The Sunday News
RUSTENBURG — The economy of the country has deteriorated due to the strike in the platinum sector, the mayor of Moses Kotane local municipality Fetsang Mokati-Thebe said on Friday.“Our economy has deteriorated. I have full confidence in the current leadership that it has capacity to resolve the current efforts of negotiation for positive resolutions that will see sanity prevailing,” she said during her budget speech in Madikwe outside Rustenburg.
She said people of Bojanala Platinum District Municipality and Moses Kotane in particular, were most affected by the platinum strike.
Bojanala platinum district municipality is made up of Rustenburg, Moses Kotane, Kgetlengrevier, Madibeng and Moretele local municipalities.
Mineworkers affiliated to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Lonmin (JSE:LON), Impala Platinum (JSE:IMP), and Anglo American Platinum (JSE:AMS) downed tools on January 23 demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500.
They have rejected the companies’ offer that would up their cash remuneration to R12 500 by July 2017. Amplats mines in Limpopo draw labour from villages within the Moses Kotane municipality.
Tabling her budget of R682m, Mokati-Thebe said the budget made provision for new infrastructure in the municipality through municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) funding as one of the sources of financing of the capital programme.
“Our main priority is provision of basic services. Hence our full focus has been directed towards other sources of water, and I am also proud to share with the house that more than R7m has been allocated to ground water optimisation projects which will benefit communities.”
“In response to your outcry with regard to roads and storm water the municipality has allocated an amount of R68,1 million for construction of internal roads and storm water projects.” – Sapa
