South Africans are ready for a New Beginning

The failure of the motions of no confidence in Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) show the strength of the coalition governments in those cities. Our coalitions in these metros have withstood the ANC’s efforts to unseat us.
Today we have shown the country the unity of purpose in liberating South Africa from the oppression of corruption and giving the country a fresh start with a new government.
Along with the Metsimaholo by-election results, it is clear that the ANC is dead and the future of South Africa is only safe in the hands of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Opposition Parties committed to fighting corruption and building a better country.
The advancement and realignment of South Africa’s Constitutional Democracy is in the making, where citizens reject an established liberation movement for new ideas and a caring coalition government to take them into the future.
It is important that we thank the Political Parties that voted for Mayors Mashaba and Trollip to continue making progress and changing the lives of millions of South Africans.
Thousands of South Africans in Johannesburg and NMB came out to show their support for the good work of Mayors Herman Mashaba and Athol Trollip and the Speakers of the respective Councils, Vasco da Gama and Jonathan Lawack.
Mayors Mashaba and Trollip will now get back to working day and night until every resident of Johannesburg and NMB knows and feels that their government is working for them and with them.
In the last 18 months, the Johannesburg and NMB administrations have delivered quality services, acted on cases of corruption and created much-needed job opportunities. More has been done in this period than in the last 10 years.
When we campaigned for change, we were very clear about what we are going to achieve and that if we do not deliver in the first five-year term, the people have every right to vote us out. Governing is not a right but a privilege bestowed upon us by the people.
We will not allow our opponents, who thrive on lies, corruption and disdain for the people of South Africa, to distract us from serving with humility.
The motions of no confidence in Johannesburg and NMB were nothing more than a ploy by the ANC to regain control of public money and reverse the good work done in those metros over the last year. The ANC’s priority is not the people, but on looting.
Our work now is to continue making progress for the 18 million South Africans the DA governs across the country and work with the millions of people who are waiting for 2019 to cast their vote to usher in a new beginning.
The work being done where we govern lays down a strong foundation for 2019, when the people of South Africa will vote for a new beginning and a new government led by the DA.

African governments, stand up for the voiceless!

The DA strongly condemns the inhumane slave trade of migrant workers in Libya.
This horrid practice is a violation of human rights and we call for urgent intervention by the African Union, European Union and United Nations to immediately appeal to all political stakeholders in Libya to bring an end to this cruel trade.
We demand strong action from officials across the continent to defend the dignity of our brothers and sisters and ensure that justice prevails.
Human life matters and if one is in chains, all of us are in chains.
The DA supports the calls by the United Nations that the slavery auctions should be investigated as possible crimes against humanity, and welcome that the issue will be on the agenda at the AU-EU summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
It is truly disturbing that in 2017 human beings are exploited and abused in this barbaric manner.
The DA calls on African governments to break their silence and stand up for the voiceless.

DA satisfied with court proceedings to review Molefe’s reappointment as Eskom GCEO

The DA is satisfied with yesterday’s court proceedings in the North Gauteng High Court in the review of Mr Brian Molefe’s inexplicable reappointment to Eskom as Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO).
From the proceedings yesterday it became abundantly clear that Mr Molefe did indeed resign as the GCEO of the power utility and that his insistence that he remained an employee is simply unsustainable.
His resignation at the end of 2016 was acknowledged by both Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown, and the then Eskom Board. He himself said that he was “stepping down”. Following his resignation, Eskom proceeded to advertise the post of GCEO, and to short-list applicants. Eskom would hardly do so if it imagined that Mr Molefe had not resigned. Mr Molefe went on to get another job – as an honourable Member of Parliament. Finally, following Molefe’s return to the power utility, Eskom announced that he was reinstated as GCEO, therefore confirming that he had in fact resigned.
Molefe’s insistence that his return to Eskom was not a reinstatement but a continuation of his contract is a mockery of the public’s intelligence and a waste of the time of the courts.
All the facts point to Mr Molefe’s contract with Eskom having ceased, meaning that he is not entitled to be reappointed, nor is he entitled to extravagant pension benefits, whether R11 million or more. Indeed, the actions of the Eskom Pension Fund Administrators, in approving Mr Molefe’s pension entitlement, without even checking his age, do not reflect well on them.
Brian Molefe was heavily implicated in the Public Protector’s ‘State of Capture’ report and played a leading role in the disintegration of Eskom. His return would be disastrous, as he seems to be deeply embedded in the Guptas’ pockets.
The DA trusts that the court will ensure he does not be entitled to return to Eskom. We will continue to fight for our state-owned enterprises to be led by effective leaders who have the best interest of the public at heart, not those of a corrupt few.

Zuma must be charged by 16h00 today

Please find the DA’s full representations attached here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today filed our submissions to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) arguing as to why Jacob Zuma should immediately face the 783 charges of corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering in a court of law as soon as practically possible. Our submissions are in line with the NPA’s deadline for submission which is today, 30 November 2017.
Our submissions echo that which the DA has consistently stated from the get-go. That is, the charges against Jacob Zuma were irrationally dropped by the NPA in April 2009 and as such exist and are in effect. Prosecution must therefore continue without delay. However, in the unlikely event that President Zuma does in fact have materially new and relevant submissions to make, these ought to be considered by a court of law, not the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Adv Shaun Abrahams.
The submissions reiterate the following pertinent facts:

  • The decision taken by then acting NDPP, Adv Mpshe, on 29 November 2007, to prosecute Jacob Zuma stands;
  • Adv Mpshe’s later decision, announced on 6 April 2009, to discontinue prosecution, has been set aside;
  • The only basis for Adv Mpshe’s 2009 decision to discontinue prosecution was that there was improper political influence in the timing of the service of indictment on Jacob Zuma. This argument has been rejected and defeated in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA);
  • The charges against Jacob Zuma stand, and he ought to face these charges in a court of law.

In terms of the President’s right to make representations, we note that Zuma has already been afforded the opportunity to make extensive representations which were fully considered and largely rejected. However, if there are any fresh representations submitted by the President today, the DA will not be in a position to deal with them until we have had sight of them.
Therefore we have requested the NPA shares these representations with all interested parties – including the DA – and that those interested parties are given an opportunity of 14 calendar days to comment on such representations.
Lastly, the independence and impartiality of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has been questionable on numerous occasions in this matter. These are set out fully in our submissions.
Therefore, we are of the view that if the President raises any new representations of substance, a court of law must make a determination as to whether those justify stopping the prosecution, or not. This is to guarantee a fair and open consideration of any new representations by the President. The most appropriate process to follow is either for the President to lay out his representations in a comprehensive application for a permanent stay of prosecution in court, or for the President to formally raise any objections in his actual criminal proceedings before court.
Yesterday marked exactly 10 years to the day that the NPA took a decision to prosecute Jacob Zuma for 783 counts of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering. Since then, Zuma has used every trick in the book, and every delay tactic at his disposal to frustrate and delay the matter. But Jacob Zuma knows full well that despite this, he will have his day in court, he will face the charges for the crimes he is accused of, and justice will prevail.
The DA will not relent in our fight to ensure that our justice system works and that those who are criminally charged have their day in court. This is no different for the President.

Deputy Minister Sfiso Buthelezi and former PRASA executives must be criminally investigated for their alleged corruption at PRASA

The DA will file criminal charges against Deputy Minister of Finance Sfiso Buthelezi and the former PRASA board which he was chair of, on alleged offences related to financial mismanagement while at PRASA.
The DA will also write to the Chairpersons of the Transport and Finance Committee Portfolios requesting a joint sitting in order to get to the bottom of the serious allegations implicating Buthelezi and the PRASA board which he chaired at the time, in corruption at the entity.
These offences were laid bare in the findings contained in the “leaked version” of forensic reports commissioned by National Treasury, into 193 contracts PRASA entered into between 2012 and 2016, as instructed by the Public Protector’s 2015 “Derailed” report. This is in addition to charges the DA laid against Buthelezi and his brother on the 10th of June 2017 on allegations of corruption.
In the weight of overwhelming evidence as revealed in the Treasury report, the DA will reinstate charges of alleged corruption that we laid against former PRASA, Lucky Montana, on 27 August 2015, which the SAPS subsequently closed as they deemed the matter unfounded.
It is highly suspicious that the National Treasury has been sitting on this report while most of the reports from the auditors into the same investigations were completed in 2016 already.
This is a seeming tactic to delay the release of the report as Deputy Minister Buthelezi is implicated in corruption that took place during his tenure at PRASA.
It is now clear that Montana, unduly used his influence to steal from the public purse in order to enrich himself and his associates. While at the helm of PRASA, he and the PRASA board allegedly flouted the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Supply Chain Management and accessed taxpayers’ monies.
Buthelezi as the then chair of the PRASA board seemingly did little to stop the graft and corruption at the entity where he used his position to allegedly enrich himself and family and he needs to be held accountable.
There is clearly no justification for this and we call upon Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi to ensure that both the SAPS and the Hawks speed up investigations into corruption at the entity.
The DA will continue fighting to re-assure the South African public that we are committed to rooting out corruption at public entities that unashamedly steal from the poor.
 

As former Communications Minister confirms Multichoice allegations, ICASA & Parliament must act

Honourable Chairperson,
The DA will not be supporting this report, for one main reason, the Minister’s recommendation for the appointment of Rubben Mohlaloga as Chairperson of the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).
It is our belief that cadre deployment is one of the main causes of the problems facing state-owned entities, and with Mohlaloga having previously served as an MP for the ANC and a Deputy President of the ANCYL, he is just that.
We do hope that Mr Mohlaloga will prove us wrong, and will demonstrate leadership that will be independently-minded, and focused on taking ICASA to greater heights.
The biggest task facing Mr Mahlaloga will be an inquiry the DA has requested into payments made by Multichoice to ANN7 and the SABC.
Yesterday, the DA revealed SABC board minutes dated 6 June 2013 suggesting that Multichoice sought to pay the SABC R100 million a year for its 24-hour news channel in exchange for the public broadcaster’s political influence over digital migration.
This notion has since been confirmed by the former Minister of Communications, Yunus Carrim, who is quoted in the media today stating that: “…Multichoice was seeking to change government policy to serve its own interests”, and he “…felt it wrong for a private company to seek to buy government policy in this way so that it could retain its 98% dominance of the pay-TV sector”. 
This is very serious indeed, and ICASA must exercise the very broad powers the ICASA Act gives it to investigate this. It is ICASA’s duty, to take this matter up in the public interest, and in particular, on behalf of those who use the very little they earn to fork our subscription fees for DSTV. It cannot be that their hard-earned money is used by Multichoice for nefarious deeds.
In addition, it is important for us in Parliament to do the same.
The Communications Committee must discharge of its duty to conduct an inquiry into allegations of State Capture relating to the former Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi as it was requested by the Deputy Speaker.
We believe that in that inquiry the following people must be included in those summoned:

  • Former Communications Ministers, Faith Muthambi, Yunus Carrim and Dina Pule
  • Former CEO of Multichoice, Imtiaz Patel
  • Multichoice’s executive chairman, Nolo Letele
  • Naspers CEO, Bob van Dijk
  • Former SABC board Chairperson, Ellen Tshabalala; and
  • Former CEO Lulama Makhobo

We look forward to feedback from ICASA, and also, the Minister of Communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane who has thus far remained silent on the SABC and Multichoice matter, and indeed, her views about the encryption of set-top boxes. What will it be Minister? Encrypted or unencrypted?

Cape Town Investigations are Progressing

The Democratic Alliance is closely following the developments in the City of Cape Town, and we are determined that all substantive allegations will be investigated fully and without any fear or favour by a totally independent investigator.
It is entirely appropriate and correct that these allegations are investigated thoroughly, and that a full report is presented to Council as soon as the investigation is completed.
The specific timeline is as follows:

  • The Audit Committee has appointed an outside investigator;
  • On Tuesday 5 December the Council will meet to decide on the suspension of the officials involved;
  • The Investigator will complete its investigation within 30 days, and no later than 29 December 2017;
  • Thereafter, the Investigator’s full report will be presented to Council;
  • Separately to this, the DA’s Federal Executive decided to establish an enquiry into obvious political tensions in the Cape Town Caucus in June 2017. This enquiry was chaired by John Steenhuisen MP, and included John Moodey MPL, Patricia Kopane MP, and Councillor Karen Smith.  This enquiry has completed its work, and is waiting for final responses before it compiles its report for submission to the Federal Executive.

It is important to note that the allegations involve serious questions of good governance and maladministration. One of the individuals implicated, Mayor de Lille, has suggested in her public communications that this investigation is an attempt to undermine the DA government’s efforts to spatially integrate Cape Town’s communities. This is patently nonsense, as a basic reading of the documentation shows. The DA’s efforts to integrate Cape Town was a pledge of our 2016 election manifesto, and is a commitment of the entire DA, not one person alone. The entire DA caucus in Cape Town completely supports this goal.
Nor is this an issue of factionalism in the caucus. Such narratives are being deliberately crafted to muddy the waters for the investigation. They are nothing more than purposeful misdirection, and should be seen as such.
We call on all those who have the City and the DA’s best interests at heart to focus on supporting and co-operating with the investigation into the specific allegations of maladministration.
The DA regards this matter extremely seriously, and we will not allow any sullying of our record as the only party of clean government. We will also take steps to ensure that this matter does not in any way disrupt the good work that the City of Cape Town is doing to alleviate the current water crisis, and that the City’s stated targets for new water augmentation are met.

Hands off Mayor Mashaba! He is turning Joburg around – Mmusi Maimane

My fellow South Africans,
Today the ANC want to vote to remove Herman Mashaba as Mayor of this great city.
But their reasons for wanting to remove him have nothing to do with any failure on his part to do his job.
In truth, it is the way in which he has started scrubbing this city administration clean that has got them so upset.
The ANC knew he would be a good Mayor, but they had no idea just how good he would be.
His all-out war on the ANC’s legacy of corruption and looting that brought Johannesburg to the brink of bankruptcy has really shaken them badly. They are upset and embarrassed, and for that they want him gone.
Herman Mashaba’s campaign to weed out dirty officials in this city is a disaster for the thousands of cadres who relied on the massive web of patronage and corruption.
He has shone the light on the entire crime syndicate that had been masquerading as a metro government here, and they are desperate to make him go away.
We will not let them win.
Herman Mashaba is our Mayor. He loves this city and he has sworn to make it a better place for everyone who lives here, works here or visits here.
The crooked cadres can never, and will never, beat the unity of the people of Joburg.
This city of Johannesburg means everything to us, as a nation. If we want to see progress in South Africa, then we have to ensure that Johannesburg doesn’t merely survive, but that it thrives as a city.
Joburg is the heart of our economy – it’s what drives our country forward. It is also home to millions of South Africans. Most of these people are poor and many struggle to find work.
How Johannesburg is run has a profound effect on the lives of millions of vulnerable people. We simply cannot afford for the government of this metro to be anything less than the very best.
And for the past two decades, Johannesburg has been neglected, mismanaged and bled dry by the very people elected to serve the city.
This metro has been brought to its knees by a toxic combination of theft, fraud, and crony politics.
Nothing has been maintained, very little new projects have been built and billions of Rands have ended up in the pockets of crooked politicians, crooked staff and the crooked businesses that collude with them.
And I’m not talking about only the top brass either.
This rot has infected everything under the ANC’s control in this city – from those overseeing deployment and procurement at the top right down to officials issuing licences and managing housing lists. For years now the Joburg metro government has just been a place for connected cadres to eat.
But that all changed in last year’s elections.
When the people voted the ANC out and we were able to put together a coalition government led by Herman Mashaba, this city finally got a government committed to the people.
And, importantly, it got a Mayor who was not afraid to roll up his sleeves and do the hard work himself. Literally.
I remember many people saying at the time: What does a businessman possibly know about running a metro government? But these were people who didn’t know Herman Mashaba.
Those who know him said: Wait and see – he’ll prove all his doubters wrong. And he did, right from day one. No previous Mayor here has accomplished in a full term what Herman Mashaba has done in his first year in office.
His achievements are way too many to list in full here, but I want to mention a few highlights. Because it has to be stated in clear, uncertain terms just how dishonest and self-serving the ANC’s motion is.
From day one, Herman Mashaba made it clear that he would not rest until every last crooked crony was gone. And he has been throwing them out in big numbers.
To date, he has uncovered fraud and corruption worth over R16 billion. More than 2,500 cases have been investigated, more than 600 people have been arrested and more than 100 city employees have been suspended or dismissed. Thirteen more have resigned.
Just think about that for a minute. In Zuma’s government, not a single person has been arrested or investigated for state capture. But on Herman’s watch, 600 people have already been arrested in one year.
Herman also opened up the city’s tender system to make it fair and transparent, and he appointed the former Gauteng Hawks Head, General Shadrack Sibaya, as head of Johannesburg’s new Group Forensic and Investigation Services Department.
All of this wreaked havoc in the ANC’s long-standing network of corrupt procurement and tender processes. Naturally they want it to go back to the way it was as soon as possible.
It is never going back!
They want their pipeline of easy money to start flowing again. Well, they can forget about it. The days of stealing from the people of Johannesburg are over.
Herman Mashaba didn’t only focus his attention on corruption. Just look at what he’s done for basic delivery!
Mayor Mashaba’s government inherited a city with a 10-year, R170 billion infrastructure backlog. The task of working through this backlog through infrastructure investment, maintenance and repair is huge. But instead of giving up, Mayor Mashaba started tackling it head-on. And one year later his list of successes is truly impressive.
A massive R12.8 billion has been budgeted over the next financial year to upgrade infrastructure, build new infrastructure and repair existing infrastructure.
R105 million has been set aside to install and repair traffic signals across the city, and a R79 million has been allocated to repair potholes.
He has also budgeted R1.2 billion over the next three years to upgrade gravel roads in some of Johannesburg’s most neglected communities.
The city’s fleet of 400 Metro buses is being expanded to 600 buses, and the city’s small business hubs are going to double from seven to fourteen.
Under Herman Mashaba’s watch this Joburg government has now more than doubled the budget to improve sanitation in informal settlements, as well as massively increasing the money allocated to providing electricity and water connections in these communities.
Mayor Mashaba has also set targets to upgrade 51 informal settlements over the medium term – ten in this financial year, twenty more in the next financial year and another 21 in the year after that.
To put this in perspective, the previous ANC government set themselves a target of upgrading only two informal settlements in their last year in office.
Mayor Mashaba is working harder for the poor.
Mayor Mashaba is cleaning up corruption.
Mayor Mashaba is fixing the bankrupt budget.
Mayor Mashaba is delivering more basic services for all.
He is cleaning up the inner city, building a volunteer spirit across the city, and bringing Jo’burgers together.
I could go on all day long about the difference Herman Mashaba has already made here in Johannesburg – about the clinic hours he extended, about the library hours he extended, about the K9 Narcotics Unit he launched, about the extra 1500 men and women he recruited into the Johannesburg Metro Police – but you get the idea.
He and his government are already turning this city around. And in doing so, they have kicked over the ANC’s feeding trough.
So when we say “Hands off Mashaba”, we mean it.
This city will never go back to the looting and the neglect of the previous government. The people of Johannesburg have spoken, and they have sent the ANC packing.
This Motion of No Confidence will fail, and Mayor Mashaba will continue to do what he promised the people he’d do.
And if that means more crooked cadres get shaken from the tree and swept out the gate, then so be it. Johannesburg does not want them here.
Viva, Herman Mashaba, viva!

ANC hid damning report into R60 million Pikitup waste tenders

Following Herman Mashaba’s instruction for an investigation to be launched into Pikitup’s acquisition of six unused waste crushers in 2014, at an alleged cost of R36 million, it has been determined that the actual cost of this contract was over R53 million – inclusive of 36 months of full maintenance and training of Pikitup staff. The same bidder was also awarded a tender for the provision and full maintenance of four green waste chipping machines, at over R6 million.
Based on the report, one waste crusher at Robinson Deep Landfill Site and two waste crushers at the Marie Louise Landfill Site were not operational. The report further states that “due to shortage of rubble”, the crusher at Goudkoppies Landfill Site had to be parked.

For years, shameless outright looting was the norm in Johannesburg. Corruption does not just steal from the City but it robs residents of much needed services and resources. This is why corruption has no place in this administration and we will work tirelessly to eradicate it.
– Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba

Herman Mashaba and his team also learned that the three year maintenance cost for these machines was paid up front, in full. This totaled over R15 million and it is questionable as to what maintenance has been done, if any.


I would also like to encourage people to report any fraud and corruption activities through our 24hour tipoff hotline 0800 002 587 or visit the GFIS offices situated at 48 Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein.
– Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba

 

JMPD cracks down on drug syndicate

On 23 November, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s K9 Narcotic Tactical Unit (JMPD K9) caught three suspects in the act of dealing controlled medical substances in Sandton.
The JMPD K9 officers received information from the Crime Intelligence Unit regarding a syndicate dealing in embalming compound, which is a controlled medical substance. Police had been tracking the three male suspects for a week and finally arrested them during a drop-off at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton. R400 000 worth of embalming compound was seized.
The suspects are facing criminal prosecution for possession of controlled substances in contravention of the Medicines and Related Substance Act 101 of 1965, and are being detained at the Sandton Police Station.

We will continue to crack down on all criminal syndicates in Johannesburg, and teach criminals that they are not welcome in our City.
– Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba