In this Workers’ Month, the Workers in KwaZulu- Natal will hold their annual Workers’ Parliament in Nombika Sports field in Ndwedwe Local Municipality on the 19 and 20 May 2017. The main focus this year is the celebration of the 20 years of the Constitution. Workers will specifically celebrate what they call are the gains of the working class post 1994. These gains are entrenched in the constitution and these are the rights to strike, the right to form and join a trade union of one’s choice, the right to organise, Entitlement to annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave and Family-responsibility etc. These rights are contained in various Acts which the working class pride themselves of as they are the results of what the workers of this country had fought for. These Acts include the Basic Condition of Employment Act of 1997, Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, The Skills Development Act, Section 23 of the Bill of Rights, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, the Unemployment Fund etc.
These rights are a reminder to workers, that not long ago a south African worker especially non –white, was subjected to various forms of discrimination in the workplace, for example, forced labour, job reservation, migrant labour system etc.

This year the Workers have decided to focus their debates and discussions on the Vulnerable Workers under a theme: “The Struggle for the Control and Ownership of the Economy in favour of Vulnerable Workers is On, as Workers Celebrate 20 years of the Constitution”. The three major Federations in the province, namely, Cosatu, Nactu and Fedusa have jointly embraced the theme and are convinced that discussions around this theme will deliver vulnerable workers from the hardships they face in the workplace. The Federations recalled in a meeting held last week at the Legislature that the exploitation of workers was a feature of life for a South African workers for decades. Apartheid thrived on cheap labour, as workers had to contend with the migrant labour system, passes and influx control, job reservation, and other oppressive laws. Today they celebrate the gains brought about by the scrapping of all apartheid laws in the workplace and society in general. The rights of the workers as entrenched in the constitution are the basis for these celebrations.

The Celebration is set to start off with a march on the 19th May 2017, at 8h30 from Ndwedwe Central Town, and proceed to Nombika Sportsfield. Hundreds of workers are expected to participate in this march, and marchers will display key messages in their placards as they celebrate their constitutional gains. Members of the Executive Council (MECs) and Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) will be part of this march.

Mobilisation of workers across the province has been initiated with Transport made available to ferry workers to the event. Attached is the Programme over the two days of the Workers’ Parliament. Media representatives are invited to cover the event.

End
For more information , contact:
W Canham (Mr)
Senior Communications Officer:
Media Liaison and Publications
KZN Legislature
033-3557 559/ 0833767299
Canhamw@kznleg.gov.za

22 February 2017

Embargo: For Immediate Release

Attention: News/Assignment Editors, Political Reporters, Reporters

From: KZN Legislature Communications Unit

RE: OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE KZN LEGISLATURE – ADDRESS BY THE KING AND STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS
It’s all systems go for the Official Opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
His Majesty Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini will deliver a keynote address on the 28th February at the Royal Showgrounds.
The King’s address will be followed by the State of the Province Address which will be delivered by Premier Willies Mchunu on Wednesday 1^st of March 2017.
Adding to the glamour and ceremony normally associated with the Official Opening of the Legislature, this year’s event will be characterised by the display of artefacts such as traditional beads, beer pots, shields etc.
This is to assist local craftsman to be able to showcase their workmanship to visitors who will be attending the Official Opening.
Notably, this year instead of having schoolchildren forming a guard of honour for His Majesty, this task will be performed by Zulu maidens and Amabutho on the first day.
Furthermore, His Majesty will be accompanied by his regimen drawn from local and other parts of Nongoma and it will be led by Induna Yezinsizwa, Mr Mgilija.
KZN Legislature endeavours to use this event to put the concept of “Unity in Diversity” into practice through involvement of the people of KwaZulu-Natal as the province remains a remarkable melting pot in the country and it fully subscribes to the notion of equal recognition of cultures.
The two-day event will be broadcast live in various media outlets including community radio stations, mainstream television stations and social media.
Members of the media are invited to attend.
Details of the Official Opening and State of the Province Address are as follows:

Dates : 28 February 2017 and 1st March 2017 (King’s Address and SOPA)
Time   : 9am
Venue : Royal Showgrounds (Pietermaritzburg)

For more information please contact Wonder Hlongwa at 0829083532 or Sina Nxumalo 082906 0449.

As part of its constitutional mandate, the KZN Legislature through its Health Portfolio Committee visited Usher Memorial and St Margaret Hospitals on Wednesday, 16th November 2016 to inspect the provision of health services in Harry Gwala District.

The delegation was led by Hon. Bhamjee, the chairperson of Health committee. This was a follow up visit after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) had been to Harry Gwala District in September as part of the NCOP Provincial Week. NCOP Members had visited the district to track and evaluate the levels of service delivery in KwaZulu-Natal particularly in health and education.

The Health Portfolio Committee held a series of boardroom and site meetings where the district and hospital management reported on various challenges and successes in the provision of health services in the district. The state of the two hospitals was applauded in terms of cleanliness, staff compliment, as well as the standard of service that is provided to the people of Harry District. This is in spite of the challenges such as inadequate budget, human resources and medical equipment.

Several recommendations were made by the NCOP to the MEC of Health, Dr Dhlomo on matters of importance and how such challenges could be addressed. The committee was informed of the common challenges in the district which include the shortage of doctors in rural hospitals, lack of proper sanitation, infrastructure, shortage of EMRS ambulances, and the latest challenge of drought that is facing the entire country.

Health Portfolio Committee performs oversight in Harry Gwala District

The Health Portfolio Committee visited the district to monitor the implementation of recommendations and short-term solutions that were proposed by the NCOP in September. However, the committee expressed its disappointment at the slow pace in implementing the recommendations of the NCOP, especially on short term solutions like the drilling of boreholes for water supply. The committee also noted that not much has been done on improving hospital infrastructure since the last NCOP Provincial week.

Hospital management made an undertaking to address these issues without any further delays and that the Department of Health would report before the committee on its intervention plan to address these challenge. Guided by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) the committee also scrutinised how hospital finances were being managed including budget allocations for short and long term projects as it was resolved during the NCOP week.

Members of Community Safety Portfolio Committee at the South Africa/Mozambique border

Crime levels in Umkhanyakude District have reached alarming proportions with cross-border crime, particularly car thefts between South Africa and Mozambique having reached alarming proportions.

This has prompted the Community Safety Portfolio Committee, under the leadership of the committee chairperson, Hon. Bheki Ntuli, to visit the district recently with an aim of holding meetings with communities, local leadership and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to find solutions to the scourge of crime in that part of the province.

The committee started off its oversight work by visiting an illegal South Africa/Mozambique border post, notoriously known as Gate 6, where most cars stolen from South Africa are smuggled to Mozambique to be sold to crime syndicates.

At Gate 6, the committee held a meeting with commanders of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) who patrol that part of the border and SAPS top brass where they received a full briefing on the crime situation along Gate 6.

Committee members were informed that both the SANDF and SAPS lacked necessary resources to fight cross-border crime especially stealing of vehicles from South Africa. There were few members deployed along the border with insufficient equipment for intelligence gathering and that there was no proper fence along the border. That made it easy for criminals to remove the fence and smuggle vehicles across Mozambique. Even Mozambican people easily cross the fence to South Africa without any documentation.

The committee later held a public meeting at Umhlabuyalingana Municipality which was attended by local leadership including Amakhosi, councillors, members of CPFs, SAPS and other stakeholders. The meeting deliberated on a number of crime fighting initiatives and strategies which were aimed at bringing the levels of crime down.

It was noted that there was a lack of co-operation from the Mozambican authorities to stop cross-border vehicle theft once stolen vehicles reach the Mozambican side. Attempts to allow South Africa to build a base inside Mozambique have been obstructed in the past.

Committee members were unanimous in that there is a need for a high-level political intervention between South Africa and Mozambique that will find a lasting solution to the issue of cross-border crime. A bilateral meeting between governments of South Africa and Mozambique should be convened to resolve cross-border crime.

The committee also visited other police stations in Umkhanyakude including Mbazwana to get first-hand information on the issue of crime and how those police stations were dealing with it. On the last day, the committee visited Hlabisa police station and later held a public meeting with the community and other stakeholders. Committee members were informed that crime such as business robberies was on the rise in Hlabisa. The local police station lacks basic resources such as working telephones to enable the public to report crime as it happens.

Community Safety Portfolio Committee listens to a community member making input during an oversight visit to Umhlabuyalingana