Has Gauteng’s Economic Department Something To Hide About Mega-Dump?

Environmental Impact Assessment

The Democratic Alliance will request the Gauteng Legislature’s Economic Development Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Errol Mangerman, summon Economic Development MEC, Lebogang Maile, to appear before the committee and provide feedback on the departments Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) comments made to the Department of Minerals Resources regarding the proposed mega-dump at Kalbasfontein on the West Rand. 

The Farmers Management Group, consisting of farmers from communities in and around Fochville on the West Rand approached the DA with regards to concerns they had about the impact this mega dump would have on the environment, and the negative impact it would potentially have on the agricultural sector in the region.

The farmers feel that the process has been less than transparent and that they have been largely excluded as stakeholders from this project. 

Department of Economic Development

When I approached the Department of Economic Development to assist by obtaining a copy of the department’s EIA, I was informed that the department’s EIA comments on the mega dump project were not available as the competent authority for the project is the Department of Minerals and Resources.

However, as the project is taking place within the borders of Gauteng, the department has commented on the project as an interested party. It makes no sense why it will not make its findings available to public scrutiny, as an EIA is a public document.

To this end, the DA will be submitting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) request to the department to obtain copies of the EIA. 

The secrecy around this project raises concern and the DA will continue to monitor this project to ensure that it is not simply rubber stamped.

 

Media enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 556 4344

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ANC Regional Secretary Must Pay Back Unlawful Second Salary

Bheki Ngobese

The DA will write to Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Paul Mashatile and ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe to demand an explanation why an ANC official receives salaries from both the party and the Sedibeng District Municipality.

Mr Bheki Ngobese, resigned from the Sedibeng District Municipality after being elected to the position of Regional Secretary for the ANC on 5 November 2014, but still receives a salary from Sedibeng.

The ANC position is a full-time salaried job, and while the exact package is unknown, it is alleged to be similar to that of a Mayor or Member of a Mayoral Committee.

Since assuming his ANC position in November 2014, Mr Ngobesi has reportedly been paid more than R900 000 from Sedibeng.

Mr Ngobesi’s second salary is illegal, and clearly shows how the ANC in Gauteng abuses state resources to enrich its party faithful.

The only way to resolve this is to force Mr Ngobesi to immediately pay back the R900 000.

The DA will continue to pursue this matter on municipal and provincial level, and will not hesitate to lay criminal charges against Mr Ngobesi if he refuses to pay back the money.

 

Media enquiries:

Kingsol Chabalala MPL

DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Emfuleni

060 558 8299

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113 Children Die Of Malnutrition In Gauteng

A total of 113 children have died of malnutrition in Gauteng in the period April 2015 to March this year.

This shock figure was disclosed by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu last week on Friday at a Gauteng Legislature Health Committee meeting held in public in Orange Farm.

According to a document presented, there were 3040 new cases of severe malnutrition, with 1512 admissions and 113 deaths due to severe acute malnutrition.

Furthermore: “Incorrect clinical assessment, classification and management of severe acute malnutrition (are) still a challenge.”

MEC Mahlangu said that malnutrition cases were on the rise and an integrated approach had to be taken that included communities and the social development.

I am horrified that so many children are dying of starvation in an urban province like Gauteng that has the resources to ensure that everyone is fed.

The malnutrition death figures should be a wake up call that more needs to be done to identity people at risk who need assistance.

It also shows the urgent need for job creation so that people have money to feed themselves instead of relying on welfare.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

DA Supports Families Demanding Gauteng Health MEC Be Fired

Mahlangu Monitor

This morning I attending the gathering outside the Gauteng Health Department head office of families of relatives who died after being transferred to NGOs earlier this year.

I support their demand that Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu accept responsibility for these deaths and resign or be fired by Premier David Makhura.

According to the Mahlangu Monitor on my twitter at @JackBloomDA #MahlanguMustGo it is now 44 days since she admitted the deaths – and is still in office.

I am horrified at the claim made today that the real figure is 60 deaths rather than the 37 that have been publicly acknowledged by the Department.

Health Ombudsman Malegapuru Makgopa

MEC Mahlangu must answer the official question for written reply that I asked 6 weeks ago about the number of psychiatric patients who died at each NGO.

This question is more than two weeks overdue for reply.

As more facts come to light the situation looks worse and worse.

I have made a submission to the investigation by Health Ombudsman Malegapuru Makgopa, and I hope that he will uncover all the facts and make a finding that ensures accountability and justice in this tragic matter.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

Gautrain Expansion Plans Continue To Exclude Majority Of Gauteng’s Commuters

Gauteng Legislature Roads and Transport Committee

Disclosures in the Gauteng Legislature Roads and Transport committee regarding the expansion of the Gautrain should be fully investigated as a matter of urgency.

The current, yet to be released, feasibility study will conclude that expansion is feasible given sufficient funds.

In the 2015/16 financial year the Gautrain enjoyed a subsidy of R1.56 billion. This is set to rise to R1.8 billion this year and consumes a sizeable portion of the Department’s R6.4 billion budget.

Whilst it is important to plan for the future transport needs of South Africa’s most populated province, it must be done in the most cost effective way possible while catering for the greatest number of passengers.

Gautrain fares are priced at too high a premium over PRASA rates, and cater for the more affluent, not for the majority of the provinces commuters.

Gautrain Management Agency

Auditor General staff criticised the Gautrain’s ridership contract, highlighting that it was poorly negotiated and stating that “even if the Gautrain was running 24/7/365 at full capacity the ridership guarantee would be payable”. This is strong criticism of the Department and its legal advisors.

Additionally, the underground network has only one tunnel which severely limits the number of train sets. The short-sighted approach of the designers, probably dictated by a huge escalation in construction costs from the original figure of R6-7 billion to over R32 billion, deserve to be criticised.

The Gautrain Management Agency is now hinting that only they can do extensions to the rail network as PRASA is still reeling from controversial purchase of locomotives which were too high for the overhead power lines.

The much needed rail links to the north-west of Johannesburg and Mamelodi to Naledi must enjoy priority

However, this cannot be done with an ailing fiscus. It cannot be resolved with the proposed Gautrain expansion plan, as high fares will continue to isolate the majority of commuters.

The DA will continue to monitor this issue to ensure that affordable transport services are prioritised over empire building exercises.

 

Media enquiries:

Dr Neil Campbell MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport

082 387 2540

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Ekurhuleni’s Environment Decays As MEC Idles

Swartspruit – Ekurhuleni

The massive diesel spillage into the Swartspruit, Ekurhuleni has highlighted the Gauteng Department of Economic Development’s limp-wristed approach to ensuring that environmental damage it mitigated throughout the province.

Information obtained by the DA indicates that while the Department has ensured that all boxes have been ticked in terms of statutory compliance according to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), agreements to increase and capacitate the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipalities’ environmental enforcement unit have not been fulfilled.

In 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Municipality and the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development to provide the municipality with Environmental Management Inspectors (EMI) whose responsibility it is to ensure businesses and industries throughout the Metro comply with environmental legislation.

Massive in-migration

According to the 2011 MOU, 25 EMI positions were to be established. To date Ekurhuleni only has two EMIs who are expected to inspect more than 5000 businesses.

Given that Gauteng experiences massive in-migration and with it, an increase for goods and services, it is likely that this municipality will need more than 25 EMIs.

I will pose questions to the MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, as to why these post have never been filled, and why the Department, through the inter-governmental relations framework has not done more to monitor and track environmental compliance in Ekurhuleni.

 

Media enquiries:

Janet Semple MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development

082 462 8239

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DA Gauteng Debates Open Tender Motion

Speech by: Adriana Randall

“More room for transparency in Gauteng’s Open Tender system”

  • Key to an open tender process is to constantly document its impact on transparency, accountability and citizen engagement.
  • The successful open tender process needs to ensure that public procurement processes are  available at all times by ensuring that technology is used effectively and that online bidding and computerised supply chain management are accessible and streamlined.
  • On 15 September 2016 the DA mayor in the City of Tshwane Metro announced the opening up of the tender process in the metro after discovering that the previous ANC government awarded multi-million rand contracts illegally to friends and family by ignoring the legal procurement processes in place.
  • It is a pity that Premier Makhura in his speech earlier told delegates that certain municipalities in the province already reneged on their election promises to open up their tender processes. I would appreciate if he could indicate who these municipalities are, as their decisions not to open up their tender processes will only drag down province’s efforts to ensure a responsible and transparent government.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by : Ashor Sarupen

“ANC should learn from DA’s tender system”

  • The claim that Gauteng is the first to have implemented the open tender system is neither factual nor a victory. The City of Cape Town opened its bid adjudication committee to public and media scrutiny for all tenders on the first of July 2006.
  • Open tenders are not just about opening the bid adjudication committee to public scrutiny, but it should be about access to information and maximising the number of bids received. It cannot be right that the same firms get government tenders over and over.
  • The ANC in Gauteng has admitted to having paid R30 for a loaf of bread, and ANC municipalities have admitted to being charged R30 for a tungsten lightbulbs. This is because there is a massive racket of corruption happening at the request for quotation system under R30 000, where only those who have access to information put in quotes as the entire process is shrouded in secrecy.
  • I challenge the Premier and MEC Creecy to publicly challenge the Minister of Public Enterprises to make every State-owned enterprise adopt the open tender system

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance

060 556 4342

 

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

060 558 8303

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ANC Should Learn From DA’s Tender Systems

Let me start with the ANC’s favourite quote: “tell no lies, claim no easy victories.” Often repeated in this house, but contradicted by the ANC frequently.

The claim that Gauteng is the first to have implemented the open tender system is neither factual nor a victory. The City of Cape Town, as Hon. Randall pointed out, opened its bid adjudication committee to public and media scrutiny for all tenders on the first of July 2006, for all tenders. The City of Tshwane has adopted the same system and the City of Johannesburg has announced, due to its structure, that it will be bringing the matter of opening all bid adjudication committee for a vote to full council.

Since its inception in 2006 – R15-billion worth of tenders in the City of Cape Town, every single financial year, have been awarded in an open, fair and transparent manner.

The City of Cape Town also boasts the best figures for awarding tenders to BBBEE compliant firms, since the DA does not continuously empower the same individuals over and over based on party membership and links to the ruling elite.

Despite all of this, the ANC in Gauteng has claimed it is the only government that runs open tenders through its open bid adjudication committee, despite the fact that the DA did it 10 years ago. In fact, at a recent summit, on the day the finance minister was charged by the NPA, the Premier said that the DA did not run open tenders, knowing full well that we do.

But open tenders are not just about opening the bid adjudication committee to public scrutiny, but it should be about access to information and maximising the number of bids received. It cannot be right that the same firms get tenders over and over by government.

The DA takes transparency seriously, as openness is more than just opening meetings to the public.

The ANC in Gauteng has admitted to having paid R30 for a loaf of bread, and ANC municipalities have admitted to being charged R30 for a tungsten lightbulbs. This is because there is a massive racket of corruption happening at the request for quotation system under R30 000, where only those who have access to information put in quotes as the entire process is shrouded in secrecy.

Access to tenders is equally important – all tenders and quotes above R2000 are advertised on the City of Cape Town website and companies registered in a given tender category receive a text message whenever a new tender is listed, to maximise the number of bids received. The DA’s approach is that no tender is reserved for anybody.

I challenge the ANC Government in Gauteng to follow the DA’s approach to openness, by setting up an easily accessible portal where suppliers can register at any time, specify what good or services they are able to supply and make sure that every potential supplier is made aware of requests for quotations and tenders so that a number of quotes and bids are received, and that no companies are continuously favoured in the process.

Futhermore, I challenge the Premier and MEC Creecy to publicly challenge the Minister of Public Enterprises to make every State-owned enterprise adopted the open tender system, instead of falsely claiming the DA does not run open tenders when we do. SOE’s are being fleeced for billons by a crony tender network known as the Zuma-Gupta Axis. I hereafter refer to this axis as Zupta.

In fact, state capture is being driven by the greed for tenders by the Zupta Axis. If the ANC in Gauteng is serious about ridding out country of corruption, they should order every Gauteng ANC Member of Parliament to support the DA’s motion of no confidence in the President, where there will then be enough votes to remove a corrupt president from office.

For as long as the ANC in Gauteng keeps Zuma and the Gupta’s in power, you have no leg to stand on in preaching or grandstanding about anti-corruption measures, when the leader of the ANC violated the constitution

History will judge you for allowing our national nightmare of corruption, from the highest office in the land, to continue.

 

Media enquiries:

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

060 558 8303

More Room For Transparency In Gauteng’s Open Tender System

There is an African proverb that reads as follows: “If you think you’re too small to make a difference you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito”.

The mosquito in this government is the extent of corruption and more especially corruption in our procurement processes. Corruption being an enemy to democracy and a stumbling block to effective service delivery and job creation.

Being stuck in damage-control mode for as long as we have been, would eventually catch up with government and force us to consider game changers, such as the opening up of the tender process in Gauteng, which MEC Creecy announced on 12 November 2014 at the launch of the more than R50m upgrade of Cedar road in Fourways .

Now game changers focus either on our greatest challenges or our best opportunities- and sometimes both come together.

With a long term vision of fostering highly skilled, innovation driven, resource efficient, connected, high opportunity for all, the City of Cape Town became the first municipality to open up their tender process in 2006, where the public were invited to attend their bid adjudication committee meetings. They became the example for many other governments to follow, yet the lack of political will and political interference prevented them to be just that.

We therefore wish to commend the Gauteng government for opening up their tender process at a time when economic growth, job creation, and levels of community trust in government is at an all-time low. We also wish to commend you on the 30 % spend of procurement on black business in the 1st six months of the current financial year.

Premier Makhura in his speech delivered at the Open Tender seminar earlier this month referred to 3 points that is crucial to curb corruption – deterrence, prevention and education.  He also said that, and I quote “In surveys, public discourse, corruption and bribery in tender processes have featured prominently as issues of great concern amongst South Africans. People demand accountability and transparency” Close quote.

As a responsible government we must empower our communities on corruption and build a trust relationship Not only is probity auditing one of the critical elements of the open tender process, but social auditing where government and society work together in a strong trust relationship, where we find strong leadership and direction, common goals, and where incompetence is never ever glorified.

Key to an open tender process is to constantly document its impact on transparency, accountability and citizen engagement.

We therefore need to ensure efficiency and transparency in procurement to promote competition among suppliers and contractors and to provide fair and equal treatment between suppliers and contractors by using a fair supplier rotation system.

The successful open tender process needs to also ensure that public procurement processes are  available at all times by ensuring that technology is used effectively and that online bidding and computerised supply chain management is accessible and streamlined; and ensure that vendors are able to be placed on vendor lists. This will speed up response times and access to government information and support as well as access to government officials and managers, and make it easier for small businesses to understand tendering processes and supply governments with the goods and services they need. These small businesses will then also be able to create jobs.

One of the most recent transparency measures in Mexico’s open tender system is the obligation for federal agencies to appoint a ‘social witness’ when the value of the contract to be awarded exceeds a certain threshold amount. Social witnesses are representatives of civil society acting as external observers in public procurement tenders. Social witnesses will participate in all stages of the procurement procedures as overseers without participating in the actual decision-making process and issues a final report compiling a testimonial of all phases of the tender.

To promote transparency, diminish corruption risks and improve the overall efficiency and reliability of public procurement, social witnesses must be honourable persons or companies who are independent from the parties involved in the tender. They are selected through a public bidding process and must meet several requirements, such as not having held public office, not having been sentenced to imprisonment, have an academic degree, work experience and professional or academic recognitions. Furthermore, to be selected, they must submit a written statement under oath that they will refrain from participating in contracts where a conflict of interest may exist. An initiative that we can definitely also benefit from.

Speaker, on the 15th September 2016 the DA mayor in the City of Tshwane Metro announced the opening up of the tender process in the metro after discovering that the previous ANC government awarded multi-million Rand contracts illegally to friends and family by ignoring the legal procurement processes in place. This led to fruitless and wasteful expenditure of public money.

It is a pity that Premier Makhura in his speech mentioned earlier told delegates that certain municipalities in the province already reneged on their election promises to open up their tender processes. I would appreciate if he could indicate who these municipalities are, as their decisions not to open up their tender processes will only drag down province’s efforts to ensure a responsible and transparent government whilst trying to build a strong trust relationship with communities.

Our provincial population is increasing annually in the face of shrinking budgets in real terms. Opening up our tender process is a responsible step, and acknowledging the challenges we face as government as far as curbing corruption, building trust relationships, delivering on services to our communities and creating jobs are concerned.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance

060 556 4342

DA Proposes Introduction Of Teacher’s Assistants In Gauteng Schools

Speech by: Khume Ramulifho MPL

“Introducing Teacher’s Assistants in Gauteng schools will benefit the province”

  • Teachers in Gauteng experience high workloads and levels of stress;
  • Introducing teacher’s assistants in schools will help to improve the quality of pass rates in township and rural schools;
  • This proposal seeks to provide support to teachers and in doing so promotes excellence in our schools;
  • Many teachers will support this proposal as it will reduce their work load. The education system will improve and we will receive better outcomes; and
  • The province will benefit as we will be able to produce highly skilled, innovative and talented personnel.

The full speech can be obtained here

 

Speech by: Glenda Steyn MPL

“Gauteng teachers are over worked and under paid”

  • Our teachers are probably amongst the hardest working members of our community and amongst the least appreciated;
  • A teacher’s assistant in the classroom will plug this gap as well as take some of the huge load off the teacher to enable greater attention be given to the pursuit of excellence in our classrooms.;
  • This proposal has multiple benefits: the teacher will have more time to prepare and present stimulating lessons; the learner will have someone by her side to assist and help surmount obstacles; the teacher’s assistant will get experience in the real world and real classroom;
  • Teacher’s Assistants could be drawn from multiple sectors; and
  • It is not the intention that the teacher’s assistant makes tea and cleans the board before every class. The intention is for this person to assist in the teaching and assessing process.

The full speech can be obtained here

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Education Shadow MEC

082 398 7375

 

Glenda Steyn MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on SCOPA

082 456 3252

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