Gigaba backs state management of steel costs

“must manage the price of steel” as the entire R800 billion build programme – driven by his parastatals including Eskom and Transnet – was dependent on sufficient steel “at the right price”.

A country that produced iron and manganese “shouldn’t be paying the prices for steel that we are paying at the moment”. “We should be able to get sufficient supply of steel,” he said. It was critical that the infrastructure rollout and the envisaged industrial development programme be underpinned by affordable steel prices.

Whether this was achieved by a stateowned company or through negotiating favourable prices with existing companies was “something we are still looking at”.

Given that the iron ore and steel manufacturing industries were privatised before democracy, it seems a bit like slamming the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Jasco

Jasco chief executive Pete da Silva hopes that by the time the company reports its interim results early next year, he will have made progress in resolving the shareholder differences with Korean business partners Taihan Electric Wire.

Jasco and Taihan are shareholders in Malesela Taihan Electric Cable (M-TEC), a South African business that manufactures and supplies bare copper wire and strip product including optical fibre cable.

The differences between the parties

The entire R800 billion build programme – driven by his parastatals including Eskom and Transnet – was dependent on sufficient steel ‘at the right price’.

concern management control. M-TEC is strategic for Jasco as it seeks to increase market share in the power sector. In 2008, Jasco bought a 34 percent share of the business from Jasco’s black economic empowerment partner Community Investment Holdings for about R200 million.

Last year, Jasco began reviewing poorly performing subsidiaries and businesses. Da Silva, a corporate veteran of the information and communication technology sector, was starting his first term as chief executive of Jasco, which had merged with Spescom in 2010. He set about streamlining Jasco by stripping inefficiencies, reducing headcount at management level and within the enterprise voice business.

So it has come has no surprise that Da Silva will apply a firm hand with M-TEC, which remains on Jasco’s “watchlist” after it underperformed the previous year.

The dilemma for Jasco is that although it now owns 51 percent of the business, the Koreans are not easily ceding management of the business.

Da Silva said the shareholders agreement and management agreements would have to be changed. “What Taihan does not want is to stay in at a minority stake and we don’t want them to stay in at a minority stake and have management control.”

Da Silva wants to keep the Koreans as technology partners for their world-class technology skills and for Jasco, whose staff are more proficient in English and marketing to take over the steering of MTEC. page 3

Cosatu

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) clearly was not impressed with Zwelinzima Vavi being returned unopposed as Cosatu general secretary for another term on Monday.

Popcru tried to get congress to agree to a nomination from the floor but was roundly defeated without a vote. Vavi, with friends like these, who needs enemies?

It used to be said that intellectuals and academics suffered from verbal diarrhoea, but it looks as if the disease has afflicted the workers as well.

With congress running almost three hours late, the public sector union Nehawu started a debate on the suitability of Somadoda Fikeni, a professor and political analyst, to address the congress.

The invitation to Fikeni was blamed on the labour federation’s office bearers. It turned out that Fikeni was just a stand-in, with the central executive committee of Cosatu having unsuccessfully invited Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil. He presided over the South American country from 2002 to 2010 during a period of significant economic growth, which made Brazil an important player in the world. (Excuse the pun, football fanatics.)

Cosatu has what it calls the Lula moment. In his opening address, union president Sdumo Dlamini defined what this is.

“The Lula moment or the radical phase of our transition will not happen if we do not build a radical and militant campaigning Cosatu, SACP [Communist Party] and ANC as mass-based organisations which derive their perspectives from the masses.

“We need to build these as organisations that do not identify with the people out of pity, but grounded on the masses and connect with community struggles; build them as organisations that see people as capable of presenting solutions to the challenges confronting society; build them as fighting organisations that must continue to enjoy respect and credibility by the working class. These are the tasks we can only ignore at our peril.”