Polokwane – Children in South Africa continue to attend schools without the comfort of safe sanitation, Michael Komape’s family lawyer argued in the Limpopo High Court on Friday.
Komape, aged 5, drowned after falling into a pit toilet at a school near Polokwane in 2014.
Four years and twelve days later, his family is still battling to survive. They have taken the matter to court, seeking so-called constitutional damages for his death.
The family is seeking more than R2 million in special and constitutional damages‚ medical damages, and loss of income for Michael’s mother Rosina, who abandoned her work days after her son had drowned in human faeces.
During closing arguments, the family’s lawyer Vincent Maleka said it remained to be seen whether the basic education department would solve the problem of poor sanitation at schools.
He also argued that the government had the money, but lacked the willingness to fix the problem.
He wants the court to declare that the department had failed to ensure there were safe toilets.
Welkom – Sibanye Gold Beatrix mine has been closed for the safety of staff members, after 955 miners were trapped underground for more than 24 hours when a storm caused an electric cable outage on Wednesday night.
This was according to Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, who visited the site on Friday, where the miners were eventually freed.
The mine workers were rescued at around 06:30 on Friday. Some of them were dehydrated and there were a few cases of high blood pressure.
But there were no serious injuries or fatalities. Zwane also told reporters that the storm had a negative effect on the mine, but they did not want to “speculate” on what happened.
“My team is here, we want to have facts [and] for now, the mine is closed for the safety of staff. We don’t want to speculate, but what we got as an explanation is that the system was also affected and we are doing our own investigations around that,” he added.
‘Negligence’
He said they had agreed to follow due process to ensure the safety of everyone and to allow the mine to operate.
Miners were receiving counselling and medical treatment on Friday.
Zwane said he would meet with miners once this was finalised.
“We will investigate the issue of negligence, generator, including the infrastructure.”
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) president Joseph Mathunjwa had urged his members not to report for duty on Monday, so they could recover and receive counselling.
Mathunjwa also demanded new generators at the mine and a full-scale audit to prevent future similar occurrences.
“If Sibanye can purchase a mine in the US [United States], surely they can purchase new generators to save lives. We want to check whether Sibanye is complying with all the regulations, because it is quite clear that the company should have an emergency power supply,” Mathunjwa said.
According to Mathunjwa, in 2000, an explosion killed seven workers and in 2001 a further 13 mine workers lost their lives.
“We thank God that this mine is not a deep mine, it is a shallow mine, if it was a deep mine, I’m telling you today we will be talking a different story,” Mathunjwa said.
They were also demanding R3 000 compensation per worker.
Sibanye Gold spokesperson James Wellsted also confirmed that the miners had been brought to the surface safely.
“There were some people with dehydration and few cases of high blood pressure and 16 of our older employees needed drips, but everything was successful,” Wellsted told News24.
In a statement on Friday, Eskom said the two 132 kV lines that supplied mines in the Welkom area collapsed due to a severe storm at around 23:18 on Wednesday night, leaving mines in the area without electricity supply.
Officials worked tirelessly to restore the power supply to rescue them.
“I would like to commend the team for working around the clock to ensure that power was restored, especially to the mine where workers’ lives were at risk. The team’s effort demonstrated a shared act of humanity and is in line with our value of Sinobuntu (We Care) which, alongside [our] other five values, underpins our business operations,” Eskom’ s interim group chief executive Phakamani Hadebe said.
HARARE – Zimbabwe should press on with transparent and fair land reform, Britain said on Friday, as Harare’s new leaders look to overhaul policies that evicted thousands of white farmers without compensation.
Under former president Robert Mugabe, authorities carried out often violent seizures of white-owned farms in a bid to address what they called injustices during British colonial rule.
But new president Emmerson Mnangagwa – keen to boost the economy and mend ties with countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe – has said he wants to end discrimination between black and white farmers and is working to compensate those who lost their properties.
Britain’s Minister of State for Africa, Harriet Baldwin, said she discussed the land issue with Mnangagwa in Harare on Friday.
“Obviously the UK government very much welcomes the statements that have been made about land reform by the government of Zimbabwe and we support a transparent and fair and mediated process around that,” Baldwin told reporters.
“It’s also something which is very important as a signal to international investors and so it’s important and we welcome the fact that the president has made a commitment in terms of continuing with that process.”
Zimbabwe sees mending relations with former colonial ruler Britain as a critical step towards re-establishing ties with the West and international financial institutions.
Under Mugabe, the government argued that it would only pay for buildings and equipment on farms but not the land, which it said had been expropriated from locals during the colonial era.
Mugabe, who was forced to step down after a de facto military coup in November, argued that Britain should pay compensation for the land because the farmers were its “kith and kin”.
When asked whether Britain would help pay the farmers, Baldwin said she welcomed “the statements that the president has made on that front”. She did not elaborate.
Land ownership is a highly sensitive topic in Zimbabwe. Colonialists seized some of the best agricultural land and much of it remained in the hands of white farmers after independence in 1980, while many blacks were landless.
The government has said it will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular.
Earlier this month a government document showed that Zimbabwe was considering establishing a special tribunal to determine the value of compensation and how to pay it to white farmers who have lost land since 2000.
JOHANNESBURG – Amcu says its members will not return to work until they’re satisfied the mine is complying with all safety regulations.
The union says workers should be given time to get counselling.
“We put a demand that there mustn’t be any worker who report for duty on Monday. They need to be given enough time for counselling,” says Amcu President, Joseph Mathunjwa.
“We demand the audit that the minister is talking about. We demand new generators. If Sibanye can purchase a mine in US, surely they can purchase new generators to save lives. We want to check if Sibanye is complying with all the regulations because the regulations say the company should have emergency power supply for ventilation purposes,” says Mathunjwa.
On Wednesday, about 955 workers were trapped underground at Beatrix Shaft 3 after a severe storm affected an elevator used to bring them to ground. All miners were rescued on Friday morning unharmed.
Cape Town – Cape Town law enforcement officials have issued R4 000 in fines to residents who have failed to comply with the new level 6B water restrictions, which kicked in on Thursday.
Under the new restrictions, water consumption is limited to 50 litres per person per day in the hope that Day Zero – the day the taps will be closed – can be avoided.
City law enforcement inspector Wayne Dyason said officers and officials from the City’s water and sanitation department clamped down on water use on Thursday morning. Hose pipes and buckets were confiscated, he said.
In Noordhoek, officers came across a spring where the water had been diverted to fill a 2 500 litre container. It was allegedly sold for between R1 600 and R2 500, Dyason said.
The case had been handed over to the provincial environmental compliance and enforcement directorate for further investigation.
Dyason said a similar case, involving the alleged diversion of a rivulet, was being investigated in Constantia.
“There are many reported cases of water being illegally pumped from vleis and rivers and the City, along with its provincial and national enforcement counterparts, will investigate and action each reported case.”
Buckets containing water on a sidewalk. (Supplied)
Cape Town – Parliament has taken a step closer to finalising the process to impeach a sitting president – one week before President Jacob Zuma is due to deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The joint rules committee on Thursday agreed to give its caucuses two weeks to consider two proposals currently before it.
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete said she would also send the proposals to a constitutional law expert for legal scrutiny.
The joint committee met for the first time this year to debate the proposed options, after its subcommittee delved into the nitty-gritty over the past few weeks.
The two options the subcommittee developed were:
a “hybrid” committee of 39 MPs, assisted by a panel of legal experts; or
a panel of five retired judges.
The majority of parties present supported the first option.
The ANC, DA and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) expressed unease in delegating Parliament’s powers to an outside panel.
“We appoint the president, we should remove the president,” said IFP chief whip Narend Singh.
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said the stakes were very high in the case of an impeachment and could be subject to outside influence.
The Economic Freedom Fighters. however, felt that, in order to be consistent with the Constitutional Court’s directive, impartial retired judges would be best placed to handle the facts free of politics.
Proportional representation
The biggest sticking point for option one is whether the committee should be proportionally represented.
The Constitutional Court ordered that a prima facie case of misconduct warranting an inquiry, should not be subjected to arbitrary rejection by a majority party.
The ANC, having initially “reserved their judgment” on the idea of proportional representation, has now stated its desire for proportional representation on the committee.
Its caucus believes all parliamentary committees should be constituted with proportional representation, as dictated by Rule 154 of the National Assembly rules.
Opposition parties believe the committee should have one representative per party on an inquiry panel, to be consistent with the Constitutional Court’s directive.
A compromise will likely be reached where the process will be set up in two phases; a preliminary probe free of proportional representation, and – if grounds for impeachment are established – a formal inquiry, but with proportional representation.
Mbete also said she would “consider” the EFF’s request to send the proposals to a retired Constitutional Court judge for input as well.
The committee hopes to have the process finalised before the last House sitting this term on March 15.
Editor’s note: this is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
JOHANNESBURG – Hundreds of miners are trapped underground at Sibyane Gold’s Beatrix Mine in the Free State.
Almost 1000 miners were trapped underground on Wednesday night after a storm affected electricity supply.
More than 60 of the miners have been rescued, but 955 remain trapped.
All miners have been accounted for and have food, air, and water.
Medics are on site in case any of the miners need medical attention once they surface.
The African National Congress (ANC) released a statement on Thursday evening, saying it has noted with “great concern” reports about the trapped miners.
“The ANC calls on Eskom to speedily intervene to restore power to the mine and for government to spare no effort in assisting the mining company to bring these workers back to safety. We further call on all South Africans to keep them in their thoughts and prayers during this time,” read the statement.
Mineral Resources Minister, Mosebenzi Zwane is scheduled to visit Sibanye Gold’s Beatrix mine on Friday.
Power lines were downed in the area during a massive storm.
MEDIA ALERT: At 23H18 last night a severe storm caused the collapse of a structure on the 132kV line suppling mines in the Welkom area. @Eskom_SA is assessing the extent of damage and will work speedily to restore supply to the effected mines. pic.twitter.com/8OLyMmC34a
Eskom spokesperson, Khulu Phasiwe says the power utility is working flat-out to restore power to the mine as soon as possible and hopes to have it restored “soon.”
Eskom technicians have been working throughout the day to replace several powerlines that were damaged by a severe storm that swept through large parts of northern Free State last night. Power supply to mines in Welkom and other affected areas is expected to be restored soon. pic.twitter.com/2BuGzrbEvV
The mine says it has generators but doesn’t want to use them because it’s concerned they will trip and it requires an uninterrupted power supply to bring the miners to the surface in order to avoid the miners getting stuck in the cages while being hoisted.
According to James Wellsted, Sibanye spokesperson, should Eskom fail to restore power to the mine, the miners will be forced to walk about 4 kilometers to another shaft in order to get up the surface.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) says it is extremely concerned about the trapped workers. It says the mine has not done enough to ensure the welfare of its employees.
In a statement, the union called on Sibanye-Stillwater to mobilise all resources to rescue the workers as soon as possible. The union also questions the lack of contingency plans in place to deal with these types of incidents.
Amcu says it views the incident “as extreme” due to the sheer number of workers involved.
“It is common cause that lives might already be threatened due to dehydration and blood sugar issues because of a lack of nutrition. It is also quite common for adults to be on chronic medication and it is highly probable that there are some workers who are trapped without access to their medicine,” Amcu added.
“This incident also raises serious concern regarding the lacking emergency contingency plans at the mine for alternative and backup power generation. Amcu received reports that the mine is now attempting to borrow a generator from Harmony. Surely, this cannot be acceptable and best practice. Amcu insists that the mine should have its own backup-up arrangements.”
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed similar concerns to those of Amcu.
Chief researcher at the Bench Marks Foundation, David van Wyk says upgraded safety and security measures are of utmost importance as many mines across the country are very old.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more details become available.
JOHANNESBURG – David Phetoe, who played the original Paul Moroka on hit-TV soapie Generations, has passed away.
While many will fondly remember him as the father of Archie and Karabo Moroka, he was also part of Johannesburg’s vibrant black cultural scene in the 1950s.
In 1959, Phetoe appeared in Athol Fugard’s Nongogo at the Bantu Men’s Social Centre – the hub of black South African political, intellectual and creative activity at the time.
It is understood the actor was ill and taken to hospital where he died.
