4 NEWS FRIDAY MAY 16 2014 The Star

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Belt tightening to cut some of the fat from Zuma’s big dayBABALO NDENZE

NOT EVEN Jacob Zuma’s inau-guration as president couldsurvive the cabinet’s austerityand cost-cutting measures, andit will cost far less than the pre-vious inauguration.

This is according to Minis-ter in the Presidency CollinsChabane and members of theinter-ministerial committee onthe presidential inauguration.

The 2009 inauguration costtaxpayers R75 million, whilethe budget for this year’s inau-guration was increased to

R120m – a 60 percent jump onthe last inauguration.

But Chabane said the costfor the May 24 inaugurationwould be far less than the bud-geted R120m.

Asked about the cost impli-cations, Chabane wouldn’t givea detailed figure, saying onlythe event would cost less thanthe 2009 inauguration.

“The costs will be far lessthan the costs of the inaugura-tion which took place before.Particularly because of theausterity measures which arebeing implemented by the cab-

inet,” said ChabaneHe said the ceremony had

been budgeted for in the nor-mal budgeting process “be-cause we knew it is an eventwhich is going to take place”.

“It has been budgeted invarious government depart-ments,” said Chabane.

The National Assembly willconvene for its first sitting onWednesday for MPs to be swornin. This will be followed by theelection of the speaker, deputyspeaker and president.

The president must besworn in within five days of

being elected by the NationalAssembly.

“It is with this in mind thatthe inauguration will be held atthe Union Buildings on Satur-day, May 24. We expect that theinauguration will be attendedby thousands of people, ofwhom 4 500 will be accommo-dated in the Nelson MandelaAmphitheatre at the UnionBuildings,” said Chabane.

The remaining guests wouldbe accommodated on theSouthern Lawns below theUnion Buildings, while othermembers of the public would

be able to follow the ceremonylive on TV and radio, and at47 viewing sites across thecountry.

“By the time the inaugura-tion takes place, provinceswould have elected their pre-miers and provincial delegates.

“We look forward to thesecoming milestones being aswell managed as the electionprocess itself and hope thatSouth Africans will derive newhope, optimism and energy foran even better future fromthese important events,” saidChabane.

LOUISE FLANAGANlouise.flanagan@inl.co.za

IT'S THE party of the year, but ifyou’re not a world leader or apresidential BFF, then forget aboutgetting to the top table.

Those on the VVIP list may swigPeroni water, Black Label beer,Johnnie Walker Black Label andLagavulin whisky, while those onthe VIP list miss out on the whisky.

It’s the presidentialinauguration.

And this is the cheap version,

the government said yesterday.Officials have been busy

planning the massive bash formonths and governmentdocuments outline some of this.There are 4 500 VIP and VVIPguests expected, including 100heads of state, former heads ofstate and their spouses.

About 4 000 will get into thePresidential Dome but only a select500 will be allowed into thePresidential Marquee.

Key venues are the UnionBuildings – the Amphitheatre and

the South Lawn – the ministerialBryntirion estate nearby and theSefako Makgatho PresidentialGuest House banquet hall at theestate. Those 500 in thePresidential Marquee can lookforward to a five-course meal.

They will include the heads ofstate, their deputies, heads ofdelegations and missions, SouthAfrican dignitaries, guests of thepresident, heads of internationalorganisations, and representativesof traditional and religiousleaders.

Massive bash lined up for inauguration

Numsa strongly hints it’stime to contest electionsSHANTI ABOOBAKER

THE NATIONAL Union of Metal-workers of SA (Numsa) has given thestrongest indication yet it would takeon the ANC and DA in the 2016 localgovernment elections, saying theworking class “must take statepower”.

Numsa deputy general secretaryKarl Cloete, briefing the media on thepenultimate day of the union’s centralcommittee meeting, said workingclasses that were not interested inpolitical power would continue to be“butchered by the capitalists”.

“We are clear the ANC is going tolose the Nelson Mandela metro. Weare clear that we do not want the DAto win that metro,” he said.

Cloete’s comments come on theback of poor performances by theANC in the Nelson Mandela Metro(Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape,as well as in the Gauteng metros ofJoburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

“When we go to 2016 local govern-ment and 2019 (provincial andnational government elections), wedon’t want state power in dorps (smalltowns),” Cloete said.

“The working class must be inter-ested in state power in the state – notto be an opposition. The working class

must take state power. We are sayingany working class that’s not inter-ested in political power will continueto be butchered by the capitalists.”

Part of Numsa’s immediate pro-gramme of action in preparation forthe formation of a workers’ partyincludes building township-basedunited front political discussions andforums aimed at building local net-works for the party.

Numsa general secretary IrvinJim lauded the Economic FreedomFighters for mobilising young peopleand getting 1 million to vote for them,saying “that’s quite a significant(thing) they’ve been able to achieve”.

Meanwhile, Numsa was scathingof the ANC’s performance in thismonth’s elections, saying its reducedmajority was the result of “20 years ofour neo-liberal economy”.

This status quo had resulted in“mass poverty, deepening unemploy-ment and extreme inequalities”because of the “ideological fog”spread with the ANC’s “good story totell” campaign, Jim said.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembusaid: “Numsa cannot use this to wantto explain why they want to start theirown party. Let them not find an excusein ANC performance. Let them goahead.”

ANC seeking threepremier candidatesProvinces must decide in the next few daysBABALO NDENZE

THE PROCESS of select-ing premier candidatesin the eight ANC-led

provinces has begun in ear-nest, with various provincesfinalising their lists of pre-ferred names this week.

The provinces have to sub-mit names before the ANC’snational executive committee(NEC) and national workingcommittee (NWC) which meeton Monday to deliberate on thematter.

ANC national spokesmanJackson Mthembu warned thatprovinces have to submit threenames to the NEC or stand therisk of having their selectionsreferred back.

“The NEC and NWC aremeeting on Monday. So by thenat least, officials of the NECand NWC should have looked atthose matters. They have tosubmit three names.

“I can’t speak about EasternCape, I can’t speak about any-body. I’m saying what the con-ference in Polokwane said, thatthe provinces need threenames. If you submit one, itwill be referred back so thatthey submit three,” saidMthembu.

On Wednesday, the EasternCape became the latestprovince to select a candidate,choosing provincial chairmanPhumulo Masaulle as the onlycandidate to take over fromNoxolo Kiviet.

In Gauteng, The Starreported that incumbent Pre-mier Nomvula Mokonyanewould not be retained if theprovincial ANC leaders gettheir wish.

The Gauteng provincialexecutive committee (PEC)included provincial secretaryDavid Makhura, EducationMEC Barbara Creecy and

Finance MEC Mandla Nkomfeas its preferred premier candi-dates. But some insiders are ofthe belief Mokonyane will getthe nod despite not featuringon the list.

The ANC North West PECmet yesterday to discuss thematter, with all indicationspointing towards provincialchairman Supra Mahumapeloas the candidate to replacePremier Thandi Modise.

The KwaZulu-Natal PECstill had to meet to decide whowould lead the provincialadministration, said provincialspokesman Sihle Zikalala.

“We are not yet done. Wewill meet when necessary tosubmit names. But we are notused to discussing organisa-tional matters in the media,”said Zikalala.

The Northern Cape PECwas due to meet today, when adecision would be taken, itsprovincial secretary, ZamaniSaul, confirmed yesterday.

“There are no names now.We will conclude it (premiercandidates) on Friday. I thinkwe might announce it,” saidSaul.

Asked about Minister ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fish-eries Tina Joemat-Pettersson,Saul said “she’s not even on thelist”.

“She’s not even somebodywe can consider. (Provincialchairman) John Block is on thelist and it’s something we willdiscuss as the PEC on Friday.”

In North West, ANC YouthLeague provincial spokesmanOabile Seabelo didn’t mince hiswords on their choice of pre-mier.

“Supra Mahumapelo mustbe the premier. The ANC issitting today) and they willresolve on the item. But wemust first engage the ANCleadership, but we told them

our preference and we arenot backtracking,” Seabelostated.

He added that North Westwould submit only one name.

“We are not interested insending three names becausewe are not confused,” saidSeabelo.

FINAL TRIBUTE: From the left are Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi, former finance minister Trevor Manuel, Minister of Home AffairsNaledi Pandor, ANC deputy president ANC Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Tshepo at the memorial service for Sophia Masefako Motlanthe, themother of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, held at the Anglican church in Meadowlands, Soweto. PICTURE: BOXER NGWENYA

JOYCE LEEjoyce.lee@inl.co.za

SOPHIA Masefako Motlanthe,the mother of Deputy Presi-dent Kgalema, would welcomeguests into her home with thesmell of cooking food waftingout of the kitchen.

Mama Motlanthe, as shewas affectionately known,died on Friday of naturalcauses at the age of 89.

At her memorial serviceyesterday, her friends and fam-ily remembered her generos-ity – she always made sureothers had enough food beforeshe ate.

High-ranking governmentofficials, including ANC de-puty president Cyril Rama-phosa and Minister of HomeAffairs Naledi Pandor, attend-ed the four-hour-long serviceat the Anglican ResurrectionChurch in Meadowlandsalongside more than 500 resi-dents, family and friends.

Kgalema, who was ill, didnot attend.

“In more ways than one,the late Mrs Motlanthe wasindeed one of the millions ofunsung heroes of our people,who in more ways than onesupported the cause of free-dom,” Pandor said.

Sophia was born inMpumalanga in 1925 to JosephMadingoana, a local priest.

She met and married LouisMotlanthe in Joburg and hadthree sons including Kgalema.

They lived in Alexandratownship until the apartheidgovernment displaced the

family to Meadowlands. Sophia spent the rest of her

years there and died at herhome in the Soweto suburb.

“You moulded us, raisingus with warmth and love,”Tumi Motlanthe, Sophia’sgranddaughter, said duringher eulogy.

“You embodied passion,instilling in us life lessons.”

Her weeping relatives filledthe rows closest to the stage.

Until her death, Sophiaserved in the mothers’ unionof her local church.

Members of the churchattended the service wearingwhite shirts, singing hymns,

blowing whistles and ringingbells in her honour.

The nation knew her as thedeputy president’s mother, butfriends remembered her as thehumble woman who walkedthrough Meadowlands toattend to the needs of the poor.

Motlanthe was deeply reli-gious, friends said, and whenKgalema was imprisoned onRobben Island in 1977, shewould pray every day for herson and his fellow inmates.

Ramaphosa, who attendedon behalf of the ANC, thank-ed Mama Motlanthe for givingbirth to and raising a freedomfighter.

FIGHTING TALK:Working classesnot interested in

state power wouldcontinue to be

butchered, Numsadeputy general

secretary KarlCloete saidyesterday.

PICTURE:NICHOLAS THABO TAU

Unsung hero Mama Motlanthe remembered

You embodiedpassion, instillingin us life lessons

BALDWIN NDABAbaldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za

GAUTENG MEC for FinanceMandla Nkomfe has declinednomination as one of threepossible candidates for thepremiership of the province.

The Star reported onWednesday that the GautengANC had recommended duringits provincial executivecommittee meeting on Mondaythat Nkomfe, MEC for EducationBarbara Creecy and ANCprovincial secretary DavidMakhura be submitted to thenational executive this weekendas candidates to replaceNomvula Mokonyane. The ANCstrongly denied the report.

Last night, ANC provincialspokesman Nkenke Kekana saidthe decision was taken only onWednesday night.

Kekana said Nkomfe hadindicated in a letter he wantedto concentrate on research andacademic studies.

The ANC refused to divulgethe names of its preferredcandidates, but Kekana said:“Our alliance partners in theprovince, namely Cosatu and theSACP, have endorsed the threenames submitted.”

NKOMFEDROPS OUT

OF RACE