10. The Sunday Tribune interview [NL] with Johann Mettler, the administrator brought in to clean up the Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) municipality:
Mettler explained to Niyanta Singh how councillors and officials were effectively looting municipal funds. Under one scheme senior managers used a loophole in the travel mileage claim process to claim R16 a kilometre. At that rate a trip to Durban would have allowed a manager to collect more than R2,000. Mettler added that "People were also inflating their mileage claims, as they were getting more than they actually travelled." In addition, 3G cards "were abused in teh region of R169,000 for three months and cellphone claims amounting to R30,000." Staff members and councillors had also run up huge arrears for rates, water and electricity.
9. The Rapport/City Press report on the Suidlanders - the latest manifestation of a growing tendency towards Millenerianism among white South Africans:
Mariechen Waldner reports that the Suidlanders are led by a former Military Intelligence agent, Gustav Muller. The organisation aims to prepare places of safety across the country for white refugees fleeing a racial massacre triggered by the death of former president, Nelson Mandela. Rapport states that some right wingers believe the Suidlanders to be a state intelligence project, designed to mop up, identify and neutralise disparate white right wing elements.
8. The City Press report on how COSATU is bleeding membership to other trade unions:
Mpho Sibanyoni reports that COSATU has identified six affiliates in need of urgent intervention. The worst affected union is the Communication Workers Union. The CWU lost 4,222 members at the South African Post Office to the South African Postal Workers' Union (Sapwu) which was formed in March 2009. Meanwhile, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) - a breakaway from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) - has built up a membership of 20,000. Overall, COSATU's membership database shows it has lost 200,000 members between 2008 and last year. Labour analyst Terry Bell said disaffected COSATU members probably feel that the union federation "uses them as voting fodder for the ruling ANC instead of trying to help the labourers recover jobs lost during the recession." However, Wits industrial sociologist Andries Bezuidenhout stated that some of the breakaway formations were often motivated by a desire "to get their hands on the members' provident funds." Bezuidenhout ascribed the shrinkage in COSATU membership to the recession and competition from legal and insurance schemes such as Scorpion and Legal Wise.