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Millions of rands spent to safeguard GPG-owned vacant properties, yet illegal occupations and crime intensify

The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is currently spending millions of rands to secure and safeguard 1836 vested properties and 482 deemed properties.

A typical example is the dilapidated buildings in Amandasig in Pretoria North that have been taken over by illegal invaders. This happens despite having security hired to safeguard the premises.
This has led to an unsafe environment for our residents and a spike in crime due to alleged drug dealing that is taking place on these premises.

The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) has indicated that for the past three years, the following amount of money has been spent on securing and safeguarding these properties:

• 2022 (for the past six months)- R15 498 638,04
• 2021- R25 693 361,76
• 2022- R23 507 535,00

In 2021, GDID indicated that the property in Amadasig was occupied by 17 Lesotho nationals, however, the DA has learnt that currently there are at least 300 Lesotho nationals living with South Africans in this building.

Given the huge amounts of money spent on securing these buildings from being vandalised and illegally occupied it would be expected that none of the vacant buildings is illegally invaded.

Furthermore, GDID indicated that a process was underway to vest this property which has been earmarked for nature conservation to the department. However, there has been no movement, and the building is still illegally occupied.

For the longest time, the DA has been warning the current government that the longer these buildings remain vacant they become vulnerable to illegal occupation and vandalism.

The DA demands that GDID should act swiftly and start the process of evicting the illegal invaders and ensure that those who are paid to safeguard these properties do their work. We cannot allow the department to spend millions on service providers who are unable to do their job properly.

The new MEC for Infrastructure Development, Lebogang Maile, must urgently do a forensic audit of all government-owned buildings that are vacant and the current state that they are in.
Furthermore, the GDID must put a plan in place to ensure that these properties are used for the benefit of our communities instead of taxpayers having to fork out more money on vacant buildings.

We also propose that where the vacant buildings are allocated to specific departments, they must look at ways of using these buildings for the benefit of our residents. In addition, these departments should also consider utilising these buildings instead of paying an exorbitant amount of money on rental fees.

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Gauteng Blows R1.6 Billion On Legal Expenses

R1.6 billion in Legal Expenses

The Gauteng provincial government has incurred more than R1.6 billion in legal expenses over the past five years.

More than R684 million of this was incurred in the 2015/16 financial year alone.

A consolidation of legal fees for the provincial government over a five year period has revealed that from the 2011/12 financial year to 2015/16 the spend on this item has increased by 390%.

The biggest spender in the 2015/16 financial year was the Department of Health, whose legal costs increased from R238 million to R569 million – making up the bulk of the year’s legal fees.

Excessive Legal Costs

Excessive legal claims and legal fees are a natural consequence of an uncaring and inefficient government that forces citizens and suppliers to take legal action.

As a result Gauteng’s most vulnerable, the poor and unemployed, are being penalised by delayed service delivery due to budgetary constraints.

It is an indictment on Premier, David Makhura’s administration that during a period of severe austerity and cost containment measures that the provincial government can waste millions of rands because it fails to honour its Constitutional mandate.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Chief Whip in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

082 492 4410

[Image source]

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Gauteng Service Delivery Dealt A Blow By Slow Release Of Funds

Gauteng Provincial Government – National Treasury

Five major Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) departments have yet to receive their allotted budget for the second quarter of this financial year due to the slow transfer of funds from National Treasury.

The departments of Roads and Transport, Community Safety, Agriculture and Rural Development, E-Government and Infrastructure Development, which should by now have received 50% or more of their equitable share from National Treasury are all low in the 40% region.

Of notable concern is the department of E-Governance, which to date has only received 40.8% of its allocated funding. This department is the nerve centre of government business in Gauteng. If it fails to fulfil its mandate due to financial constraints, it will have dire consequences for the other GPG departments.

Premier David Makhura’s Transformation, Modernisation and Re-Industrialisation Plan

In an effort to restructure the economy of Gauteng, Premier David Makhura’s Transformation, Modernisation and Re-Industrialisation (TMR) plan hinges on departments like Infrastructure and Agriculture for its success. However, without funding, it will be impossible for these departments to make in-roads to address economic growth and job creation.

As the country’s most populace province, it is imperative that these funds are made available to departments as soon as possible so that residents of Gauteng receive the service they deserve.

It is at this stage unclear as to why these funds have yet to be made available.

Premier David Makhura must engage his counterparts in national government to speed up the payment process as he has done with the issues surrounding monies owed to the Gauteng Department of Health.

Province’s Financial Obligations

If the process is delayed due to departments failing to comply with legislation, swift action must be taken against accounting officers in departments.

The DA will continue to ensure that the province’s financial obligations are met and that service delivery is not hampered.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance

060 556 4342

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Gauteng Finance MEC Must Table Provincial Financial Statements By Month-End

Consolidated Provincial Financial Statements

Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy has until October 31 to make the province’s consolidated provincial financial statements available for public scrutiny – which the DA firmly believes belies the true state of the province’s financial performance.

The Public Finance Management Act makes it clear that this report must be tabled in the Legislature, something which has not happened since March 2014.

Under the watch of Premier David Makhura and Finance MEC Barbara Creecy, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has been lauded in some quarters as affecting “game-changing” strategies to enhance government services.

GPG’s Finances

However, after going to great lengths to retrieve the consolidated financial statements for the 2014/15 financial year – which was not tabled by end October 2015, the DA can reveal that the GPG’s finances are all but sound and received a qualified audit opinion from the Auditor General.

The AG found that that the GPG racked up billions in accruals, legal liabilities, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

Click here to view the report.

According to the report, R2.22 billion worth of accruals have been outstanding for longer than 30 days.

This has a massive impact on service delivery and deals a heavy blow to the budget process, as delayed payments are rolled over to the next financial year.

Delayed payments also take their toll on service providers who cannot get by without secure cash flow.

Township Economy

With Premier Makhura announcing that the GPG would support the Township Economy by procuring goods and services from the informal sector, the GPG’s current payment record will be the deathblow for many small to medium service providers.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounted to R416 million in 2014/15, up 66% from the previous year’s R166 million. These funds could have been used on underfunded programmes, such as student bursaries, drought relief and support to NPOs.

The DA looks forward to MEC Creecy tabling the report within the next 11 days so as to provide a true reflection of the real state of Gauteng’s financial affairs.

 

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance

060 556 4342

[Image source]

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Gauteng Doubles Spend On Legal Services

Gauteng Premier David Makhura

The DA will put questions to Gauteng Premier David Makhura demanding he explain why the Gauteng provincial government has almost doubled its legal expenses for the 2015/16 financial year.

A consolidation of all provincial government departments’ annual reports shows that legal fees have skyrocketed from R469 million in 2014/15 to R881 million in 2015/16.

The biggest spender is the Department of Health, whose legal costs increased from R238 million to R569 million.

This could only be as a result of increased medical negligence claims against the department and its callous MEC, Qedani Mahlangu.

Austerity Measures

The Department of Education spent R42 million on legal fees and services (up from R27-million), while the infrastructure development department incurred R46 million.

Excessive legal claims and legal fees are a natural consequence of an uncaring and inefficient government that forces citizens and suppliers to take legal action.

As a result Gauteng’s most vulnerable, the poor and unemployed, are being penalised by delayed service delivery due to budgetary constraints.

Premier David Makhura and his ANC government has spent millions advertising clean audits in Gauteng on expensive billboards, but the fact is that it’s a smokescreen to cover up the reality that the provincial government is still not delivering.

It is clear that Gauteng is on the wrong track as it is meant to carry out austerity measures to ensure that people receive the services they deserve.

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Chief Whip in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

082 492 4410

[Image source]

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Gauteng Premier’s Open Tender System Loaded With Empty Promises

Open Tender Seminar

Gauteng Premier David Makhura must put his money where his mouth is and take definitive action against a host of government officials and Members of his Executive if he wants to retain any credibility for the remainder of his term in office.

At today’s Gauteng Provincial Government’s Open Tender Seminar in Midrand, the Premier remarked that those who are involved in corrupt dealings would be exposed in public, blacklisted and prosecuted.

While this is a welcome announcement, the fact is that the Premier has been making the same promise since he took office in 2014.

To date little action has been taken against errant officials, a fact which was echoed by the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) report late last year that only 3% of all provincial government officials involved in 122 cases of financial misconduct amounting to R67 million faced criminal charges.

Dark and Murky Process and Provincial Governments

Furthermore, the Premier has yet to take action taken against ANC Chief Whip Brian Hlongwa and Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile, who are both under clouds of allegations of fraud and corruption.

Since taking office in 2014, the provincial government has been moving at a snail’s pace to open government’s tender processes – and in instances where tenders have been “open” to public scrutiny, the documentation was either published after the fact, or hidden so deeply in government websites that it would only be found after hours of dogged research.

The fact is that Premier Makhura talks the talk of an open and transparent government, but in reality it remains as dark and murky as all other provincial governments led by the ANC.

If Premier Makhura is as serious as he sounds, he should implement the DA-led Western Cape open tender system without delay.

 

Media enquiries:

Adriana Randal MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance

060 556 4342

[Image source]

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ANC In Gauteng Rewards Failed Limpopo Finance MEC With R2-Million Job

Dr David Masondo

Gauteng Premier David Makhura today defended the appointment of Dr David Masondo, former Limpopo Finance MEC, as ‘what a cadre should be’ in response to questions about his appointment as the CEO of a major provincial government entity.

Mr Masondo is reportedly earning R2 million a year salary.

Dr Masondo was finance MEC in Limpopo when national treasury had to intervene to save the province from complete financial ruin, placing several departments under administration for financial mismanagement.

After the 2014 election, Dr Masondo was not returned to the post, and was quietly given a position as a staff member in the Gauteng Provincial Government before being appointed to the position of head of the Automotive Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) – a key provincial government entity that promotes investment in the automotive sector.

Maladministration at the AIDC

Subsequent to his appointment, there have been allegations of recruitment rigging and a toxic working environment in the entity. The DA has learned that the board of the AIDC has sent a written warning to Dr Masondo for maladministration in respect of staff appointments. In correspondence, the board has indicated to Dr Masondo that they would consider moving him to another position in the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency as a result of his actions and conduct.

In his response to irregularities at the AIDC under Dr Masondo’s tenure, Premier Makhura defended the appointment, referring to Dr Masondo as what a cadre should be.

The premier also conceded that there are severe irregularities at the AIDC under Dr Masondo which has resulted in the commissioning of a report into the matter – which has not been made public.

Premier Makhura’s claim of running a clean government and making staff appointments on merit is shattered by this appointment and the allegations of impropriety at this entity. The ANC in Gauteng are have a long history of using government entities as employment agencies for ANC members, and this appointment is no different.

The DA will be demanding the release of the report commissioned to investigate allegations of maladministration at the AIDC, as well as continue to hold the ANC accountable for its failed system of cadre deployment that paralyses government and its entities.

 

Media enquiries:

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

060 558 8303

[Image source]

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Gauteng Loses R91 Million To Financial Misconduct

Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission has revealed that financial misconduct by senior government employees over the last five years in the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has cost residents of the province R91 million – with only 0.06% of this money being recovered.

Across the GPG only four departments in the 2014/15 financial year concluded performance agreements with employees which would hold them accountable for financial misconduct.

In the 2013/14 financial year, 126 senior managers were identified as having companies “in business” – leading to a potential conflict of interest. In 2014/15 this number increased to 165.

The Commission uncovered a business of a senior employee doing business with the GPG in 2013/14, and two in 2014/15.

Action Against Staff

The departments of Education, Economic Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs were named to be of particular concern. The commission emphatically recommended that the relevant MECs take action against staff and accounting officers who fail to address these issues and recoup the funds.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura must ensure that all MEC in the GPG are instructed to root out financial misconduct and recover funds that have been stolen from residents of this province.

Service delivery and the improvement in the quality of life for all of Gauteng’s residents, particularly those living on the fringes and the economically excluded, will not become a reality if the state is captured by a handful of self-serving individuals.

 

Media enquiries:

John Moodey MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Leader

082 960 3743

[Image source]

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DA Debates 2014/15 Finance Annual Report

Speech by: Adriana Randall MPL

“Finance department drastically lacking critical skills”

  • One of the areas of underperformance for the period under review was the funded vacant posts, with Administration underspending the appropriated budget by R32m or 14%.
  • The transformation of the GDF into an ICT department for the Gauteng Province requires a continuous and an uncompromising acquisition of the required skills. Development and training of employees MUST BE considered one of the highest priorities within the department.
  • The department needs to perform a resource Gap analysis, establish a prioritised list of initiatives, provide a risk assessment of all high-level initiatives, provide an actionable 3-year ICT plan.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Mike Moriarty MPL

“ICT must be capitalised on to enhance Gauteng’s financial standing”

  • The problem of vacant posts in the department, particularly in ICT shared services, still persists, as it has for a while, and this problem appears to be continuing into the current financial year. Previously, we were told that the DPSA had to approve a new staff structure, but more than a year later, the problem persists.
  • It concerns me greatly that R499 320 was spent on a single consultant for a single day’s work to provide consulting and advisory services on the E-government strategy. This must be the most expensive daily rate a consultant has charged in the history of the GPG – almost half a million rand.
  • As we go forward, the investment into the Gauteng Broadband Network should yield more government to citizen services.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance

060 556 4342

 

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

082 492 4410

[Image source]

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Gauteng Sports Department Unable To Procure From Disabled

People with Disabilities

The Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Recreation and Culture (SRAC) has failed to meet its first quarterly target for the 2015/16 year of 5% preferential procurement from enterprises run by People with Disabilities (PwDs).

The Department only conducted business with 1.62% of identified PwDs.

This huge shortfall in targeted objectives has denied a frequently marginalised sector of the population the opportunity to tap into the economy.

Preferential Procurement Processes

Economic inclusion is not restricted to able bodied members of society. PwDs have varied skill sets that should be recognised and utilised.

The extension of preferential procurement processes to vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the youth and women are of no use if Gauteng Provincial Government departments do not implement them effectively.

If entrepreneurs are to be captains of industries, as suggested last week by Premier David Makhura, he must ensure that his MECs ensure their departments are fully compliant with their strategic objectives.

The DA will question the Premier as to what steps he intends to take against non-compliant departments.

 

Media enquiries:

Kingsol Chabalala MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation

060 558 8299

[Image source]