RokMicroNews

Cape Town - Cosatu has come out in support of striking ANC workers as the labour federation says it expects the ruling party to conduct itself in an “exemplary manner”.

ANC workers have been on strike since Thursday following the non-payment of their salaries and have vowed to continue their strike until their demands were met.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said it has instituted a litigation process to ensure that the ANC staff received their money.

A crowdfunding initiative was launched by the ANC with the aim of raising funds that might assist it to pay employees who have not received their salaries.

In June, disgruntled workers took to the streets after staff members were informed in April that their salaries would be late.

Last week, the party’s general manager, Febe Potgieter, indicated that the ANC’s finances were not in a good shape to pay the staff members.

Salaries for July and August were also not paid.

At the weekend, the party shared a post, including banking details, on social media platforms, asking members of the public and ANC supporters to make contributions to a Nedbank account.

ANC’s staff representative chairperson, Mvusi Mdala, last week reiterated that workers would not return to work until they received their salaries.

The ruling party’s financial woes started in December 2019, and the situation worsened in April and June this year.

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla emphasised that the workers were not volunteers, as they have signed contracts. “They [the workers] keep their end of the bargain, and the ANC has to honour that.

“Our union, Nehawu, are assisting those workers on how to facilitate their fight. Nehawu has made it very clear that they’ve been trying to engage with the ANC for some time and also indicated that they will explore legal avenues, if possible,” said Pamla.

Nehawu’s acting spokesperson, Lwazi Nkolonzi, said with the litigation process, the intention was to look at valuables, such as properties and cars, that could be turned into funds to ensure that the workers got what they were owed.

“As Nehawu, we find it totally unacceptable in how the ANC has treated these workers. How does the ANC expect these workers and their families to survive during these tough economic times that have brought economic hardship to all workers? The late payment of salaries has resulted in these workers being on the verge of losing all that they have worked for. They face a stark reality of banks/financial institutions repossessing their cars, homes, etc as a result of defaulting on payments brought about by the failure to pay salaries on time by the ANC,” said Nkolonzi.

The ANC’s national spokesperson, Pule Mabe, said that since the media reported about the cash flow difficulties experienced by the movement, the ANC’s treasurer general has been inundated by members and supporters who want to lend a helping hand.

“We are hopeful that the plan will generate active interest in the sustenance of the organisation.

“We are encouraged by the initial response, and we hope to continue to grow participation.

“The Political Party Funding Act requires declaration of all donations of R100 000 and above, and the ANC will declare such donations to the IEC,” said Mabe in a statement.

tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za

Political Bureau

CAPE TOWN - WHILE he admitted that there was a “deflating” feeling in the team after nearly losing to the Cheetahs, Bulls coach Jake White said all that mattered was that his team secured a Currie Cup home semi-final and final in their 39-36 victory at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

The Pretoria outfit almost went down in dramatic fashion in the final 10 minutes as the Free State side scored two quick tries through fullback Cohen Jasper and wing Malcolm Jaer, while Bulls debutant Ruan Combrinck was also yellow-carded.

But White’s team held on for victory, although they had virtually claimed top spot on the standings already at that stage with a four-try bonus point.

The defending champions ended on 49 log points, nine more than the second-placed Sharks, who lost 35-24 to Western Province in Durban on Saturday night. WP finished fourth on 35 points, with Griquas third – also on 35, but with a better points difference.

It all means that the Bulls will host Province in a Loftus semi-final, while the Sharks will face Griquas at Kings Park next Saturday.

“The bottom line is that I said we needed to get a home semi and a home final, and we needed to win. We’ve done that now, so we’ve got our own destiny in our own hands now,” White said.

“It almost feels like you – not that you’ve lost, but it’s a little bit deflated because you’ve sort of let them in on tries. But let us not forget that we played the last 10 minutes with 14 men, and then they exposed us on the outside without a back out wide, which is well done on them, and secondly, which is what rugby is all about.

“We had two yellow cards, which meant for 20 minutes, we played with 14 men. You are not going to be able to win finals and semi-finals if you do that, but I am very happy that after being 21-14 down, and the way we adapted and the halftime talk…

“And not just the talk, but the understanding of what needed to be done was obviously pleasing for me.”

The former Bok coach said it didn’t matter who the Bulls faced in the semi-finals, although the players may have some revenge on their minds after a depleted side lost the first-round match 48-24 to WP at Loftus Versfeld on the same day the ‘seniors’ went down in the Rainbow Cup final against Benetton in Italy on June 19.

“We’ve got to be good enough to beat anybody that comes to Loftus. If we start planning about we prefer this team and that team, then the competition doesn’t, I suppose, have the credence that it deserves,” White said.

“We go semi-final, final, week off, Leinster in Dublin (in the United Rugby Championship)! I don’t think we need to worry too much about who we play at home here. There’s a lot of bigger games coming up, and if we are not good enough to beat any of the other teams at home here, then we don’t deserve to be champions.”

@ashfakmohamed

IOL Sport

CAPE TOWN - Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos will place great emphasis on teamwork in Friday's 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe, at the National Sports Stadium, in Harare.

He has chosen a youthful squad which he feels could strike up cohesion rather than established players imposing themselves as individuals on the game.

‘’I am a coach who believes in teamwork, not individual performances," said the Belgian born coach. "I believe in team spirit but also like entertaining football. I also want a team that controls the game and be disciplined.

‘’Discipline is the first rule for victory. Of course, the camp will be like in the army, but we have to have some rules, and players must follow those rules."

Broos targeting at least a draw against Zimbabwe. It will lay the platform for performances going forward and that includes next Monday's qualifier against Ghana.

"I don’t like to predict that we will win or, that the score will be 2-1 or whatever but the only thing I want, and hope is that we have a good result in Zimbabwe,’’ said Broos.

"A draw in Zimbabwe will be a good result. It will give us confidence for the next game (against Ghana). Losing especially with a heavy score, will not do the players’ confidence any good.

"I hope we will draw, and we take it from there. We will try to win. I am not saying we are going for a draw.

"I think by the time we go to Zimbabwe, we should be ready. Look, our group is a group with three teams that have qualified for the AFCON (Ethiopia, Ghana and Zimbabwe) and playing six games in three months will not be easy, but we must be professionals and be ready.’’

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Mothobi Mvala who lately has been in excellent form is nursing an injury. He missed out on the MTN8 clash over the weekend. He is a doubtful starter for Bafana Bafana and could sit out the Zimbabwe clash.

@Herman_Gibbs

IOL Sport

• Mebala is a local startup company that makes custom leather bags in Maboneng, Johannesburg. 
• The company was founded by Tlhalefang Moeletsi who started it by mistake after creating a bag that he struggled to find in Johannesburg in 2019.
• Moeletsi, who is a PhD scholar at Wits University, has always known he would be an entrepreneur given his background in economics, but never thought he would become immersed in the world of fashion design. 
• The company has signed an agreement to ship its products to a wholesaler in the US. 

Finding the perfect African-print back pack with leather trimmings was a nightmare for Tlhalefang Moeletsi back in 2019, so he bought material to have it custom made - little did he know that that moment would lead to owning a leather bag design company of his own.  

Mebala is a local small business that makes custom leather bags in Maboneng, Johannesburg. The company was founded by Moeletsi, a PhD economics student at Wits University.

The company was founded unintentionally, and due to demand, the growth of the business has exceeded expectations.

In 2019, Moeletsi was on the hunt for a certain type of bag but simply couldn't find it anywhere in Johannesburg.

The existing leather brands weren't offering what he wanted at the time, so he took it upon himself to buy the material needed to make it from scratch.

"There was a gentleman who was fixing my shoes who had experience with leather", said Moeletsi. "I gave him the material and he made the back pack for me in the design that I wanted." 

The 28-year-old enjoyed seeing the shoe repairer create the bag he asked for and came back for more custom-design bags. The pair worked on more leather items together and sold them to their newly found customers.  

"I saw that there weren't a lot of leather brands where you can craft things according to the design that you want, so I decided that we would try and fill the gap," said Moeletsi.

Demand for the bags grew and the duo made more bags in the shoe repairer's gazebo in town. They later rented a room in Johannesburg and started operating on a full time basis.  

Another crafter was added to the team and a few months later, they moved to a bigger manufacturing facility in Maboneng, Johannesburg.   

Today, Mebala – which means colours in Sesotho – consists of a team of seven.

Over the years, the company has developed various designs ranging from bags shaped like the African continent, bucket bags, laptop bags, cases, fanny packs, and card holders among others.

To craft the products, different kinds of genuine leather are used depending on the kind of design a customer is looking for.

"For a ladies bucket bag, we use soft genuine leather which you find when cutting into the skin of an animal.

"If it's something like a briefcase, then we use full grain leather – the outermost part of the animal skin," said Moeletsi. 

They also make provisions for vegan customers on special request. Prices for the genuine leather products range from R390 to over R2,000.

"We took the common startup strategy of entering lower than the market [price] so that we could try and gain traction. We're still relatively lower than the market, although prices have increased gradually," said the scholar.

Moeletsi, who comes from a small village in the North West province, came to Johannesburg in 2011 to study. 

The business owner said he always knew he would become an entrepreneur, but never though he would do so in the fashion design industry.

Last year February, Mebala got the opportunity to participate in Design Indaba's emerging creatives platform. The programme has previously featured the likes of Maxhosa Africa, a popular South African clothing line. 

One of the wholesalers there liked their products and contacted them regarding exporting products to the US. Mebala signed the agreement and will start shipping items internationally during the festive season.

"We've been getting so much love on social media from Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and America.

"We will be shipping a lot of stuff to those parts of the world," said Moeletsi. 

Phumi Ramalepe , Business Insider SA