-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion]
Evo donates 50% of salary to Hati, Chile, Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010
18:32:11 +1100
From: Stuart Munckton <[email protected]>
and we shoudln't forget when Evo was first elected, on of his first
moves was to slash his own salary by 50% and, as no other public servant
could earn more than the president, the salaries of top bureaucrats in
the process
Evo Donates 50% of Salary to Haiti and Chile March 3, 2010
*The president of Bolivia sets an example*
Translated from CubaDebate, March 2, 2010
<http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/03/02/evo-morales-donara-el-50-de-su-sueldo-a-chile-y-haiti/>
Bolivia's President Evo Morales has launched a five-day campaign, called
'Chile and Haiti need you,' to raise funds for the two countries.
'This is a solidarity campaign with two Latin American peoples who have
suffered irreparable climate damage,' said the Bolivian president.
Setting an example, Morales announced that he and his vice-president
will contribute 50% of their salary for the month, and that the other
cabinet ministers will donate 30%.
Funds raised during the five days will be channeled through and managed
by the state bank. The Bolivian leader said that the campaign goal is
for Bolivia to contribute about 2 million dollars.
***
My house is your house, comrades Cosatu official offers to open holiday
home to all Mar 7, 2010 12:00 AM | By BONGANI MDAKANE
For most comrades, "an injury to one is an injury to all" - but for one
unusual activist, a holiday home for one is also a holiday home for all.
OPEN HOUSE: Tony Ehrenreich's holiday home in Kleinmond, Cape Town
quote Greed drove the apartheid government, but now it is driving the
elite individuals quote
Trade unionist Tony Ehrenreich has his friends and comrades all
a-twitter after he publicly offered them the use of his holiday home in
the picturesque town of Kleinmond in the Overberg.
The two-bedroom unit in a complex is a stone's throw from the beach with
beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. It suits a couple with a
maximum of two children, and the only charge is R100 for two days to
cover service costs.
Ehrenreich's invitation to Cosatu "shop stewards and comrades" was
spotted on the social networking site Facebook this week.
"Dear comrades ... I would like to confirm that whilst I bought the
property at a discount price many years ago, I have been able to finish
building the house because of what I believe is a very generous salary
from Cosatu, which has allowed me to make the kinds of loans needed."
The "generous" salary is about R22,000 after deductions.
His holiday home triggered rumours about his income in 2007. To allay
the fears of comrades, Ehrenreich publicly disclosed his salary, which
was R10,000 at the time.
"Accordingly, this benefit should not only accrue to me, but to the
broader Cosatu, and this is my proposal for redistribution," the
49-year-old Western Cape secretary of the labour federation wrote.
Ehrenreich told the Sunday Times his gesture was not "grandstanding". He
said he had no intention of standing for re-election at Cosatu's next
round of elections in 2012.
He had opened his home because he believed it was "vital" to care for
each other. "I have this belief that people need to share. You need to
understand that an injury to one is an injury to all, so an opportunity
for one is an opportunity for all.
"A holiday home, for me, is an extravagance, so it is important to allow
others to live there as well."
Asked how he had acquired the property, Ehrenreich said he had bought a
vacant plot in 1998 for R80,000 and had since, thanks to various bank
loans, been able to pay for the construction of the house.
The money was used mainly for materials, while friends and family got
together to build it.
According to his post on Facebook, the Kleinmond property is one of a
cluster of units, two of which his sisters built for themselves.
Ehrenreich told the Sunday Times that although he had two homes, he did
not have a fancy lifestyle.
He still lives in a house in Uitsig township, north of Cape Town, where
he grew up.
"I live full time at my Uitsig one-bedroom house, and I also accommodate
needy people to share with me where I live."
In 2008, he invited a single mother with three children and a grandchild
- left homeless after a shack fire - to move in with him.
Initially, they lived in his living room. Nine months later, he
converted his garage into a furnished flatlet for the family. The family
subsequently received a government-subsidised house in Delft.
He is still in touch with them and pays the school fees for one of the
woman's children who is in Grade 9.
He said another family, who had lived in his holiday home in Kleinmond
for nine months until last year, had since also received a government
house.
This weekend a new family will be moving into a section of his holiday
home. He met the family after the mother had lost her job unfairly.
Even though he managed to help the mother of two to be reinstated, she
was left homeless and would be sharing his holiday home until she got
back on her feet.
"What keeps me going is my slogan that says, 'From those to whom much is
granted, much is expected'.
Ehrenreich, who said he managed to slip away to Kleinmond about twice a
month, also posted a comment on Facebook about the need for politicians'
lifestyles to be audited.
Asked to elaborate he said: "I really don't want to say much on the
issue of other politicians who live a lavish life while other people
have no roofs over their heads."
On Facebook, while not mentioning anyone, he wrote: " There is something
immoral about having a watch that costs R200,000 or a car that costs
half a million or a house that costs R2-million when the majority of our
people live in poverty."
He added: "If someone is drinking French champagne, surely that's a way
of sending (the) wrong message to the people who live in poverty. Greed
drove the apartheid government, but now it is driving the elite
individuals."
* - [email protected]
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