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DA Seeks Relief For Cosmo City Housing Beneficiaries

Itsoseng Informal Settlement

The DA today gave a report-back to the impoverished people of the Itsoseng Informal Settlement in Cosmo City, who are still waiting for the City of Johannesburg to complete the Malibongwe Ridge housing development.

The development was launched in 2013 with great fanfare, and is supposed to comprise over 5000 housing units.

To date, only 1500 units have been completed, and the project has stood still since 2014 because of a lack of funds – while people in the adjacent Itsoseng are forced to live in squalor.

Following a visit to Malibongwe Ridge and Itsoseng, the DA wrote to Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau demanding an explanation as to why the development has not been completed, and why the empty 1500 units cannot be occupied.

Click here to view the letter.

Malibongwe Ridge

During today’s report-back I told residents how a DA-led City of Johannesburg would fast-track major housing developments such as Malibongwe Ridge, and how it would be completed on time and within budget.

I shared the DA’s Vision of a City that puts the people first through our “Service with Pride” ethos, and how, like we do in Cape Town, we would spend the majority of the city’s budget on the most comprehensive basket of services to uplift the poor.

Change is coming to Johannesburg, and soon residents will experience the DA difference which creates jobs, provides housing and delivers cost effective services.

Because where the DA governs, life is better.

 

Media enquiries:

Willie Venter

Director: Communications and research

060 963 8260

[Image source]

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Nkandla: DA Moves To Impeach Zuma Following Constitutional Court Ruling

Impeach President Zuma

Following today’s judgement by the Constitutional Court in the much anticipated Nkandla matter, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially begun the process to impeach President Jacob Zuma, in terms of Section 89(1) of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court – the highest court in the land – found that President Zuma failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land by disregarding the Public Protectors’ report. This pivotal judgment confirms the DA’s long held contention that President Zuma seriously violated the Constitution when he sought to undermine the Public Protector’s remedial actions by instituting parallel investigative processes, and his subsequent failure to implement her remedial action.

Section 89(1) of the Constitution states that “The National Assembly, by a resolution adopted with a supporting vote of at least two thirds of its members, may remove the President from office only on the grounds of – 

 (a) a serious violation of the Constitution or the law;

(b) serious misconduct; or

(c) inability to perform the functions of office.”

Constitutional Court Ruling

Today’s ruling is clear in this regard: President Jacob Zuma’s action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and constitutes grounds for impeachment.

Up until recently, the President has argued that he was not obliged to heed this remedial action, and that such remedial action was simply advice which he could take or ignore. In his letter to the Public Protector dated 11 September 2014, he argued that her role was akin to that of an Ombud and she could not issue “judgements to be followed under pain of a contempt order.” Instead he described her reports as “useful tools in assisting democracy in a cooperative manner, sometimes rather forcefully”. He specifically denied that they were binding on him.

On the 09 February 2016 counsel for President Zuma, The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete and The Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, all eventually conceded that indeed the powers of the Public Protector have legal consequences and can only be challenged by way of judicial review. This is bizarre given that the DA had been arguing this from the very beginning.

Indeed it has been our assertion that Parliament failed to satisfy its constitutional mandate to hold the Executive to account in terms of section 55(2) of the Constitution by adopting the Police Minister’s report which we contend is- in and of itself- born from fatal errors in law because this amounts to the establishment of a parallel process as expressly prohibited by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). This was done- no doubt- to circumvent the remedial actions as ordered by the Public Protector and to thwart the discharge of her mandate. They have effectively aided and abetted the President in his vexatious attempts to unravel our hard won constitutional order.

Public Protector

Our Constitution is binding on all organs of state, including the President. To have ignored a constitutional organ, in the form of the Public Protector, for over two years, and to have employed a series of stratagems, including the Police Minister’s Report and the three ad hoc parliamentary committees, to “second guess” and “ignore” the Public Protector required judicial action.

Having succeeded in obtaining the Constitutional Court’s determination; I have therefore written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, notifying her of such, and have tabled a notice of motion resolving to remove President Zuma from office in terms of section 89(1)(a) of the Constitution. Included therein are the President’s past and present failings to act in manner commensurate with the Constitution as evidenced by court judgements finding adversely against his conduct in the al-Bashir and Simelane debacles and the attempt to extend the term of office of the Chief Justice. In all these cases the Courts found that his actions were inconsistent with that of the Constitution.

Moreover, the Office of the Public Protector remains an integral part of a functioning democracy, and today’s judgment provides legal certainty and clarity as to the Public Protector’s powers.

Today’s finding by the Constitutional Court is a victory for our Constitution, a victory for the Rule of Law, and a victory for the South African people.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Mabine Seabe

Spokesperson to the DA Leader

084 677 7851

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Nine Generator Failures In Top Gauteng Hospitals

Generator Failures

There have been nine generator failures at the Chris Hani Baragwanath and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg hospitals in the last three years.

This is revealed by Gauteng Health NEC Qedani Mahlangu in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

Bara hospital was hit by 6 generator failures, with the reasons given as follows:

  • 20 May 2014 – the change-over switch was faulty;
  • 24 October 2014 – electrical power supply interruptions in the JD Allen main theatres caused by burnt power cables;
  • 4 August 2015 – National Health Laboratory Services generator failed to start due to high voltage because water sensor was faulty;
  • 17 November 2015 – JD Allen generator failed due to oil in the turbo; the gasket was damaged;
  • December 2015 – G&H generator was undersized and was not able to maintain the required voltage; and
  • 25 January 2016 – the controller was faulty.

The three failures at Charlotte Maxeke were as follows:

  • 13 March 2013 – aged batteries could no longer supply the correct voltage levels;
  • 2 April 2014 – generators cut off due to oversupply of voltage;
  • 11 January 2016 – the generators started for a short period but failed on high temperatures due to lack of cooling because two critical generators were faulty on the pneumatic charge valves.

Cassidy Solutions CC

Mahlangu also says in her reply that a company called Cassidy Solutions cc was responsible for servicing and maintaining the generators at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, and has been paid R995 000 for this to date.

Following the generator failure at this hospital in January this year, Mahlangu fired the person responsible, but surely the company itself should have taken the blame?

In order to ensure that all generators at the two hospitals are always functional, Mahlangu says “the Department will do weekly no-load tests and monthly full load tests”.

I hope that she gets it right this time as she previously declared in March 2013: “I can now confidently stand before you and say that in the event of a power outage, generators at Chris Hani Baragwanath and the generators at Charlotte Maxeke will power the hospitals.”

We need guaranteed high-quality maintenance on all generators so that they always kick in when needed.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

[Image source]

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We could be so much better than ‘Pikitup Strike Joburg’

Note to Editors: The following remarks were delivered by Herman Mashaba at the Baragwanath Taxi Rank, to commuters and supporters, during a community interaction about the Pikitup Strike and Voter Registration.

Here at Baragwanath Taxi Rank, the effects of the Pikitup strike are desperately visible, with commuters standing in queues among piles and piles of uncollected rubbish, while the ANC government in the City of Johannesburg is too weak to deal with unions.

I am saddened and dismayed that our poor residents, who struggle every day to get ahead, walk among mounting rubbish and filth to get to their transport. We could be so much better than this.

The Pikitup strike is a clear illustration of how the ANC puts its alliance with COSATU before peoples’ service delivery needs. Parks Tau would rather keep unions happy, than keep Joburg clean.

This is a failure by the Mayor, and shows that Parks Tau is not a people’s Mayor.

Today, the DA’s message is clear: A vote for the DA will be a vote for a government that puts people first, and which is not held to ransom by union alliances.

I repeat today that we respect the rights of trade unions and their activities, but the rule of law must be obeyed, and that decisive action will be taken against members who break the law.

The ANC and Mayor Parks Tau do not care about the city’s residents. They have left us all behind; they are insiders, and the rest are outsiders who walk through rubbish and filthy streets.

We could be so much better than this.

The DA will bring change to Johannesburg, and through our “Service with Pride” vision we will ensure that city officials put people first. Service delivery must be the priority, which it is sadly not at the moment.

We will transform the city administration into one which is responsive and caring to people’s needs, and create a truly world-class city.

Because where the DA governs, life is better.

 

Media enquiries:

Willie Venter

Director: Communications and research

060 963 8260

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DA welcomes JMPD deployment to protect refuse collectors

The DA welcomes the City of Johannesburg’s decision to heed the DA call made last week, to have Metro Police officers protect auxiliary refuse collectors while the protracted Pikitup strike drags on.

This is a vindication of the DA’s assertion that the City of Joburg was not doing enough to work around the Pikitup strike, or to protect private refuse collectors.

The city’s response to the Pikitup strike has been woefully inadequate. Striking workers have been left to rampage unchecked while Mayor Parks Tau has been torn between his allegiances to the City, the Pikitup entity and the unions on strike.

In alliance with COSATU unions, the ANC is weak and ineffectual at solving strike action.

Recognising rubbish collection as an essential service, a DA-led city government would not allow strike action to affect residents for this ridiculously protracted time.

Enormous amounts of rotten rubbish strewn in our communities are leaving all people unsafe and in unhealthy environments.

Our poorest communities are especially at risk, as rubbish now lies where children play, where old people walk and live and is piling up at the front doors of homes.

In contrast, in the City of Cape Town where the DA governs, a large part of rubbish collection is managed by the City under its direct control, along with a number of private contractors, under close supervision of the city.

This creates an environment of competitive pricing and service delivery, as well as effective contingency planning in the event of industrial action.

It is this form of administration Johannesburg’s people can look forward to when they vote for change in the coming local government elections, and vote the DA into government.

The DA will bring change to Johannesburg, change that brings effective and quality service delivery to all.

Media enquiries:

Willie Venter

Director: Communications and research

060 963 8260

 

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Irregularities in Tshwane finances show an ANC government unable to account for its delivery record

The DA can reveal that the City of Tshwane, under the ANC, in the past financial year has committed serious financial irregularities which may render the annual report unlawful and irregular.

These include:

  • The City’s annual financial statements for 2014/2015 has to date not been signed off by the City Manager, this means a legitimate audit could not have been carried out; and
  • The version of Tshwane’s Annual Report presented to Council and the one submitted by Tshwane to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) are manifestly different, which is unlawful and improper; and
  • The City has never presented or tabled an Annual Performance Report as part of its Annual Financial Statements for 2014/2015 and this is against legislation – (Section 121 of the MFMA and section 46 of the Municipal Systems Act).

City of Tshwane is effectively unable to account for the outcomes of its spending for the 2014/15 financial year as its Annual Performance Report is being kept secret from the Council, from the public and voters.

While the City can easily show that money was spent, it cannot show where its budget was spent and what the outcomes of that spending is. The Auditor General gave a damning indictment of the City by finding that it was completely unable to show that the spending of its budget achieved the intended objectives as set out in the approved Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the approved Service Delivery & Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP).

In terms of the National Treasury’s Framework for Managing Programme Performance Information (the FMPPI), the City should maintain adequate records to prove that spending indicators and targets are well defined and that the achievement of those indicators and targets were verifiable, specific, measurable, time bound and relevant.

The City must annually present this Performance Report to Council and submit the report to the Auditor General for audit.  This Performance Report should be part of the Annual Report of the City presented to Council for oversight.  Despite the irrefutable legal requirements of this report, the Mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, has failed to present such a report to Council at all for oversight. As a consequence of this the recently approved oversight report is of no legal significance or force.

Despite the fact that the Mayor is clearly too ashamed to advertise the City’s failures too widely and that he has failed to submit this Performance Report to Council or to make it public, the Auditor General has apparently had sight thereof where the Auditor General found that:

“Overall, some significantly important targets were not reliable as I was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. The auditee’s records did not permit the application of alternative audit procedures. This was due to ineffective standard operating procedures for the accurate recording of actual achievements and a lack of adequate reviews on the validity of reported achievements against source documentation.”

This effectively means that the city cannot show that its spending has reached the intended target and achieved the measurable indicators.  Without this second report read in conjunction with the first it is impossible to determine that spending has been effective.

The picture is also not helped by the fact that the city has incurred an audited R1,5 billion in irregular expenditure for which no action is taken against any offending parties.

During the oversight process of the Annual Report the Democratic Alliance repeatedly called for a copy of the Performance Report to be made available for oversight, but the City Manager was unable to provide a copy of this damning report.

The fact of the matter is that neither the mayor nor his City Manager can show that money is spent effectively and it is clear to residents that objectives of spending are consistently not being met by the City.

The DA is determined to win Tshwane at this year’s municipal election, and together with residents of Tshwane, to usher in a government that delivers better services, cuts corruption and creates jobs.

Change is coming to Tshwane, with a new DA government, after Election 2016.

 

Solly Msimanga

DA Tshwane Mayoral Candidate

[IMAGE SOURCE]

 

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DA Welcomes JMPD Deployment To Protect Refuse Collectors

Pikitup – Striking Workers

The DA welcomes the City of Johannesburg’s decision to heed the DA call made last week, to have Metro Police officers protect auxiliary refuse collectors while the protracted Pikitup strike drags on.

This is a vindication of the DA’s assertion that the City of Joburg was not doing enough to work around the Pikitup strike, or to protect private refuse collectors.

The city’s response to the Pikitup strike has been woefully inadequate. Striking workers have been left to rampage unchecked while Mayor Parks Tau has been torn between his allegiances to the City, the Pikitup entity and the unions on strike.

In alliance with COSATU unions, the ANC is weak and ineffectual at solving strike action.

Where DA Governs

Recognising rubbish collection as an essential service, a DA-led city government would not allow strike action to affect residents for this ridiculously protracted time.

Enormous amounts of rotten rubbish strewn in our communities are leaving all people unsafe and in unhealthy environments.

Our poorest communities are especially at risk, as rubbish now lies where children play, where old people walk and live and is piling up at the front doors of homes.

In contrast, in the City of Cape Town where the DA governs, a large part of rubbish collection is managed by the City under its direct control, along with a number of private contractors, under close supervision of the city.

This creates an environment of competitive pricing and service delivery, as well as effective contingency planning in the event of industrial action.

It is this form of administration Johannesburg’s people can look forward to when they vote for change in the coming local government elections, and vote the DA into government.

The DA will bring change to Johannesburg, change that brings effective and quality service delivery to all.

 

Media enquiries:

Willie Venter

Director: Communications and research

060 963 8260

[Image source]

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Tshwane Mayor delays State of Metro Address with no good stories to tell

It comes as no surprise that Tshwane Executive Mayor, , has delayed his State of the Metro Address. Mayor Ramokgopa is hiding from accountability, and is avoiding answering to the people of Tshwane.

This further adds to the growing list of ANC broken promises in Tshwane.

Clearly Mayor Ramokgopa has run out of good stories to tell to Tshwane, as he finds himself at the centre of multiple scandals and failures of governance.

Most recently, National Treasury rejected Tshwane’s adjustment budget and returned it to the City to redo.

With an unacceptably high unemployment rate of 32.6%, as well as drastically declining levels of service delivery, the people of Tshwane deserve accountability and responsiveness from Mayor Ramokgopa; instead the people of Tshwane are left counting his broken and empty promises.

The ANC administration led by Mayor Ramokgopa has neglected to fulfil its promises, amongst which is the failure to put an end to the City’s expenditure of PEU – which has been deemed irregular, it has failed to  provide clean drinkable water to the people of Hammanskraal, it has failed to provide cogent answers as to the Adjustments Budget which was returned to Council, it has failed wage a war on water leaks and rectify the more than 40,000 poorly built RDP houses.

The people deserve answers for the ANC’s failure to deliver, and now Rampkgopa is hiding from scrutiny. The ANC administration in Tshwane is failing the City’s residents by being unable to fully fund the bare necessities of service delivery, as corruption is the order of the day.

The DA believes that a new and inspiring vision for Tshwane is needed in order to kick start economic growth and get the City out of its current state of stagnation.

With this clear vision in place, residents will live in an inclusive city where they feel safe. Our people will live in a Metro that is forward thinking in its planning, and that cares about its residents and about their well-being.

Tshwane can and will become a municipality of rising opportunity under a DA administration.

The DA is determined to win Tshwane at this year’s municipal election to usher in a government that delivers better services, cuts corruption and creates jobs.

Together, with Tshwane residents the DA will stop the cancer of corruption, grow the economy and create jobs.

Change is coming to Tshwane, with a new DA government, after Election 2016.

 

Solly Msimanga

Tshwane Mayoral Candidate

[image source]

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No Probes For Stomach Ailments At Joburg Hospital

Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital

Patients who urgently need stomach investigations at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital are being told it can’t be done because there is not a single endoscope to do this. All six endoscopes at the department are broken.

An endoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube which has a light and a video camera and is used to examine the inside of a person’s body.

Without endoscopes there are possible cancer cases that won’t be found as they need to be diagnosed by doing a colonoscopy or gastroscopy.

Mr George Joannides (82) was told two weeks ago by a doctor at the Gastroenterology Department that they could not investigate why he had lost weight, was vomiting and experiencing severe reflux because they did not have working equipment.

He and his wife are pensioners and have been forced to sell their house in Randburg in order to pay for expensive private treatment. They now live with his wife’s sister in Gillview in south Johannesburg.

Vital Equipment

It is really shocking that a major hospital lacks a vital piece of equipment and that patients’ lives are at risk because they cannot do proper stomach examinations.

The Gauteng Health Department should intervene urgently to ensure that endoscopes are bought or repaired so that doctors don’t have to tell patients that vital stomach procedures can’t be done.

(Note: I can supply Mrs Joannides contact details on request concerning her husband’s case)
Media enquiries:
Jack Bloom  MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health
082 333 4222

[Image source]

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DA Gauteng Sends Condolences To The Loved Ones Of Thandi Mahlangu

The DA in Gauteng extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the Honourable Thandi Gloria Mahlangu, who passed away late last night.

Hon. Mahlangu, diligently served the people of Gauteng during her tenure in the Legislature as an ANC member and Caucus Whip. We have the greatest respect for her hard work and dedication to build a better and prosperous society.

We pray for strength and comfort to her family, friends and loved ones.

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Chief Whip in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

082 492 4410

[Image source]