South Africans in nationwide strike in protest against cost of living

 People across South Africa are taking part in a nationwide strike in protest against the rising cost of living.

Singing songs from the country’s liberation struggle, thousands marched towards the president’s office, demanding reductions in prices.

Inflation has hit nearly 8% – the highest in 13 years – and around a third of South Africans are unemployed.

This is the most unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank, and many are finding things tough.

Thousands of protesters have been marching, chanting and holding signs echoing familiar complaints from workers around the world: “Say no to high inflation” and “Stop the steep increase in the price of petrol”.

The country’s two largest union groupings, who called the strike, urged the government to intervene to cap fuel prices, reduce interest rates and introduce a universal basic income of roughly $90 (£75) a month.

Around 5,000 people took part in the rally in Pretoria.

“Don’t moan; Mobilise or starve,” was the message to those wondering whether to take part in the strike on a poster from the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu).

Its head Zwinzilima Vavi questioned how President Cyril Ramaphosa could give himself and ministers a 3% pay rise but refuse their demands.

At the front of the march in Pretoria, one woman who didn’t give her name told the BBC why she was on strike: “We’re tired. The cost of living is too high now – we can’t afford anything any more. It’s school fees , it’s transport, it’s rent, it’s everything.”

“We can’t any more and we’ve been without a [pay] increase for four years now, and things are getting hectic now. The government must intervene and do something now,” she added.

The nationwide strike comes as South Africa grapples with the economic impact of global events such Covid and the war in Ukraine.

Under the gaze of Pretoria’s Union buildings – the office of President Ramaphosa – I spoke to a group of women who said the cost of living crisis had driven them to desperate measures to try and make ends meet.

“Sometimes I don’t have money so I have to go and take a loan – from the loan sharks. We don’t manage. That’s why we’re here today – because we’re struggling,” one said.

Another said she spent almost half of her monthly income of $210 on transport. “And food is expensive right now. We can’t buy full groceries- it’s basics only.”

Another woman said: “At the end of the month we’re left with nothing.”

While organisers of Wednesday’s action say they aim to bring the country to an economic halt, they have also acknowledged that numbers on the streets may not match similar shutdowns in previous years.

The government says a “no-work, no-pay” principle will apply – and essential workers cannot take part.

The one voice who’s not been heard from is President Ramaphosa. I ask the group of women at the Union buildings what they would say to him. Their message is simple: “Please help us president, we are struggling. Please.”

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Hamilton: US church apologies for modified rendition of hit musical

 A US church has apologised to Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda for an unauthorised, Bible-themed rewrite of the popular musical.

The rendition from The Door church in McAllen, Texas changed Hamilton’s lyrics to include references to Jesus and Christianity.

The changes were condemned by Mr Miranda, who earlier this month vowed to take legal action.

The church will now pay unspecified damages.

In addition to invoking Jesus Christ, the church’s rendition added a scene in which Alexander Hamilton repents as well as a sermon inviting those “struggling” with substance abuse and homosexuality to turn to God for help.

Following the show earlier this month, the team behind the original production of Hamilton lodged a protest and filed a cease-and-desist letter. A spokesman for Hamilton also said that the production team “stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusivity and certainly LGBTQ rights”.

Mr Miranda thanked those who informed him about the Texas play and said he would “let lawyers do their work”.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the church acknowledged that it had never received permission to “produce, stage, replicate or alter” Hamilton.

“Our ministry will use this moment as a learning opportunity about protected artistic works and intellectual property,” the statement added.

The church vowed to never perform the show again. It said it would destroy any recordings and images and pay unspecified damages.

A spokesman for Hamilton quoted by the New York Times said that the damages would be donated to the South Texas Equality Project, a coalition of organisations that supports the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ-friendly businesses in South Texas.

Hamilton, which made its debut in 2015, tells the story of US founding father Alexander Hamilton. The show – which also made its UK debut in London’s West End in 2017 – has since won dozens of awards.

A filmed stage production of the show released by Disney+ in 2020 became one of the most-streamed films of the year.

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14,540 People Suffered Abuse At Workplace In 2021 – Survey

 A total of 14,540 people, representing 71.7 per cent of respondents in a survey on violence and harassment at the workplace, had experienced one form of violence or harassment at the workplace.

Thirty-four per cent of the occurrences emanated from the formal sector, while the informal sector accounted for 66 per cent, out of the 20,279 respondents surveyed across the country on violence and harassment at workplaces conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.

The survey was conducted in 2021.

The findings also revealed that the occurrences were more prevalent among the age group 22 to 35 years, representing 67.9 per cent of respondents, while the lowest of 2.3 per cent involved the age group 15 to 17 years – children of school age.

They further indicated that 67.4 per cent of the occurrences happened during the daytime, while 32.6 per cent took place at night.
And, according to the study, all categories of stakeholders at the workplace were involved in perpetrating the acts of violence and harassment, with lead perpetrators being third parties, who constituted 35.1 per cent, followed by co-workers, 32.5 per cent, with almost a quarter (24 per cent) being supervisors and managers.

This came to light when the sector Minister, Ignatius Baffour- Awuah, addressed the International Transport Federation (ITF) regional training of trainers workshop on the ILO’s violence and harassment Convention 190 in Accra yesterday.

The workshop was attended largely by women from Cameroun, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.

Convention 190

Convention 190 is the first international treaty that addresses violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence. It lays out international labour standards for preventing and responding to violence and harassment at the workplace.

The convention, which was adopted in 2019, has so far been ratified by 19 countries, with Ghana yet to do so. Three African countries — Namibia, Mauritius and Somalia — have adopted it, while South Africa and the Central African Republic are next in line to implement it by November 2022 and June 2023, respectively.

Reality

The minister said the findings reinforced the existence of violence and harassment in the world of work.

“This is unacceptable and should be of concern to all. We need to take immediate and drastic steps to address this. Violence and harassment in the world of work affect all sectors of the economy, occupations and work arrangements.

“Violence and harassment at the workplace manifest themselves in different forms and contexts and deprive people of their dignity,” he said.

Mr Baffour-Awuah mentioned various provisions in the 1992 Constitution, including the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) and the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732) that proscribed violence and harassment.

“Convention 190 is more comprehensive and applies to all sectors. It seeks to protect workers and other persons in the world of work,” he said.

Women transport workers

The ITF Deputy Women Transport Workers and Gender Equality Officer, Claire Clarke, said women transport workers were faced with many challenges, including violence against women transport workers and the systematic exclusion of women from decent jobs in the transport and logistics industry.

“Governments need to ratify Convention 190 and adopt its provisions into law. Employers need to implement effective workplace responses and preventative measures through workplace policies and agreements, education and training and proven mechanisms for investigation and respond to complaints,” she added.

For her part, the National Women Committee Chairperson of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, Rebecca Kwashie, expressed the hope that the tripartite committee, made up of the government, employers and labour, would work together to ensure that the country ratified Convention 190.

There were messages from the Ghana Employers Association, the Trades Union Congress and ILO Ghana.

Source: graphic.com.gh

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Elections2022: Archbishop calls for calm, respect for results

 Saurimo – The Episcopal Conference of Angola and Sao Tome (CEAST) Thursday in Lunda Sul province appealed to political parties to accept the election outcome, in the spirit of transparency and electoral truth.

The appeal was launched by CEAST president, Bishop Manuel Imbamba, who was speaking to the press in Saurimo, eastern Lunda Sul,  24 hours after the vote.

The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saurimo urged political parties and citizens to keep composure, be responsible and available to accept the results, as expressed at the polls. 

He recalled that the release of results is the most delicate moment in electoral times, hence the need for militants, friends and party sympathizers to opt for serenity. 

“Citizens should remain calm and wait for the official results, which the National Electoral Commission (CNE) is announcing, not those that are likely to circulate on social media”, he advised. 

He underlined that Angolans should value citizenship and patriotism, because the big winner is the country. 

Provisional data released by CNE 

The MPLA keeps leading the vote count in 16 provinces, out of the country’s 18 , with 52.08%. While UNITA, which dominates the provinces of Luanda (Capital) and Cabinda, comes second with 42.98%, followed by the PRS (1.18%), the FNLA  (1.07%), the PHA (1.02%), CASA-CE (0.73%), APN (0.48%) and P-NJANGO with 0.42%. 

14.3 million voters were registered, of this number 22, 560 reside abroad.

Elections 2022: National Police restore calm in Luanda

 Luanda - National Police restored calm in some Luanda streets on Thursday (25) after the incidents following the failure of payment to the delegates from the lists of some political parties in return for the work performed during the general elections.

This was confirmed by spokesman for the General Elections Assurance Command Post, Commissioner Orlando Bernardo, while speaking at press conference.

He said that the protesters, who destroyed some public assets, worked as list delegates for some political parties.

Among the political parties that allegedly did not make the payment, the official mentioned the National Patriotic Alliance (APN) and FNLA.

The senior police officer clarified “that these incidents have nothing to do with the provisional results released by the National Electoral Commission, but rather result from the inconsistency of some political parties”.

The spokesman clarified that no incident has been reported during the August 24 elections.

Elections 2022: National, foreign press highlight Angola’s elections

 Luanda - The general elections in Angola, whose voting took place on Wednesday (24), are under the spotlight on home and foreign media.

In Angola, the main bodies continue to hold their spaces with the highlight of the election, with stress to the vote that brought together 14.3 million voters.

The same can be said of Portugal, France, Spain, Great Britain and the United States (US).

Media outlets such RTP, France 24, Euronews, The Guardian, CNN International and Washington Post, placing this at the top of their agendas the political moment that Angola is experiencing.

Portugal-based RTP, for example, prints an article on the cover of its website with the title "Angola experienced one of the most disputed general elections ever".

The news underlines that the National Elections Commission (CNE) guarantees that the election was a success.

Euro News, on its online page, titled "Angola counting votes after general elections without incidents" and reinforces the fact that the polls were opened at 07:00 am and closed at 5 pm.

It mentions that some polling stations remained open, beyond these hours, to allow those who had not yet done so to exercise their civic rights.

The British Guardian's online page reads: “observers described this election as an existential moment for Angola and a test for democracy in the sub-Saharan African belt”.

After highlighting that the country has a very young population, The Guardian presents a portrait of the two main candidates, João Lourenço (MPLA) and Adalberto Costa Júnior (UNITA).

The Washington Post, from the United States, reports that the election campaign was peaceful, with few incidents of violence.

It highlights the fact that, for the first time, Angolans residing abroad participated in the vote.

The France 24 online page recalls that, after five years of recession, Angola returned to relative economic growth in 2021 and refers to estimates on the vote count.

The Spanish agency EFE highlighted the statements by the MPLA candidate for President of the Republic, João Lourenço, made after the vote, at the Lusíada University of Angola.

CNN International stresses that voters went to the polls Wednesday to decide who will lead the country.

It also states that the presidential elections took place simultaneously with the elections for the Angolan parliament of 220 MPs.

CNN also mentions the death of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, which happened  in July, in Spain, where he was undergoing treatment.

Almost 14.4 million voters, of the approximately 33 million inhabitants, voted in 13,238 polling stations, made up of 26,443 tables.

Elections2022: MPLA still leading, 52.08 percent

 Luanda - The ruling MPLA continues to lead with 52.08 percent of the votes counted, data released by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) on Thursday morning.

According to provisional data, UNITA comes second with 42.98 percent of the votes counted.

 

So far, 86.41 percent of the votes have been counted from the total of 14.3 million voters, of which 22,560 of the registered voters live and voted abroad.