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Monday, 01 October 2018 09:38

Business Times reports that a proposal to train and employ 50,000 new nurses will be one of the flagship projects on the table at the government's Jobs Summit that will be held in Midrand this week.

The two-day initiative is looking for solutions to SA's high unemployment rate, which is near the 30% mark. Business, labour and government officials are expected to pore over proposals that include job creation opportunities in industries such as agriculture.

The Jobs Summit comes as Stats SA revealed this week that SA shed 69,000 jobs during the second quarter of 2018, when the economy tipped into a recession following two quarters of negative economic growth.

The proposal to train and employ new nurses emanates from private hospital group Netcare, which this week confirmed that the concept would be tabled at the summit convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The private sector will provide on-the-job training over eight years if the project is pursued. SA is short of 47,000 nurses.

Ramaphosa announced last week that he had instructed health minister Aaron Motsoaledi to urgently fill 2,200 nursing vacancies as part of the government's R50bn economic recovery package.

Netcare's project was developed in 2016 as part of the CEO Initiative, which included youth unemployment as a focus, when it submitted a training proposal to address the shortage of nurses by providing employment to 50,000 unemployed people.

"The proposal is based on a collaborative approach between government, organised labour, community and the private sector, with all regulatory bodies working together to achieve this much-needed outcome," the company said in a statement.

"It is envisaged that, once funding has been secured, this initiative will be provided at the cost of delivering such training, with no profit or margin built in."

Nceba Ndzwayiba, GM of enterprise and supplier development at Netcare, said: "We contemplated a joint initiative between the government and private sector to achieve this."

The project was proposed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council - a consultative structure for government, business, labour and community organisations - through Business Unity SA.

Ndzwayiba said the cost of such a project was "nuanced - it's not very simple".

He said there was a pool of unemployed nurses and the private sector had vacancies to absorb these nurses. "We needed to understand what are the challenges and barriers to get these nurses into employment."

Prior research undertaken by the South African Nursing Council also alluded to cohorts of nurses and nursing assistants who had qualified in the 2014/2015 period, with a number of them remaining unemployed despite an indication from the health department that there was a shortage in the profession.

69,000

The number of jobs lost in the formal economy in the second quarter

These nurses would have to be taught additional skills and nurses currently registered would also have to be educated and promoted to become specialist nurses.

Another group of nurses were those trained by "fly-by-night" schools. These were not necessarily illegal schools but those who emerged from them might require proper training. "We are saying those people are already demonstrating commitment to be in the profession," Ndzwayiba said.

"We are hoping the funding model would be informed by the solution we finally adopt." He said the costing model in the public and private health sectors and Setas was not standardised.

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) said it had been disappointed by former president Jacob Zuma's undertaking to fill nursing vacancies and hoped Ramaphosa's efforts would come to fruition. Zuma, in his 2011 state of the nation address, promised to revive closed nursing colleges within three years. "Which until today never saw light of day," said Denosa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo.

Denosa hoped the government would reopen nursing training colleges, Delihlazo said. In 2015 the country needed to produce 11,000 professional nurses but colleges and universities trained only 4,000 that year.

The organisation said it took a long time for nurses who had retired or resigned to be replaced in the public sector. "This leads to more frustration and bottlenecking in health care, where long queues are the order of the day. Putting a moratorium on the appointment of critical health-care professionals by provinces was always going to put quality health care into serious trouble."

SA has also lost many health-care professionals to countries such as the UK, United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, where there is higher pay and better working conditions.

A business leader who attended a roundtable discussion between Ramaphosa, business and labour representatives two weeks ago said other projects mooted for the Jobs Summit discussion included water infrastructure at the municipal level, which could create jobs.

"There are, under the economic sector, quite a number of proposals. If everyone does what they are meant to do there is potential to create jobs."

The business leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said proposals "seem to be much more initiative driven - It's not these grand plans."

Read the original of this Sunday Times Business Times report by Asha Speckman & Penelope Mashego at BL Premium

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Tuesday, 25 September 2018 10:30

The Citizen reports that the parliamentary manager who shot himself in his office last week laid the blame for his suicide at the door of a former ANC MP.  He claimed in his suicide note that several parliamentary structures failed to support him from the abuse he was suffering at the ex-MP’s hands, after he became his manager in parliament’s international relations and protocol division.

The official, Lennox Garane, 57, had apparently left a note saying his suicide was a protest against 20 months of bullying. The note was circulated among mourners at his memorial service.

Headed “It’s A Protest Suicide”‚ the note described his daily misery working for a former ANC MP.

He claimed to have submitted a grievance which the MP refused to consider‚ “saying parliament is a political environment”.

Garane said he interpreted that as meaning political appointees were “free to do as they wished with lives of those below them”.

He also claimed to have submitted complaints to the parliamentary accounting officer, as well as Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chair Thandi Modise – all of which proved futile.

“Twenty months on‚ I could not take it any more – I had to resort to this protest action to get the message across to the perpetrators and protectors of unfairness.”

On her website, Notes from the House, Moira Levy, former manager in parliament’s communication services, warned against the “red herring” of turning the investigation into Garane’s death into a matter of security at parliament.

“The collective parliamentary condemnation of apparent flaws in security control are a dangerous red herring‚ diverting attention away from the real reason that an employee of parliament entered the building bearing a gun‚ made it to his second-floor office and‚ sitting at his desk‚ made the decision to take his own life‚“ Levy wrote.

“Parliament, if you care at all about your staff’s wellbeing, look not at the scanners and security teams at the gates, but at the reasons a parliamentary employee took his own life in an office of parliament, which to anyone could sound like a terrible comment on the very place itself.” She also documented her and other parliamentary workers’ daily struggles working there.

Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli promised to launch an inquiry into Garane’s suicide. –

The original of this report appeared on page 4 of The Citizen of 25 September 2018

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Tuesday, 25 September 2018 06:57

Saturday Star reports that a well-known academic, media commentator and head of a government watchdog has resigned in the wake of a series of sexual harassment allegations against him.

Professor Ivor Chipkin, now former executive director of the Public Affairs Research Institute (Pari), tendered his resignation on September 6, with the board of the organisation accepting it with immediate effect five days later.

The Saturday Star understands the resignation came shortly before a disciplinary process into Chipkin’s alleged misconduct was set to take place.

The Joburg-based organisation is known for its extensive research into state capture and studies the effectiveness of the state in service delivery and infrastructure.

According to Pari’s website, its goal is to generate high-quality research to “understand the drivers of institutional performance in the public sector, and improve implementation of policies in relevant fields”.

Chipkin, an Oppenheimer fellow, has held positions at the University of Oxford, Wits University and the University of Cape Town.

The Saturday Star has learnt that his departure from Pari came after an extensive probe by Wits University’s gender equity office (GEO) into his alleged inappropriate conduct.

On Thursday, Pari research manager and interim executive director Mbongiseni Buthelezi explained that the allegations had been registered from multiple complainants in June this year.

Buthelezi said they immediately placed Chipkin on special leave and brought in the GEO as “independent, impartial” investigators.

“We didn’t want to pre-judge anything, but we made it a priority to protect the rights of the complainants, which was our primary responsibility,” Buthelezi said.

The GEO report was finalised last month, and the Saturday Star understands that it recommended that a disciplinary hearing take place.

Buthelezi insisted he was not aware of the report’s findings, but did confirm he was aware of a potential disciplinary hearing.

However, he did not wish to comment on the timing of Chipkin’s resignation.

In a written response to the Saturday Star, Chipkin claimed the investigation process was mismanaged.

“I immediately stepped away from the workplace to allow the process to commence and availed myself to the GEO’S process,” he said.

“The GEO, in turn, informed me that they would afford me an opportunity to review the allegations and offer my account, the substance of which would be considered for inclusion in their final report.

“I was also informed of the timeline of the process and the steps leading to the conclusion of the final report.

“Regretfully, my experience of the manner in which the process played itself out did not conform to what was initially communicated. I was never given an opportunity to see the allegations and at no point was I invited to submit my response to the GEO. The report was finalised without any engagement with me. I felt that the process compromised the rights of all concerned,” he said.

“Three months after the allegations had surfaced, in the absence of any formal charges or a stated way forward from the board, and with a final report from the GEO that had not reflected my contribution, I felt it most prudent to resolve the process by tendering my resignation.”

Earlier this year, the Mail & Guardian reported on sexual harassment claims made against Doron Isaacs, co-founder of activist organisation Equal Education, who has also since resigned. An inquiry was set to take place in the coming months.

In June, Grant Thornton Johannesburg chief executive Paul Badrick resigned pending the outcome of a sexual harassment probe against him. One of the complainants alleged she was axed after laying a sexual harassment charge against the company’s head of forensics, prompting the probe.

This week, the City Press reported that an SA Airlink senior pilot was accused of sexual harassment, and that the lesbian complainant was fired for alleged damage to property. The pilot allegedly exposed his genitals to her and said because she was a lesbian she “had never had a taste of a real man”, and he wanted to show her what “a real man is”.

At the end of the last month, a survey by insights agency Columinate alleged that 30% of South Africa’s women and 18% of its men had been victims of unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.

The original of this report by Shain Germaner appeared on page 1 of Saturday Star of 22 September 2018

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Thursday, 20 September 2018 11:28

The Star writes that the burning question these past few months in light of school violence has been: “What is driving bad behaviour at schools?”

While education stakeholders have differing views, they all agreed that school violence was a societal matter, deeply rooted in community dynamics.

They believed that pupils were not immune to social ills and, as a result, schools became the playground for criminals, drugs and violence.

They questioned why some schools were extremely disciplined, achieved excellent results and practised the highest ethical standards, while others in the same area were the total opposite.

The violence which broke out last month at two schools in KwaMakhutha and one in Inanda, which left three pupils dead and one injured, had raised concerns.

The fatal stabbing of a teacher in the North West last week sparked concerns of teachers working under constant fear.

Gadimang Daniel Mokolobate, 24, died after being stabbed several times in the chest last Thursday.

The incident sparked much debate on social media about what needed to be done to beef up school security.

Suggestions included that teachers be armed for their protection.

Others joked about classrooms having a fenced area between the teacher and pupils.

The Congress of SA Students (Cosas) said the level of violence at schools was a reflection of that in society.

John Macheke, Cosas president, said pupils were not immune to social ills, and as a result pupils of violent homes and violence- and drug-infested communities would take those social ills to school.

“This is a problem that is deeply rooted in our society. It does not begin at school.

“Parents should play the biggest role. The circumstances at home play the biggest part in how a pupil behaves at school.

“The problem could be that the social ills experience today are different from what children in school in 2010 experienced,” said Macheke.

Thirona Moodley, of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA, said the question was why schools in more advantaged communities were doing better in comparison with schools in poor communities.

Allen Thompson, president of the National Teachers’ Union, said the lack of security at schools perpetuated violence because pupils knew that teachers had no means to deal with them.

“Our teachers work under life-threatening situations. The lack of security drives pupils’ bad behaviour even further,” said Thompson.

He said the department had frozen security posts for many years, resulting in fewer schools with guards.

“We had proposed that each school have one guard per 300 pupils.

“We have been pleading with the department to respond to violence by making sure that schools have minimum security to prevent pupils from coming to school armed, and for the safety of both pupils and the teachers,” said Thompson.

“School safety has been neglected for too long and that is what drives pupils’ bad behaviour.”

Matakanye Matakanya, chairperson of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, said parents were concerned about school violence and urged stakeholders to come up with ways to curb it.

He agreed that it was driven by the social ills in the communities around schools and urged parents to play a role in ensuring their children did not get involved in activities that could interfere with their future.

“Children are exposed to many things that could tamper with their progress at school. Drugs, crime and violence are some of the social problems which they have to overcome,” said Matakanya.

The original of this report by Sne Masuku appeared on page 14 of The Star of 20 September 2018

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Thursday, 13 September 2018 10:15

Sowetan reports that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is embroiled in a court battle over alleged procurement irregularities in one of the country’s largest and most successful employment programmes.

Affidavits suggest that the department may have flouted its procurement processes to appoint 11 implementing agents to manage its Community Work Programme – a national employment project with a R12-billion budget.

At stake is the future of 250 000 workers employed through the programme.

It is a state-funded initiative designed to cushion the poor by providing regular lowskilled work opportunities like road maintenance, home and community-based care work, planting trees and maintaining food gardens, and fixing classrooms.

Participants are managed nationally by implementing agents, normally NGOs, which control a chunk of the programme’s budget, which was rolled out in 2008.

It continued largely unnoticed and scandal-free until April when Seriti Institute – the most experienced implementing agent contracted by the department since the inception of the programme – lodged an urgent application in the high court.

Citing noncompliance with various procurement regulations, Seriti – whose bid for the new three-year contract was declined from the start – approached the Pretoria High Court to set the department’s decision aside and review the entire procurement process.

But it is in Seriti’s supplementary founding affidavit, after it inspected the department’s record of decision for the successful appointments, that “extensive material irregularities” are revealed.

According to the findings of a verification committee set up by the department, there were red flags that emerged at the outset from within NGOs that were eventually appointed as implementing agents on the programme.

One of them, Out the Box Foundation, is “a small organisation based in Bela-Bela that appears to be struggling to stay afloat”.

The report states: “Of particular concern is the location and state of their offices. The said office is a backroom (outside) in a private home… There is an evident capacity challenge as there are only four people officially contracted, and the rest consists of volunteers.”

The committee found that another successful bidder, Icembe Foundation, did not have any experience in government work or an existing governance structure.

“They do not have a board of trustees/directors to effect governance oversight to their operations,” the report states.

Seriti also alleges that another successful applicant, Beulah Africa Development, which partnered with another company for the tender, was not included in the list of pre-qualified bidders and that the bids of eight NGOs eventually appointed as implementing agents were found to be noncompliant and had been disqualified by a pre-qualification committee at the outset.

Seriti CEO Juanita Pardesi said it was one of two bodies that piloted the scheme in 2008 and has been an implementing agent until March.

“The Seriti board feels strongly that we need to bring to light the irregular process followed in awarding the tenders to manage the implementation of a public employment programme, which has a budget of over R12-billion over the current MTEF,” she said.

Departmental spokesperson Legadima Leso said the department would not comment as the matter was still in court.

The original of this report by Amil Umraw appeared on page 9 of Sowetan of 10 September 2018

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