Under Cilliers Brink’s leadership, we can build a Capital City that works for all its people

The DA in Gauteng is proud to announce that Cilliers Brink, our national spokesperson and regional chairperson in Gauteng North, has been selected as the DA candidate for the position of Executive Mayor of Tshwane. His candidacy has also been endorsed by the multi-party coalition government. We hope to have him elected at the first available opportunity.

The new mayor of Tshwane faces a daunting task. The combination of lockdown, the period of unlawful ANC administration, poor financial decisions, and prolonged stage 6 load-shedding has had a devastating impact on Tshwane’s finances. The multi-party coalition is under constant attack by the ANC and the EFF, and sustained effort is needed to hold the parties in this coalition together.

But we are confident that Cilliers can do the job, and do it with distinction.

A law graduate of the University of Pretoria, he has spent most of his political career either in or dedicated to, local government. He was first elected a councillor in Tshwane in 2011 and served as a member of the mayoral committee for Corporate and Shared Services from 2016 to 2019. In addition to his role as a national spokesperson, he has served in the portfolio committee of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (CoGTA) since his election to Parliament in 2019.

As DA Shadow Minister of CoGTA, Cilliers has established himself as an expert on local government. He understands the laws and regulations that have a bearing on municipal finances, and the importance of making a success of the one multi-party coalition in Gauteng that enjoys a majority in the municipal council. He is a resident of Tshwane, the place he and his wife have chosen to raise their children. Most importantly, he cares deeply about building a Capital City that works for all its people.

I have known Cilliers for many years. He was a key member of my team after I was elected Executive Mayor of Tshwane in 2016. Following 16 years of ANC misrule in Tshwane, Cilliers spearheaded the fight against irregular contracts entered into under Tshwane’s last ANC mayor. This included the financially ruinous Peu smart meter contract, the Moipone fleet contract, and a number of other contracts flagged as irregular by the AG and had nearly destroyed Tshwane’s service delivery capacity.

We worked together to replenish Tshwane’s fleet of service delivery vehicles that had either disappeared or been run into the ground under successive ANC governments. We also ended the system of insiders and outsiders by which ANC ward councillors appointed EPWP beneficiaries, replacing this with a fair and transparent selection process that benefitted more of the city’s work seekers.

As a Tshwane resident myself, a proud son of Atteridgeville, I have complete faith in Cilliers as an advocate for the key tenants of the DA’s offer, and the manifesto of the multi-party coalition in Tshwane. He fights for non-racialism, the rule of law, a capable state, and a social market economy that lifts people from poverty. He believes, as do I, that these values unite ordinary South Africans across race, place, and class divisions.

Sterkte, Cilliers. We know that you can keep the DA’s promise, and build a Capital City that works for all its people.

Old, dilapidated infrastructure threatens the health of staff and suspects at Pretoria Central Police Station

Pretoria Central Police Station personnel’s health, as well as the health of suspects, is being endangered because of mould and an unbearable stench which comes from the leaking sewer in the building.

See pictures here, here, here and here

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng conducted an oversight inspection at the police station after several complaints of hazardous conditions were reported to the DA.

The DA can confirm that the old building is in a terrible state due to poor planning and a lack of regular and proper maintenance.

There is mould and leakages in the underground parking and towards the holding cells.

It is reported that several complaints have been made to the SAPS Provincial Commissioner and the Department of Public Works yet very little has been done, however, when maintenance has been done by the Public Works Department it is temporary patch-work instead of a long-term solution.

The environment is not conducive to work in and the personnel at the police station have become a causality of the government’s incompetence over the years as this is said to be a reoccurring issue.

Yesterday, 21 suspects in the holding cells had to be shifted to a nearby police station due to sewerage flowing in the passages leading to the cells. This becomes an inconvenience to the frustrated staff as it takes away human resources because they must move all the arrested suspects to be booked again at the nearest police station.

The DA is concerned that the Department of Public Works and Property Management has contravened the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 which states that the health of workers must be protected from a hazardous environment and to provide for issues related thereafter.

By contravening this Act, the station’s personnel and residents who use the station daily put their health at risk.

The DA will continue to put pressure on the Gauteng MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to engage her national counterpart in the Department of Public Works to ensure that there is regular and proper maintenance of this police station and all police stations across the province.

We will also be engaging our colleagues at Infrastructure Development to ensure that we tackle this problem holistically and get a swift solution.

43 cases of robbery close to the Pretoria Zoo, perpetrators continue to terrorise people

There are 52 cases of armed robbery, common robbery, theft, business burglary and carjacking that have been opened at the Pretoria Central Police Station which occurred in an area close to the Pretoria Zoo in Tshwane.

Of these 52 cases opened from January 2019 to February 2022, 43 cases have been filed and remain undetected; only two convictions were made; four cases are still under investigation and three were withdrawn. This is a clear indication that innocent lives are at risk, yet the law enforcement agencies are not doing enough to ensure their safety.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Mazibuko, these opened cases occurred in the area close to the Pretoria Zoo in Paul Kruger Street, the mountain at Capital Park next to the Pretoria Zoo, from Struben Street to Venter Street.

The table below shows the different types of cases that have been opened at Pretoria Central Police Station that occurred in an area close to Pretoria Zoo:

Cases opened Number of cases opened
Robbery with a weapon other than a firearm 16
Armed robbery 12
Business burglary 7
Common robbery 5
Theft general 4
Theft out of motor vehicle and carjacking 3
Attempted armed robbery and attempted murder 2
Common assault and assault GBH 2
Kidnapping, robbery with a weapon other than a Firearm, Possession of Firearms and

Ammunition

1
Total 52

There has been an increase in the cases in this area. In 2019, there were 12 cases opened, 16 cases opened in 2020, 22 cases in 2021 and two cases for January to February 2022. These include an incident of a matric learner who was attacked and stabbed four times by unknown people outside the school premises.

The fact that there has been an increase in the cases reported and only a few convictions, means that the perpetrators are continuing to terrorise and steal from the residents. This demonstrates that the SAPS’s current interventions are ineffective, and it is failing to ensure the safety of all people residing in the area and those using that route when travelling to various destinations.

Failure by the police to thoroughly investigate cases has resulted in many of these cases being undetected and taken off the court roll due to a lack of sufficient evidence to assist in prosecution.

More convictions need to be made but this can only be done through effective police intelligence and investigations as well as equipping the police with adequate resources.

The safety of all Gauteng residents is of utmost importance and the DA will continue to demand more police visibility in all the crime hotspots to ensure the safety and security of our people. We will constantly engage with MEC Mazibuko and the SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela to establish a mobile police station next to the Pretoria Zoo to make it accessible for people to report crime and to ensure police visibility.

 

One homeless person died and another critically injured after being stabbed numerous times at Heuweloord shelter in Tshwane

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is disturbed by the death and the injury of yet more homeless persons in Tshwane.

The DA has been reliably informed that one homeless person has died at Heuweloord shelter in Centurion, Tshwane.

It is alleged that the deceased died after being isolated in a tent because he was suffering from tuberculosis. This incident happened during this winter’s coldest weekend.

The second homeless person has been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed numerous times.

It is alleged that there are no security or Tshwane Metro police officers at the shelters to ensure the safety of homeless people.

The shelters have been in the spotlight since the start of the lockdown more than 100 days ago, and even though a lot of critical issues were addressed, it appears that as the lockdown is phased out, less attention and care is being given to the shelters.

We have further been informed that the Tshwane Metro police officers have been withdrawn from all shelters over the past month leaving this vulnerable community even more at risk.

People are now being relocated from one shelter to another, and there are rumours that all of these makeshifts shelters are in the process of being closed down.

This comes at a time when we as South Africa are experiencing the coldest cold front yet this winter.

The DA has been calling on the Gauteng Provincial Government for the longest of times to ensure that we find a long-term solution when it comes to addressing the concerns of the homeless.

In the midst of closing these makeshifts shelters there are no alternative solutions and the provincial government will yet again turn a blind eye to the poverty stricken poorest of the poor when they are forced to go back to the streets.

The DA will table questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) and we will also write to the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Nomathemba Mokgethi to ascertain what measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of homeless people at the shelters and to call for an urgent investigation into what lead to these terrible incidents .

It is also time that tangible solutions are tabled to address homelessness as the numbers of Covid-19 infections are on the rise.

Pretoria and Johannesburg ranked amongst top ten most dangerous cities in the world

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng notes with great concern that the province’s two big cities, Pretoria and Johannesburg have been ranked amongst the top ten most dangerous cities in the world by the Numbeo’s 2020 Crime Index.

According to the Numbeo’s 2020 Crime Index, four South African cities are among the ten most dangerous cities globally. These cities are ranked as follows:

3. Pietermaritzburg
4. Pretoria
5. Durban
6. Johannesburg

These rankings are worrying and clearly indicates that our cities lack adequate policing and that our people’s lives and safety is under serious threat.

South Africans do not feel safe in their homes and communities as crime continues to rise while the SAPS is riddling with corruption and unable to fight crime.

For the longest time the DA has been calling for the professionalisation of SAPS so as to make the police force honest, professional and one that serves and protects all South Africans.

Furthermore, our police are ill-equipped, untrained and under-resourced to adequately ensure that law and order is maintained in our communities, and that there are effective arrests, prosecutions and convictions of criminals.

The DA will continue to call for the establishment of specialised units within SAPS to help combat crime.

We will also be tabling questions to the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to determine what measures are being put in place to more effectively fight crime in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Rail Regulator Must Investigate Gauteng Rail Safety Standards

Metrorail Head-on Collision

The head-on collision by two Metrorail trains yesterday in Pretoria raises serious concerns about rail commuter safety in Gauteng.

This is the second incident in a week after a Gautrain carriage derailed between Hatfield and Pretoria last week.

The DA calls on the Rail Safety Regulator to expedite its investigations into these two matters so that the root causes can be addressed without delay.

Rail Safety Regulator

The Rail Safety Regulator must institute an investigation into Metrorail signalling systems as well as train driver fitness which could possibly be the cause for yesterday’s accident.

The DA is of the opinion that the problem is much wider, and that yesterday’s accident should not be treated as an isolated incident.

The safety of Gauteng commuters must be paramount in the operations of public transport as it is the main mode of transportation for those who make up the bulk of the province’s economy.

 

 

 

Media enquiries:

Fred Nel MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport

083 263 2427

[Image source]

MEC Lesufi Dodges Online Registration Problems

Online Application Process

The Gauteng Department of Education’s online application to register learners for school in 2017 is giving parents a headache.

The DA has been referring many learners to the MEC’s office who have applied on time but haven’t been placed in schools as yet. The DA supported the introduction of online applications believing that they will simplify the admission process.

However, it seems this is not the best solution. Many parents are missing work, as they have been referred to schools and the districts with no joy.

Recently, the department responded to questions sent by the media about parents expressing their dissatisfaction with Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi’s online application process.

Parents’ Demands

Parents of learners residing close to the Overkruin and Montana High schools in Pretoria are unhappy about the MEC not attending to the matter swiftly.

Parents had invited MEC Lesufi to attend their meeting at the weekend so they could seek answers about the online process and express their frustrations in the difficulties experienced in placing their children at school.

The MEC must give assurance to parents on when the department will finalise the placement of learners at schools in Gauteng.

Parents must know which school their children will be placed in so they can purchase correct uniforms, stationery and budget for school fees.

MEC Lesufi must ensure that parents’ demands are met and that learners are able to successfully register at schools in close proximity.

It is a disgrace that the MEC missed an opportunity to engage parents on this matter, especially because the online application process is in its embryonic stage.

The MEC must intervene to help schools to plan for a smooth 2017 academic year. Schools must employ new teachers and procure necessary resources.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Education Shadow MEC

082 398 7375

[Image source]

Death NGO Still Treating Psychiatric Patients

Precious Angels NGO

The Precious Angels NGO in Pretoria, where nine psychiatric patients died after being transferred from Life Healthcare Esidimeni, is still treating 35 public patients, but in state hospitals, not on its own premises.

This was revealed last week on Friday when the Gauteng Legislature Health Committee visited the Tshepong Health Centre in Pretoria where, 176 psychiatric patients are living.

I questioned Gauteng Health Department officials about the Precious Angels NGO and was informed that their patients had been moved from their Atteridgeville and Danville facilities to various government hospitals as follows:

  • Kalafong Hospital – 13
  • Pretoria West Hospital – 10
  • Tshwane District Hospital – 6
  • Weskoppies Hospital – 6

SANTA TB Sanatorium

Although the patients are in state hospitals, Precious Angels staff are still in charge of taking care of them.

I am concerned about this as there needs to be accountability for the 9 deaths out of 45 patients that were sent to this NGO.

How can this NGO still have any responsibility for psychiatric patients who require specialist care?

The situation at Tshepong NGO is more satisfactory. It is based in a facility that was previously a SANTA TB sanatorium next to the Kalafong Hospital, and has 58 staff to look after 176 patients.

Tshwane Metro Council

Five patients have died there this year, apparently from natural causes as they were elderly, and four have been discharged to their families.

Tshepong staff denied that they were short of food although they do get food from charities and from the food bank of the Tshwane Metro Council.

The Gauteng Health Department should ensure continuous monitoring of all psychiatric patients at NGOs to ensure that they are treated properly.

 

Media Queries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

[Image source]

 

676 Patients Wait For Ops At Steve Biko Hospital

Steve Biko Academic Hospital

676 patients are on the waiting lists for operations at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, some for as long as two years.

This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

The breakdown of the waiting lists is as follows:

Hip surgery – 268 patients

Knee surgery – 212 patients

Spinal surgery – 92 patients

General surgery – 80 patients

 

Waiting times are as follows:

Orthopaedics – 18 to 24 months

General surgery – 8 to 12 months

Cardiothoracic – 2 weeks

Highly Specialized Services

According to Mahlangu, the long waiting lists are “a direct result of the huge demand for patient services … from as far as Limpopo and North West Province to access the highly specialized services available in this hospital.”

Other reasons include:

– the current surge of serious trauma cases “pushes out” planned elective surgical operations

– a significant number of patient referrals that should have been operated at other tertiary hospitals in the SBAH cluster

– the demand for joint replacement surgery has increased with the increase in the aged population suffering from arthritis

Cancelled Operations

The other big issue is the high number of cancelled operations – last year, 680 operations were cancelled or deferred because of facility issues, emergency cases, patient-related or a shortage of ICU beds.

Special measures should be taken to cut the unacceptably long waiting time for knee and hip operations.

Other hospitals in the area should also be assisted to do more operations so as to ease the high surgery load at Steve Biko Hospital.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

[Image source]

Tshwane Budget: Msimanga To Set Out Expectations

Tomorrow, Wednesday 25 May 2016, DA Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane, Solly Msimanga MPL, will brief the media on what Mayor Ramokgopa should announce in the 2016 Budget Speech to get Tshwane working, if he is serious about solving the jobs crisis in Tshwane.

With 517,000 residents of Tshwane without jobs, after the number grew by 40,000 in the first 3 months of the year, Mayor Ramokgopa has no choice but to announce serious interventions to create jobs and grow the Tshwane economy. Based on the draft budget tabled by the Mayor in March, too little is being done by the ANC government of Tshwane to provide hope to hundreds of thousands of jobless in Tshwane.

The briefing will take place as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Time: 10:00

Venue: DA Gauteng North Regional Office

Address: Midcity Square, 501 Jorissen Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria

 

Media enquiries:

Motheo Mtimkulu

Media Manager: Tshwane Mayoral Campaign

083 728 0554