South Africa Roundup: Strikes, presidential address, imprisonment

UTC members go on strike

Members of the University of Cape Town Employees Union embarked on a strike on February 8 to demand better conditions of service and salaries. According to Ground Up, approximately 1,400 members of the Union are demanding a 7.5% increase in their salaries for 2024 and for the implementation of a unified bargaining forum for members. Union members commenced the protests at the Sarah Baartman Hall and marched to Bremner Building, UCT’s administrative headquarters where they submitted their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the Interim Vice-Chancellor Daya Reddy and other UCT officials. The vice-chancellor committed to discuss their grievances with management and revert to the union with urgency.

Bad weather projected

The South African Weather Service has warned of damaging winds, hail, lightning, and heavy rain in some regions across the country over the weekend. According to a release, there will be strong winds in the central and western parts of Limpopo and over the escarpment and northern Highveld of Mpumalanga. Gauteng, Free State, and Northern Cape are expected to experience cloudy and warm weather. Morning fog is expected in places over the interior in KwaZulu-Natal, otherwise cloudy and warm, but hot in places in the north, News 24 reports.

Presidential address to the nation

President Cyril Ramaphosa presented the 2024 State of the Nation Address in parliament on February 8. This is in accordance with Section 42 (5) of the Constitution which provides the president with an opportunity to address the nation on the general state of South Africa while indicating the political, economic, and social projections for the fiscal year. The address took place before a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament a government release noted. The president touched on issues of unemployment in the country indicating the success of the government through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, SAYouth.mobi, a zero-rated platform for unemployed young people to access opportunities for learning and earning. He also touched on efforts by the government to tackle money laundering and fraud in the country.

Former mayor jailed

A former mayor of the Ingwe municipality in Kwazulu-Natal has been sentenced to five years in prison over convictions of theft and corruption. Nomagugu Luzulane was convicted of stealing from an outreach programme, Operation Mbo, set up to assist needy people with food parcels containing basic foodstuff. Luzulane used the money, R71,500 (3,756.38 USD) to fund the funeral of a local councillor’s relative, Times Live reported. The money was said to have been used to purchase “luxury items” with some of it spent on catering, sound equipment, and tent hire. The municipal manager of the Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma municipality which incorporated the Ingwe municipality said Luzulane’s fraud had effectively deprived 141 households of urgent assistance in the form of food parcels, instead of complying with her constitutional duties and obligations.

Food poisoning in children

Four children are recovering in Pholosong Hospital in Tsakane after they were admitted with suspected food poisoning on February 6. The children are aged two, three, six and nine. A fifth child, aged six and a pupil at the Mandlethu Primary School died after consuming biscuits bought from a spaza shop. The Gauteng Health Department says these incidents follow some 861 others in the past that have resulted in 11 deaths. They further urged people to visit the nearest health facilities when they sight or experience symptoms of food poisoning. Efforts are also underway to investigate food samples from the shop, Sowetan Live reports.