Public Works breaks the law and leaves Ga-Rankuwa SAPS in the dark

The National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) must account for the power outages that lasted almost 12 months at Ga-Rankuwa Police Station which has been hindering police service delivery to the residents. 

It has come to light that the DPWI removed circuit breakers from an Eskom substation that supplied electricity to both the pathology department and the Ga-Rankuwa police station due to an apparent devolvement of the station. 

Ga-Rankuwa Police Station has since been handed over to the SAPS which is now responsible for its maintenance. 

This information was revealed to the DA during the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s (GPL) Community Safety Portfolio Committee oversight visit at Ga-Rankuwa Police Station this week. 

The fact that the substation remains the property of Eskom and the station will still be getting electricity supply directly from Eskom, means that Eskom must be responsible for all maintenance repairs and upgrades to the substation. 

According to the report presented during the oversight visit, the DPWI removed the circuit breakers without the involvement of Eskom and without notifying the police. 

This is illegal tampering with state infrastructure, a criminal act and completely unacceptable, which has left the Ga-Rankuwa SAPS in the dark for almost a year and hampered the safety of residents.

It is a relief that power has been restored at the police station, but it’s only an interim measure and according to this report, SAPS will have to procure a new mini substation to ensure that there is a stable electricity supply at the station which can only be done in the next financial year. 

The police station remains vulnerable because this is only an interim solution and could at any point be disconnected yet again. 

The DA believes that there is sufficient provision within the financial regulations to procure the mini substation as an irregular expense within the current financial year at an estimated cost of R500 000 to solve the problem permanently without taking any risks of future electricity failures or further delays. 

The DA believes in the rule of law and demands that an urgent investigation must be done to ascertain whether DPWI did tamper with the substation. Should it be found that these allegations are true, DPWI must be held accountable and face severe consequences for their actions. We will use all the mechanisms at our disposal to ensure that there is accountability so that such incidents never happen again.

Electricity supply is an essential service required for a police station to ensure its safety and to provide police services to the communities.

 

Bodies rot as Ga-Rankuwa mortuary has no working generator

Relatives are traumatised as bodies deteriorate at the Ga-Rankuwa state mortuary whenever there’s an Eskom power cut as there is no functional emergency generator since February this year.

According to Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature:

“A dysfunctional emergency generator has contributed largely to the situation, including frequent load shedding and electricity reductions in the Garankuwa area. In case of load shedding, bodies are temporarily stored in freezer storage and taken out early in the morning for post-mortem.”

Mokgethi also details a series of incidents starting on 26 February when the back-up generator failed after an Eskom substation collapsed. Bodies were transferred to the Pretoria Forensic Laboratory Service facility on 27 February and were only returned on 1 March.

On 5 March the generator again failed and it was reported that the fuel tank needed to be cleaned.

The root of the problem is poor service from the Gauteng Infrastructure Development Department (GDID), which is responsible for the generators at Gauteng’s eight provincial mortuaries which do autopsies for all unnatural deaths.

On 10 March it was determined that the Ga-Rankuwa mortuary’s generator needed a new alternator. But despite many requests, the GDID said that they were “having a challenge of getting Purchase Order approval as some of the approving officials were on suspension.”

On 26 May, GDID attended to the generator but used the old alternator, so they need to be called if the electricity goes off to start the generator manually.

The latest is that GDID Tshwane office “still awaits approval for the appointment of a contractor by the GDID Supply Chain Management Unit.”

Meanwhile, funeral operators complain that bodies from this mortuary come to them in a poor state, which upsets relatives.

This distressing saga highlights once again the necessity of the DA’s call to shut down the dysfunctional and corrupt GDID and devolve maintenance to health facilities who will do a better job.

Cele succumbs to the DA’s pressure to visit Ga-Rankuwa police station

Pressure by the DA has finally led the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele to conduct an oversight inspection at the Ga-Rankuwa Police Station today, Friday 17 June, to see for himself that the station has no electricity.

Minister Cele held a meeting at the station, with the engineers from the National Police Department, the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General, Elias Mawela and other department officials to investigate what led to the Ga-Rankuwa Police Station being without electricity for almost 10 months.

The department and all relevant officials have been given one month to resolve the continuous outages and the Minister committed to visiting the police station again by no later than 17 July 2022 to ensure that the electricity outage is resolved, and power is restored.

This is all a result of the DA’s efforts by sending numerous questions and letters to the Minister demanding immediate interventions to restore electricity and police service delivery at the station.

The DA leadership in Gauteng, including the Gauteng DA Leader, Solly Msimanga MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Crezane Bosch MPL, Constituency Leader, Adriana Randall MPL, and City of Tshwane DA Councillor Ofentse Madzebatela led a community picket outside the police station last week Wednesday evening.

This police station has been struggling for months without power, which hindered the staff from performing their duties fully and forced them to lock the gates as soon as it was dark.

The DA is relieved that there is the final action in this regard, as this is long overdue and should be prioritised. The Community of Ga-Rankuwa deserves to feel safe, and the DA will continue to monitor the situation daily to ensure that nothing is taken for granted and that the power is restored as a matter of urgency.

Furthermore, there should be a long-term solution between the SAPS, Eskom and the City of Tshwane to ensure that this police station has a sustainable electricity supply to ensure the safety of the residents.

Two small solar lights are the only source of lighting at Ga-Rankuwa SAPS putting the safety of the community and police officers at risk

This evening, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng joined over 100 members of the Ga-Rankuwa community at a picket outside the police station, where officers continue to be forced to work in the dark. This police station has had no power since October last year and this is having a negative impact on the services offered by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

See pictures here here here and here

I, together with the Provincial Leader, Solly Msimanga, DA Constituency Head for Thaba Mogale, Adriana Randall, and DA PR Councillor, Ofentse Madzebatela witnessed first-hand today the conditions in which our police officers are forced to work. The police station only has two small solar lamps which do not provide sufficient light for the entire police station.

While this police station does have a generator, it is not feasible for the generator to run 24/7 seven days a week. This is because it is too costly and often police officers must dig into their own pockets to buy fuel for the generator.

Furthermore, when the generator is being run for a few hours a day it is used to only power the charge office and the courtyard.

This is a very disturbing situation as this not only puts the lives of our residents in danger but also that of the police officers. The police station does not have a reliable supply of electricity, and the gates to the station are locked as soon as it becomes dark, which makes reporting any incidents of crime difficult.

We will be working with our colleagues in Parliament, who will be submitting a petition directly to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele and the Minister of Public Works, Patricia De Lille demanding that they remedy the situation at this police station within 72 hours.

DA calls for calm and police visibility in Ga-Rankuwa

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is extremely concerned about the ongoing unrest and violence in Ga-Rankuwa, Tshwane. 

Workers and parents are currently protesting at Sefakho Makgatho Health Science University and Tebogwana Secondary School. The DA calls on the SAPS to ensure visibility, as well as both workers and parents to remain calm and allow authorities to intervene.

The DA has been reliably informed that the Congress of South African Students Greater Tshwane Region and some parents are protesting outside Tebogwane Secondary School disrupting learning and teaching from taking place at the school. They are demanding that the SGB chairperson to step down following the arrest of a grade 12 learner accused of allegedly stealing hard drives at the school.

It is alleged that the accused learner was found in possession of the stolen goods, he was arrested and appeared before the Magistrate’s Court and has been denied bail. The protesting parents are accusing the SGB of failing to discipline the learner instead of reporting him to the police. The DA condemns in the strongest terms anyone who prevents learning and teaching from taking place as they are denying children their right to access basic education.

Furthermore, the body of a dead man was found at Ga-Rankuwa Zone 1 Park. The reason for his death is still unknown, however, the residents have reported this incident to the police, and they claim that the police are taking their time to get to the crime scene.

Last week, the residents of Ga-Rankuwa marched against crime in the area and handed a memorandum of grievances to the Ga-Rankuwa police station. The residents are demanding police visibility and a quicker response to crime scenes. They also complained about the level of crime in the area such as robberies, burglaries, and rapes.

The DA is calling on the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to ensure police visibility in Ga-Rankuwa in order to ensure the safety and security of our residents.

We also appeal to parents to find alternative ways to solve issues without disrupting schooling and to keep calm and seek interventions from the Gauteng Department of Education.

Violence will not provide a solution to problems faced by our residents on a daily basis, however using proper channels to air their grievance will yield positive feedback.

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Caring DA-led Tshwane administration fixes ANC Ga-Rankuwa mess

by Mervyn Cirota MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements

The caring DA-led Tshwane administration has started the process of fixing the previous ANC administration’s abandoned and incomplete housing project in Ga-Rankuwa Unit 10 in the City of Tshwane.

This project which has been left incomplete for the past 5 years by the previous administration, was meant to provide 850 walk-up flat units for Ga-Rankuwa residents.

The DA-led City of Tshwane appointed a new contractor in February to revisit this existing, but incomplete infrastructure that has since been vandalised.

The infrastructure has been sabotaged as we found blocks of concrete, bricks, logs and the carcasses of dead animals inside the sewer lines of this infrastructure.

Despite the sabotage attempts, it will not stop us from delivering dignified and quality houses to our people.

This matter of this incomplete project is currently before the court due to a dispute between the City of Tshwane and the previous contractor. However, the City has taken a decision to appoint a consultant to prepare a bill of quantity that covers the additional scope such as demolition.

This indicates that we care about our people and we put our people’s needs first before any political interest.

We made a commitment to provide quality service delivery in our municipalities and by undertaking to complete this housing project we are demonstrating that we lead by example and not simple paying lip service.

This project will also help to ease the housing unit backlog in the City of Tshwane. In addition, it will also create job opportunities for our unemployed residents.

The DA is clearly bringing Total Change to the residents of Tshwane.

Social Workers Strike Must Not Jeopardise Most Vulnerable In Society

The Democratic Alliance is shocked by reports that some striking social development workers in Gauteng are placing the neediest and most vulnerable members of society at risk.

According to reports, children at the Rearabilwe Centre in Ga-Rankuwa have been barricaded inside the centre for four days without access to food, denying them the ability to take their HIV-medication. There have been reports of instances of such maltreatment at other centres across Gauteng.

This inhumane treatment must be condemned in the strongest sense.

While the DA supports the rights of social workers to protest for better wages, the ill-treatment of those that are placed in their care cannot be condoned.

The DA will question Gauteng Social Development MEC, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza as to what steps her department has taken to address the current strike, and what emergency plans are in place to assist those who require the assistance of social workers.

 

 

Media Enquiries

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
060 558 8297
Warren Gwilt
Economic Cluster Manager
073 601 6144
 [Image source]

Rearabilwe Childcare Centre Construction Delayed

Rearabilwe Child Youth Care Centre

Work on renovations to the Rearabilwe Child Youth Care Centre in Ga-Rankuwa have been on hold since March this year, with construction set to only recommence in January 2017.

In committee meetings, the Department of Social Development was briefed about the delays, but no actual information as to why work had stopped was provided.

On a recent oversight visit to the centre, the social development oversight committee found the cause of the delay in the form of a large underground rock.

When I posed questions to Gauteng Social Development MEC, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, it was confirmed that construction had been halted due to this rock.

(Click here to view the reply)

Project Costs Expected to Escalate

This raises concerns about the validity of the geotechnical survey that was conducted by the construction company prior to any work taking place.

To date more than R25 million spent has been spent on the project. With the additional delays, as well as consultant fees and disbursements, costs for this project are expected to escalate exponentially.

I will be submitting further questions to the MEC for clarity as her answers don’t reach a logical conclusion.

Rearabilwe admits children in need of care, from the ages of 0-18 years of age and assists with their growth and development to empower them to be successful in the community.

MEC Mayathula-Khoza must be open and honest about the construction of the centre and its costs as she has a duty to protect the most vulnerable in Gauteng.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

[Image source]