SA’s inequality greatly concerning, says Mo Ibrahim

Black economic empowerment (BEE) share-purchase schemes are the biggest untold corporate fraud of 20 years of democracy in South Africa. Vendor companies deliberately misrepresent these schemes as discounts to unsuspecting potential BEE participants, who lack the financial aptitude to understand the prospectus.

The Health & Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) is calling for greater commitment to the health and safety of health workers on the commemoration of International AIDS Day. While the Union celebrates the strides made in addressing the AIDS pandemic, it recognises that there are still serious shortcomings in the already embattled South African health system leading to great risks being faced by workers in the health sector.

The Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) is appealing to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to alleviate the ever-increasing financial pressures faced by working people, when delivering his annual Budget Speech on this afternoon. The Union warns against increases in income tax, Value-Added Tax (VAT) as well as other forms of taxation and costs borne by workers.

The card scanner on Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) system reads “insufficient balance”. The attendants say it’s malfunctioning but I cannot be let in; they need to be sure that my balance is sufficient. But my card cannot be checked at this station — the computers are offline.

The Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) is critical of the little focus given to measures for combating irregular spending in Government. While the Union welcomes the safety afforded to the working class during these tough economic times, the overemphasis on increasing income and failure to curb government inefficiencies is seen as a cause for concern.