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DA urges Tshwane residents to give input to the pro-service delivery budget

City of Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams will today table the draft budget and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the 2022/2023 financial year and period.

The DA worked very closely with our coalition partners over the past month to compile this draft, which aims to be a pro-service delivery budget in support of the recent Tshwane Ya Tima debt collection drive to stabilize the city’s finances and leave a solid foundation for further budgets to build on.

We urge residents to give their input to the draft budget and IDP as soon as they open for public participation. The process will be opened after the Mayor tables the budget, residents can give their input by visiting the City of Tshwane’s website or by contacting their local councillor.

Mayor Williams will also table the unqualified audit opinion by the Auditor-General (AG) for the period 2021/2022 to be released for public participation.

The AG raised some areas of concern that the DA Mayoral Committee Member for Finance, Cllr Peter Sutton, has already started addressing. The DA welcomes this report and we are committed to ensuring an accountable and clean government.

We further call on the community of Tshwane to join us in building a better Tshwane by making their voices heard on the budget, IDP and audit alike.

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2.6 million people are unemployed in Gauteng, while the government rests on its laurels

2 612 000 residents of Gauteng are unemployed and a further 848 000 have given up hope of finding a job. This brings the unemployment rate to a staggering 36,6%.

This is a clear indication that our people are suffering and are struggling to put food on the table.

This information was revealed in the fourth quarter Labour Force Survey for 2021 that was released earlier this week.

This is very concerning as it is evident that not enough is being done by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to ensure that sufficient employment opportunities are created for our unemployed residents in the province.

To address the inequality in our society, we need a government that has the political will to ensure that the private sector is prepared to invest in our economy so that more job opportunities can be created. Under the leadership of Premier David Makhura, it is clear that this political will does not exist and our economy will continue to decline.

Recently it came to light that the Gauteng Department of Economic Development failed to meet its ICT job creation target which was set at 20 000 for the third quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year.

It is opportunities like these that help to alleviate unemployment, particularly amongst our youth who are in desperate need of jobs.

The GPG must ensure that the correct environment for the private sector to invest in the economy is created by ensuring that skills training and development takes place.

It cannot be that we have a situation where our unemployed residents particularly the youth are crying out for employment and skills development opportunities that are blatantly being ignored by the GPG.

The DA is demanding that all government departments especially the Department of Economic Development starts meeting its job creation and skills development training targets set for the year.

I will also be raising these concerns through the Portfolio of Economic Development Committee at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

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25 vehicles per day roadworthy test cap inconveniences motorists

Gauteng motorists are being severely inconvenienced by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport’s protocol which only allows 25 vehicles per day to be tested for roadworthiness.

Motorists who want to procure a roadworthy certificate for their vehicle are unable to do so in a timeous manner because of the current cap on how many vehicles may be tested per day.

The DA has received numerous queries from members of the public regarding what the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport is doing about the current cap and backlog.

Both public and private testing stations have been working on a first come first serve basis since the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented two years ago. Furthermore, it is distressing to note that the Gauteng Provincial Government is unable to give us a true picture of how bad the backlog currently is.

During a recent sitting at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, the DA asked questions about why the cap is still in place despite the fact that the majority of lockdown regulations have been lifted.

In his reply, the MEC for Roads and Transport Jacob Mamabolo stated that the National Department of Transport has pronounced minimum testing time standards and all the other standards that relate to Covid-19 protocols. According to MEC Mamabolo, once the National Department grants permission to implement the minimum standards then the cap will be lifted.

With the upcoming Easter Weekend approaching there will be a large number of vehicles moving in and out of the province and the current cap on how many vehicles are tested on a day could lead to residents resorting to driving their cars without the necessary roadworthy certificate.

The DA will continue to demand that this cap be lifted and will be engaging with the MEC of Transport on this matter as we cannot have a situation where there are unroadworthy vehicles on our roads. This poses a huge danger to other motorists and pedestrians and has the potential to increase the number of fatalities on our roads.

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#GautengWaterCrisis: DA is not looking for votes Minister Mchunu, we want to ensure that the basic right of access to water is not compromised by incompetency

The incompetent and inefficient Rand Water has on several occasions failed to communicate timeously to the residents of Gauteng through their municipalities about the planned water outages due to the maintenance of water infrastructure.

Based on two previous occasions where our residents were abrupt left without water earlier this year, it raised concern for the DA. This is because the situation was not effectively communicated by Rand Water and therefore, we had no choice but to put pressure on the government to ensure that such instances were not repeated.

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu is now trying to deflect the seriousness of the situation by saying that the DA has caused panic among Gauteng residents. However, the fact that they have delayed the planned scheduled maintenance from 1-3 April 2022 shows that there was no effective communication with the municipalities that were going to be affected.

Rand Water states that they are not responsible for providing water tankers to the affected municipalities during water outages yet, they are the ones who cause water supply interruptions due to their maintenance operations.

While we agree that there is a need to maintain water infrastructure, this however cannot be done by inconveniencing our residents. Rand Water must also be held financially accountable for the financial burden that is now placed on municipalities in terms of sourcing out water tankers.

Municipalities do not have sufficient water tankers to provide water to the affected residents during water outages caused by Rand Water. There should be a shared responsibility between the Rand Water and municipalities to ensure that areas affected by water outages are provided with water during that period. This will leave thousands of Gauteng residents without water and will then blame the municipalities for failing to provide water tankers.

The DA is not desperate for votes and will never politicise such a human crisis. We will continue to put pressure on both provincial and national governments as well as Rand Water to ensure an uninterrupted water supply for all Gauteng residents.

The DA is petitioning the Premier and COGTA MEC to lobby their national counterparts to engage with the South African National Defence Force to assist with water tankers during the water outages. We also demand a proper audit of all our water infrastructure in Gauteng.

We will be engaging with the Department of Water and Sanitation concerning its refusal to grant a license to Rand Water to increase its water capacity supply. We will also be engaging with Rand Water in terms of their water infrastructure maintenance plans and their ineffective communication to the municipalities.

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20 000 job opportunities lost in ICT sector, while our youth are crying out for jobs

20 000 youth in our townships are losing out on a critical skills development programme simply because the Gauteng Department of Economic Development is unable to get their ducks in a row.

Unemployment in Gauteng is at an all-time high at 37 percent and our youth in particular are suffering and are in desperate need of employment opportunities to put food on the table.

The Department of Economic Development in Gauteng has yet again failed to meet its job creation target for the third quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year.

According to the third quarter report, a total of 20 000 job opportunities were meant to be created in the ICT sector.

The report further indicates that this target was missed because the department was unable to find suitable sites for the training.

This is a pathetic excuse from the department as their total goal is to train 40 000 people by the end of this financial year.

We are two years into the devasting Covid-19 pandemic and yet, we are still unable to find ways of working around the problems of accommodating our residents in being upskilled in new technology.

It is high time that the lackadaisical approach from our government to capacitate our residents with critical ICT skills ends.

The DA demands that a clear plan be put in place by the department which explains exactly how this backlog will be addressed. We will be tabling questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature as well as continuing to put pressure on the department to meet this target by the end of the current financial year.

The DA will also monitor this process to ensure that all our youth have fair access to this programme.

This programme will leave our unemployed residents and youth with a new skill that will assist them in seeking out the job opportunities that arise. This will also assist with skills transfer to other residents across the province.

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Old Sharpeville Police Station heritage site in shambles, an insult to the selfless victims of the Sharpeville Massacre

As the country still celebrates Human Rights Month, which is grounded in the remembrance of the Sharpeville Massacre, the Old Sharpeville Police Station heritage site is in shambles. This is an insult to the selfless victims of the massacre, as well as the residents of Gauteng. This is as a result of the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) subsequently stopping the maintenance and operational grant for this precinct.

This action by the department is denying Sharpeville residents an opportunity to benefit from this facility which has the potential of boosting the local economy. It can attract investors to create employment opportunities for unemployed residents, particularly the youth.

This is especially saddening as the country is still celebrating Human Rights month yet the Old Sharpeville Police Station which forms part of the Human Rights precinct in Sharpeville is not properly maintained and not fully operational. This precinct is in dire need of proper regular maintenance.

The DA conducted an oversight inspection at the Old Sharpeville Police Station and was disappointed by the terrible state of the infrastructure and environment in general. This is supposed to be a heritage site showcasing the events that happened inside the police station however, Client Services has been turned into a Skills Development Centre and the cells have been turned into classrooms.

Furthermore, this facility was handed over to the Emfuleni Local Municipality when the new Sharpeville Police Station was opened. The Old Sharpeville Police Station was declared a Grade IIII Provincial Heritage Site and later recognized as a National Heritage Site. The Human Rights Precinct, including the Old Sharpeville Police Station, has been nominated by UNESCO to become a World Heritage Site.

This nomination is a boost to the tourism sector in the area and will put Sharpeville on the worldwide map and have a positive impact on the economy. However, the department must still provide an operational grant for this precinct to attract more investors.

There is a need for funds to ensure the preservation of history. We cannot pay tribute to the sacrifices of our heroes while the facility is not fully operational and is not being properly maintained.

The DA demands answers from the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe on why the department has stopped funding this facility and who is responsible for the maintenance and operational costs. We will be tabling written questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain how much the initial grant for this centre was and who is responsible for this facility.

Most of the Gauteng heritage sites are in a state of disrepair while some remain incomplete and non functional, yet the department fails to spend its entire budget year after year.

The DA will not sit and allow MEC Hlophe’s department to jeopardise such a historical site for the people of Sharpeville and the entire Gauteng as it is crucial to build on the lessons learned from the Sharpeville tragedy and fix the injustices of the past.

The DA is the only party that is diverse and big enough to bring people together and ensure that our heritage sites are properly maintained and preserved.

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Shoddy planning could see Nokuthula LSEN School demolished at a cost of R300 million to the taxpayer

The Nokuthula LSEN School in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg for learners with special educational needs is at risk of being demolished if the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management (DID) cannot have the building plans approved and if the department cannot obtain a permanent occupancy certificate.

This will be a serious inconvenience for parents and learners who will now have to wait many years for the school to be rebuilt and will have to find an alternative school for their children. Having a school that caters to the needs of our children who may have learning difficulties is extremely important if we want to ensure that all our children are given a fair chance to learn in an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.

In terms of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Planning Department, building plans must be approved before the project may start.

DID failed to submit any plans since 2015, and now they cannot produce an invoice as evidence that they have submitted the plans as they claim they have done in November 2021.

A section of the new property is currently being occupied, but the department also cannot produce a temporary occupancy certificate for the school.

A demolition order will then be issued, and the R300 million spent will be reduced to rubble. Should this happen, it will clearly show that DID has no regard for how our taxpayers’ money is spent.

The department claims that building plans were submitted in 2021, but to date, CoJ have no record of the plans being submitted, and the committee is waiting for a copy of the invoice. The MEC for Infrastructure Development and Property Management, Tasneem Motora, has since failed to produce proof that all the documentation was submitted to CoJ.

While DID is hiding behind reports regarding the shoddy workmanship, I have been in discussion with the Department of Development at the CoJ who confirmed that no building plans have been submitted to date.

That is seven years after breaking ground on the building of this new school.

During a recent committee meeting, it came to light that there is rising damp which is damaging the school buildings. The redesign of the stormwater system and a geotechnical investigation should be done. This is to ascertain and verify whether the building is ready for occupation.

It would appear as if the DID is now operating in reverse and trying to fix horrendous errors that should not have been made in the first place, had an Environmental Impact Assessment been done before the school was built.

So far, the cost of building this much-needed school has already ballooned to nearly R300 million from the budgeted R248 million and it seems that the cost for this school will keep rising.

Having social infrastructure like schools and clinics built is very important if we want to ensure that all our residents are given an equal footing to access services that will help improve their lives.

We cannot have a situation where learners will now be displaced because our government has failed to do all the necessary checks and balances.

The DA on several occasions has demanded the dissolution of the DID and for the Premier to fire MEC Motara due to the failure of her department to deliver infrastructure projects. Our motion on the dissolution of the DID was denied by the ANC which was meant to stop the continued waste of taxpayers’ money. We will continue to apply pressure on the ANC government to dissolve the DID and allow line departments to manage their own infrastructure projects to give Gauteng residents the services that they deserve.

The DA will be demanding answers through the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to determine why millions of rands in taxpayers’ money has been wasted on a school that is needed in our province and that is now at risk of being demolished.

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#GautengWaterCrisis: Gauteng residents will continue to suffer without water as DA’s water motion has been denied

Today, the ANC in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature has denied the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) urgent motion to debate the water crisis in Gauteng before the next planned major Rand Water outage on 1 April 2022.

The ANC is running away from a debate that will expose the incompetence and failures of both their provincial and national governments to provide uninterrupted water supply to the residents of Gauteng.

The residents of Gauteng will continue to suffer for days on end without water because Rand Water, which is a national entity, unexpectedly cuts water supply to our municipalities. At the same time, no alternative sources are made available to ensure that our people have access to water during that period. The same happens when they are conducting water infrastructure maintenance.

The DA’s motion was aimed at debating solutions that must be put in place before the planned Rand Water outages scheduled from 1-3 April 2022 and beyond due to major maintenance of water infrastructure.

The failure to have a debate and discuss the solutions will result in many areas across Gauteng not having water. The areas that will be most affected are parts of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Mogale City.

This province is heading for a disaster should there be no urgent interventions from the provincial government to ensure that they assist municipalities in providing water to the affected areas. The municipalities are already doing their part in providing water during outages; however, they do not have sufficient water tankers and are unable to deal with this crisis by themselves.

Gauteng faces a medium to long term water crisis because the water supply is not keeping up with the growth in its economy and population. The equation is that demand is rising daily but the supply of water is remaining the same. We must also note that Gauteng also supplies water to other municipalities outside the province such as Thembisile Hani (Mpumalanga) and Madibeng (North West).

In a short time, this province will have a limited water supply just like we have limited electricity supply if Rand Water’s supply capacity is not increased.

We are faced with a critical situation as the national Department of Water and Sanitation is refusing to approve Rand Water’s licence application to increase its water supply capacity in the province.

All these factors will lead to water scarcity in Gauteng and reiterate the importance of debating this matter to find solutions to this looming crisis. If we do not find solutions soon, it will lead to dire economic and humanitarian consequences.

The DA will continue to fight for an increased water supply in Gauteng to avert such a disaster. The DA is petitioning the Premier and COGTA MEC to lobby their national counterparts to declare all water infrastructure national key points to be exempted from load shedding and to engage with the South African National Defence Force to assist with water tankers during the water outages. We also demand a proper audit of all our water infrastructure in Gauteng. To sign or access the DA’s Water Crisis Petition, please click this link: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/gauteng-water-crisis

The DA will hand over a memorandum to the Premier, COGTA MEC and the CEO of Rand Water about the lack of water tankers during water outages, a severe lack of proper and regular maintenance of water infrastructure, and the need for a Water Indaba to discuss issues of investment into water infrastructure and funding as well as vandalism of water infrastructure

The DA will also be engaging with the Department of Water and Sanitation with regard to its refusal to grant a license to Rand Water to increase its water capacity supply. In the past several years, Gauteng has experienced massive growth in terms of the population due to immigration, and there is a dire need to increase Rand Water’s water supply capacity. We will also be engaging with Rand Water in terms of their water infrastructure maintenance plans and their ineffective communication to the municipalities. We will engage with all our municipalities across Gauteng to discuss the water crisis and how they can intervene in terms of awareness campaigns on how to save water as a scarce resource.

The ANC’s refusal to debate the water crisis exposes how they are willing to play political games instead of assisting our residents, who will be severely impacted by the scheduled planned water outages and future water problems. This is exactly what landed us in trouble with Eskom and the country’s electricity supply. If this is the ANC’s attitude, then Gauteng residents must brace themselves for water shedding.

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Gauteng Provincial Government departments return millions of rands to National Treasury while failing to deliver houses and maintain road infrastructure

Gauteng residents are currently enduring very bad roads that are littered with many potholes, while the Department of Roads and Transport had to return R51.8 million to the treasury due to poor spending of the Provincial Road Maintenance Grant.

In addition to this, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements also failed to spend R20 million of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Partnership Grant and the money was also returned to the treasury.

It is for this reason that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has not supported the Second Adjustment Appropriations Bill of 2022 because these two departments have failed to spend on their allocated grants.

It is unacceptable that our residents now need to suffer because government departments are unable to do effective planning at the start of each financial year and manage their funds properly to ensure that services are delivered to our people.

Gauteng’s roads are in a terrible state, and this has a huge impact on whether goods and services that are delivered by road can reach their destinations on time and in perfect condition.

Further to this, our motorists will also be subjected to higher insurance premiums if they are constantly claiming from their insurers because of damage sustained while driving on roads that are not well and properly maintained.

Recent surveys conducted around the procurement of goods and services in the Department of Transport found that 91% of contractors felt that government procurement processes were not open and transparent, while 57% of the respondents felt that corruption is pertinent during the procurement and tender phases of the infrastructure cycle.

It is imperative that Gauteng has a well-developed and maintained road network as this is crucial for economic growth to take place. The DA is of the view that the department is not functioning well enough to contribute positively to the province’s economic growth potential.

The Department of Human Settlements returned R20 million allocated as part of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Partnership Grant, due to poor planning and prolonged supply chain processes, which resulted in the delay in appointing service providers.

This grant was introduced in the 2020/21 financial year to provide beneficiaries with access to basic services and security of tenure over the Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the period 2019-2024.
The constant immigration of people into our province compels the Department of Human Settlements to utilise this grant to its fullest to ensure access to dignified housing for our residents.

The DA demands that the Gauteng Provincial Government ensures that all policies and interventions that have been put in place to ensure the growth of this province are implemented properly and immediately.

We cannot continue to have a situation where our residents are always on the losing end because this government is failing to ensure that the budget set aside for each department is spent properly and to the benefit of our residents.

It is time that this trend of continuing with business-as-usual ends and that decisive action is taken against accounting officers, and the executive, who fail to meet the poverty and inequality reduction targets set for 2030.

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#GautengWaterCrisis: DA Gauteng launches water campaign to ensure access to uninterrupted water supply for all residents

Gauteng residents are faced with a severe water crisis due to Rand Water’s incompetence and failure to provide water tankers to the affected residents during the water outages caused by the maintenance of water infrastructure.

Rand Water has scheduled water outages from 1-3 April 2022 due to major maintenance of water infrastructure. This will result in many areas across Gauteng not having water. The areas that will be most affected are parts of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Mogale City.

The residents will be placed in a dire situation as municipalities do not have sufficient water tankers to provide water to the affected areas. The DA has been reliably informed that the Provincial Disaster Management does not have water tankers to assist municipalities to provide water for the affected residents. This will leave thousands of Gauteng residents without water as Rand Water has on several occasions failed to provide water tankers or an alternative to the affected residents.

Based on previous experiences, some parts of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City have been without water for nearly a week due to the failure by Eskom to provide electricity to Rand Water. This resulted in Rand Water unable to supply water to numerous reservoirs. Electricity was restored; however, it took some days for Rand Water to fill up the water in the reservoirs to a sufficient level to reinstate supply.

It means that our people will suffer without water as Rand Water does not effectively communicate to the municipalities exactly how many days residents will be without water. Rand Water does not include the days that they will be waiting for the reservoirs to fill up in their communication. Our people will be left in the dark and the municipalities will be blamed.

The DA has written to the Gauteng Premier, MEC for COGTA, HOD of COGTA, Provincial Disaster Management and the CEO of Rand Water to urgently assist affected municipalities with water tankers to distribute water to the affected areas during water outages. We also requested that the Premier’s office should assist in ensuring that Rand Water is held financially accountable for failing to provide water during the planned water outages.

We have not yet received responses from all of the above. The DA also posed questions directly to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu last week during a ministerial briefing, where he gave no real commitment as to how they will address the water crisis in Gauteng, but merely shifted the blame to load shedding which is as a result of the failures of Eskom which is a national entity.

The DA will be embarking on the following initiatives to put pressure on both provincial and national government to ensure access to uninterrupted water supply for all Gauteng residents:

• Motion: the DA will table an urgent motion in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to debate the water crisis in Gauteng on Friday 25 March 2022 before the next planned major Rand Water outage on 1 April 2022.
• Petition: the DA will be petitioning the Premier and COGTA MEC to lobby their national counterparts to declare all water infrastructure national key points to be exempted from load shedding and to engage with the South African National Defence Force to assist with water tankers during the water outages. We also demand a proper audit of all our water infrastructure in Gauteng
• Memorandum: the DA will hand over a memorandum to the Premier, COGTA MEC and the CEO of Rand Water about the lack of water tankers during water outages, a severe lack of proper and regular maintenance of water infrastructure, and the need for a Water Indaba to discuss issues of investment into water infrastructure and funding as well as vandalism of water infrastructure
• Engagements: the DA will also be engaging with the Department of Water and Sanitation with regards to its refusal to grant a license to Rand Water to increase its water capacity supply. Gauteng has in the past years experienced huge growth in terms of the population due to immigration and there is a dire need to increase Rand Water’s water supply capacity. We will also be engaging with Rand Water in terms of their water infrastructure maintenance plans and their ineffective communication to the municipalities. We will engage with all our municipalities across Gauteng to discuss the water crisis and how they can intervene in terms of awareness campaigns on how to save water as a scarce resource.
• We will also be conducting oversight inspections of different water infrastructure points across the province to ascertain the challenges.

Based on last month’s experience, this crisis will manifest its self, starting from next week if there are no urgent interventions. The provincial disaster management centre does not have water tankers which means our residents will be severely impacted by the scheduled planned water outages.

Access to water is a basic human right and a Constitutional right. Water is life and people cannot do without it hence it is critical for all three spheres of government to ensure access to uninterrupted water for all residents.