Lindelani residents left out to dry by a government that doesn’t care

Ekurhuleni

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes two further reports in the media regarding the dismal lack of water and sanitation services being provided to informal settlements in Ekurhuleni.

Following community concerns raised by informal settlement dwellers last year, the DA conducted two oversite inspections to settlements listed as recipients of the R1.9 billion Ekurhuleni toilet tender.

The DA was shocked to see the state of chemical toilets in the area and as well a dismal lack of water availability – only 1 Jojo-tank delivery a day from the City of Ekurhuleni municipality.

Communal toilets were found to be largely non-functional; sewer blockages meant that raw sewage was flowing into the streets; and water tankers dispatched by the Municipality followed no linear time-table.

The DA has submitted written questions, petitions and members’ statements at both a local and national government level but these have fallen on deaf ears.

Minister Lindiwe Sisulu responded to the DA’s concerns on this matter noting that:

  • The Urban Settlement Development Grant for the current municipal financial year allocated to the City of Ekurhuleni is R2.092 billion;
  • A total of R25 000 000 was allocated to install water and sanitation infrastructure for both formal and informal settlements;
  • The water and sanitation service ratio for Lindelani Informal Settlement is adequate and in certain instances exceeds the minimum standard, therefore no budget was allocated;
  • There are three permanent stand pipes that have been provided to the community of Lindelani and four (4) water tankers deliver water on a daily basis within a radius of 100 meters from every household. The residents of Lindelani have access to piped and potable water within a radius of 100 meters from their homes. The City of Ekurhuleni is installing more water points in the areas that are expanding;
  • As from 1 July 2019 the chemical toilets are serviced once a week as per the City’s contract with the new service provider. The City has not yet received any complaints from the community and or the leadership.

The Minister’s responses were clearly erratic and illogical, having been based solely on information fed to her office by the Municipality rather than any thorough due diligence having been conducted by her office. It is also not clear what the R25 million infrastructure grant has been spent on by the Municipality.

Furthermore, beyond the plight of informal settlement dwellers, the DA remains deeply concerned that the new toilet chemical tender, awarded by the Ekurhuleni Municipality in late 2019 does not seem to include any new specifications intended to address community concerns raised repeatedly by both the DA and the community with both the Minister’s office and the Municipality itself.

Despite more than 229 companies bidding for the new 2019 contact, it is reported by Amabhungane that 11 of the 15 companies previously awarded tenders during the 2016 tender process were again awarded the lucrative toilet contracts.

The DA further visited the premises of one of the successful bidders during last years oversite exercise and discovered hundreds of un-used toilets standing in a field belonging to the company – but being billed to the Municipality.

Having exhausted most of the remedial options available to highlight the plight of informal settlement dwellers, the DA will now call on the Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements Portfolio Committee to conduct on urgent oversite visit to scrutinize the current Ekurhuleni Municipality’s chemical toilet and communal water provision operations.

It is about time that the governing party’s committee members see for themselves the state of water and sanitation services in this community.

The DA will not stand by while the community of Lindelani is left out to dry by a government that does not care about them!

Minister Sisulu appoints disgraced Gugile Nkwinti to new Advisory Committee of rogues

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learnt that Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, has hired ex-Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti as Chairperson of a newly established Ministerial Advisory Committee on Water Services.

By invoking S76(1) of the Water Service Act, Sisulu is able to bypass Ministerial Handbook staff limits and continue to stack her political deck by establishing committees over which she has sole discretion on appointments and remuneration.

This new committee is additional to the Advisory Committee on Water Services that already exists within the Department on which Mo Shaik now sits.

Ex-minister Nkwinti has been appointed on a long-term basis as Chairperson, linked to the term of the Minister, and will earn R2.4 million per annum for working for a maximum of 15 days per month (part-time).

This is a travesty.

Last year, the Office of the Public Protector found that Nkwinti had violated both the Executive Ethics Code and the Constitution.  This after the DA lodged a complaint alleging that Nkwinti had influenced his department to buy Bekendvlei Farm in 2011 for R97 million and subsequently allocate it to his friend and colleague, Errol Velile Present. Present, an ANC staffer was subsequently fired after he was arrested for alleged involvement in cash-in-transit heists.

Nkwinti was further embroiled in a number of questionable and potentially irregular transactions undertaken by the Department during his tenure, including the purchase of Fish River Resort in 2017 despite warnings by experts that this land parcel would cost the Department R33.9 million annually in operating losses.

The four members of the Water Advisory Committee that will serve under Nkwinti are as follows:

  1. Mphumzi Mdekazi (R1 716 040 p.a/15 days p.m). Mdekazi is from the ANC’s AB Xuma branch in the Western Cape and is a vocal party supporter who previously served as Sports Committee Researcher at Parliament. It is alleged by both internal whistleblowers who have spoken to the DA and widely publicised press reports that Mdekazi, who boasts the reputation of Sisulu’s bully-boy, personally hand-picked members of the Department’s National Rapid Response Task Team, as well as members of this latest S76 Committee on the basis of their ability to garner political support ahead of the ANC’s 2022 elective conference.
  2. Clifford Derrick (R1 716 040 p.a/15 days p.m). Derrick is a Kenyan Documentary Film Producer who previously served as a camera man for the Department according to the information given to the DA by whistleblowers. Derrick is alleged to be close to Mdekazi.
  3. Putco Mafani (R1 716 040 p.a/15 days p.m). Mafani is a radio presenter and previously worked as the chief public relations officer to Kaizer Chiefs Football Club. Mafani is also the owner of Putcomafani Consulting, which offers, amongst other services, wedding planning, online media management, and motivational talks.
  4. Ritshuri (R1 716 040 p.a/15 days p.m). Little is known about Ritshuri, other than as Chairperson of the Giyani Business Forum, Ritshuri has previously called on ex Minister Nkwiniti to “unlock funds to complete the Giyani water project” in Limpopo.

These five appointees will be responsible for the following:

  1. Setting of national standards and norms for tariff in respect of water services.
  2. Preparation of a water development plan by water services authorities.
  3. A regulatory framework for water services institutions and intermediaries.
  4. Establishment and disestablishment of water boards.
  5. Monitoring and interventions with regards to water services institutions.

Unsatisfied with the existing litany of incompetent and unqualified cadres already recruited – including failed ex-minister Bathabile Dlamini and failed ex-NDPP Menzi Simelane – both of whom were subject to scathing findings by the Constitutional Court, names such as UCT Fees Must Fall Leader Chumani Maxwele; former COPE regional leader Mbulelo Ncedana; and former PAC leader Thami ka Plaatjie, also form part of the NRRTT which cost the taxpayer over R13.9 million per year.

These latest appointments take the South African people for fools and spits in the face of all honest and hardworking citizens struggling to make ends meet in the face of our crumbling economy.

The DA will once again write to the Public Service Commission imploring them to investigate and we will proceed to mobilise South Africans to publicly oppose these appointments.

Mo Shaik’s latest appointment the very definition of cadre deployment

Statements yesterday by the former Head of Intelligence, Mo Shaik, following his resignation as Special Advisor to Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHSWS), are nothing but brazen.

By his own admission, Shaik was initially appointed for undefined purposes by Minister Sisulu as Special Advisor IV at a Grade 16 Public Service payscale (R1.9m per annum at notch a).

Following the DA’s relentless pursuit opposing his appointment, Shaik resigned and was placed in a part-time position on an advisory committee of the Department.

For Shaik to then come out in the media noting that his resignation was merely ‘technical’ is not only disingenuous but brazen.

Shaik’s appointment as Special Advisor and subsequent re-appointment onto a tax-payer funded advisory committee of the Department, earning R7000 per day for a maximum of 15 days per month is the very definition of cadre deployment.

That Shaik or Sisulu would then see it fit to defend such a game of cadre deployment chess is a slap in the face to all South Africans.

The DA will remain steadfast in our pursuit of rooting out cronyism in government. It is high time the ruling party stopped putting their personal agendas ahead of the South African people.

The DA is awaiting responses on our Promotion of Access to Information Act request for full recruitment and selection and remuneration details of all Ministerial Office and National Rapid Response Task Team staffers appointed by Minister Sisulu and will continue to relentlessly expose this under-handed behaviour.

DA welcomes decision to officially declare Northern Cape drought a disaster area

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s decision to officially declare the Northern Cape a disaster area in light of the drought that has crippled the province for the past number of years. This is due to sustained pressure from the DA over the past months, including a visit to the province yesterday by DA Leader, John Steenhuisen.

Moreover, the decision to direct R200 million in funding to address the crisis, while long overdue, is welcomed. While this is a step in the right direction, more is required in order to bring widespread relief to the already devastated provincial agricultural sector.

It is common cause that the Northern Cape requires over R600 million to alleviate the negative effects of the five-year drought, with over 60 000 jobs on the line. I have had a personal conversation with President Ramaphosa about this, ensuring he is fully briefed on the extent of this crisis.

We therefore reiterate our call for Northern Cape Premier, Zamani Saul, to invoke Section 25 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in order to make available additional emergency funds to provide immediate drought relief to farmers. The DA-run Western Cape government has already done so, and in turn is assisting hundreds of farmers and farming communities in this time of distress.

We urge Premier Saul to not let another day go by without taking decisive action by freeing up the funds required to mitigate the drought crisis in the Northern Cape.

Indifference to Sudan will cost SA its stature on the global stage

In the aftermath of the removal of Omar Al-Bashir from power in Sudan and his subsequent arrest, the voice of the South African government is conspicuously missing. This is a grave error, and a missed opportunity to reaffirm our democratic values and our commitment to the respect of human rights in Africa.

Following the arrest of Al-Bashir, Sudan’s military council announced its intention to lead the country for two years at the end of which period elections would be held for the Sudanese to choose a democratic government for themselves.

The protestors in Sudan who instigated a sustained campaign which brought about Al-Bashir’s removal have refused to accept the proposed military dictatorship. Instead, they are calling for a civilian-led government.

The response of neighbouring countries, multilateral institutions and influential governments is crucial now. Unless the people of Sudan find strong international support to force the military to engage with their demands for civilian rule and to respect the rule of law, the protestors are at risk of violence repression, and of losing the tenuous freedom from dictatorship that they have so recently won.

The African Union, with a passing reference to solidarity with the people of Sudan, has chosen to emphasize its opposition to the ‘military take-over’. They focus instead on “the 2000 Lomé Declaration on the unconstitutional change of Government and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, which strongly condemn any unconstitutional change of Government and commit member states to the respect of the rule of law, democratic principles and human rights.”

South Africa can now provide leadership at this critical time based on our own history of violent subjugation, our liberation struggle and our peaceful transition to democracy.

We know that the Sudanese state under Al-Bashir undermined democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights.

We know that under the bloody and repressive regime of Al-Bashir, the people of Sudan had no hope of a constitutional change of government.

We know that we contributed to prolonging the suffering of the Sudanese people by our failure to fulfill our obligation under the Rome Statute to arrest Al-Bashir when he was present in South Africa after a warrant of arrest had been issued against him on charges of crimes against humanity.

South Africa can now show solidarity to the people of Sudan. We can leverage our influence on the continent to advocate for a civilian-led transitional government. We have a unique experience in making this work, and successfully overseeing a peaceful transition to a fully democratic state.

The Democratic Alliance therefore calls on Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to reaffirm our commitment to a human-rights foreign policy approach and support the people of Sudan. South Africa owes them nothing less.

Dysfunctional and corrupt Home Affairs fuels xenophobic attacks

The following statement follows the Democratic Alliance (DA) KwaZulu-Natal Premier Candidate, Zwakele Mncwango, DA Team One SA Spokesperson on Immigration, Jacques Julius, and DA Team One KZN Spokesperson on Borders, Haniff Hoosen’s oversight inspection of the Umgeni Road Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal. The oversight was followed by a visit to the Refugee Camp at the Sherwood Community Hall. Please find attached a soundbite in Zulu by Zwakele Mncwango and one in English by Jacques Julius. Pictures can be downloaded here, here, here and here.

 

 

Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection of the Umgeni Road Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, in light of the recent spate of violent xenophobic attacks which have flared up in the province. This was followed by a visit to a Refugee Camp located at the Sherwood Community Hall. We condemn the violence against foreign nationals in the strongest possible terms. This has no place in our democratic country.

We also met with the victims of brutal xenophobic attacks in KwaZulu-Natal. The DA notes with great concern that the Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu, stated that the attacks are not xenophobic in nature, but only criminal. If the diagnoses of a problem is wrong, then attempts at finding a solution will fall flat.

This is a pure attempt by President Ramaphosa’s government to mislead the people of South Africa. All the people who were attacked are foreign nationals, the President and Minister Sisulu must tell the world the truth. Furthermore, they must answer as to why the ad hoc committee established to investigate incidents of xenophobia, which resulted in recommendations being made, but never implemented.

The ANC government must concede that it has failed on the issue of immigration and has no plan to protect the dignity of foreign nationals.

Following a meeting with Home Affairs officials, it became evermore clear that the anger felt by South African citizens is misdirected. It is the failing ANC government that has caused the suffering of both South African citizens and foreign nationals alike.

The fact that corruption thrives through bribes at our border posts, undermines the function and role of Home Affairs, which is tasked with manning and managing the country’s immigration system. Furthermore, it is the ANC’s failed labour inspectorates that make it possible for foreign migrants to be exploited as cheap labour, fuelling the anger of unemployed South Africans towards members of our neighboring states.

No country in the world can afford to not secure their borders as uncontrolled immigration violates the rights of citizens, and the ability of foreign nationals seeking to reside in the country legally or seek asylum status.

All these conditions result in escalated tensions between citizens and foreign nationals. The sad news is that we are all fighting each other instead of the real villain – the failing ANC government with its corruption, failed policies and record of non-implementation of steps which might have prevented the present and recurring tensions relating to acts of xenophobic violence.

The DA is the only party that has a plan to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration, which is fuelled by corruption at Home Affairs. We would assist refugees and asylum seekers. A DA government would ensure undocumented immigrants are regularised or assisted in leaving the country if they do not meet the criteria for remaining in the country, while strengthening our border posts – through effective security measures.

Furthermore, it is shocking that the Minister of Home Affairs, Siyabonga Cwele, has remained silent on these xenophobic attacks. His inaction and deafening silence is truly disappointing, when the dysfunctionality at Home Affairs is ultimately to blame for the scenario we are currently facing.

The main focus of the DA would be to eradicate the corruption and inefficiency endemic to Home Affairs, which is currently incapable of implementing any of the steps listed above. And while Home Affairs continues to fail in its mandate, it fails both the citizens of our country and the foreign nationals that live here. We need to turn to our common enemy, the failing ANC, and vote them out of government come 8 May 2019.

South Africa should not be considering a sale of Denel to a murderous Saudi despot

In the middle of the brewing storm surrounding the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi, South African Minister of International Relations and Co-operation,  Lindiwe Sisulu, announced on 11 October 2018 that South Africa had been approached by Saudi Arabia about purchasing a stake in the state-owned defence firm Denel.

The Minister noted that the outcome of negotiations would be scrutinised by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, which will consider, amongst other things, the human rights implications of the deal.

That there are negotiations to consider this at all is an indictment of the approach of the Ramaphosa government to international human rights violations. Neither the President nor the Minister should require a committee report to know that putting our state defence firm at the disposal of a murderous despot would make the whole nation complicit in the human rights atrocities of the regime of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

All over the world governments are condemning the presumed torture and murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after he was lured to a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Private companies, the United States Treasury Secretary and senior French and British ministers pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative which is being held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Rather than adding our voice to the growing international consensus, a DIRCO statement released last week Wednesday, together with comments from the Spokesperson to Minister Sisulu reported in the Mail & Guardian, paints a clear picture that the priority of the South African government is the investment ties championed by President Ramaphosa earlier this year when he visited Saudi Arabia.

This is the same logic that underlies President Donald Trump’s widely criticised failure to condemn this Saudi assault on human rights and press freedom.

The devastating consequences of prioritising money over human rights ought to be foremost in the President’s mind following the Marikana Massacre during his time as a non-executive director at Lonmin.

We call on the President to end any possibility that South African arms and defence technology could be used by Saudi Arabia to perpetrate atrocities against their own nationals as well as civilians in neighbouring states like Yemen.

We ask the President to re-establish South Africa as a voice with moral authority and a respected record of protecting human rights domestically and internationally.

SA government must intervene in apparent opposition crackdown in Zimbabwe

The DA will write to the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Lindiwe Sisulu, to call on her to engage her Zimbabwean counterparts and intervene in what seems to be a crackdown on opposition in the country.

This follows reports today that senior Zimbabwean opposition member, Tendai Biti, had been arrested at the border with Zambia, while trying to seek asylum. It has since been reported that Mr Biti has been released but that Zambia has denied him asylum.

The DA has information to suggest that Mr Biti is still being sought by Zimbabwean security officials.

Mr Biti is apparently being charged for allegedly breaking the Zimbabwean Electoral Act by declaring that Zimbabwe opposition alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa, the winner of presidential election.

A cornerstone of democracy is a free and vibrant opposition. The South Africa government, which also chairs the Southern African Development Community, has an opportunity and an obligation to work with Zimbabwean government to ensure that the opposition in Zimbabwe is free and that the people of Zimbabwe enjoy the rights they are entitled to.

Zimbabwe has already suffered decades of dictatorship and, while there may be disputes surrounding the results of recent elections, arresting members of the opposition will do nothing to foster democracy, freedom and safety the people deserve.

DIRCO must disclose reasons for Mr Van Pletzen’s arrest in Dubai

The DA will write to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Lindiwe Sisulu, to find out exactly what charges have been laid against South African businessman, Justin Mr Van Pletzen, after he was arrested in Dubai allegedly for filming Ajay Gupta without his permission.

The DA will also request that the Minister set out the steps available to the South African government and which the government is prepared to take if there is no basis for the charges against Mr Van Pletzen, or that any of his procedural and substantive rights were violated in the process of detaining him.

Minister Sisulu must ensure that the government of Dubai is holding Mr Van Pletzen in conditions that are consistent with his human rights.

It is well known that the Gupta family has vested interests in Dubai and that they will do anything to escape accounting for their role in the state capture.

The DA applauds Mr Pletzen for his patriotism and bravery for filming Ajay Gupta in Dubai when South African Authorities have been trying to track him down to serve a summons on him to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, currently investigating the capture of our country’s state-owned enterprises.

No South African should be intimidated by the Guptas who have consistently evaded accountability despite various invitations to appear before Parliament.

The DA urges the South African government to act to protect Mr Van Pletzen and ensure that his rights are not being compromised in an attempt to protect the compromised Guptas.

DA to request Minister Sisulu’s intervention in the abandoned housing project

Please find attached soundbites in English and Sepedi by the DA Shadow Minister of Human Settlements, Solly Malatsi MP.
View pictures: here, here, here, here, here and here.
On an oversight visit to the Rockdale housing project in Mpumalanga’s Steve Tshwete Municipality today, the DA was shocked by the living conditions our people have been subjected to by the ANC government.
The project consists of 205 houses, all of which have been completed but have no basic services.  The people of Steve Tshwete Municipality continue to wait for the running water, electricity and proper sewerage systems to be fully installed at the incomplete houses.
The handover of these houses were supposed to be completed by March this year; however, residents who have no other alternative have been forced to occupy the houses illegally.
In some cases contractors’ labourers, who were responsible for building houses at a nearby project, are occupying some of the unallocated houses.
Even worse is that the housing infrastructure has become dilapidated and most have become the target of vandalism.
Some residents have been forced to make illegal electricity connections to cook and water leaks remain unfixed.
These housing conditions are a damning indictment on the failing ANC government and clearly indicates the ANC government’s disregard for the residents of Steve Tshwete Municipality.
The DA will now write to the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, to request that she urgently intervenes in this housing project and the hundreds of other abandoned projects across the country that is preventing our people from owning a home.
This is further evidence of the ANC government’s complete failure in providing houses to the countless, mostly black South Africans who still remain destitute more than 20 years after liberation.
The people of this country deserves better than this uncaring ANC government.
The DA remains resolute that South Africans deserve to know the dignity of owning a home that is safe and decent.