Solidarity reveals government's greatest blunders and best decisions for 2012

The trade union Solidarity designated government's extravagance; controversial empowerment legislation and affirmative action practices; the poor handling of the Marikana massacre; interference in the economy and poor service delivery as this year's greatest government blunders. The trade union however praised Thuli Madonsela, the Public Protector, for her work in revealing corruption and the mismanagement of funds while the dismissal of Gen. Bheki Cele, the previous head of police, and government's decision to not renew Jimmy Manyi's contract as government spokesperson were also praised.

According to Moira-Marie Kloppers, spokesperson of Solidarity, government made blunders on various levels which, in many cases, resulted in irreversible damage. ‘Government's lack of action and comments after the gruesome Marikana massacre was definitely one of the greatest blunders of 2012. Government has failed to help create formal collective bargaining forums with strict guidelines. The current inadequate bargaining forums and exclusive thresholds have created a breeding ground for conflict in the mining industry.'

Solidarity also highlighted three more labour-related government blunders:

Disabling empowerment legislation

According to Kloppers government's 2012 proposed amendments to the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act will, when implemented, lead to the exclusion of white people with disabilities from the definition of the designated groups in the Employment Equity Act. This will mean that white people with disabilities will ultimately be excluded from affirmative action processes. Meanwhile amendments to the BBBEE codes were also announced. According to these amendments, companies' socio-economic development contributions would only have been recognised if 100% of the beneficiaries were black. Civil resistance earlier this year resulted in the Department of Trade and Industry's retracting this specific section of the BBBEE codes.

Problems with service delivery due to the unfair application of affirmative action

Government's absurd and number-obsessed approach to affirmative action causes hundreds of posts in the Civil Service to be left vacant for the sake representation to the detriment of service delivery. ‘Solidarity currently has 33 affirmative action cases against the state of which ten have already been ruled in the trade union's favour.'

Government intervention puts a spoke in the wheels for KT transaction with Telkom

The Cabinet decided in May that the state, as the majority shareholder in Telkom, would not approve the transaction between the South Korean KT and Telkom. The envisaged agreement would have entailed KT's buying a 20% share in Telkom for about R3,3 billion. ‘Now that the transaction has been cancelled, Telkom runs the risk of gradually losing more of the market share with extremely adverse consequences for its employees' appointments and working conditions.'

Furthermore Solidarity is of the opinion that it seems as if government's main priority is extravagance and self-enrichment. ‘While large scale lack of payment to service providers in the Department of Health has already lead to the loss of life and thousands of learners were disadvantaged by the textbook crisis, government spent hundreds of millions on the ANC's centenary celebration and President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence,' Kloppers said.

Solidarity calls on government to specifically address these issues and act in the interest of South Africans in 2013. ‘Corruption is present in many of these blunders and, until government takes steps to eradicate corruption on all levels, the same blunders will probably be made again in 2013. Government will have to do more in 2013 than just ‘pulling up its socks'. In many cases only a new approach will be able to correct the mistakes of 2012.

Solidarity's explanation of the government's biggest blunders for 2012 can be read below.

Government's top ten blunders for 2012

1. The poor handling of the Marikana massacre

Government's lack of action and comments after the gruesome Marikana massacre, when compared to the uproar caused by the painting The Spear, is definitely one of the greatest blunders of 2012. 

The death of 34 striking mine workers at Marikana on 16 August 2012 followed ten murders the previous week as part of an illegal strike. Thousands of employees took part and members of the community and unemployed people from the surrounding areas joined in. The cause of the strike was allegedly a wage dispute, although there is a suspicion that the unrest originally stemmed from a dispute between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), two competing trade unions at the mine.

Solidarity maintains that inadequate bargaining forums and exclusive thresholds have created a breeding ground for conflict in the mining industry. Government has failed to create formal collective bargaining forums with strict guidelines. Such a forum should determine that all collective bargaining processes can only take place within collective bargaining structures and guidelines. Furthermore, the use of recognition thresholds and requirements in the mining industry should already have been revised long ago. Extraordinarily high thresholds, for example 50% + 1, are frequently applied which results in some trade unions being excluded. The fact that the Marikana unrest occurred outside of the existing bargaining structures also created a precedent which caused the unrest in the mining industry to ripple even further.

The Portfolio Committee for Labour was already requested to discuss the matter urgently earlier this year. Solidarity is also of the opinion that the Registrar of Trade Unions should be granted more powers by the Department of Labour to suspend the registration of trade unions in cases such as that of Amcu, where a pattern of violent and unlawful behaviour has developed. 

2. Disabling empowerment legislation

a. BBBEE Act excludes white people with disabilities 

The most recent proposed amendments to the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act will, when implemented, lead to the exclusion of white people with disabilities from the definition of the designated groups in the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998). This will mean that white people with disabilities will ultimately be excluded from affirmative action processes.

This proposed amendment of the BBBEE Act follows a regulation omitting white people with disabilities from the designated group in the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (No. 5 of 2000) - it was approved in December 2011. In terms of the relevant regulation the designated group will be determined according to its definition in the BBBEE Act. The state therefore already excluded white people with disabilities from empowerment legislation in December last year.

In a presentation to Rob Davies, the Minister of Trade and Industry, earlier this year, the trade union Solidarity asked that white people with disabilities be included in all forms of empowerment which aim to address unfair discrimination. Solidarity wants to stop the tendency of increasing the exclusion from empowerment for white people with disabilities and therefore insisted that this group be included in all definitions in legislation regulating empowerment.

b. BBBEE codes for socio-economic development contributions would be to the detriment of both black and white

Civil resistance earlier this year resulted in the Department of Trade and Industry's retracting its new proposed BBBEE codes for socio-economic development contributions. This follows after Solidarity collected more than 11 000 protest messages against these codes in 11 days and obtained a senior legal opinion - which indicated that the proposed codes were unconstitutional.

According to the controversial empowerment codes which were announced by Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry, companies' socio-economic development contributions would only have been recognised if 100% of the beneficiaries were black. The proposed codes had already been approved by the Cabinet and the 100% race approach of the codes therefore carried the seal of approval of the highest executive authority in South Africa. The current codes, which will now be used again, determine that 75% of beneficiaries must be black and if less than 75% of the beneficiaries are black, the company's socio-economic development contributions are acknowledged proportionately to the number of black people. This proportional approach did not occur in the proposed new codes and the 75% black beneficiaries were moved up to 100%.

During its Stop Rob campaign Solidarity maintained that the implementation of the controversial codes would not only have been to the detriment of needy white people, but also thousands of needy black people. If only 1% of the children in an orphanage were white, the 99% black children would also be disadvantaged. The codes discouraged any kind of integration and therefore determined that you would have to grossly discriminate in order to gain access to help.

3. Government's affirmative action sums cause poor service delivery

Government's absurd and number-obsessed approach to affirmative action, which causes hundreds of posts in the Civil Service to be left vacant to the detriment of service delivery, is a well-known government blunder. Solidarity currently has 33 affirmative action cases against the state that test different aspects of the state and parastatals' affirmative action plans. Ten of the cases have already been ruled in Solidarity's favour. There are 15 cases remaining, all of which relate to the SAPS. 

Earlier this year the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) said in the Labour Court in Cape Town that coloured people are overrepresented in the Western Cape, but that they are not discriminated against based on race since they are welcome to apply for jobs at the DCS in other provinces. According to Solidarity the DCS's defence is nothing other than a huge programme of social manipulation. According to the DCS's affirmative action plans the national demographics should be reflected in every workplace, even on provincial and regional level. As a result white and specifically coloured employees in the Western Cape have very little chance of being promoted or appointed.

4. KT transaction with Telkom gets a spoke in the wheels

Government's decision to put a stop to further negotiations between Telkom and the South Korean KT Corporation is a huge government blunder. The envisaged agreement would have entailed KT's buying a 20% share in Telkom for about R3,3 billion. KT (now privately owned, but previously a company managed by the state) is one the largest providers of telecommunication services in South Korea. In South Africa Telkom is the largest provider of fixed line telecommunications and bulk data services and also plays a key role in other parts of the telecommunication sector. Telkom was previously fully owned by the state. Telkom has since partially been privatised, although the state still owns a controlling stake in the company.

Under the proposed agreement between KT and Telkom, KT would be granted a say in certain management functions at Telkom in order to transfer the experience and expertise KT had built up in South Korea, could be transferred to Telkom.

KT, a state company that successfully became a private company, played a big role in the process of making South Korea a world leader in access to telecommunication. This is precisely the same 'strategic goal' the South African government has for Telkom. Telkom would have been able to use the capital injection for expansion.

However, at the end of May 2012 Cabinet decided that the state, as the majority shareholder in Telkom, would not approve the transaction between KT and Telkom. There is still a slight possibility that the two companies can work together in other ways, but the proposed transaction is no longer an option.

Now that the transaction has been cancelled, Telkom runs the risk of gradually losing more of the market share with extremely adverse consequences for its employees' appointments and working conditions. The loss of a possible R3,3 billion in additional capital also increases the chance that Telkom will have to cut its work force, although this will probably not happen in the near future.

The state views Telkom as a 'strategic asset' though which telecommunication services can be expanded and made accessible. However, it is precisely because of the state's hold on the company that it is unable to act innovatively to achieve these goals. The KT transaction would have broken this hold and opened the door for the delivery of new technology to many more South Africans. 

5. Government's extravagance and corruption a slap in the face for the poor

Shortly after government forked out more than R300 million for the ANC's centenary celebrations, about another R250 million was spent on President Zuma's controversial Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal. This extravagance does not only leave a bitter taste in the mouths of taxpayers, but it also a slap in the face to poor South Africans. This is probably one of the greatest government blunders for 2012.

In the meanwhile government could not succeed in responsibly managing budgets. In the Department of Health alone corruption amounting to more than R536 million was revealed between 2008 and 2011 while at least R800 million will be overspent on the new Kimberly hospital for mental illnesses. This hospital should already have been completed in 2008, but will only open its doors in 2014. Meanwhile the Limpopo government said in March this year that it wants to have irregular expenditure of another R800 million, which accrued between 2005 and 2009, written off. At the time, this province already had a debt of R2 billion. The greatest misappropriation of funds, however, occurred in the Department of Public Works due to the controversial renting of new police headquarters to the value of R1,6 billion.

A report by KPMG, which was released in November, indicates that South Africa is the most corrupt country in Africa and that three quarters of corrupt officials never face criminal prosecution.

6. Patients pay the price for the Department of Health's outstanding accounts

The Department of Health's delay in in paying for essential services took on crisis proportions this year and is another true government blunder. By January last year the department already owed members of the South African Medical Device Industry Association (Samed) more than R372 million. Only R250 million was paid off in June this year. Many members of Samed had to retrench employees and close their doors due to lack of payment by the department for essential support services to state hospitals. Meanwhile equipment broken due to lacking maintenance at state hospitals has led to great loss of life in state hospitals.

In one case the 70-year-old Barnett Fine died of oesophageal cancer in the Matikwane Hospital in Hazyview, Mpumalanga in a sitting position without morphine. Fine's cancer treatment was delayed for months due to broken equipment. Of the 30 radiation sessions he should have received, he only had five and did not even have morphine in his last hours.

In another case Susan Coetzee of Meyerton was, due to broken equipment and to and fro references, only diagnosed with cervical cancer months after she saw a doctor for the first time. After she began receiving treatment, it was halted again due to broken equipment. 

7. E-toll: South Africans will have to cough up in 2013

The controversial e-toll system which is planned for highways in Gauteng is another on-going government blunder. It shows poor planning and unnecessary expenditure and reveals the general does-not-affect-me attitude of government to South Africans who have already been browbeaten financially. This system is not only a very expensive way of paying for the improvements to roads in Gauteng, but the proposed toll rates are also probably in conflict with the Sanral Act (No. 7 of 1998).

According to a legal opinion AfriForum, an institute of the Solidarity Movement, obtained section 27(3) of the Sanral Act does not make provision for the creation of a category of road users based on their preferred method of payment. The so-called 'penalty rate', which targets those who do not register for e-toll or at Sanral, is therefore unlawful.

Section 27(1) of the Sanral Act also stipulates that tolls have to be paid 'by the person who drives or uses the vehicle'. The e-toll system, according to which a vehicle owner is registered for tolls and not the driver, therefore falls outside the framework of the law.

In the meanwhile Solidarity maintains that the toll system combined with the current tax on petrol amount to double taxation. An increase in the price of petrol would not have any associated collection costs. An increase of only about 5c to 9c would pay off the cost of the roads within 20 years if it was implemented nationwide. If it was only implemented in Gauteng, it would have to be about 15c to 27c. This is only a 1,2% to 2,2% increase in the current price of petrol in Gauteng. Compared to the monthly toll limit of R550, it would also be a much cheaper solution for most road users. However, if the government does implement the e-toll system, road users should receive a discount on fuel tax to avoid double taxation.

In the meanwhile Solidarity has also criticised the consultation process followed thus far to gain the public's approval of the project and maintains that the public was not given sufficient opportunity to comment. 

8. Fewer farmers protected than rhinos

With the number of farm attacks on South African soil estimated as 700% higher than in any other country in the world, government's failure to declare this crime a priority crime is a serious blunder. Farmers are twice as likely to be murdered than members of police in South Africa and stand a three times greater chance to be murdered than any other citizen. If any of these groups were attacked and murdered at the same rate, there would have been a national outcry.

Although farmers from different racial groups are victims of farm attacks, white farmers still have a higher chance of being victims. Therefore, the chance for a farmer to be murdered on a farm in South Africa is anything between four to six times higher than the average risk to be murdered than the general population. Since the South African Police Service (SAPS) no longer keeps accurate record of the number of farm attacks, it seems as if the matter has been relegated to the background and the necessity of taking action is not a priority.

Meanwhile politicians openly use hate speech which specifically refers to the killing of farmers in South Africa. This creates the impression that the current government does not take the catastrophic issue of farmers under threat seriously enough and view farmers as outcasts instead of the food suppliers of the country. If government does not take into account the urgent requests for drastic measures and sustainable strategies to protect farmers from the farming community, concerned citizens and interested parties, South Africa could soon go down the same road as Zimbabwe.

The situation should be acknowledged as the national crisis it is and therefore been granted priority status and focussed attention. This will involve the implementation of a strategy or plan which will focus on the specific issue of farm attacks and related violent crime. 

9. Department of Education fails textbook test

The on-going textbook crisis, specifically in Limpopo, was a government blunder which has probably curbed the optimal progress of thousands of learners this year. Thousands of textbooks in Limpopo were never delivered and schools had to find their own way to provide learners with study material. According to a report by Prof Mary Metcalfe about the textbook crisis earlier this year, some schools in Limpopo received textbooks four years ago. Many textbooks for 2012 were only ordered in June this year and had not been distributed by the last quarter of the school year. Meanwhile the Pretoria High Court ordered the Minister of Basic Education to deliver all textbooks for Grades 4 to 6 and Grade 11 by 15 December 2012. By the last school day on 6 December several schools in Limpopo were however still without their books for 2013, according to Beeld.

Pat on the back

While there were an abundance of government blunders in 2012, government can only be given three pats on the back.

1. The dismissal of the former police chief, Gen. Bheki Cele.

2. Government's decision to not renew Jimmy Manyi's contract as government spokesperson.

3. The excellent work that Thuli Madonsela, the public protector, does.

Issued by Moira-Marie Kloppers, Spokesperson: Solidarity, December 20 2012

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