TRUCK DRIVERS STRIKE FOR WAGE INCREASE

Angry strikers burn down the truck at Cape Town

 South African Truck Drivers Strike is Affecting the Economy

Wage talks to end a strike by more than 20,000 truck drivers in South Africa have collapsed after unions rejected the employers 18 percent pay rise offer over two years, the Road Freight Employers Association said on Thursday. This afternoon the unions responded that once again they do not accept the deal which met their demand of 18 percent over two years. The board need to communicate this issue clearly to the strikers, by giving them a clear reason why the Union do not accept 18 percent increase to these angry strikers.

The truck driver’s strike it is not only affecting the truck drivers only, but it is also affecting the people of South Africa and its economy. The market is going down, because no food, petrol, wages and goods are being transported from one place to another. When you go to the supermarkets there is no food in the shelves, and this is caused by the struck drivers’ strike. Fuel suppliers have started to feel the pinch as the strike entered its second week, with deliveries to pumps delayed and stations running out of certain types of fuel.   

The truck drivers need to be attended before things get out of hand, just like the Marikina’s strike. The truck drivers should be given the 18 percent that they are demanding, because this people spend most of their time on the road, without their families and at the end of the day they are being paid peanuts. The government should be worried that since 2008 the number of strike has increased to more than 50%, or maybe they are not aware of this?  http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2012/10/04/truck-driver-wage-talks-collapse-while-mines-stand-still

South Africa is a developing country that it is striving to achieve lot of things, but how would this happen when different employees strike every day and blood is splatted? for more information contact kimtim.tivani@gmail.com

RDP HOUSES NEED ATTENTION

RDP houses are built with cheap materials



RDP Houses

 Now the terrible state of RDP houses in the North West needs urgent attention, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said on Thursday. "We have to remedy this situation as soon as possible together with the human settlements department and the municipalities," she said at a meeting with Klerksdorp residents.  People complained about the poor standard of construction and how they were told their houses were completed, only to find they had been given to other people. Beside that they are houses that collapsed in March this year. To date it has not been fixed though this matter it was reported to the department of human settlements. 

If the government is providing enough money for those houses then a serious investigation need to be done to stop those corrupt tenders. Because it seems like there is a breakdown of communication between the government and people who run those RDP tenders. Before we go further, what is the minister of Human Settlements saying about this matter, because this is a serious case, and if this houses keep on collapsing they might kill innocent people. It is an embarrassment to the Housing Department (or Human Settlements, as they now call themselves) and the Housing Divisions of municipalities that the Public Protector has to be involved in something they knew about all along!  http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Madonsela-RDP-houses-need-urgent-attention-20120802

 Its a shame on Human Settlements Department , for playing with the poor. What is your say on this case? If you need to debate this case further you can e-mail me at kimtim.tivani@gmail.com

Morgan Tsvangirai Refused A Wedding Permit By Zanu-PF Court

Morgan Tsvangirai gets married again, after losing his wife in 2009.

The Zimbabwean Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, married again on Saturday, 15 September 2012 despite being refused a wedding permit by the country's Zanu-PF dominated courts. The wedding was so out of this world, the decorations, the food and the wedding dress was so beautiful. But Mr Tsvangirai's wedding was dogged by court cases during the week which denied him permission to marry Widow Elizabeth Macheka, 35, in either a civil or traditional "customary" ceremony. A customary ceremony went ahead regardless on Saturday in front of hundreds of his supporters and was blessed by a Catholic priest. Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president also attended the wedding, but stayed away at the last minute. 

  

After the marriage license was withdrawn in the Harare Magistrate's Court, Mr Tsvangirai's lawyers tried to arrange the wedding under customary law, but no official was prepared to officiate at the ceremony. The justice ministry is controlled by Zanu-PF and all judges are appointed by Mr Mugabe. "This is political, but we will just ignore it and have a good party," said Mr Tsvangirai's spokesman, Luke Tamborinyika I remember Mugabe speaking about peace and freedom months ago, but this is not freedom for Mr Tsvangirai to be deprived of getting married to his soul mate, because this two have political issues. Mugabe's message is totally different to his actions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/9545489/Zimbabwes-Morgan-Tsvangirai-weds-anew-despite-courts-refusal-to-issue-marriage-permit.html

  

Mr Tsvangirai's first wife, Susan, died in a car crash in 2009 shortly after Zimbabwe's inclusive government was sworn into power. What does that mean to you?  Mugabe you are not the only man who deserves to be happy in this world. if you want to discuss this issue with me you can e-mail me at kimtim.tivani@gmail.com

  

Angry Pupils Boycott Classess For New Building

Pupils at Refilwe Secondary School in Klopper, Limpopo

Pupils of Refilwe Secondary School in Klopper refused to go to their old school

At least 300 pupils from Refilwe Secondary School in Klopper, outside Mouste in Limpopo boycotted classes demanding to be taught in a new building. The new building is near their homes, while their old school - which is in disrepair, is situated 5km from their village. The 37-year-old school has no fence, no ceilings in most of the classrooms and few have chairs and desks. Most of the windows are broken and the entire structure is surrounded by thick bushes. While pupils waited outside the new building, their teachers sat chatting at the old premises.  "It rained hard on Thursday evening and we could not go to school on Friday since classrooms were flooded," learners representative council secretary Clement Molala said yesterday. "We cannot go back to (the old) school (building) because we are tired of promises." Limpopo education spokesman Pat Kgomo said: "We don't understand why they (pupils) are not in school. The (new) school is theirs, but incomplete. We cannot tell as to when it will be completed." Kgomo could not say when the pupils would be moved into the new school building. 

The department of education should handle this matter before it get out of hands. I mean what Kgomo is staying it is not an excuse. If learner wants to go to school and learn they must be given the opportunity to learn.  And how do you stay focused in class while it is raining with broken windows? I mean really you cannot walk to school for 5km everyday while there is a school around. The department of education should complete the school as soon as possible for learns. Maybe this leaders need to be taken back to classes where the is no desks, tables and windows for few days and get the feeling of how this learns are feeling.  Maybe they will understand the situation of this pupils. South Africa is not taking education as a priority. http://www.sowetanive.co.za/news/2012/09/14pupils-boycott-classes-over-news-building What is your say on this kind of situation, since you are a student or you were once a student? to discuss this matter further you can e-mail, kimtim.tivani@gmail.com



The Government Lose It Again, To Protesters

What is the government doing about the Marikana’s Protesters?

 

Angry Lonmin' Marikana mine protesters



President Jacob Zuma told thousands of striking workers at Lonmin's Marikana mine that government sympathized with them following Thursday's shooting.  The president visited the North West town on Wednesday afternoon, almost a week after 34 people were killed in clashes. Which it was not fair at all, our government takes serious issues not serious. Zuma addressed protestors near the scene of Thursday’s bloody confrontation. The week-long attacks claimed the lives of 44 people, including two police officers. After the death of 44 people all Zuma could say was “we are sorry for the families who have lost their loved once". http://ewn.co.za/en/2012/08/21/zuma-knew-trouble-was-brewing-in-marikana

 

President Jacob Zuma



This people would have not died if the government attended the protesters on time. I blame the government for the death of this people because they waited until this matter get out of hands. I mean the police know how to deal with angry protesters and they were trained how to react, and it is not for the first time South African mineworker’s protest. So the government was very negligent about this strike. They should have communicated with them on time to reduce the anger of the protesters. Our current government is too weak; all they know is corruption and talking when not necessary. 

 Zuma is the president of the country, but when  this people died he was at Zimbabwe atteding the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) Summit. Although  he had to cut his trip short following the shooting. but it was way to late. And it is not like he did not know about the strike, he knew he knew that trouble was brewing in Marikana.

 If you want to more about this issue or you have any question you can e-mail at kimtim.tivani@gmail.com   

Mugabe Speak Peace Again



Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe

Who will believe Mugabe's sense?

Zimbabwe's president called for an end to violence and hostility as the country moves toward a constitutional referendum and elections, on Monday. President Robert Mugabe, 88, in an hour long address at a national shrine known as Heroes Acre outside Harare, said he wanted all parties and religious and activist groups to show tolerance for each other in the coming months. "If people have a difference of opinion and want to defect from one party to another, it must be respected and expressed in elections. We don't want any more violence or blood spilt," Mugabe said, speaking mostly in the local Shona language.

Although Mugabe was speaking sense and making peace at the same time to his people, but people of Zimbabwe find it hard to believe their President who have been Zimbabwe's leader since the country won independence in 1980. In the past he has referred to democracy as a foreign concept to Africans, and on several occasions he has said the West cannot preach democracy to him since he fought British colonial rule in Zimbabwe. So I find it surprising when he speak peace to the world, because peace goes together with democracy. And he should have spoken in a language that everyone understands.

As the leader clenched his fist and raised it into the air, the symbol for his Zanu-PF party, he reassured Zimbabweans that the image of the fist is not a gesture of violence despite its past use and forceful nature when placed alongside the open hand symbol of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic party."It was not for violence against our own kind," he said of the party's fist symbol. Amid violence in recent years, Mugabe has often raised his fist in the air as a warning to political opponents. The raised fist, Mugabe said, was used to fight colonial-era white rule and was "the punch that knocked them down."  Is his message strong enough to convince the nation? http://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/Zimbabwes-president-calls-for-peace-20120813

Toyko And Kgalema Fight One Battle

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale have joined forces in a bid to overthrow President Jacob Zuma at the forthcoming ANC elective conference.                                                                     



Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe

  

 Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale take on President Jacob Zuma at the forthcoming ANC elective conference. Motlanthe getting ready to be officially nominated to run for the party presidency in Mangaung in December with Sexwale being roped in as his deputy. On Friday, he gave a hint of what his campaign will look like as he fired a broadside against embattled Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga over the Limpopo textbooks scandal. Motlanthe told guests at the second anniversary of Lead SA that "The failure to deliver school books and the textbooks is indicative of a passive citizenry whose silence is complicit in the commission of such a tragic folly".  

Motlanthe's decision to attack Motshekga is the first of a series of public addresses he is going to use to boost his campaign, while Motlanthe has been treading carefully so far, he knows what is at stake politically should he challenge Zuma. If he does not win, he will lose his current positions in the ANC and the government. Hopefully the relationship 

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale



The challenge facing Motlanthe and Sexwale is whether the two leaders can work together given the previous tension between them in the run-up to the Polokwane conference. Motlanthe attacked Sexwale's bid for the ANC presidency shortly before the 2007 conference, saying "appearing on television does not make one a leader in the ANC". http://www.sundayworld.co.za/news/2012/08/06/anti-zuma.alliance

Hopefully the communication between Motlanthe and Sexwale is built on a rock, because now they look like they speak the same language. But in this political world you can never guaranties your position until it is in your hands. Do you think Motlanthe has made the right decision by attacking Zuma with Toyko, or one is being played between them? for more information you can e-mail at, kimtim.tivani@gmail.com 

 

 

HOW DID GHANA PRESIDENT DIED?

The sudden death of Ghana President, John Evans Atta Mills  

Ghana President John Evans Atta Mills

John Atta Mills, who was elected president in the closest vote in Ghana's history and then led the West African country amid new found oil wealth, died on Tuesday, July 24 with only a few months before the end of his first term. He was 68 years old. The West African nation's presidential office said "he died hours after falling ill at a hospital in the capital Accra", but did not provide a cause. Mills, elected into the presidency in January 2009, after losing twice previously to former president John Kufuor in 2000 and again in 2004 is credited for overseeing the large oil production since December 2010.

Mills spent much of his career teaching at the University of Ghana. He earned a doctorate from London's School of Oriental and African Studies before becoming a Fulbright scholar at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The president's office announced Mills death with the sad heart. Mills, who had celebrated his 68th birthday last Saturday, had won international praise as leader of a stable model democracy in Africa. Ghana remains the only Sub Saharan country that Barack Obama, the US president, has visited as part of recognition for its democratic credentials. The unexpected death of the leader of the world's second-largest producer of cocoa comes months before he was due to stand for re-election in December. http://africanspotlight.com/2012/08/how-president-john-atta-mills-died-sister-tells-it-all/   

The president's office said that "Mills died a few hours after being taken ill" but no further details were given. although death is part of life but it would have been fair enough to disclose the death of the president, because many African people are left with unanswered questions about the sudden death of Mills. or maybe the are being too enqisitive. What is your take on this issue?

Rest in Peace Mills

kimtim.tivani@gmail.com

Mandela family launch Road Safety Campaign



Zanani Mandela

 The recent campaign has been launched by the Mandela family in memory of Nelson Mandela’s great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela, who died in a car crash. Zenani Mandela was killed on June 11, 2010, when the car she was in hit a steel barrier along the M1 north in Johannesburg.  The Zenani Campaign, to be led by Zenani’s mother Zoleka Mandela and Grandmother Zindzi Mandela, aimed to improve road safety for children, the family said in a statement.  The campaign was unveiled in New York with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and would contribute to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, especially in developing countries. New York is currently hosting the Commission for Global Road Safety.  Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele also attended the launch in New York. Ndebele has helped push for pedestrian safety initiatives in SA, and while the new campaign is international, he expects large support from the SA community. The campaign was also a Mandela Day initiative in honour of former president Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Members of the public were encouraged to wear the Zenani wristband and to call for better child road safety.  http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/05/02/mandela-family-launch-road-safety-campaign
Although this is a good thing to do, because young people die in the road every day, but this campaign has left so many South African citizens with so many questions and comments. Like, Mhhh, it was Mandela Day now it is going to be (Zanani) Mandela Road Safety Day/Week/Month/Year. And such as was it necessary to launch this campaign in New York, because the little Zanele died in South Africa? And about 20 South African citizens die in the road every day. I believe that if this campaign was launched in South Africa, it would have educated and inspired so many young South Africans, because road accidents are the biggest killer of young people aged 10 to 24 SA. So what is your view or say on this matter?

E-tolling still scheduled to begin on Monday




E-tolling Strikers

The ANC and Cosatu will ask the government to delay the Gauteng's e-tolling system by a month, they said in a joint statement on Thursday. The Congress of SA Trade Unions and African National Congress said they reached an agreement to this effect in a meeting earlier in the day. "The leadership has collectively agreed to postpone the implementation of the e-toll collection system by a month," they said in a statement. "This will give the task team more time to explore alternative funding mechanisms." E-tolling is still scheduled to begin in Gauteng on Monday. Earlier, Treasury lawyer Jeremy Gauntlett told the High Court that if an interdict preventing e-tolling was granted, it could be in effect for the rest of the year.  "If the interdict is granted, in all legal reality, it must stand until the end of litigation, which would not be set to end any time soon... maybe until the end of the year," Gauntlett said.

The delay would give it time to assess the success of resistance to e-tolling, and any future legal action. Other mass action planned for Monday, including a highway blockade in Johannesburg, would go ahead, Vavi said, Speaking after a special meeting of Cosatu's executive, Vavi said the blockade of four tollgates at Middelburg and Nkomazi, in Mpumulanga, would form part of the mass action on Monday. In the North West, a demonstration was being planned at Swartruggens plaza. On Tuesday, a march would take place from the May Day rally at Good Hope Centre to the Cape Chamber of Commerce. Maybe it is time for the government to give Cosatu what they need, because they can not just continue with the strike for the whole year, while the government is watching and doing nothing about it. The government must take an action or come up with a solution to stop the strike, because this might affect the economy of South Africa.   http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/E-tolling-still-scheduled-to-begin-Monday-20120426. 

 

Mugabe Speaks Peace





President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe

As Zimbabwe prepared for a possible presidential election in spring 2012, Robert Mugabe remained in office in a tenuous power-sharing government with his longtime rival, Morgan Tsvangirai. Harare, President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday urged Zimbabweans to shun violence ahead of elections he insists be held this year, in his first public appearance since a new wave of worry about his health. "We are going to elections and troubles have already started. This is happening not only parties versus parties but within parties as well," he said in an hour-long speech at Harare's biggest stadium. "All our political leaders should encourage their supporters to promote the spirit of peace and tranquillity through social dialogue," he said.  The speech to mark Zimbabwe's 32nd anniversary of independence from Britain was the first public appearance by 88-year-old Mugabe since he returned from Singapore last week. That trip sparked new worries about his health, amid reports that he has advanced prostate cancer. Mugabe has repeatedly brushed off concerns about his health. http://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/Mugabe-calls-for-violence-free-election-20120418

Would this peace that he is talking about bring difference in Zimbabwe or it will make things worse?  The old Mugabe should just focus on his health because his only left with a short period of time to live.  People of Zimbabwe need freedom to survive, because they have been in pain for so many years. Enough is Enough.

Mugabe Heaith Fears Revive Succession Headache

President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from Singapore Thursday after a trip that fuelled rumours the 88-year-old was seriously ill, intensifying concerns about who would succeed him. Mugabe has made frequent visits to Singapore in recent years, amid reports that the veteran leader is suffering from prostate cancer that has already spread through his body. He appeared healthy as he walked off his charter plane in Harare accompanied by his wife Grace, joking with Vice President Joice Mujuru and military chiefs who welcomed him home. "The man is fit as a fiddle," Information Minister Webster Shamu told reporters. "Why do we to wish somebody bad, why do we spread rumours, why do we lie about our head of state?"  Mugabe and other top officials have repeatedly denied the cancer reports, which gained widespread currency following a leaked 2008 US diplomatic cable in which Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono confirmed the health story to the then US ambassador. The latest health scare was sparked by a single report on a news website run by Zimbabwean exiles which said the leader of the ZANU-PF party was fighting for his life in a Singapore hospital. Officially, the government says he travelled to the city-state to arrange post-graduate studies for his daughter Bona. The speed that the story spread around the globe underscored the deep-seated concerns about what would happen in the event of the sudden death of the man who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. Who would not wish Mugabe to die after what he did to his country? The man has to accept that his time is over and give others a chance, he can not rule the country for the rest of his life.  the question is who would be the next president of Zimbabwe?  Would Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai take over after so many years of struggle?

http://www.starafrica.com/en/news/detail-news/view/mugabe-health-fears-revive-succession-he-227403.html

Julius Malema suspended from role as head of ANC Youth League

 



Julius Malema former Youth League President

 

Julius Malema, the controversial youth leader of South Africa's ruling ANC, has been temporarily removed from his role and barred from attending party meetings.  The move escalates the public infighting at South Africa's most powerful party, punishing Mr Malema days after he had called President Jacob Zuma's government a "dictatorship". "The temporary and immediate suspension of comrade Malema will come into effect on Wednesday, 4 April," an ANC disciplinary panel said in a statement. The African National Congress had already expelled Mr MalemaANC rallies and attend meetings. If Mr Malema loses his appeal, he will be definitively expelled from the party. He is scheduled to have an appeal hearing next week. Mr Malema, a skilled public speaker and a populist whose calls for the nationalisation of mines in the resource-rich country have unnerved investors, has stepped up his criticism of Mr Zuma. He also advocates seizing white-owned farmland as part of his vision for Africa's biggest economy.

If Mr Malema is definitively expelled, Mr Zuma would have a clear path to win a second term as ANC leader in party elections later this year. The leader of the ANC is virtually assured of victory in presidential elections in 2014 given the party's dominance in South African politics.

At 31, Mr Malema is considered too young to directly challenge Mr Zuma for leadership but his populist strength makes him a party power broker.  Mr Malema was originally found guilty of sowing divisions in the ANC and hurting the party's reputation by calling for the overthrow of the elected government of neighbouring Botswana.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/9186139/Julius-Malema-suspended-from-role-as-head-of-ANC-Youth-League.html

Brics Break Through

Brics nations threaten IMF funding

Leaders of the world's most powerful emerging economies have threatened to withhold additional financing requested by the International Monetary Fund to fight the European sovereign debt crisis unless they gain greater voting power at the Fund.
Meeting in India on Thursday, the heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa expressed frustration at the slow pace of reform at the Washington-based multilateral lender, historically dominated by Europe and the US.
In a joint statement, the so-called Brics nations said there was an urgent need to "better reflect economic weights" .

“We stress that the ongoing effort to increase the lending capacity of the IMF will only be successful if there is confidence that the entire membership of the institution is truly committed to implement the 2010 reform faithfully,” the said. The Fund’s shareholders agreed in 2010 to shift more of its voting weight towards emerging markets nations, but the US has not passed enabling legislation.
The leaders also criticised western countries for their poor handling of the global economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis.  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3b88472-7982-11e1-8fad-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1riJjB4uv

Human Rights Day for all South Africans

 The Sharpeville massacre picture

South Africa's Human Rights Day, 21 March – declared International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by the UN – is synonymous with an innocuous but historic township, Sharpeville, situated between the industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging about 50 kilometres south of Johannesburg.  On this day this day the police killed 69 people at Sharpeville who were participating in a protest against the pass laws. Many were shot in the back and180 people were injured who refused to carry the hated dompas identity document that was meant only for indigenous Africans.  The carnage made world headlines. Four days later the government banned black political organisations, many leaders were arrested or went into exile.  For many South Africans, the day will always remain Sharpeville Day, a commemoration of the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville massacre The day, sometimes also referred to as Heroes' Day, was a watershed in the country's liberation struggle, hence its inclusion in South Africa's post-apartheid holiday calendar.

 http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/sharpeville.htm#ixzz1pyMLa03b

South Africa Human Rights Day is of critical importance in the lives of all South African citizens. Since South Africa has a long history of Apartheid, where thousands of African and other people of ethnic origins were tortured by the white ruling class, this day has come to be a symbol of human rights guaranteed to all.  During the Apartheid era there were human rights abuses by all sides; Human Rights Day is one step to ensure that the people of South Africa are aware of their human rights and to ensure that such abuses never again occur.  Its might be a a sad and painful memories to those who have lost their family and friends on that day, but we are free and have equal rights today because of their lives.   Although they are some South African citizens who still do not understand the reason we celebrate Human Rights Day, majority of this people is youth.  My question   today is how do we make them understand the reason why we celebrate this day, since they are the future of the country?  If we truly understand the principle of human rights, we cannot exclude anyone from today's celebration. Indeed, I challenge us to invite those whom we seldom see at national events to join us in celebrating Human Rights Day. 

But are we matured enough after 18 years of democracy to acknowledge the human rights of others, even those who live in our hearts, as equally worthy of protecting, respecting and celebrating? 

Greece Straves Off Bankruptcy

  

Greece

 Greece starves off bankruptcy with biggest debt deal in history

Over the last decade, Greece went on a debt binge that came crashing to an end in late 2009, provoking an economic crisis that has decimated the country’s economy, brought down a government, unleashed increasing social unrest and threatened both Europe’s recovery and the future of the euro. The debt crisis, sparked by years of overspending and waste, has left Greece relying on funds from international rescue loans since May 2010.  Austerity measures including repeated salary and pension cuts and tax hikes have led to record unemployment with more than 1 million people out of work, a fifth of the labour force.
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved a second rescue loan for debt-riddled Greece, joining the European Union again in an attempt to save the country from bankruptcy. The IMF executive board authorised a four-year, 28 billion euro ($36.7 billion) loan for Greece "in support of the authorities' economic adjustment program," the global lender announced. "Greece has made tremendous efforts to implement wide-ranging painful measures over the past two years, in the midst of a deep economic recession and a difficult social environment," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.

 However, the challenges confronting Greece remain significant, with a large competitiveness gap, a high level of public debt, and an undercapitalized banking system. The new Fund-supported program "will enable Greece to address these challenges while remaining in the euro zone," Lagarde said.  The IMF loan approval came days after euro zone ministers signed off on their part of a huge 237 billion euro rescue plan for Greece, that combines 130 billion euros in new financing and 107 billion euros of debt reduction by the private sector. 

The Greek economy was expected to exit recession only in 2014, not 2013 as forecast in December.  But with gross domestic product growth in the low digits beginning in 2014, Greece's public debt would be on track to meet the loan program's debt-to-GDP benchmark of below 120 percent by 2020.  The IMF projected debt would fall from 163 percent this year to 117 percent in 2020.

But with the support of the IMF, the EU and private creditors, Greece can overcome its debt problems and get its economy on the recovery track.  The the challenge here is that Greece would it manage to run the billions that they loan or the history of 2010 will repeat itself.  The Greek politicians are hoping to arrive at a solution by Sunday night, so the country can attend a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels Monday with a semblance of stability.  So let us wait for the feedback and stay posted.  http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/71863-greece-staves-bankruptcy-biggest-debt-deal-history

Cosatu Abolish Labour Brokers


 

COSATU Strike and Protest March

 Cosatu Abolish labour brokers

 Striking members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) march through the Durban city centre March 7, 2012. Tens of thousands of South Africans staged a one-day national strike on Wednesday, hitting mining production, as the biggest labour group in the continent's largest economy flexed its muscles to remind the ruling African National Congress (ANC) of its political clout. The immediate targets of the strike are new road tolls around Johannesburg, and short-term contract labour agencies that COSATU says exploit workers and perpetuate the inequalities of the white-minority apartheid rule that ended in 1994. 

Considering the nature of the protest march one would expect some angry faces and rebellious behaviour, but the crowd was actually very friendly and well behaved. At the protest even a number of white people were supporting the strike and wearing the cosatu t-shirts.  Although  Labour brokers will remain a contentious issue between Cosatu and the government until they are abolished, Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini said on Wednesday. “We will never understand the regulation of labour brokers, we want a total ban,” he said at the Congress of SA Trade Unions' protest in Durban against labour brokers and e-tolling.  He said Cosatu had discussed the issue of labour brokers with the government. If its demand they be banned was not met, another march would be held in August.

 Dlamini said the state and Cosatu were still in agreement on a number of issues and that the ANC-led government retained Cosatu's backing.  Once the marchers had gathered at the Durban City hall, Dlamini said Cosatu had decided not to comment on the African National Congress disciplinary processes involving the ANC Youth League. “We are not commenting because we respect the ANC’s internal disciplinary processes. We will not want the ANC to disrespect our own internal disciplinary processes.” 

 If we can try to dig more about this strike, The protest action by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday was beyond the narrow issues of labour brokering and the e-tolling system -- it was more about class struggle, its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told thousands of marchers in Johannesburg

COSATU Protesters from above looked like a Sea of red

This strike caused a lot of chaos in the country in such a way that learners and workers could not go to their preferred fields.  It is painful to see citizens of the country stucked all the time because of the strike. if the government could give workers what they need all the time such things would not happen in the country.  The strike will also take place in August if the government does not deliver its promises. Do you think the government will deliver before the August strike?

http://www.timeslive.co.za/ilive/2012/03/08/the-politics-of-a-cosatu-led-strike-ilive