Hitachi Power Africa (HPA), which has won a R38.5 billion Eskom boiler contract, on Tuesday pleaded ignorance about questionable business links with the ruling ANC.

HPA chief executive officer Johannes Musel told reporters the company had no idea that the African National Congress owned Chancellor House when it signed a black empowerment deal with the ruling party's investment arm. Also, Musel said HPA had not been informed of any plans that the ANC might disinvest its 25 percent stake in the company. “We can confirm that we have had no direct approach from our shareholders... "It is in the first instance a shareholder issue, so if something is going to happen they should be talking to our holding company,” said Musel.

The ANC owns 25 percent in HPA through its investment arm Chancellor House. ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa had said the ANC would disinvest, while Chancellor House officials had denied this. “It's a business transaction and it takes all partners involved to agree... "There is a disagreement if the share should be sold or not... We have not been made an offer,” said Musel. He said HPA had needed a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner to get a R38.5 billion Eskom contract to build boilers at its new Medupi and Kusile power stations in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Chancellor House paid “more than R1 million” for the 25 percent stake in HPA, said the company's chief financial officer Robin Duff. “At the time we did the deal with them, we did not know they were an ANC front company,” Duff said.

Duff and Musel were briefing media in Johannesburg to set “the record right” on reports linking the company to the ruling party. “We really want to put the record right – we have done what we can to ensure that there is no funding going to political parties,” said Duff. “There is no corruption in our business or in our dealings with Chancellor House... We are not funding political parties,” he added.

The contract between HPA, Chancellor House and a five-percent broad-based black empowerment partner, Makotulo, was signed in November 2005. “The first we knew about it [the ANC link] was when the ANC secretary general in 2007 came out in the press and said he had just become aware that it is an ANC company,” said Duff. At that stage, “numerous meetings” followed with Chancellor House directors, trustees and politicians and HPA was subsequently informed the ANC would not disinvest. Now that the issue was making news headlines again, Musel said HPA would “carry on to fulfil our contracts”. “We have done what needed to be done. There is no legal issue... if there are any problems coming up, we will deal with it,” said Musel. “We would like to proceed with our business.”

The pair went to great lengths to explain that Chancellor House Trust presented itself to HPA as a trust with beneficiaries who were “natural black people who support the struggle of previously disadvantages South Africans... there was no reference to any political party”. As soon as Hitachi became aware of the situation, it made sure that the beneficiaries of the trust were “natural persons” and not a political party. “All we can do, is we can make sure that the conditions are legal... correct in terms of what the deed of the trust says; the responsibility lies with the trust,” said Musel. “If you want to know who the beneficiaries are, speak to Chancellor House Trust,” he added.

Chancellor House was expected to receive an estimated R50 million over eight years in profit from the Eskom Medupi and Kusile power stations deal, said Musel. “Chancellor House will only share in the profits of the local scope and it will not be billions... We are looking at about R50 million over a period of eight years. That's the magnitude,” he said. That money would not go to any political party, said Musel, because the beneficiaries of the Chancellor House Trust were “natural black persons”. “It will go back to natural black persons such as women, the youth, the disabled, the aged.” He told journalists: “I see some of you are smiling. It's for you to speculate, it's for me to tell you the truth.” But when asked if HPA could guarantee that the money would not end up in ANC pockets, Musel replied: “What control would we have over what you do with [your] money... it's a good question but ask it to the right people.”

Zimbabwe's mining sector will be the first target of the country's drive to force foreign firms to cede a majority stake to locals, the indigenisation minister said Tuesday. "I am happy to announce that government has unanimously decided that implementation of our indigenisation policy (will) start with the mining sector," Saviour Kasukuwere told journalists.

Under the indigenisation law, which came into force on March 1, foreign-owned firms valued at 500,000 dollars (371,000 euros) or more must cede at least a 50 percent stake to local owners. Firms had been given 45 days to report their efforts at complying, but Kasukuwere said the deadline has been extended to May 15.

The biggest targets include local subsidiaries of British banks Barclays and Standard Chartered, as well as mining companies such as Impala Platinum, Anglo Platinum and Rio Tinto. Kasukuwere said some mining houses had prejudiced the state by sending money abroad without authorisation. "They were externalising as much as 280 million dollars. These funds are badly needed here," he said. He said more than 400 companies have already taken measures to comply with the law.

President Robert Mugabe has defended the regulations as a measure to correct the economic imbalances created by Zimbabwe's colonial past. But Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's partner in a power-sharing government formed last year, has complained the regulations were crafted behind his back and passed without his approval.

Zimbabwe is still struggling to recover from an economic collapse that saw the country grind to a halt in the face of record-setting hyperinflation, a meltdown caused in part by Mugabe's policy of seizing white-owned farms. Analysts have warned that the indigenisation law could put the country's nascent recovery at risk. In the first month after the law was published, Zimbabwe's stock market fell about 10 percent, while mining shares dropped 20 percent.

The ANC was creating a "smokescreen" through its "mixed messages" on the censure of its youth league president Julius Malema, the Democratic Alliance in Gauteng said on Tuesday. "Amidst all the confusion and contradiction, one thing is clear: the ANC has no intention of subjecting Julius Malema to a proper disciplinary hearing," said Gauteng MP Sejamothopo Motau. Motau said confusion reigned as ANC deputy secretary general Thandi Modise said charges may be brought against Malema, while youth league officials said charges were already dropped.

"The ANC is clearly buckling under the pressure. "That, in turn, raises a very serious question about who is really in charge of the ANC. Is it Jacob Zuma? Is it Julius Malema?" The party said failure to censure Malema would "expose" Zuma as a "president who is unwilling to make principled decisions" and "unable to confront rogue elements inside his own party".

The DA's comments follow a media briefing during which Modise said the ANC had "preferred" charges against the ANCYL president. ANC spokesman Ishmael Mnisi said this meant it had an "intent" to charge Malema. "It's a legal term basically meaning that there is an intention... but mind you, it's an intention, that intention can change."

An astonishing number of guns have gone missing from municipalities, the police ministry said on Tuesday.

A preliminary audit had shown that the number of guns lost ranged from one at one municipality, to some 500 at another which the ministry did not name. The announcement follows revelations earlier this year about the number of guns lost by or stolen from police -- 2575 in the 2008/09 financial year alone. The ministry said municipalities owned 17,482 firearms. Just under half of them were owned by Gauteng municipalities. Northern Cape municipalities had the least with 64 firearms.

It was apparent that some municipalities had effective, up-to-date control measures while others were "completely below depth". Minister Nathi Mthethwa had ordered the police's central firearms registry to investigate and to make recommendations on how the police could help municipalities tighten their firearms controls. The ministry also said that steps would be taken to recover 42 guns not returned by members who left the police.

Foreign companies in Zimbabwe have started submitting plans to dispose of the majority of their assets to black Zimbabweans, creating more confusion over the status of new regulations that drove a wedge through the country's 14-month old coalition government.

The Herald daily, which is loyal to President Robert Mugabe's party, on Tuesday quoted Indigenization and Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, as saying foreign companies were complying with requirements to hand over 51 per cent of their equity.

"We have so far received more than 400 submissions from various companies and as government we are happy with such an overwhelming response," the paper quotes him as saying, adding that Unilever,
British American Tobacco Plc, and South Africa's Impala Platinum were among companies that had submitted such plans.

Kasukuwere is one of Mugabe's ministers in the government the elderly leader formed with the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Morgan Tsvangirai 14 months ago.

Earlier this year, he gazetted a law forcing foreign-owned and white-owned companies to submit details on their racial composition together with plans to put black Zimbabweans in control within five years.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai resisted the law, saying it was published without his knowledge.

Last week his spokesman claimed the cabinet had decided to suspend the regulations, but Mugabe later denied there had been any u-turn.

On Sunday, while celebrating Zimbabwe's 30 years of independence from Britain, the nationalist leader said the policy would stand to empower marginalized blacks.

But critics of the law say no ordinary Zimbabweans can offered to buy equity in companies, meaning only the rich and politically- connected would benefit.

The Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) was upset that murders that have taken place since AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche was killed were not getting the same amount of attention. "The tragedy is that since Terre'Blanche's murder, between 700 and 1000 South Africans have been murdered at the rate of 50 per day. None of which have drawn the same attention," said CDA leader Rev Theunis Botha.

It was not possible to verify Botha's figure as police do not release short-term statistics, but he said these figures were tallied by two of his staffers. He referred to recently reported crimes such as the fatal beating of a man while his wife was gang-raped and his toddler assaulted, as well as the death of a young Cape Town man who died after an early morning home invasion.

"The only conclusion that can be drawn, is that with the inability of the government to protect its citizens and effectively deal with criminals, South Africa is fast becoming a 'failed-state," said Botha.

Terre'Blanche was murdered on April 3 and two people were currently in custody. His death and funeral drew significant local and international media attention.

After two meetings held on Saturday, all Afrikaans organisations involved in community security have united to devise a common strategy to deal with threats of violence against the Afrikaner nation of South Africa.

These threats emanate from the collapse of law and order in the country, as well as recent pronouncements by the ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema, made in Zimbabwe. Mr. Malema has seemingly enlisted the help of ZANU-PF military personnel in the coming seizure of Afrikaner-owned and white-owned farms in South Africa.

Dr. Dan Roodt of PRAAG (Pro-Afrikaans Action Group) called a meeting on Saturday in Pretoria at which security issues were discussed with members of the Afrikaner Front Security Directorate. "There is real fear among Afrikaners that South Africa is sliding into Zimbabwean-style anarchy and chaos," said Roodt. "Racially motivated attacks on whites and Afrikaners are on the increase. While in Zimbabwe, Mr. Malema promised that land seizures in this country would commence from the end of this year. According to reports, the ANC has sent some of its cadres to Zimbabwe for training in land seizures. We have to take these threats very seriously. The livelihood of our farmers and the food security of South Africa are at stake."

Afrikaans organisations intend setting up a common command and control structure, but with decentralised citizens' commando groups operating more or less autonomously, each one under a district Kommandant. According to Roodt, the following organisations will participate in the setting up of a voluntary security system capable of ensuring safety amid the collapse of law and order, as well as to repulse military threats arising from land seizures with or without the participation of ANC cadres and ZANU-PF military personnel crossing over South Africa's border: Boerevolk Vryheidstigting, AWB, Suidlanders, Kommandokorps, TAU, PRAAG community safety group.

Roodt said that Afrikaner security assocations were concerned about the escalating tone of hate speech directed against Afrikaners. "Songs inciting violence or even genocide against Afrikaners or Boers are still being sung in various parts of the country. The remarks made by Julius Malema yesterday in the Northern Cape, implying that Afrikaner land owners are foreigners, convey a clear message that Afrikaners are not wanted in South Africa. Given the xenophobic attacks in May 2008, we are concerned that members of the Afrikaner nation will become the next target for pogroms by South African blacks."

Roodt urged all Afrikaner males to join up with one of the citizens' security associations. "Our analysis has shown that we are sitting on a powder keg. The ethnic and racial consciousness of a significant section of the black population has reached fever pitch and some sort of racial conflagration in the country could be imminent."

The Freedom Charter must be implemented in its entirety, not just one clause, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. "We are the upholders of the Freedom Charter in its entirety," he said delivering the inaugural Violet Seboni memorial lecture at the Johannesburg City Hall.

The ANC Youth League has based its argument for the nationalisation of mines on a clause in the Freedom Charter. ANC alliance partner Cosatu has also come out in support of nationalisation of mines, also using the Freedom Charter as its basis.

Mantashe said the clause on mineral wealth was not the only clause in the charter. The charter is a document drawn up by the ANC during the apartheid era setting out the goals and aspirations of a democratic society. It formed the reference point for the country's Bill of Rights and Constitution.

The number of service delivery protests peaked in the first quarter of 2010, with some 54 protests counted countrywide by research company Municipal IQ.

This number, counted in the first four months of this year, was very high considering that a total of 105 protests occurred over 12 months last year, said Municipal IQ managing director Kevin Allan. "It is significant that the first quarter of 2010 has experienced more than half as many protests as 2009," Allan said in a statement on Thursday. "In fact, March's protests equal last year's previously unprecedented July peak," he added, with the research showing that about 25 protests were counted in these two months.

Since Municipal IQ started compiling the report in 2004, the calmest year was 2006, when only two service delivery protests were recorded. Last year the most protests (105) were recorded, but this year could be the worst considering that the first quarter already saw 54 protests. In 2008, 27 protests were counted, in 2007 it was 32, in 2005, a total of three happened and in 2004 there were 10 protests.

Municipal IQ economist Karen Heese said Gauteng was the most affected province, with 41 percent of protests recorded in the first quarter of 2010. This was followed by Mpumalanga (13 percent), North West and Eastern Cape (both 11 percent), Limpopo (seven percent), the Free State (five percent) and Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape (all four percent).

Municipal IQ counts "sustained protests" that happen over a few days in one place as only one protest. It includes peaceful and violent protests directed at municipalities accused of providing poor services.

Streets littered with refuse and looted stalls belonging to hawkers were left in the wake of SA Municipal Workers' Union protest marches on Thursday.

Samwu announced it was close to ending its four-day-old strike late on Thursday, after its members brought central Durban to a standstill and left the Johannesburg CBD central littered with refuse. "We are almost on the verge [of ending this strike]. We have been able to find each other on contentious issues," Samwu Gauteng secretary Vincent Vena told a media briefing in Johannesburg.

In Durban protesters carrying animal skulls and waving sticks danced through Dr Pixley Ka Seme Street (West Street) while singing "ubaba uyajabula mangishayi bhunu" (my father is happy when I hit the boer) and the now-banned "dubula ibhunu" (shoot the boer).

Municipal workers gathered to hand over memoranda of demands to government representatives in the various cities in a bid to pressure their employer, the SA Local Government Association (Salga) to accede to Samwu's demands. Samwu began its strike demanding market-related salaries for lower and middle income employees on Monday. It wanted this to apply to higher ranking officials' salaries too as Samwu charged they were overpaid and awarding themselves perks. Thousands of workers participated in the Johannesburg protest, with the march culminating in Ignatius Jacobs, a senior official from the office of the Gauteng premier, receiving the union's memorandum.

Johannesburg Samwu spokesman Dumisani Langa said the union was happy with the march, but was disappointed about the littering of the streets. "Trashing has no place in a strike," he said, explaining that it happened because workers from across the province arrived before the union's leadership.

In Durban about 100 workers emptied dustbins, also leaving streets covered in refuse, and destroyed stalls belonging to hawkers. Police used water cannons to disperse them. Shops in both Johannesburg and Durban were closed as their owners feared being looted and streets were largely closed to traffic. In Port Elizabeth about 50 Samwu workers disrupted traffic and tried to prevent municipal employees from going to work around 8am. Police spokesman Captain Johann Rheeder said the group was warned several times to picket on the pavement and not interrupt traffic flow, but they ignored this. Police then used stun guns to remove them. It was quiet by midday, he said.

Progress was made during talks between Samwu and the SA Local Government Association (Salga) on Wednesday, but both parties were tight-lipped on the details, saying they had to discuss the matter with their members first. "The union is happy that Salga came to the negotiating table sober-minded this time around," said Samwu national spokesman Tahir Sema. He said Salga had put a proposal on the table, but declined to furnish details. Talks would resume on Friday at 2pm. The strike would continue in the meantime.

The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union on Thursday raised concern about the impact of the strike on the Fifa World Cup. Although it had members in the same sector with similar concerns to Samwu, the union had opted not to strike. The union said it had approached Salga's bargaining council requesting an urgent meeting with Salga and Samwu to end the impasse.