The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union [NEHAWU] in the North West Province is extremely worried by the refusal by the Premier of the North West, the Department of Social Development and the Department of Culture and Traditional Affairs to provide concrete answers to the pressing issues we have been vigorously raising with all of them.

On numerous occasions we have tried to have an audience with the Premier of the Province, Professor Job Mokgoro, but all our efforts have fallen on deaf ears. For a while we have been seeking to raise sharply two issues namely the collapse of the Mmabana Foundation and the closure of the Boikagong Youth Centre.

On Mmabana Foundation

NEHAWU has been on the forefront of highlighting the perpetual maladministration taking place at the institution and we have been met by resistance and unwillingness to confront the matter head on. Both the management and the department continuously drag their feet in dealing with the allegations of maladministration that continue to take place at the institution.

As NEHAWU we demand that the Premier and the department deal with the following issues as a matter of urgency:

·       The flouting of recruitment process to favour family members and friends of those in charge of the institution

·       The flouting of procurement policies

·       A proper constituted board

·       The building burned last year and was not insured which has resulted in it remaining in a dire state.

NEHAWU is willing to provide relevant evidence against those who have contributed to the degeneration of the institution. In this regard, we demand that investigations are carried out to uproot the scourge of maladministration at Mmabana which was once the pride of the North West Province. We are more than ready to wage a relentless war until all our demands are met. We will not tire until the institution is returned to its former glory for the benefit our members, workers and the community of the North at large.

On the closure of the Boikagong Youth Centre

NEHAWU in the province is flabbergasted by the pronouncement of the closure of the Boikagong Youth Centre by the MEC responsible for Social Development in the province. We furthermore note the arrogance of announcing this horrid and misguided decision via a press conference without consulting NEHAWU as an important stakeholder. These antics by the MEC further buttresses our long held believe that the provincial government does not treat workers with the dignity they deserve.

The Labour Relations Act prompts and compels the department do consult all relevant stakeholders including organised labour before taking such a drastic decision. In this regard, NEHAWU will not stand idle while it is being treated like a non-entity and while workers are treated with sheer disdain. If the department is looking for a fight we are more than happy to give them one. Failure to take us seriously will result in us mobilising our members for a mother of all fights. We are prepare to hold the bull by its horn and sleep with the hyena in defense of our members in particular and workers in general. We call on the department to stop the mooted closure or face the full might of the union.

NEHAWU wants to send an unequivocal message to the premier and the two departments that it is in their best interest to meet with us and to work in glove in resolve the above mentioned issues. We have been patient for far too long and our patience has ran out. We demand that meetings between themselves and NEHAWU should materialise in the next 14 days and failure to comply will leave us with no option but to consider other avenues available to us which are not limited to us to beginning a process to mobilise our members to shut down the provincial government indefinitely and render the system ungovernable.

Issued by NEHAWU North West Secretariat Office: For more information, please contact: Patrick Makhafane (NEHAWU North West Provincial Secretary) at 018 381 4585 – 082 455 2486 or email: patrick@nehawu.org.za