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The African National Congress (ANC) National Working Committee (NWC) held its regular meeting on Monday, 07 March 2011. It was the last NWC meeting before the National Executive Committee (NEC) sitting scheduled for 11 - 13 March 2011.

The three-day NEC to be held at St George Hotel in Tshwane would finalise the ANC candidates' list process for the local government elections, scheduled for 18 March 2011. The NEC will process the work of the regional list committees and conferences; the provincial list committees and the national list committee.

In preparation for the NEC, the National List Committee engaged all the provinces individually over three days from 8 - 10 March 2011.

On the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, the NWC expressed satisfaction with the explanation given by the Minister of Labour that:

· It is not factually correct that in the draft legislation, reference to regional demographics has been removed and reference to national demographics has been retained. Reference to both national and regional demographics has been removed and the Bill refers to "demographic profile of the economically active population".
· The intention is to resolve the complaint from employers that they are expected to comply with both the national and regional demographics.
· The amendment is meant to give employers flexibility of using either national or provincial demographics as long as they can justify their preference. A national company will be expected to use national demographics and a provincial-based company will be expected to use provincial demographics.

In view of the above explanation, the NWC agreed that the current public debate was false and based on disinformation. It re-affirmed the policy of non-racialism and non-sexism as a settled policy of the ANC. In implementing this policy, headcount will be necessary. The term Black is inclusive of African, Coloured and Indian. Any competition among these people who belong together must be eliminated. We should rather deal with the continued domination of management positions by white males.

The NWC further appealed to all ANC members to stop and refrain from behaving as if they were free agents who speak as individuals, reflecting comments that are not informed by policy.

On the South African Municipal Workers' Union's (SAMWU) comment that the ANC Manifesto "does not address working class needs", it must be put on record that the Manifesto was adopted by the Alliance Summit. In the Alliance Summit, the entire Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Central Executive Committee (CEC) was invited, with the SAMWU leadership having been part of the COSATU delegation.

The statement can at best be regarded as grandstanding by the SAMWU leadership who want to eat their bread and still have it. We ask this union not to mislead its membership and fulfil its commitment of being part of the forces for change during the upcoming local government elections.
WEEK IN REVIEW

Parties sign electoral code of conduct for upcoming elections
The 11 political parties that will be competing in the local government elections signed an electoral code of conduct committing themselves to the ideals of promoting peace and tolerance during the elections period. The parties that agreed to the code and who would be contesting the elections were the African Christian Democratic Party, African National Congress, African People's Convention, Azanian People's Organisation, Congress of the People, Democratic Alliance, Independent Democrats, Inkatha Freedom Party, Pan African Congress of Azania, United Christian Democratic Party, United Democratic Movement and the Freedom Front Plus. The IEC also put to rest media reports that it was aligned with the ANC. Gauteng came second with the number of young voters who registered for the upcoming local government elections with 109 043, followed by Western Cape with 68 297 and Eastern Cape with 66 648. KwaZulu-Natal scored the highest number with 150 297 young voters. The official date for the local government election date of May 18 was published in the Government Gazette on Thursday.

Parliament endorses SABC and ICASA Boards nominations
The National Assembly endorsed the candidates for the South Africa n Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) Board members. The candidates hold the much-needed knowledge in various fields, including corporate governance, journalism and communications, broadcasting administration and intellectual property laws. The Minister will then recommend the selected candidate back to Parliament for approval before the candidate can commence duties in the board. Parliament will also send the two Icasa candidates to the Minister of Communications, in terms of the Icasa Act, for selection of one candidate to fill the vacant position in the Icasa board. The Minister will then recommend the selected candidate back to Parliament for approval before the candidate can commence duties in the board. In terms of the Broadcasting Act, President Jacob Zuma will have to consider candidate's portfolios and appointment before they take up their positions on the board.

Motsoaledi remembered
South Africa's anti-apartheid activist and life-long member of the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party Elias Motsoaledi will be honoured by the city of Johannesburg with a plaque at the Elias Motsoaledi Clinic in Orlando West, Soweto. A Street in Soweto is also named after Elias Motsoaledi and will be unveiled by Bengeza Mthombeni, the member of the mayoral committee for health, today, 11 March. The clinic specialises in well baby care, immunisation and family planning; treating sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases; health education; treating chronic diseases; and HIV/Aids testing and counselling. It began operating from a temporary structure in the grounds of the Meadowlands hostel in August 1995. It serves the residents of Mzimhlophe, Killarney and the hostel, as well as the wider community of Orlando West, where it is situated. "The clinic sees on average 160 clients a day, and between July 2010 and January of this year, approximately 20 000 people visited the clinic. The clinic is named after Motsoaledi to commemorate his contribution to the liberation struggle.

Massive tsunami hits Japan
The earthquake weighing magnitude-8.8 struck Japan this morning, triggering a 4-metre tsunami that washed away cars and tore away buildings along the coast near the epicentre. In various locations along Japan's coast, TV footage showed severe flooding, with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by waters in Kamaishi city. The quake that struck was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude one about 30 minutes later. The US Geological Survey upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.8. The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan. National broadcaster NHK was warning those near the coast to get to safer ground. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. Power cuts were reported and fires engulfed in certain parts of Tokyo.