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The Congress of South African Trade Union’s (Cosatu) central committee says, after discussing the situation around African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma, it is convinced that it is dealing with ”a concerted politically inspired campaign” aimed at destroying Zuma’s political career.
The public’s right to participate in the law-making process came under scrutiny in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. Lobby group Doctors for Life (DFL) is arguing that amendments to four health laws were passed without the proper participation by the public, called for by the Constitution.
Metro police chiefs across South Africa are calling for metro police officers to be held more accountable for their actions. Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride said in Parliament that it was unfair to expect police chiefs to maintain disciple with their hands tied behind their backs.
The wage deal between the Chamber of Gold Mines and labour unions was signed on Tuesday. The United Association of SA (Uasa) said in a statement that the wage deal has been formalised. Uasa, the National Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity declared a dispute with the chamber earlier this month after failed wage negotiations.
Nasa is using the Hubble space telescope to hunt for desirable locations to build a human base on the moon. The agency is scouting a variety of sites on the lunar surface for large deposits of useful minerals that astronauts could turn into air and power to help humans live in space.
Imagine a world where farmers greet the dawn from their beds and cows milk themselves. An Australian research consortium said on Tuesday that such a nirvana was not such a distant dream. They are working on a system that attracts cows to the milking shed and milks them with automated equipment while they feed.
Former apartheid-era security police colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt died in Port Elizabeth on Friday after a battle with cancer, his lawyer Jan Wagener said. Nieuwoudt had been waiting for the outcome of his application for amnesty for the 1989 car-bomb killing of three police officers and an askari in Motherwell.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday joined the South African Communist Party’s call for a one-off credit-bureau amnesty for all. ”Many people who committed serious crimes were granted amnesty in this country. Why can’t poor people enjoy the same privileges?” asked Cosatu’s provincial secretary.
A troika of laws under government review seek to further centralise political power by strengthening the government’s hold over its lower tiers. The Intergovernmental Relations Bill, amendments to the Public Service Act and the draft Municipal Employees Bill will enable the national government to set goals from the centre, monitor administration and exercise overall supervision of provincial government and local councillors.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it remains committed to pursue its rolling mass action in support of the jobs and poverty campaign, which runs until February next year and includes periodic national stayaways as well as sectoral action.