so that members can be dealt with,” he said.

“We have been trying to negotiate with the municipality but they are not willing to come to the table. During this time service delivery is being affected, but the problem is not of our making. As the leaders of Samwu, we did not sanction any act of sabotage.”

The original of this report by Sibongiseni Maphumulo appeared on page 6 of Afro Voice of 6 June 2018

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Monday, 04 June 2018 12:43

Afro Voice reports that striking municipal workers have been blamed for taps running dry in the Ugu district. Some communities have been without running water for more than five days.

As the recently formed Joint Operations Centre considers declaring the district a disaster zone, the strike has entered its second week.

While allegations of lawlessness and tampering by striking municipal workers have emerged, it has also led to the intervention by the departments of cooperative governance and traditional affairs and transport, community safety and liaison.

Declaring the district a disaster zone will enable urgent activation of state resources to ensure stability is restored in the area. Municipal spokesperson Sphelele Cele said teams had been deployed to the affected areas.

However, the urgent moves to restore basic services to Ugu have been hampered.

“It seems that overnight some of the areas that were restored yesterday have been tampered with and we are working to bring those areas back online,” Cele said yesterday.

“We have also placed static tanks in the affected communities and are filling them continuously. We once again appeal to our communities to be our eyes and ears on the ground and report any suspicious activity around our water infrastructure.”

On Friday members of the KZN executive council convened an emergency meeting with the municipality in the wake of unrest in the district.

The latest labour dispute is over the non-payment of municipal staff that embarked on an illegal and unprotected strike action in March.

The municipality effected a no work, no pay principle and salary deductions were applied in May.

Cogta MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube said: “We are taking the situation very seriously as it presents a life threat with the disruption to basic services such as water. We cannot tolerate lawlessness.”

The water supply shortage has also affected the Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital. Closed circuit television cameras are being installed in the vicinity of all critical service infrastructure as a means to monitor and quell property damage. Areas without water have been asked to report it at the call centre on 0396885830/36 or to the ward councillor.

The original of this report by Sibongiseni Maphumulo appeared on page 3 of Afro Voice of 4 June 2018

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Thursday, 31 May 2018 14:38

The Star reports that the families of three miners assumed to have died in the Lily Mine disaster in Louisville, east of Barberton in Mpumalanga, have been compensated – two years later.

The Department of Mineral Resources told this to Parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources during its update on the operations at the Gupta-owned mines and Lily Mine.

The department’s chief inspector of mines, Mthokozisi Zondi, said: “The families of the victims were paid R200 000 each.

‘‘Workers were also paid R10000 each, with a balance of R40000 to be paid by the new owner.

‘‘The inquiry report has also been completed,”

Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyirenda were trapped underground on February 5, 2016 when the container they were working in as a lamp room was swallowed when ground caved in.

MPs welcomed the report on Lily Mine.

They also heard that mining operations and the recovery of the bodies of the three missing mine workers would resume in November.

The mine stopped operations on April 2016 to allow for the extraction of the bodies from underground.

The maintenance, salary and expenses for the searchand-rescue operation drained the mine’s financial resources and led to it being placed under business rescue.

The department’s director-general, Thabo Mokoena, said the business rescue practitioners had secured a buyer who was in the process of acquiring ownership of the mine.

Committee chairperson Sahlulele Luzipho said: “Although sceptical, the committee believes that the resumption of operations at the mine will not only bring closure to the families of the three missing workers, but will also bring about 600 workers back to work”.

He warned the department to take control and engage investors to ensure that they completed the work of recovering the bodies.

“Mine owners have a tendency to abandon operations halfway, claiming that they underestimated cost implications,” said Luzipo.

Parliament also heard that the Gupta-owned mines Brakfontein, Koornfontein, Optimum and Shiva were operational but non-compliant and flouting mining regulations.

Parliament heard that two tower cranes at the mines were in poor condition and not maintained.

The department said they found inadequate stock and supplies, as the mine was not able to pay suppliers.

“Employers were not issued with personal protective equipment for winter seasons.

‘‘There were also 40 injuries reported at all four mines.”

Employees were also found exiting the main gate not wearing the right safety gear and were not trained in all mandatory codes of practice, Zondi said.

This report by Mary Jane Mphahlele appeared on page 2 of The Star of 31 May 2018

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Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:27

Afro Voice reports that research on the Marikana massacre has won the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) business school an international award.

UCT’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) won first prize in the 2017 European Foundation for Management Development case-writing competition in the African business case category.

The study asks pertinent questions on the role of investors and shareholders in business.

Associate professor Stephanie Giamporcaro from the GSB and Marilize Putter, a GSB alumnus, co-authored the study.

It was written from the point of view of a senior executive from a Scandinavian bank following a visit to Lonmin.

Before the 2012 Marikana massacre, Lonmin was seen as one of the more sustainable and socially responsible companies to invest in.

The study unpacks how investors could have missed the brewing tension at the mine instead of being more involved in monitoring the company’s treatment of employees.

“What makes this case study especially relevant is that it is uniquely African but globally relevant. This tragedy had big implications for many sectors and society in general,” Giamporcaro said.

Putter, the dean of financial planning and insurance at the Milpark Education Business School in Cape Town, said: “Working on the case, I realised how difficult it is for leaders, given the various complexities which exist, to make the correct decisions.”

She said it was especially challenging to present all the views on the topic as there was a lot of information available.

Claire Barnardo, the case-writing centre manager at the GSB, said the Marikana case gives business students an insight into the complexities of the mining sector and the different relationships between labour unions, workers, executives and the corporate world in an emerging market business landscape.

This report by Elfas Torerai appeared on page 17 of Afro Voice of 30 May 2018

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Monday, 28 May 2018 14:56

Sowetan reports that a cash-strapped Limpopo municipality has failed to pay its employees their salaries this month.

Workers at Modimolle/ Mookgophong municipality are up in arms after their employer failed to pay them this month, pleading poverty.

The municipality, known as Lim368, was formed following the merger between the Mookgophong and Modimolle municipalities after the 2016 local government elections. It is led by the DA under the stewardship of mayor Marlene van Staden.

Some employees at the Modimolle offices were apparently paid their wages while those in Mookgophong were told to be patient as the council had difficulty in collecting revenue.

Workers were given letters informing them that they would be paid before the end of the month.

“Kindly be informed that the municipality(sic) financial situation is not good and this will affect May salaries to be paid on time. We request the staff of the municipality to expect this salaries before the end of the month,” read the letter signed by former acting council boss, Mapule Felicity Mokoko. She has since resigned from the municipality.

Van Staden said the municipality had run out of funds.

“I can confirm that our officials from Mookgophong did not receive their salaries because the municipality is bankrupt. This is due to lack of revenue collection in the Mookgophong area,” said Van Staden.

She said they were working hard to ensure that everybody got paid before the end of the month, claiming non-payment affected senior officials.

But shop steward Ernie Mbiza said it did not make sense their colleagues in Modimolle got paid while they did not receive their payments.

“We have debit orders that must go through from our salaries and also have to pay other accounts.

Another employee, Naphtally Tlhoaela, said they were frustrated.

“We are frustrated because we have children to support and our debit orders are bouncing, meaning we will have to pay extra for the bounced debit orders,” he said.

Provincial secretary of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union Patrick Aphane said they would call for it to be placed under administration.

The original of this report by Frank Maponya appeared on page 7 of Sowetan of 28 May 2018

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Monday, 28 May 2018 14:40

Afro Voice reports that a total of 600 metro police officers are set to be employed by the Mangaung metro to deal with law enforcement.

The mayor Olly Mlamleli announced last week that the metro will finally employ metro cops. She was speaking at the handing over of new fleet to the municipality law enforcement wing.

She said after they had appointed chief of metro police, they would have 600 new recruits in total but they would not be hired at the same time.

“In June we will take the first 100 to training and in January next year we will recruit 200 more and the number will be added with another 200 in June next year and it will go on and on until we reach 600 recruits.

She said they also handed out traffic police vehicles.

The mayor said they have bought fleet to improve service delivery.

“We cannot reveal how much we have spent so far because more cars are to be added to the fleet. We will reveal the amount once we are done with this purchase.

“Let me put clarity on this, we did not buy those cars cash, but bought it on instalment basis,” Mlamleli said.

She said there had been rumours that the municipality did not have diesel.  “In actual fact, we have never had any shortage of diesel, it was stolen by some of the municipal workers and we are dealing with them at the moment, we will not tolerate that,” the mayor said.

• This report by Becker Semela appeared on page 8 of Afro Voice of 28 May 2018

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Saturday, 26 May 2018 14:55

Mail & Guardian writes that a bitter feud between rival groups in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will come to a head at its elective conference next month, when general secretary David Sipunzi and president Piet Matosa go head to head over the union’s top positions.

Sipunzi’s supporters, who spoke on condition of anonymity this week, said he stood a good chance to retain his position. “The writing is on the wall,” one of the Free State regional organisers said. “It won’t be a narrow victory like last time. I think things have changed dramatically in terms of performance, and it is clear the current GS [general secretary] is favoured overwhelmingly.”

This week, the Kopanong branch in Klerksdorp, in the Matlosana region, marched to the NUM’s regional office calling for Matosa to be re-elected unopposed.

The union has been haemorrhaging support to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union. The NUM’s membership went from 308 628 before the Marikana massacre in 2012 to 198 000 in 2016.

Sipunzi’s faction represents the new NUM leadership, which emerged after 2012, whereas Matosa represents the old guard, who rose to the top alongside former NUM president Senzeni Zokwana.

Sipunzi’s faction wants Matosa to be replaced by NUM deputy president Joseph Montisetsi and Matosa’s faction is pushing for Carletonville regional secretary Mbuyiseli Hibana to take over from Sipunzi as general secretary. But Matosa’s supporters seem intent on dissuading Montisetsi from going up against Matosa. Sipunzi narrowly defeated Frans Baleni, former general secretary and Matosa’s ally, in 2015 in an election that threatened to split the union. Since his defeat, the divisions between the two factions have been cemented and the union has continued to lose members.

Matosa took over as NUM acting president in 2014 after Zokwana was appointed to former president Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet. Matosa was formally elected to the position at the NUM’s national congress in 2015.

The looming battle has left Matosa’s supporters looking to former leaders such as Baleni for assistance, one of his backers said this week. “He would be the strongest to contest for the GS position.”

Matosa’s supporters are largely based in the mining town of Klerksdorp, the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West.

Sipunzi enjoys majority support from the union’s biggest regions in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Free State.

Approached for comment this week, Sipunzi would only say the environment was “highly contested” and Matosa declined to comment.

The original of this report by Govan Whittles appeared on page 12 of Mail & Guardian of 25 May 2018

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Monday, 21 May 2018 10:59

Business Report writes that Joel Netshitenzhe says a major weakness of accountability by mines relates to the extent of co-operation between the mining houses and various spheres of government.

There should be tighter systems and structures of accountability in the implementation of social and labour plans, according to Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) executive director Joel Netshitenzhe.

Netshitenzhe, a member of the ANC national executive committee and a former top civil servant, said last week that it was one of the lessons from the 2012 Marikana tragedy, the 2014 platinum strike, as well as social instability in mining areas related to community infrastructure development, the living-out allowance and related practices.

“While many mine operators have allocated resources for community development, a major weakness relates to the extent of co-operation between the mining houses and various spheres of government,” he noted.

He said mining companies should be actively involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of municipal and provincial development strategies and plans.

“Systems and structures of accountability to communities need to be improved and should involve the highest levels of the companies,” said Netshitenzhe.

His comments are contained in a paper on mining. The paper, which Mistra released on Friday, deals with the role of mining in the attainment of the goals of the National Development Plan.

The NDP’s goals include reducing unemployment to about 6 percent and reducing income inequality as measured by the Gini co-efficient from 0.69 points to 0.6 points.

“The core argument is that the collective of partners in mining – private companies, workers, mining communities and the state – need to develop together a vision and a programme that aligns with the objectives of the NDP,” said Netshitenzhe.

He said mining could serve as a catalyst for an industrialisation drive, a skills and technological revolution “and, broadly, as a bedrock of societal efforts to deal with poverty and inequality”.

He questioned the mining industry’s transformation track record, saying it had made insufficient progress in relation to ownership, management and board composition.

He said the Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team – a government, labour and business initiative mandated to, among others, develop interventions that will position South Africa’s mining industry for sustainable growth – had identified weaknesses in mining’s transformation policies.

These included inadequate focus on share ownership by workers through the so-called employee stock ownership plans.

“Reckless as some of the decisions by the previous minister of mineral resources (Mosebenzi Zwane) appeared to be, as reflected in both the content of, and process around, the 2017 draft Mining Charter, they are impelled by palpable impatience among various strata within the black population.

“Perceptions of opportunism and unethical behaviour on the part of specific government actors should not detract from the factual reality that breeds such impatience on the issue of ownership,” said Netshitenzhe.

This report by Siseko Njobeni appeared on page 15 of Business Report of 21 May 2018

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Monday, 21 May 2018 05:38

Business Times writes that the future of South Africa’s gold mining industry hangs in the balance as it prepares for a new round of wage negotiations, with demands for steep pay hikes likely to fast track its inevitable demise, analysts say.

Labour accounts for 53% of total industry costs and with the current gold price mines could close down one by one, they say.

“The higher those labour costs, the more it moves [forward] that date of those mine closures,” said Ian Cruickshanks, chief economist at the Institute of Race Relations.

The gold industry has cut about 54 269 jobs in the past decade.

Although the gold price has increased by 20% in the past two years, the rand has strengthened by 20% in the same period, which means mining companies are not getting the advantage of the price rise.

“Many of the gold mines are marginally above break-even level from a cost basis, therefore any increase in wages can put them in a loss-making situation,” Cruickshanks said.

In the past year, AngloGold Ashanti sold its Moab Khotsong and Kopanang operations and shut down its TauTona mine due to unsustainable operational costs, while Sibanye-Stillwater has put its Cooke operations on care and maintenance.

Gold companies negotiating in this round of wage talks are AngloGold, Sibanye, Harmony and Village Main Reef, owned by Heaven-Sent, a Chinese investment company.

If South Africa’s biggest union in the sector, the National Union of Mineworkers — which represents 51% of workers — persists in pushing a high wage claim jobs could be lost faster than anticipated, analysts say.

According to Bloomberg, the NUM is demanding a 37% wage increase for the lowest paid mineworkers.

NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu declined to comment on the details of the demands tabled by the union.

The Chamber of Mines confirmed it had received demands from the NUM, UASA and Solidarity. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, which represents 34% of workers in the industry, said it would table its demands this week. UASA is seeking a 10.5% increase, while Solidarity is asking for 10%.

The chamber did not say when the talks would start, but said the wage settlement would be backdated to July 1.

It said that on average over the past decade unit labour costs had increased 18% while productivity had dropped by 3%.

“The most advantageous position for the sector would be one where labour productivity increases at a pace faster than unit labour costs,” Chamber of Mines spokeswoman Charmane Russell said.

However, Peter Major, analyst at Cadiz Corporate Solutions, said there were several reasons why productivity had dropped, including the fact that because gold mines were being mined out there was less gold to extract in the accessible areas.

In the past decade, modernisation has extended the life span of some labour-intensive gold mines, but mechanisation of gold mines has proved to be difficult in South Africa. Even Gold Fields’ South Deep, which was considered the last hope for the country’s future gold production, had still not yielded any profits after more than 10 years of repositioning the mine to the fully mechanised structure it is today.

From a worker’s point of view, Cruickshanks said, unions were making sure that before the sun set on the industry they had helped workers get the best deals out of gold companies. Workers deserved at least an increase in line with inflation, Cruickshanks said. South Africa’s expected 2018 inflation rate, according to the Reserve Bank is 4.9%.

The higher the labour costs, the sooner mines will close.

This article by Lutho Mtongana appeared on page 7 of The Sunday Times Business Times of 20 May 2018

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Wednesday, 16 May 2018 06:02

Business Times writes hailed as the saviour of South Africa's ageing and decrepit gold mining industry, and well regarded by investors for his ability to sweat the most meagre of assets, Neal Froneman now faces the challenge of rising fatalities at his Sibanye-Stillwater operations.

Last week, a seismic event trapped 13 miners, and eventually led to the death of seven at the company's Carletonville operations. The accident comes a few months after three workers died at other Sibanye operations, and 1,100 workers were trapped underground for more than 20 hours at its Beatrix operation in the Free State.

The deaths bring to 67 the number of fatalities at Sibanye since the mining house bought Gold Fields KDC and Beatrix gold mines some five years ago to create South Africa's biggest mining house - that employs 65,000 people.

There have been 413 mineworker deaths reported in South Africa in the past five years.

Former Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll famously fired Neville Nicolau as the head of the miner's platinum unit on the back of safety issues. Between 2008 and 2012, when he led Anglo American Platinum, there were 49 deaths.

Sibanye's best year for safety was 2015, when seven miners died. Over the past two years, the miner has regressed to double-digit figures. This year may be its worst yet, given the lives lost already.

Surface tension

At Sibanye's Driefontein operation, a great number of safety messages are on display, but one mineworker at Shaft 5 - who did not want to be named - told Business Times that safety measures were left at the surface. Underground was a different matter, the mineworker said.

Other mineworkers said the pressure put on them to make sure production targets are met is behind the increase in fatalities in recent years.

Adding further pressure, according to some, was the fact that Sibanye has undertaken a massive restructuring programme that centres on job cuts. The company has shrunk its workforce to 34,000 in its gold division in the face of low-ore grades and high operating costs.

Pressure to meet and maintain production targets with a reduced workforce has fed into safety lapses, the mineworkers said.

"There is a lot of pressure on supervisors, which comes from the top, either from the CEO or operational manager or someone else at the top, I don't know. And it all comes down to us," said a load operator at Shaft 4.

"At first it seemed like it was improving but actually it became even worse ... Gold Fields was not innocent in safety as well, but it was not this bad. It's the employees that are less and there is pressure from management to employees."

Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said the company had "quite good safety procedures and policies in place", but they were only as good as the people applying them. Seismic events such as minor earthquakes had accounted for about 7% of the company's fatalities since 2013 to December last year, he said, while fall-of-ground fatalities were the biggest cause of death, at 37%.

Wellsted said there were behavioural issues that affected safety.

"The unions sit on our safety structures. If these issues are behavioural we are relying on unions as well to help implement the safety procedures so that workers don't cut corners."

Wellsted said the company constantly prioritised safety and compliance, but with the thousands of workers going underground "it's very difficult to monitor everybody and every area".

Makwe Masilela of Makwe Fund Managers said Sibanye's first-quarter production had been affected by safety stoppages and operational disruptions, but Froneman promised to maintain his production targets.

With the amount of debt that Sibanye has, the business cannot afford to not make money, so there could be pressure for production performance underground, which helps the company's revenues.

"Froneman wants to maintain and protect his reputation and that's not a bad thing, but there comes a point where you ask yourself, where is the line between production and safety?" Masilela said.

After his purchase of Gold Fields' less-regarded gold assets five years ago, Froneman has expanded Sibanye into platinum, buying some operations from Anglo Platinum and, in late 2016, a US platinum operation, Stillwater, for $2.2-billion.

The expansion has seen the company's debt climb from R25-billion to R23-billion now compared to a market cap of R20-billion. Repayment of that debt hasn't been aided by the rand's gain in strength over the past two years.

After its listing in 2013, Sibanye stood out as the star performer among South Africa's listed gold miners, rising 5.4%, against a gold mining index that has declined over 51%. However, since its peak in August 2016, the company shares have plunged about 80%.

Investors have been critical of the amount Sibanye spent on Stillwater. Froneman has worked hard to allay those concerns, especially with a proposed acquisition of troubled platinum miner Lonmin at the end of the year.

But, apart from addressing investor unease, Froneman and his team will have to pay greater attention to the safety concerns of the operations Sibanye already has.

This report by Lutho Mtongana originally appeared in Sunday Times Business Times of 13 May 2018

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Monday, 14 May 2018 03:39

BL Premium writes that there is no time for rest for the beleaguered Lonmin, which needs to set itself up for a takeover before the bid expires by February next year.

Challenged by a strong rand and weak platinum prices the company's half-year results tomorrow will have to show that although it might be under pressure, it can weather the storm.

The proposal of the R5-billion acquisition by Sibanye, which came with a condition that the miner should remain cash-neutral, may seem easy for some. But Lonmin has continued to suffer under a share price which has never recovered from its 98% drop five years ago. In the same period the platinum mining index has declined by 74%.

After coming close to defaulting on its debt covenants last year at least the miner was given some breathing space from creditors until next year.

However, the fact that Sibanye has a net debt of of R23-billion compared to its market cap of R20-billion and cannot afford to take up more, doesn't support Lonmin's case after Sibanye had added pressure on Lonmin to ensure a cash-neutral balance sheet.

While some analysts have some hope that Lonmin can make it through the year without being cash negative, others are sceptical because Sibanye will also be struggling to make margins against a background of gold price volatility and rand strength, which will continue to squeeze profits from the miner.

Although the deal will be funded with a share option instead of cash, taking on

Lonmin's debt is not an option for Sibanye as it would rather buy pieces of Lonmin instead of the whole business if the deal does not go through.

This would leave Lonmin with no choice but to break up the rest and sell it as single assets to other bidders.

Seten Naidoo, analyst at Capricorn Fund Managers, said everyone will be watching Lonmin's net cash numbers tomorrow. However, he said, according to his understanding, maintaining cash neutrality was a suggestion and not necessarily a condition for the sale.

He said if the company failed to be cash-positive, Sibanye would probably have to again pass the proposal to shareholders for approval.

"At this basket price they are still struggling. This basket price is not conducive for them to make money," Naidoo said.

Sibonginkosi Nyanga, analyst at Momentum Securities, said what would also be interesting to watch was how much Lonmin's rationalisation programme had yielded for the business.

The programme was started by the company last year to group Lonmin's assets into generation one and generation two shafts.

The generation one shafts are those that could no longer be run profitably and had to be shut down while the generation two shafts are the crown jewels in the mine's production and profit projections for the future.

These star performing shafts include Rowland, Saffy and K3.

Lonmin closed down and placed some of the generation one shafts on care and maintenance and what remained were three shafts - W1, E1 and Hossy Shaft - which yielded a small amount of profitable ounces of platinum group metals by year end and the first quarter.

However, it will be interesting to see whether these shafts have continued to

perform and would therefore not require a shutdown and loss of jobs.

Lonmin had said that as with shaft 4B, the generation one shafts would continue to be reviewed based on its production merits.

Nyanga said Sibanye was the only exit strategy Lonmin was left with so everyone will be carefully watching the company's cash flow in this period.

This report by Lutho Mtongana appeared on page 5 of Sunday Times Business Times of 13 May 2018

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Monday, 07 May 2018 14:21

Afro Voice reports that, as the strike at Luxor Paints in Boksburg, Gauteng, enters its tenth week, workers said that the company had issued them with a court interdict claiming that the workers were embarking on an illegal industrial action.

Joshua Hlungwani, a worker, said the company had now accused the workers of violence.  However, Hlungwani said that the workers had suffered at the hands of the company and had lodged claims against Luxor.  “Now the company is coming with accusations that the workers are the violent ones,” Hlungwani said.

Hlungwani claimed that the private security service provider had shot workers.  “The shooting of Luxor paints workers is the example of the company’s ruthless attitude towards its workers since they embarked on a strike.”

He said that the private security company employees were still stationed at the company, but have not been violent recently.  “On March 5 was the last time they were violent towards workers,” he stated.

He said that another worker, Ngosingiphile Zwane, 33, was shot in the side of his head and his eye was removed as a result.  Hlungwani said Zwane was still receiving medical treatment and could not afford the cost of a prosthesis.

“The workers had to call ambulances to address their injuries.  The police also had to be called to the premises on both occasions to protect the workers from their employer, Luxor paints, and the security company,” Hlungwani said.

A Luxor Paints spokesperson declined to respond to questions.

This report appeared on page 5 of Afro Voice of 7 May 2018

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Wednesday, 02 May 2018 13:47

Afro Voice reports that, as the government stepped up efforts to regulate illegal mining by granting licences to over 4 000 zama zamas in the Northern Cape, some stakeholders have warned that criminal syndicates are likely to fight back.

The National Union of Mineworkers’ Cornelius Manhe was wary about the Department of Mineral Resources move. He said it would not stem the violence and corruption that is part and parcel of illegal mining in the country.

“We think the government could have handled the matter differently because it does not mean the havoc in the industry will end. Our view is the mining houses should absorb the workers instead of the government giving them permits. This will not solve anything or end their infighting,” he said.

Manhe said the union would be engaging on a way forward and talk with the department, which is finalising the Mining Charter.

Manhe’s comment came against the background of an underground industry where gang kingpins, sellers and buyers of illegal minerals allegedly work in cahoots with police, private security guards and state prosecutors in a highly sophisticated racket.

This newspaper recently uncovered a syndicate extracting precious metals from disused mines and tailings dams and dumps at Harmony Gold’s Eland, St Helena and Masimong shaft 4 mines in the province, which although closed, abounds with zama zamas, including some illegal immigrants from Lesotho and Mozambique, who enter the shafts in shifts, spending up to a month underground.

A web of networks, reportedly including private security officials and crooked police officials and prosecutors were said to be involved in aiding and abetting the criminal activities.

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, recently said the department would deal with the problem of illegal mining by “formalising ‘artisanal mining’ and ‘junior mining’ to regulate them”.

But spokesperson for Mantashe Nathi Shabangu said: “The minister says we should regulate and legalise illegal miners to create job opportunities. We view this as an opportunity in our hands to transform the industry. And the department should have an illegal mining unit.”

The leader of the Northern Cape zama zama group, Lucky Seekoei, also saw the granting of 500ha by DMR and mining giants Ekapa and Petra Diamonds, to the group’s registered cooperatives as a positive move. “Families will, from now, start having a stable income and not have to hide while working. We can now bank our money and pay tax. We are going to be regulated by the Diamond Board,” he said.

“The doors of wealth have been opened. We are tired of running away from the police and mine security.”

Leeto Molise, a zama zama from Benoni, did not support the move to legalise because it means having to pay taxes as zama zamas can make up to R40 000 a week working in groups of four. “I am not sure if I would want to be legalised out of fear of being robbed.

“Now it means I will be working for another person and getting paid monthly, which I am not used to.”

But Thuso* (not his real name) said he would like a mining licence as their working conditions were dangerous even though they do make money.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union president, Joseph Mathunjwa, said: “The issuing of permits should not mean the mining houses are off the hook with rehabilitating the mines, this shouldn’t be a substitute for the work they did not finish,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant was delighted at the outcome. “Here we have proof we are bringing the matter to an end in a decent way. It’s a benchmark we can apply around the country.”

Black First, Land First leader Andile Mngxitama said what happened in the Northern Cape was a turning point in the mining sector and part of radical economic transformation.

“We want all the zama zamas to be recognised and given permits,” he said.

The original of this report by Tiisetso Manoko, Dikeledi Molobela and Bonolo Selebano appeared on page 1 of Afro Voice of 2 May 2018

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Thursday, 26 April 2018 06:17

The Star reports that the security industry says the vicious attack on its members at Moses Mabhida Stadium by suspected Kaizer Chiefs supporters is one of the many incidents reducing their members to sitting ducks at work.

The Association of African Private Security Owners of SA (Taapsosa) expressed outrage at the soccer violence at the stadium last weekend, which left four security officers injured.

Taapsosa deputy president Jones Maphalaphathwa said this danger to men and women earning an honest living for their families adds to the growing number in the killing of security guards.

Cash-in-transit heists and business robberies are some of the places of work that have added to the long list of security personnel dying on duty.

Video footage of security guard Sabela Maziba being kicked by unruly Kaizer Chiefs supporters went viral after the team lost 2-0 to Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semi-final match.

Taapsosa said they watched the footage in “disbelief”.  “In the past we have noted that security guards are targets, as they go about their duties.  It is crucial that the safety of security guards against hooligans be prioritised.”

Taapsosa is demanding that all perpetrators be held accountable for their actions, and that stakeholders in the industry take steps to ensure the safety of security guards.

Maphalaphathwa attributed the violence at the soccer game to poor planning on the part of the stadium management.  In the days leading up to an event, stakeholders such as security managers from each team are invited to a meeting to plan for it, he pointed out.  Security companies determine how many guards they want at an event and identify what risks may occur and then make a recommendation.  But by the time this meeting takes place stakeholders have already set a security budget, and their advice is ignored.

“Usually when we advise our clients, they do not want to take our advice in terms of risk assessments.  But when these clients ignore our advice and something goes wrong, security guards are often blamed,” Maphalaphathwa said.  “When something happens, it reflects on us.  People say ‘where was (the) security?’  They say we are not good or not trained properly.”

In the case of the weekend’s game, Maphalaphathwa said they should have anticipated that Chiefs coach Steve Komphela, who was already under fire, presented a risk in his own right, and made plans about where they placed security accordingly.  He said the violence could have been prevented, if people contemplating jumping onto the field had seen the guards watching them.

The guards were equipped with sticks and pepper spray.  “You need to ensure that you have adequate numbers of people and that they have the proper equipment,” Maphalaphathwa said.  “In this case, we have not really done an investigation, but I doubt that the guards were properly armed.”

Maphalaphathwa hopes that this event will help stakeholders take Taapsosa and security companies more seriously.  “We need to make stakeholders aware that they are putting us at risk.  Whether or not they take us seriously, we will not stop engaging and approaching (them).”

This report by Lila Reynolds appeared on page 2 of The Star of 25 April 2018

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Wednesday, 18 April 2018 14:23

The Mercury reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele says the police need R2 billion to promote 66 000 officers, who have not received promotions for several years.

Cele, who was briefing the police portfolio committee on Tuesday, said he wanted the officers to be accorded the promotions they deserved.

“Any organisation, for it to function, you need to deal with personnel,” he said when the SAPS top brass made a presentation on its 2018/19 budget.

Cele said he had spoken to national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khehla Sitole about the outstanding promotions.

“I said we had to find this money. I have not told him that I have not raised it with the president, to say we need money.”

The minister said the promotions would have to possibly be carried out over two financial years if the required funds were ultimately found.

“We will even cut the corruption you are monitoring,” Cele said of the possible spin-offs of the promotions. Earlier, the committee heard from Corruption Watch that out of 21 000 corruption reports from whistle-blowers it received over six years, 1 165 were reports of police corruption.

“Of the reports we receive from the public on police corruption, 39% involve bribery, abuse of power and dereliction of duty,” Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said.

In its 2017 report, Corruption Watch said abuse of power by the police was the most common form of corruption reported followed by bribery and failure to act.

Cele said the promoted officers would not have an excuse to commit corruption.

“I want to make a very serious invitation.

“Let us this time push for better conditions for members of the SAPS so that when they do these things and we arrest them, they have no reason, no excuse to do wrong things,” Cele told parliamentarians.

“Now they tell stories. Those stories must be cut.”

He told of two cases of long-serving officers who served as a warrant officer and captain for 19 and 31 years respectively.

“We can’t have a group of people that, their lives are completely stagnant. You can’t be one thing for 19 years in life,” Cele said.

Committee chairman Francois Beukman said it was important that there was a career path for police officers.

“It is going to be a priority for the committee and we are to monitor it going forward, “Beukman said.

He said it was important that the police service looked after its members and paid them salaries that allowed them to live comfortably.

Institute of Security Studies head of justice and violence prevention Gareth Newham said the figure given by Cele was a third of the SAPS workforce.

“The current budget framework for the next three years is not going to allow for massive promotions because it is going to cost too much.

“He has to find another way to assist the officers if he believes they need to be recognised and rewarded for work

This report by Mayibongwe Maqhina appeared on page 1 of The Mercury of 18 April 2018

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Wednesday, 18 April 2018 12:52

Sowetan reports that there is a strong push under way within Cosatu to ensure that Zingiswa Losi, the federation’s second deputy president, is elected the first woman to lead the federation.

Cosatu will hold its national congress later this year.

On Tuesday, Cosatu affiliates such as the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) gave the strongest indication yet that they prefer a woman to succeed S’dumo Dlamini.

Should the move not succeed, this would be a blow to continuing calls for women to occupy key positions.

Minister in the Presidency Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma recently failed in her bid to become ANC president.

Denosa Gauteng chairman Simphiwe Gada said some have viewed Losi as better than the male leaders that surround her.

“I don’t see the reason why she should not be Cosatu president. She knows Cosatu in and out,” Gada said.

Nehawu spokesman Kaya Xaba said the union was engaging with its members about its preferred candidate.

“As soon as we finalise the process we will make an announcement,” he said.

Popcru’s Richard Mamabolo said the union has a right to support anybody.

“Anybody can lead any organisation, regardless of whether it is a male or female. We are a nonsexist organisation.”

Piet Matosa, president of the National Union of Mineworkers, said Losi was not elected to her current position based on gender, but because of her ability in “implementing the federation’s resolutions”.

Sowetan understands that Dlamini, who has been Cosatu president for more than two terms, was unlikely to stand for re-election at the congress.

Dlamini appears to have lost the power grip at the federation.  This was evident when he was criticised by his own comrades for attending former president Jacob Zuma’s lavish birthday party in Kliptown, Soweto when Cosatu had taken a stand that Zuma should step down. Dlamini declined to comment.

This report by Ngwako Modjadji appeared on page 4 of Sowetan of 18 April 2018

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Monday, 16 April 2018 13:43

Sunday Times reports that as a child, Charmaine de Villiers would nurse sick animals. After being retrenched, Charlotte Petersen-Davids became a nurse at the age of 51.  Both women became nurses in the public sector but a single item of clothing — a sleeveless jacket called a gilet — has stopped them from living their dream.

They were dismissed from Karl Bremer Hospital in Cape Town after refusing to remove the gilet at work because they said it made them feel comfortable and look neat. It has been two years since their dismissal but they have refused to stop fighting for their jobs.

Soon De Villiers, a mother of two, will take her fight to the Labour Court in Cape Town.

According to the women, only managers were allowed to wear the gilet at the Bellville hospital. Both had worked at nearby Tygerberg Hospital where the gilet was part of their uniform.

When De Villiers — a specialist ICU nurse and a former lecturer who was instrumental in setting up the ICU for the maternity unit at Tygerberg — refused to stop wearing her gilet she was charged with gross insubordination, refusing to adhere to the uniform dress code, non-adherence to infection control principles and “rudeness” among other things.

“I wrote policies for Tygerberg Hospital and guidelines. But here I sit without a job. I can’t find work in the public sector because of the charges that were brought against me,” said the 51-year-old, who relies on her twin sister Charlene Adams — also a nurse — for financial support.

“We are grown women and not that slender any more. The gilet covers up certain places on a woman’s body . . . you get rude men,” said Petersen-Davids.

Nurse Clive Jonas, from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union who is assisting the women, said there was no national uniform policy for nurses. There are guidelines and government nurses receive a subsidy to buy their own uniforms, including a gilet.

When De Villiers’s matter went to arbitration last year, commissioner Teresa Erasmus found that the Karl Bremer Hospital’s uniform policy stipulated that staff nurses may not wear a gilet as it was seen as “an extra risk in clinical areas”.

Erasmus wrote in her finding that the then head of nursing at Karl Bremer had told De Villiers “a clean uniform must be put on every day in the best interest of the patients, as they work with patients with open wounds”.

De Villiers testified that there is no evidence that a uniform or gilet spreads infection. She highlighted the importance of proper hand-washing and told the Sunday Times this week she always wore a clean gilet and would remove it or use protective clothing such as an apron, gloves or disposable shoes if necessary.

The provincial nursing manager, Volene Werely, testified in support of De Villiers at the arbitration hearing. She said the department could have managed the situation better.

Dr Edward Langenegger, who worked with De Villiers at Tygerberg to reduce maternal mortality, also testified that the dismissal was unfair. But Erasmus found against her.

“The policy was reasonable, especially bearing the safety of patients in clinical areas in mind and the danger of infections,” said Erasmus.

Mark van der Heever, spokesman for the provincial health department, said this week: “The nurses were not dismissed because they wore gilets but because they refused to abide by a departmental policy and instruction — determined by their operational [clinical] environment.”

Petersen-Davids, 63, said she qualified as a nurse after obtaining her matric when she was 48, and started working at Karl Bremer in 2014.

“I lost the education policies I had for my two grandchildren,” she said. “I am very disappointed. I believe a job is not a favour, it is a basic right because we are contributing towards the economy. Why dismiss us? There are other ways of dealing with the situation instead of taking our jobs away. When you lose your job it is almost like a death in the family because you are taking away something someone loved.”

De Villiers broke down in tears. “I was born to do this. They took so much from me,” she said.

Adams said becoming nurses had been a dream come true for her and her sister.

“We were five years old and nursing was all we wanted to do. When we found a bird with a broken leg we would mend it. I will do whatever it takes to support her in her fight,” she said.

The original of this report by Nashira Davids appeared on page 8 of The Sunday Times of 15 April 2018

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Monday, 16 April 2018 10:52

Business Times reports that Adila Chowan, who successfully sued Imperial CEO Mark Lamberti in a race and gender discrimination suit in the high court, claims that she cannot find full-time work because her former boss has given her negative references.  In addition, she says that while Lamberti has apologised for his actions in public press releases, he has not contacted her to personally apologise.

Lamberti last week resigned from Eskom's board, to which he was appointed in December, and his position as a director at Business Leadership South Africa hangs in the balance.

Last month the High Court in Johannesburg found that Chowan's dignity had been impaired when Lamberti labelled her an employment equity candidate who needed four years in development before taking on a C-suite role.

Later, he allegedly told one of his direct reports that he did not believe Chowan had what it took to be a chief financial officer, although he had promised that she would have a senior role in the company in 12 months from the time of their conversation.

This was despite the fact that she was 42 years old at the time and had acted as the CFO numerous times and is a chartered accountant.

She had been recommended as CFO by another group executive, but the role instead went to a white hire after the job was put out to an extensive executive search once Lamberti joined the company.

Only white men were shortlisted for the role. When Chowan remarked that she didn't like the shade of a car assigned to her, the man who got the job told her "the colour of the car suits your skin".

Last week Chowan told Business Times:  "[Lamberti] has not apologised to me and in his public apologies you have to ask what he is apologising for.  He has given me negative references and destroyed my career."  Lamberti denied he had given Chowan negative references. He said he had received a single request for a reference which he had passed on to a colleague to handle.

Chowan said she had been able to find only contract work since her suspension from Imperial when she complained about racial and gender discrimination.

She said she was happy with the judgment and considered it a fair reflection of what had happened. "It shines a light on what happens in corporate South Africa and lots of people have come to me for advice [after the judgment]."

The court has yet to decide on a final financial damages claim for Chowan, but it has awarded costs against the company.

Lamberti denies that the court found race or gender discrimination, but he apologised for the impairment of Chowan's dignity.

Imperial's investor relations manager, Esha Mansingh, said: "Mr Lamberti deeply regrets that his comments were upsetting to Mrs Chowan. It was not his intention to insult or demean her in any way and he apologises unreservedly.

Read this report by Ferial Haffajee, which appeared on page 7 of Business Times of 15 April 2018, in full at BL Premium (paywall access)

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Monday, 02 April 2018 16:54

Ebrahim Harvey writes that it is interesting and intriguing why the media has paid relatively little attention to the new amendments to the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and the passage of the National Minimum Wage Bill.  These amendments are being considered in Parliament, especially since these bills, if passed into law, will have severely negative implications for both organised and unorganised workers in South Africa.

The amendments are rightly regarded as the biggest threat to the huge achievements in labour laws trade unions made in earlier years. But before exploring the new Labour Relations Act provisions, we need to look at the provisions of the new Minimum Wage Bill.

In this regard, there is deep concern, which is probably why the labour ministry announced a decision to delay implementation of the miserably inadequate R20 per hour new minimum wage, which was meant to coincide with Labour Day, May 1, the very day that workers globally resolve to continue the struggle for higher wages and a decent standard of living. Was it therefore not a cynical contradiction and provocation to have in the first place scheduled the introduction of this poor minimum wage to coincide with that day?

However, if we regard the R20 per hour national minimum wage as paltry, it is even worse for the lowest paid workers – namely domestic and farmworkers and those employed in the Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP).

They are all excluded from that minimum wage and were instead scheduled to be given even lower new hourly minimum wages of R18 for domestic workers, R15 for farmworkers and R11 for EPWP workers from May 1.

Does President Cyril Ramaphosa expect these workers to celebrate these pitiably poor minimum wages, especially given the very low wage base that they began with? These wage minimums are in fact the antithesis of a living wage, which was always understood to be a decent and liveable one that would enable those workers to live much better lives and regain some of the lost dignity that very low wages imposed on them for many years.

These paltry minimum wages for the poorest workers are nothing less than adding insult to the centuries old low wage injury black workers and their families have suffered since diamonds and gold were discovered in this country in the 19th century, which continued after 1994. R50 an hour would arguably be a decent hourly national minimum wage, especially when the lowest-paid workers are today struggling more than they ever did in post-apartheid South Africa to make ends meet.

Ramaphosa is where he is today as a result of the power ordinary mineworkers gave him when he led for many years the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It is from that base that he has ascended to various senior posts and now to the highest office in the land. That he had better not forget. Furthermore, in the light of the Marikana tragedy, in which he was implicated, one would have expected him to want to make amends by adopting a more approachable attitude towards the basic wage. These wage minimums are nothing less than an assault on and belittling of the meaning of the living wage campaign which Cosatu launched in the 1980s.

But what is reprehensible is that the leadership of the three trade union federations, Cosatu, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) had earlier at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) entered into negotiations which culminated in these amendments.

For these unions to have done so because their members might be unaffected by the minimum wage is the most revealing indictment of the leadership of these unions.

They lost an opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with these low-wage and most vulnerable workers. Besides, the enforcement of the of new minimum wages will now fall to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and no longer with the Department of Labour. There are several negative implications this will have in the cumbersome and potentially lengthy procedure to be followed in referring wage disputes to the CCMA, including cases where employers have not complied with wage orders. In the light of the known capacity constraints the CCMA has had, this will become more onerous.

The next big labour law amendments are to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). The new minimum wage determinations will have a negative impact on this Act since it plans to scrap sectoral wage determinations, which will be replaced with the prescriptions of the new national minimum wage legislation. These are bureaucratic machinations which are going to create many problems for unions once implemented. This brings me to the amendments to the Labour Relations Act, which I regard as the most draconian piece of proposed legislation in post-apartheid South Africa, but which does not seem to have bothered these same union leaders. At the heart of these amendments is the severe curtailment of the right to strike, which in fact contradicts the relevant provisions in the Constitution. I argue therefore that these amendments are in the final analysis unconstitutional.

The ANC government, the labour ministry and Ramaphosa, in particular, have no right to impose on workers such amendments.

But this subversion of the right to strike will not go unchallenged, from what I can gather. It appears that the ANC government and Ramaphosa are going to face protracted mass opposition to these amendments in the coming weeks.

On April 25, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has planned a general strike and has called on all workers to support it. This will also be an important test of the strength of the new South African Federation of Trade Unions, to which Numsa belongs. The deafening silence of that supposed leader and defender of the working class, the SACP, has been conspicuous.

Another serious infringement is an amendment which imposes secret ballots before a strike can take place. What this does is to transform what was a democratic, open and collective decision to strike into an individual and privatised one, which will by its nature create tensions among workers and between them and management.

The amendments also provide a mechanism whereby strikes can only be bureaucratically resolved through arbitration panels led by senior CCMA commissioners.

Employers will also be able to request the intervention of the CCMA and place pressure on striking workers to resolve or end strikes without necessarily having to properly, fairly and directly negotiate with unions. Besides, the decisions reached through the CCMA will be binding on all parties and unions can also be interdicted during this process. If passed this would make protected strikes a thing of the past.

If they succeed in forcing these amendments through in Parliament, it will be the severest setback for the labour movement in the post-apartheid period.

The original of this opinion piece by political writer and former Cosatu trade unionist Ebrahim Harvey appeared on page 17 of The Sunday Independent of 1 April 2018

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Sunday, 01 April 2018 19:25

The Sunday Times reports that Parliament’s executive managers have received more than R2-million in salary increases backdated to April last year — raising the ire of staff who say their bosses had previously agreed to forfeit such hikes because there was no money.

Last week 18 of parliament’s division managers, who earn between R1.5-million and R1.8-million a year, each took home at least R100 000 in back pay.

The managers, who run administrative and other functions for the legislature, have been demanding the increases since the beginning of the year.

Last year they agreed to forego the increases as part of measures to persuade ordinary staff and the National Health Education and Allied Workers’ Union to accept lower pay hikes.

But the managers pocketed the payout last week after persuading National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairwoman Thandi Modise that funds were now available in parliament’s salary budget owing to resignations and vacancies that had not been filled.

In a memo to Mbete and Modise from acting secretary to parliament Baby Tyawa, which the Sunday Times has seen, parliament’s top brass argued that they had not had a salary increase for the past three years.

Tyawa said this had led to “low morale among senior managers”, partly because some were now earning the same as their subordinates.

They also argued that they were feeling the pinch of new tax laws introduced last year, which had pushed them into higher tax brackets, while most of them were “running two households, one in Cape Town and the other in their home province”.

The memo said: “The decision not to increase their salaries therefore meant that the senior managers found themselves in a worse financial position than they were a year ago.”

Disang Mocumi, a Nehawu official in parliament, declined to comment.

Disgruntled staff said the payout last week amounted to managers reneging on their agreement last year, but parliament’s spokesman, Moloto Mothapo, rejected this view.

He said the understanding had always been that the increases would kick in as soon as additional money was found in the budget.

“There was no change of position. It was part of the plan that in the event of the National Treasury allocating additional amounts towards compensation of employees, the salary increases would be paid.”

He said that as employees of parliament, senior managers were entitled to annual cost-of-living salary adjustments. “This is not outside the norm.”

One unhappy staff member lower down the hierarchy, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said the back pay “essentially amounts to a windfall for them because last year they said they are forfeiting the increase”.

The staffer added: “So clearly they’ve reneged on that undertaking. So this means us as staff, we won’t be compromising on anything in this year’s negotiation.”

One of the managers, who also asked not be named, said it was misleading for people to suggest they did not deserve the increases because they were highly paid.

“There’s no windfall here. People are trying to tarnish our image so that political parties can describe us as greedy.”

This report by Thabo Makone appeared on page 2 of The Sunday Times of 1 April 2018

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Saturday, 31 March 2018 10:51

Mail & Guardian reports that public sector unions are bracing themselves for a stand-off with the government because they fear Ayanda Dlodlo, the new minister of public service and administration, will present a lower wage offer than the one put on the table by her predecessor, Faith Muthambi.

Muthambi was removed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a Cabinet reshuffle in February.

The public service wage bill accounts for more than a third of government spending and the government is under pressure to keep its costs down. The three-year sectoral wage agreement comes to an end on Friday, 30 March 2018.  The parties are due to meet again on 4 and 5 April.

Union representatives say there are rumours that the offer of the consumer price index (CPI) plus 1.5% will be dropped to CPI plus 1%.

Muthambi offered civil servants a three-year wage deal, with CPI plus 1.5% in the first year, and CPI plus 1% in both years two and three.  But the meetings were adjourned pending the treasury’s CPI projections for the next two years.  The offer was also made before the announcement of the 1% value-added tax (VAT) increase.

Workers have demanded CPI plus 3% in the first year, CPI plus 2% in the second year and CPI plus 1% in the final year, as well as other benefits such as an increase in the housing allowance.  The talks were based on the assumption that CPI would remain at last year’s mid-term budget policy statement estimation of 5.5%, the unions said.

But tempers flared when a meeting meant to finalise the agreement was postponed last week, just seven days before the previous deal will expire.  A new agreement will now have to be backdated once it is concluded.

“We are very disappointed but there’s nothing much we can do because there has been movement in government leadership,” Cosatu’s joint mandating committee chairperson Mike Shingange, said.

Basil Manuel, the chairperson of the Independent Caucus (ILC), said:  “the previous minister had given a particular mandate to her negotiators and we had started with that process, though we were not yet finished.  To have that change so late means we’re going to start negotiations again.”

The postponement also irked the Public Servants Association (PSA), which represents a majority of the government’s 2.7-million workers and which has threatened to register a dispute.

“We have written to the new minister where we informed her about our disgust about [the postponement].  We were very lenient about the change and thought, ‘Let’s hang on’, but the fact that the meeting had been postponed is not a good sign,” said Ivan Fredericks, the PSA’s general manager.

Dlodlo asked for a postponement because the “government’s mandating committee, which consists of the treasury and a number of department, is still crunching the numbers,” Shingange said.

Fredericks said:  “Faith [Muthambi] promised a lot of things.  The question now is, will the new minister deliver?  

“We cannot go lower that what the economy of the country currently is.  We will have to make use of the remedies that are there to force their hand.  We are going to declare the dispute.  If nothing is going to happen on the fourth and fifth [of April], it will bring us to where we have to take action.”  

Shingange, who is also deputy president of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union, warned of the potential consequences of a lower offer.  “That will be an indication of negotiation in bad faith and we don’t think they would like to see the reaction of workers.”

Manuel said the ILC members were eager to get the new deal finalised but were cautious about rushing negotiations.  “We understand that there has been a change in the leadership in government.  We are happy to give time and we don’t expect it to be postponed any more because it puts us under pressure and the deal that will be concluded may not have been sufficiently considered,” Manuel said.

Muthambi appeared to have agreed to change the structure of the housing allowance, which includes a spousal clause, worker representatives said this week.  The clause that Muthambi signalled she would scrap stipulates that, if a married couple both work for the state, only one of them is entitled to receive the monthly payment.  All the worker representatives said they expected Dlodlo to fulfil this promise.  

The representatives have been further antagonized by the implementation of the VAT increase on 1 April.  “VAT is going to go up by next week and workers have not got anything, so it hits them even deeper in their pockets,” Shingange said.

Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine said current government estimates make provision for a CPI plus 2% increase, and Ramaphosa’s administration would be careful not to upset the workers before an election.  “It’s quite clear from the budget in February that the government is going to award a fairly generous pay offer to public servants, presumably to ward off the possibility of a strike,” Jammine said.

The original of this report by Govan Whittles is at Mail & Guardian (paywall access)

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Tuesday, 27 March 2018 14:36

The New Age reports that tourism directly employed 686,596 people in 2016, an increase of 2.7% or 17,945 employees compared with 2015, Stats SA said on Monday. The tourism share of total employment increased from 2015 (4.2%) to 2016 (4.4%).

In 2016 there were more than 15 million nonresident visitors to South Africa compared with almost 14 million in 2015 and about 14.5 million in 2014. In 2016, 33.6% were same-day visitors and 66.4% were tourists.

The report further shows that tourism direct gross value added increased from R99 348m in 2015 to R114 850m in 2016, a 156% increase.

Tourism direct gross domestic product increased from R108683m in 2015 to R125 136m in 2016, a 15.1% increase.

At the 2018 International Travel Trade Show in Berlin this month, SA Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona said tourism was vital to the South African economy, and that the sector should be nurtured for sustained and inclusive growth. Recent data shows:

• Tourism sector directly contributed 2.9% to South Africa’s GDP in 2016
• Tourism is a larger contributor than agriculture, but smaller than other industries such as construction and mining
• Foreign tourists spent R121400m in 2016 and
• Domestic tourism expenditure totalled R144 358m.

“Despite the challenges that tourism has endured over the last few years, it outperformed other key industries in terms of job creation, adding just over 40 000 net new jobs to the economy over the five-year period from 2012 to 2016,” Stats SA said.

This is more than the jobs gained in industries such as trade and utilities (electricity and water), Stats SA said.

The growing number of people employed in tourism provides some backing to Ntshona’s comment in Berlin that youngsters should consider the sector when exploring career opportunities.

Tourism also gained more jobs than manufacturing over this period. From 2012 to 2016, the manufacturing industry had a torrid time, experiencing a net loss of 125 000 jobs.

The tourism sector’s 686 596 employees outnumber the respective work forces of utilities (118000 employees) and mining (444 000 employees).

In 2016 total employment in South Africa (both formal and informal) amounted to 15.8 million workers. Of these, 4.4% (or one in every 23) were directly employed in the tourism sector, a rise of 3.8% from 2015. – 701068

The original this report appeared on page 12 of The New Age of 27 March 2018

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Thursday, 22 March 2018 11:47

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) writes that, as part of its strategy to stay at the leading edge of innovation, it is focusing on robotics as one of the ways in which to improve the bank’s overall performance and help digitise operations.

Because robots can master repetitive tasks currently performed manually, they are suitable for many of the processes conducted by employees, particularly in back offices. Robotic process automation (RPA) is the software technology that automates manual, repetitive and mature processes, making them faster, more cost effective, and often with a return on investment on the software and systems within about a year. Robotics is also easily adopted to automate high-risk and compliance-focused processes due to the robot’s ability to process at zero defect.

Being a non-integrated software system, robots are also easy to introduce to the bank’s existing IT systems. As they are “code free”, robots service the businesses in the bank rather than trying to comply with an IT system. Coded technology is complicated and costly and takes far more time to implement. Robots are “a virtual workforce” that operate 24 hours a day, with 100% efficiency, and can reduce costs by between 25% and 40%.

Introduced a year ago, the RMB Robotics Centre of Excellence manages RMB’s capability to introduce robotics into its various business units. It has 20 employees who ensure that the correct processes for automation are selected and implemented. Fourteen projects have already gone live with a number of others in the pipeline.

“We’re finding great applications for robots within the bank, especially for automating inefficiencies between different systems,” says RMB chief executive James Formby.

The first bot, known as Mr Robert Bot (Rob for short) joined RMB on Feb 1 2016 with his own employee number. So far 10 bots have been introduced to 14 projects that include four processes capturing new client information and performing maintenance of that information. Others have taken over some of the repetitive tasks of compliance, manual billing, financial data consolidation and reporting.

“We believe that one robot can effectively augment between three and four people, allowing staff to focus on the more complicated, analytical, client-facing and value-adding aspects of their functions,” says Reshnie Naidoo, who manages the RMB Robotics Centre of Excellence. “The desire and demand in RMB for robotics is present as people will be able to focus on a greater breadth of knowledge rather than the depth and detail necessary in more admin-related processes.”

It is projected that one of the robotics projects introduced in RMB’s Corporate Banking division’s finance department will save about 4,000 hours per year. And this is just the estimate for the initial processes reviewed, which are only about 10% of all processes.

“We have redefined multiple processes and introduced the robots to do the jobs within minutes, compared with people who previously completed these manual tasks over days,” says Naidoo.

Reshnie Naidoo is head of the Process Centre of Excellence at Rand Merchant Bank

Reshnie Naidoo is head of the Process Centre of Excellence at Rand Merchant Bank

In the future, more intelligent robots, known as artificial intelligence (AI), will be introduced. AI mimics human thoughts whereas robotics mimic actions. AI automates processes, which require judgment and where the outcome is not always standard, such as Know Your Customer, some compliance-type functions, supporting credit analysts and dealmakers in their functions, and query management.

Intelligent robots will also be able to conduct tasks such as speech recognition in call centres and document scanning for handling of paper. Voice assistants will be able to answer specific questions, process complex requests, understand natural language and teach themselves to update their own algorithms.

“We are very excited about the future possibilities that technology can offer our people and business,” says Formby. Having successfully introduced robotics to the bank, RMB is examining how far it can take the technology, as well as AI, to improve the bank’s overall efficiency and performance, while staff become familiar with a new way of operating.

The original of this article appeared at BusinessLive (paywall access)

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