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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Black-owned Cape Town business wants to sell only to whites
18:35 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
Unnamed black business woman offers her bar-restaurant for sale -- to whites-only
A black Claremont businesswoman is selling Legends, her Main Road pub and restaurant, and as a prank, offered it for sale to white buyers only. Photo: Jeffrey Abrahams, Cape Argus.
An unnamed black business woman – protesting about the fact that she could not obtain a legal liquor license -- had offered her bar-restaurant for sale in Claremont, Cape Town – but to whites only. Photograph by Cape Argus photographer Jeffrey Abrahams .
The unnamed woman was quoted by the Cape Argus as saying that she had been’urged by a police inspector to offer her business for sale only to whites because, the inspector had said, a black owner would lure disreputable black customers.’ Two copies of the advertisement were placed in the window of the business on Sunday-night reading ‘this restaurant/bar is for sale. White buyers only.’ And underneath this was a handwritten note: ‘Order by Inspector’. The ad was placed in the window on Sunday-evening, on Monday-morning the building's facilities manager, John Correia, removed them.It was offensive, it hit a bad spot and they said I should take it off," Correia said.
The managing agents of the building, the Sandak-Lewin Trust, said they had been told by trustees who are the other tenants, that the sign was a prank.
Trust managing director Carl Smit said the trustees were not aware of the woman's alleged battle with the police. The woman, who has asked not to be named, said she was being forced to sell her business because a police officer had opposed her application for a liquor licence.She has laid a complaint with Claremont's station commissioner against the inspector. Police have confirmed that they are taking the matter seriously and are investigating.
The woman said she had been forced to post the racially slanted signs after the officer allegedly told her the police no longer wanted "black establishments" in the area because they attracted "indecent black people". She said she had started renting the space in August last year and had, to date, forked out close to R400,000 in rent and upgrades. City of Cape Town spokesman Charles Cooper said the premises complied with the city's health and fire regulations and had been granted a business licence in October last year. But the woman cannot sell liquor as she does not have a liquor licence yet.She alleges that the policeman submitted a scathing report to the provincial liquor board opposing her application for a licence.
The woman alleges that the police officer had told her to get a white buyer. "He said the place was going to attract indecent black people. It is a curse to be born with this complexion. I feel less human. It's like I have no right to live; I have been reduced to zero."
Claremont police spokeswoman Captain Angie Latchman confirmed that the woman had lodged a complaint with the station commissioner and that the police were looking into her allegations.
Local ward councillor Ian Iverson said he would also challenge the woman's application for a new licence. "It's got to do with the way her previous establishment was run. I'm not sure how she conducted that business.
The area (at Karibu) was problematic, it hasn't gone away since she has left but it is less so now that there is no longer a business with a liquor licence." Iverson said it was ludicrous to imply that black people were barred from opening businesses in Claremont. The woman says she has not received any offers to buy. http://www.capeargus.co.za/?fSectionId=3571&fArticleId=vn20100119131910345C643676
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Only one-third all 40,000 council-house tenants in Cape Town pay rent
CAPE TOWN -- ONLY a third of tenants living in more than 40,000 council houses across the city are paying rent, while the others "simply choose not to pay". This also leaves local ratepayers with an increasingly difficult burden. http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5318120
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Rand Uranium miners threaten strike over food, drinks ban
“No food or cold drinks underground”: Rand Uranium
January 18, 2010 - Rand Uranium has reconfirmed its December 2008 ruling banning miners from taking any food or cold drinks underground in its attempt to crack down on illegal mining. Taking water underground was not banned. Trade union United Association of South Africa has repeatedly slammed the ban as ‘draconian and unconstitutional’ – however Rand Uranium is still digging in its heels over the issue today. “ The company ‘s Cooke mine Nr 2 shaft is still unsafe to enter because of damage caused by illegal miners over December and January”, said company CEO John Munro.
relevant links:
- 24 Dec 2009: 39 child-slaves among 200 arrested gold-pirates
- 30 Dec 2009: police task teams wage fierce underground battles with gold-mining pirate gangs in Barberton ...
- 3 Nov 2009: thirty gold-mine pirates arrested at Pamodzi Gold
- 14 Nov 2009: Probe gold-mining piracy gangs, demand south african miners…
Rand Uranium’s miners are very unhappy about the ban because it forces them to work many long hours in the hot, humid and very dangerous conditions below ground without any food or cold-drinks: on 12 January, one shift of UASA miners at the Cooke 2 shaft even went on a wild-cat strike, refusing to come to the surface until management had undertaken measures to lift its food- and cold drinks-ban. The matter was not resolved until the next day after the company asked a full-time union representative to negotiate with the miners below – with mine-management claiming that the issue ‘needed to be dealt with in the form of a group grievance.” However after they resurfaced, management took discliplinary actions against these miners instead of dealing with their grievances.
UASA spokesman Franz Stehring said that Rand Uranium should instead adopt a similar system to the one used at Harmony Gold Mine, which pre-regulates the exact quantity of food each worker can take below. He described Rand Uranium’s system as ‘inhumane and draconan’ and said:
“… it has been the custom and practice over decades (even centuries) that has established itself as a condition of employment that underground workers are allowed to take food underground. UASA views management’s arbitrary and irresponsible decision to deprive our members of their right to take food underground, as inhumane, draconian and a unilateral change to their terms and conditions of employment,’ he said.
However yesterday, John Munro, pictured, chief executive of Rand Uranium said in a statement that the food and cold-drinks ban will stay in place: “Illegal miners are known to spend months at a time underground, and illegal trading in food underground is the one essential resource that sustains their illicit activities,” he said.
Unsafe to work Cooke Mine Nr 2 shaft due to December/January vandalism by illegal miners:
Since the death of an employee in December 2008, who was attacked by the (often heavily-armed) illegal miners belowground, the company has also spent R6m to set up ‘biometric access control’ at all access points to the mine, and is spending a monthly extra R200,000 to beef up its security operations, Munro said in his statement. The company also said it was still suffering from damage caused by illegal miners with vandalism of areas of the Cooke mine over this past Christmas and January period -- making it unsafe to enter.
Diabetic miners redeployed to other jobs:
- The ban was instituted in December 2008 with the support of organised labour it said, while alternative measures were implemented for employees with medical conditions. Approximately 20 diabetic miners were redeployed to jobs that did not require them to work underground.
Munro said about 600 illegal miners had been arrested while attempting to leave this one mine in 2009 alone. In December 2008 one employee died in an altercation with illegal miners there.
However, Stehring reiterated that the prohibition of food for underground workers ’ is in direct violation of labour legislation read with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act number 106 of 1996 (as amended) and more specifically section 27, which states that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water.’
“Its draconian: our members are forced to work long hours undergrund without eating or drinking….”
“Since March last year, workers who take food or liquids underground faced disciplinary action from management. Management wants to prohibit the handing over of food to illegal miners who live underground. This means that our members are forced to work long hours underground without eating or drinking,” says Stehring.
- “A lack of regular eating habits can cause all sorts of digestive problems, even diabetes amongst certain persons, and leads to our members and other employees becoming medically unfit. Additional health concerns are that employees who take chronic medication now have to take their medication on an empty stomach, due to management’s draconian approach to the situation.
“A group of UASA members at Randfontein Estates Mine Cook 2 shaft refused to come to the surface on 12 January 2010, in order to force management to take action to rectify the situation. The members surfaced on 13 January 2010 after management requested a full-time union representative to go underground and persuade the protestors to come to the surface, explaining that the issue needs to be dealt with in the form of a group grievance.
“Subsequently, it was brought to our attention that management is in the process of taking disciplinary action against the protestors,” says Stehring. “UASA has protested the issue countless times over the past year. Management promised that the practice would end as soon as access control equipment was put in place to electronically read worker’s fingerprints. It is now almost 11 months later and nothing has been done,” says Stehring.
UASA demands that management follow the example of Harmony Gold Mine, with immediate effect, by introducing a similar system which allows the quantity of food per worker to be regulated. UASA further demands that a task team be established to regularly review the system, and that other measures are taken to address the issue of illegal miners.
However, Rand Uranium had indicated it was unable to do so due to continuing problems with illegal mining. Rand Uranium said it had been in contact with UASA and “the parties have agreed to meet again to share ideas on how else to combat the presence of illegal miners and the associated challenges including the food ban.”
However Shane Choshane, spokesman for the ANC-alligned National Union of Mineworkers, also urged Rand Uranium to find another solution to the problem.
- “Banning food was implemented by management alone. It’s uncalled for. That was the easiest option they could have implemented. It’s dangerous down there if you are not focused, what more if you are hungry? If this persists the only language that the industry understands is a strike. We understand their situation but they must come up with another plan,” said Choshane. Additional reporting by Asha Speckman http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&fArticleId=5317168 http://www.miningweekly.com/article/crisis-yes-but-it-can-deliver-benefits-rand-uranium-2009-02-27-1