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Johannesburg — President Jacob Zuma and Cabinet ministers who defended spending on security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead should resign, Numsa said yesterday.
“The president must resign. Further, we call on those ministers who scandalously defended the president and misled the public on Nkandla to resign as well,” National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim said.
“We call on the defence of the public protector [Thuli Madonsela] by workers.”
Jim was briefing reporters in Johannesburg about a four-day meeting of the union’s central committee.
He said the R246m upgrade to Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal was nothing “other than the ruling elite spending a huge amount of public money on a private residence for one man and his family”.
Madonsela, in her report on Nkandla, found Zuma and his family unduly benefited from the upgrades, which included a swimming pool, a cattle kraal, and an amphitheatre. She recommended, among other things, that he pay back a portion of the money.
Zuma has said previously that he would await the outcome of another probe by the Special Investigating Unit before responding to the matter.
Jim called on Zuma to respond to Madonsela’s report immediately.
Numsa’s deputy general secretary Karl Cloete said earlier the union is exploring the formation of a new labour federation.
Jim also said the union resolved to form a political party for workers.
“The working class needs its own political party . . . the working class is leaderless.”
For now the party would be referred to as the United Front, and its name finalised next year, he said.
Meanwhile, 16 people arrested for public violence in Mmaditlokwe, near Marikana, North West, were released yesterday, a community leader said.
“They were released on warning today. We have sent cars to bring them home,” Msokoli George said.
Jubilant residents danced at the entrance of the township waiting for the arrival of the group, as police looked on from a distance.
Earlier, residents vowed to continue protesting until the group was released.
Fourteen women and two men were arrested on Tuesday night after residents blockaded Marikana roads with burning objects and burnt down their ward councillor’s house.
They were protesting against blasting at the Tharisa chrome mine. They claim it damaged their houses and endangered their lives. “There was a heavy blast that sent rocks high in the air and left the area engulfed in a cloud of dust,” said George.
He said the blast occurred on Monday and on Tuesday residents took to the streets demanding the mine stop blasting.
At a meeting earlier in the day, residents told Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa that they wanted the mine to stop blasting until they have been relocated.
They wanted the mine to employ local people and provide them with basic services such as water and electricity.
Mthethwa was in Mmaditlokwe to facilitate dialogue between the mine and residents. He told them a task team had been established to look into issues people had raised. It was expected that the task team would report back monthly about progress made.
Tharisa CEO Leon Richardson told residents the mine would limit blasting and inform them prior to blasting.
“We cannot mine if we cannot blast,” he said. — Sapa
Online Reporter