GCWALISILE KHANYILE
DURBAN - RICHARDS Bay Minerals (RBM) said it was co-operating fully with the police to support the investigation into the murder of its general manager, Nico Swart.
RBM spokesperson Zanele Zungu said the company was offering all the necessary support, counselling and assistance to Swart’s family and colleagues during this difficult time.
Swart, the general manager of operational services for the mine, was gunned down on his way to work on Monday.
President of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce, Thami Sithole said they were concerned about the shooting and overall protest actions around the area.
“We have held a meeting with the local mayor (Cllr Mduduzi Mhlongo), captains of the industry and the local forum.
“They (local forum) raised issues around job opportunities,” Sithole said.
He said they were seeing incidents of truck hijackings and the beating up of drivers.
“There is always a complaint of whether the truck drivers are South African or not. But fortunately our systems are advanced enough to detect whether a person has a work permit or not,” Sithole said.
He said they were elevating the matters to Premier Sihle Zikalala to seek his intervention.
Recently City of uMhlathuze mayor, Mduduzi Mhlongo engaged with the captains of the City and King Cetshwayo industries on how to better work with the business forums and those representing the unemployed.
“As a government, we have a constitutional obligation to create a conducive environment for business to thrive in order for the poor to benefit,” Mhlongo said.
He said they proposed to the industry and the forums to establish a framework in which they could all engage, guided by principles of business and laws of the country. “We have committed to be transparent with the business and job opportunities that the industry has. This includes us as the City whereby we will lay bare our budget and what opportunities we have and how to access them, the business sector will do the same. We agreed to rope in the University of Zululand and the eSikhaleni TVET College so that they train students based on the skills that are required by the industries.”
Mhlongo said the next session would involve traditional leaders and institutions of higher learning
Daily News