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Gauteng ANC’s elective conference results show that it’s time for a DA-led government in the province

The elevation of the divisive and corruption-accused Panyaza Lesufi to the ANC’s presumptive Gauteng Premier Candidate for 2024 confirms the urgency of replacing the ANC with a DA-led government in the province.

Lesufi is not a leader, and our residents are in dire need of a leader who has the best interests of the province at heart. He has a long record of dividing and scapegoating the people of Gauteng for his litany of failures as the MEC for Education.

Furthermore, Lesufi also faces many unanswered questions about the corruption of the R450 million tender on the decontamination of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, of thus plunging Gauteng into decline. This makes him part and parcel of the problem.

Instead of being further divided and failed by an ANC-led government, our residents deserve a new government that will unite and serve in the best interest of the province.

It is time that our residents use their vote in the upcoming 2024 elections to stop the corrupt ANC and put in place a government that will only act in the best interests of the residents it serves.

Where the DA governs in the various Gauteng municipalities, we are already demonstrating that we are committed to ensuring that basic services are delivered unhindered and that our taxpayers’ money is used to uplift the communities they serve.

 

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Sedibeng spends R3.9 million on catering while residents suffer a lack of basic services

Instead of spending money to ensure that its residents have access to uninterrupted basic services such as water, electricity and refuse removal, Sedibeng District Municipality has spent R3.9 million on catering services in the last five financial years.

It is extremely concerning that the Sedibeng District Municipality which constantly presents an unfunded budget and is in financial crisis is failing to prioritise service delivery for its residents.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lebogang Maile in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Maile, Sedibeng has spent R3 909 676.57 on catering services from July 2017 to January 2022 during workshops, committee meetings, and council meetings.

This is ridiculous as this municipality is in a financial crisis and does not have money to ensure that its residents have access to adequate service delivery.

The DA will continue to hold the Sedibeng Mayor, Cllr Lerato Maloka to account for the millions spent on catering instead of ensuring that basic services are rendered to the residents. We will also engage the DA councillors in Sedibeng to use all the mechanisms at their disposal to curb the misuse of the municipality’s coffers.

It is high time that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely to benefit our people who are in dire need of proper service delivery.

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People suffer as Maile is distracted by the election battle

MEC Lebogang Maile’s Gauteng Department of Human Settlements has once again failed dismally to meet any of its housing services targets because he is distracted by the Gauteng ANC’s election battle.

Gauteng residents who are in desperate need of dignified housing and services continue to be exposed to terrible living conditions, yet MEC Maile who is supposed to deliver services has prioritised his political future.

Instead of focusing on ensuring that Gauteng residents have access to dignified housing and the upgrading of informal settlements, Maile has totally neglected his duties as the MEC for Human Settlements and COGTA.

This is evident through the department’s third quarter report for the 2021/22 financial year.

According to the department’s third quarter report for the 2021/22 financial year, the following targets were not met:

  • Zero townships were formalised against a target of 18
  • Zero serviced stands were procured from the private sector against a target of 1,000
  • Zero hostels’ projects were approved against a target of five
  • Zero hostels where construction was taking place against a target of seven
  • Zero family units were completed in hostel redevelopment projects against a target of 180
  • Zero informal settlements received interim support services against a target of 60
  • Zero informal settlements received phase two upgrading against a target of 15
  • Zero approved upgrading plans of individual informal settlements against a target of 20
  • Zero top structures were completed against a target of 70
  • Zero property transfers were completed against a target of 90%

Failure by this department to meet the above critical targets is concerning as there has been no progress on these targets since the beginning of the year.

This is a significant blow for hostel dwellers, informal settlements and township residents and is likely to raise social risks that could further see situations like the last year’s July unrest.

The DA demands that Premier Makhura must intervene as a matter of urgency and whip MEC Maile into line to ensure that his department delivers on its core mandate to the residents of Gauteng.

For far too long, MEC Maile has been given free reign at the expense of taxpayers’ money; it is high time that MEC Maile delivers what he is paid for. His attitude towards his work has resulted in his accounting officers doing as they please as they follow in his footsteps.

We also demand that Premier Makhura must set in motion a workable and implementable turnaround strategy together with timelines for holding this department to account.

The DA will continue to fight for the Gauteng residents to access housing services and dignified housing and for MEC Maile to be held to account.

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Gauteng residents will not benefit from incompetent DID

The ANC-led Gauteng government is continuing to shield its comrades and the failures of their government in delivering infrastructure projects by bluntly refusing to debate the DA’s Motion on the dissolution of the Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management (DID).

The DA’s motion was meant to stop the continued waste of taxpayer’s money and ensure that Gauteng residents’ benefit from infrastructure projects. This was going to see all DID functions and funds allocated to line departments and its incompetent MEC Tasneem Motora being removed from the executive.

However, the ANC-led Gauteng government has chosen to show its voters the middle finger by opting to protect their comrade at the expense of poor residents who are in dire need of infrastructure to improve their lives and well-being.

It is sad, considering that this department has constantly failed to complete infrastructure projects within the stipulated timelines and within budget.

The infrastructure projects are a crucial component for investment, growth, and socio-economic redress yet this department that they are protecting is not adding any value to the lives of residents of this province.

There are many projects across the province that were initiated years ago by DID that are still incomplete and have costed, and continue to drain, millions from provincial coffers.

The following is a list of some of the incomplete infrastructure projects that have resulted in millions being wasted:

• The AngloGold Ashanti Hospital, donated to the Gauteng Provincial Government, under the custodianship of the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development in response to the COVID-19 pandemic saw costs balloon from a budgeted R50 million to R500 million while only 6 patients received treatment at this facility;
• The Special Investigative Unit was granted a court order to preserve R7.9 million against the two contractors who were awarded the contract for this project;
• Mayibuye Primary School which was handed over to the appointed contractor in 2015 is to date still not complete. Construction took place illegally as building plans had not been approved, the budget of the project has ballooned to over R100 million while the school has been allegedly built on a sewerage line;
• The Nokuthula LSEN School could not receive an occupancy certificate. This school was built on a wetland and the boarding school hostel could not be occupied until remedial work was done. In addition, water damage to the school was extensive.
• Braamfischerville Primary School initiated in 2017
• Kekanastad Clinic initiated in 2018

The above-mentioned projects are just a few of many infrastructure projects across the province that are still incomplete.

Furthermore, the systematic collapse of public infrastructure as evidenced by the Bank of Lisbon and Charlotte Maxeke fires, highlights the dysfunctionality of the DID and its inability to render quality services to residents of Gauteng.

Gauteng will not progress under the leadership of the ANC and its leaders’ attitudes towards crucial issues that affects the residents. The DA will not sit and allow the ANC to do as they please and continue to waste public funds.

We will also be engaging with different stakeholders across the province who are affected by the DID’s incompetency namely, the doctors, teachers and the general public. The information we will receive from different stakeholders will be used to apply pressure on the ANC government to dissolve the DID and give the people the service delivery which they deserve.

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MEC Maile succumbs to DA pressure to investigate the illegal extension of employment contracts for Emfuleni political staff

Following the public criticism of the Emfuleni Local Municipality by various stakeholders for advertising several political support office positions two weeks before the Local Government Elections, which were later withdrawn, there are now allegations that the process continued in secret and political staff members had their contracts extended before the elections.

There are allegations that those advertised positions were extended before the elections and raises great concern, considering that is illegal. The standard legal procedure requires the Emfuleni Local Municipality Human Resources Department to advertise the post after the election of the new administration which entails the Mayor, Speaker, and Chief Whip.

Failure by Emfuleni to follow the legal standards of employment recruitments indicates that the ANC wanted to secure jobs for their pals considering the nature these positions are party affiliated.

In response to my oral questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, virtual sitting, the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile stated that they treat these allegations seriously, and that they will investigate the matter to get to the bottom of the facts and accordingly ensure that the applicable legislation is followed to the latter.

He further highlighted that there is a new Mayor, Speaker, and Chief Whip in Emfuleni and there was no response readily available on the matter.

While we welcome that these allegations will be investigated, we will continue monitoring the recruitment processes in Emfuleni, as there are new political leaders to ensure that standard recruitment procedures are followed.

Emfuleni is where it is today because of cadre deployment. It is high time that the new ANC-led administration focuses on restoring service delivery and using municipality coffers wisely for the benefits of its residents instead of lining their cronies’ pockets.

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ANC Mayor Mzwandile Masina must scrap the flawed Ekurhuleni valuation roll

Today residents of Ekurhuleni and I, handed over a memorandum to ANC Ekurhuleni Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, demanding that the latest property valuation roll be set aside.

See pictures here here here and here

See video here

The valuation roll process was not handled correctly by the contractor awarded the tender and as such, residents of Ekurhuleni are being billed out of their homes with exorbitant rates and taxes based on property values that are in no way a true reflection of market value.

The DA has received thousands of complaints by residents who have indicated that the ANC-led municipality is unwilling to adjust their property values to the correct market value.

The DA has submitted both petitions and motions to Council, however the ANC and their alliance partners have dismissed these off the bat.

Property values in Ekurhuleni are up between 50% to 300%, this includes owners of RDP houses and low-income homes who too are bearing the brunt of this calamitous valuation roll.

Scores of Section 49 notices, that form part of the Municipal Property Rates Act – notices to inform property owners about the increase of property values, were found dumped in open area within Kempton Park.

These letters were recovered by DA Councilors and delivered to the Mayor’s office. To date there has been no word from the Mayor or City Manager to indicate whether these letters were eventually delivered to the homeowners. More than likely, the Mayor and City Mangers silence confirms our suspicions that they were not.

According to the municipality’s Finance Department, the municipality received 47,322 objections of which 10,899 of those are Omission Objections. Objections received excluding omissions amount to 36 423 – this includes both public objections and the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) objections submitted.

The DA believes that the number quoted for omissions is incorrect, as the information we have collected indicates that over 30 000 properties were omitted just in the Northern Region (Bedfordview & Edenvale).

The chaos that this messy valuation process has unleashed on the municipality’s already ailing Finance Department is shocking.

Residents are being billed for property rates in the highest property value brackets. Residents must now apply every 3 months for an extension to pay a reduced rate because 90% of property owners cannot afford to pay these increased rates.

 

The memorandum by the DA and residents demands that Mayor Masina set aside the current valuation roll, layout a flat rate increase for the balance of this financial year until the process is done correctly and reflects the true value of resident’s homes.

The ANC and its coalition partners in the Metro are hell-bent on destroying not only people’s livelihoods, but also evicting them from their homes by imposing rates that cannot be afforded.

Ekurhuleni residents, the DA is in your corner – fighting for you and your homes. The DA will not rest until this matter is resolved because the DA gets things done.

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DA reveals R70 million unfinished Phomolong Substation; a testament to ANC failure in Ekurhuleni

Note to Editors:  Please find attached soundbite by DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

Today the DA protested at a Phomolong substation in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, because after a R70-million budget, it remains a failed, unfinished, incomplete project – and the surrounding area constantly suffers power outages.

Across Ekurhuleni, over 1000 power outages are suffered each day due to ailing and dilapidated infrastructure.

All that can be shown for this Phomolong substation is a single top structure and an open piece of land.

Photo can be access here_ here_

I took the opportunity today to reiterate the DA pledge for Electricity Security in Ekurhuleni, if the DA is voted in to govern this Metro. The pledge entails:

  • We will incentivise Independent Power Producers (IPP’s) to feed energy back to the grid. This will be alleviating the dependency that this City has on Eskom.
  • Upon assuming office, the DA will professionalise the energy department by filling funded vacancies as a priority. We will increase capacity and reduce overtime expenditure.
  • The DA will ensure that there is proper maintenance for all electricity infrastructure in the City.
  • This will include implementing a smart stock control system within the energy department to ensure that parts are on hand when needed and that there is no shortage of stock.
  • The introduction of a performance dashboard will ensure that faults and outrages are attended to in time by alerting the energy department directly.
  • Performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms will be used to track CAPEX project performance and hold officials and contractors responsible to account.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) recommended the municipality employ 1500 staff  in the department, yet there are only 879 staff employed. There are well over 300 funded vacancies in the department.

It is incomprehensible that a municipality which battles with the volume of daily outages such as Ekurhuleni that funded positions for skilled technicians would remain vacant.

Compounded to this, the stores of the energy department are in disarray and no stock controls mechanisms are put into practice. When there are outages, across the municipality, replacement components are often out of stock and need to be sourced elsewhere.

This creates lengthy delays in responding to outages and extra financial costs.

Capital expenditure, as evidenced by this substation, is not spent wisely on new projects while contract prices are inflated.

In the last two financial years, the municipality has incurred R2.5 billion loss of revenue due to illegal connections while there has only been one arrest made in connection with these illegal connections.

If the ANC-led municipality was serious about providing residents with the services that they so desperately need, and spent its CAPEX prudently, there would be no need for residents to connect illegally to the grid.

Illegal connections are synonymous with a government that cares little for the plight of its people.

The lack of secure energy supply in Ekurhuleni will fast track job shedding where there is already a high 39% unemployment rate in Ekurhuleni.

The Phomolong substation stands testament to this ANC lead government taking voters for granted.

Yet, there is hope for the residents of Ekurhuleni as the DA has a plan to restore power back to the people.

Come 1 November, the DA will keep Ekurhuleni’s lights on.

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Tshwane judgement: Open letter to Premier Makhura

The Constitutional Court ruling delivered on Monday was a damning indictment on the petty political games that COGTA MEC Lebogang Maile was playing at the expense of the residents of Tshwane.

We call for the immediate suspension or firing of MEC Maile for putting the continuing DA service delivery to residents at risk in a poorly veiled attempt to discredit the DA and the work it was doing to uplift and improve the lives of people in Tshwane.

Before ANC administrators took over, DA-led Tshwane had a surplus of R297 million in the bank. By the time the administrators were removed we inherited a budget deficit of over R4 billion.

This cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet like so many other attempts to sabotage the DA as it goes about fixing what the ANC broke. We say that the time for games is over, and those who think otherwise should find a career where their failures do not impact the lives of the most vulnerable.

Acting Justice Rammoka Mathopo’s judgement is very clear:

“This leads me to one conclusion: the provincial government misconstrued its powers and failed to apply itself to the issues faced by the municipality. It is clear to me that the dissolution decision should be set aside and that the municipality should be allowed to do its job. The dissolution decision falls to be set aside on the basis of offending the principles of lawfulness.”

Please allow the DA to do its job. Fire MEC Maile.

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Constitutional Court rules in DA’s favour and affirms that the ANC power grab in Tshwane was unlawful

The DA welcomes the dismissal of Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Lebogang Maile’s appeal and the long-awaited Constitutional Court judgment on placing the City of Tshwane under administration.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling vindicates the DA’s stance that MEC Maile’s decision to dissolve Council and place the City of Tshwane under administration was unlawful.

It was obvious from the court judgment that the ANC’s action to put the City of Tshwane under administration for a period of eight months, from March 2020 to October 2020 was a politically motivated power grab on the part of MEC Maile.

There was no justification for removing elected DA councillors from their positions and replacing them with administrators who left the City in chaos and near financial ruin.

The Constitutional Court has affirmed the original judgment by the Gauteng North High Court in April 2020 and the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal in October 2020, affirming the following: “The running of the City of Tshwane by an unelected administrator is the very antithesis of democratic and accountable government for local communities, enshrined in s 152(1)(a) of the Constitution”.

The court’s order properly ensures that the councillors duly elected by the citizens of Tshwane in 2016 are allowed to resume their rightful constitutional role, powers and responsibilities.
The order gives effect to the rights of voters and preserves the autonomy of local government and it cannot be faulted.

For months the residents of Tshwane suffered under unelected and unlawfully deployed ANC administrators imposed by MEC Maile.

In just eight months, they brought the city to its knees, collapsing service delivery and incurring a R4.3 billion deficit.

During their tenure critical operations effectively came to a stop.

The City was totally unresponsive to the needs of its residents as their legally elected representatives had been removed from office.

After the City was placed under administration it became clear that there were major fractures within the ANC in Tshwane as their councillors contacted the DA to take the decision to court to have it overturned so they could return to their jobs.

For 8 months we fought in the courts to protect the rights of our residents and we succeeded, such that at the end of October 2020 we were able to return to the office. We immediately started work to stabilize the city’s finances and restore basic operations and service delivery.

This judgment is a victory for the DA, but more so it is a victory for the residents of Tshwane, our Constitution and local governance.

This ruling has ensured that our Constitution is protected and upheld and that the separation of powers between different spheres of government is entrenched.

Today’s judgement by the Constitutional Court will set an important precedent to protect municipalities from unlawful power grabs to drive political agendas.

The DA will ensure that MEC Maile is personally held to account for all legal costs and for wasting taxpayers money. MEC Maile must also be fired for his role in this.

The perilous state of chaos and mismanagement that we inherited in October 2020 is a direct result of the ANC’s unlawful actions and the incompetence of the administrators he deployed to the city.

Premier David Makhura should also use this court judgement as a learning experience, and demonstrate his seriousness about consequence management.

Residents of Tshwane deserve remedial action for the suffering they incurred during this period of the unlawful administration.

The DA was the only party that stood firm during this period of unlawful administration and fought against the ANC-led provincial government’s unlawful power grab.

We will always stand for the rule of law and fight for the rights of residents, and we will win because the DA gets things done.

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It’s time to arrest ANC cadres implicated in R27 million Ekurhuleni recycling scam

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, must release the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) report that implicates ANC National Spokesperson, Pule Mabe, who benefitted from an irregular R27 million tender for the delivery of 200 three-wheeler motorbikes intended to benefit 58 waste-pickers in Ekurhuleni.

In 2017, the DA in the Gauteng Legislature flagged this tender as suspicious because it was awarded to Mabe, who at the time was a sitting member of the National Assembly. This was a direct conflict of interest as public office bearers are barred from doing business with the state.

Mabe’s, who is known to be friends with Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, company Enviro Mobi, was supposed to deliver 200 “Karikis” but only delivered 158. 

See photos here, here, here

DA City of Ekurhuleni Councillor, Tiaan Kotze identified Platkop landfill site where 60 of these Karikis were found abandoned and left to rot in a field.

MEC Maile, who at the time was the MEC for Economic Development, claimed in 2017 that there was no conflict of interest as Mabe was no longer a director of Enviro Mobi.

This however was simply an outright lie. The draft SIU report, which has been in the possession of Premier Makhura since 2019, indicates that Mabe was still a director of Enviro Mobi at the time of this tender being awarding.

There is no doubt, given the relationship between Mabe, Maile and current Ekurhuleni Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, that this tender was yet just another enrichment scheme to line the pockets of ANC cadres at the expense of those who were to benefit from the scheme.

 I will be submitting a Promotion to Access of Information (PAIA) to the Office of the Premier to obtain a copy of this report.

Because the ANC will not act against its own, I will lay criminal charges against those implicated in the report.

 Residents of Ekurhuleni, especially those who were offered a glimmer of hope through this project, cannot be used as pawns in the ANC’s self-enrichment game.