DA urges caution and consideration on fireworks during the festive season

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Maritha Coetzee.

For years, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has applied pressure on the City of Matlosana to amend its by-laws on fireworks. We have even submitted a draft fireworks policy for consideration by Council.

The current by-laws are inadequate and, regrettably, the City of Matlosana continues to ignore our calls for a well-considered by-law which prioritises the safety of residents and animals.

In 2016 and 2018, the DA wrote to Council asking that the policy and by-laws are reviewed and amended, but no action was ever taken.

In January 2020, the DA once again submitted a request to Council to discuss this long outstanding issue, this was met with empty promises by the Municipal Manager to give this matter the attention it deserves.

The municipality, in collaboration with the SAPS need to determine regulations that will identify where and during which hours fireworks may be set-off.

The DA will once again table amendments on this by-law and seek its adoption.

Every year the DA in Matlosana is inundated by complaints from residents on the use of fireworks during the festive period.

While we do not want to sully the festive mood of any resident, especially after the difficult year we have endured, the DA calls for kindness and understanding and urges residents to use caution and extend due consideration to neighbours when setting off fireworks over the festive season, as it poses a risk of injury to people, especially children, a risk of fire and causes distress and injury to animals.

Burglaries at NW traffic stations pose risk of illegal distribution of driver’s licenses

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West will write to the MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari, requesting him to urgently attend to the shortage of eye testing and card producing equipment in several traffic offices across the province.

This follows after burglaries at the Lehurutshe, Schweizer-Reneke, Koster, Madibeng, Matlosana and Madikwe Traffic Stations from February to date, is leaving motorists stranded without valid driver’s licenses.

The fact that some of these stations have fallen victim to burglaries more than once due to a lack of adequate security, not only raises safety concerns, but is also indicative of a possible syndicate operating within the province.

The general view from our own oversight inspections conducted at these offices, is that traffic stations are at risk of being robbed of machinery and safes where money is stored.

The MEC should prioritise the security of the traffic stations, especially those of Schweizer-Reneke, Ganyesa and Mogwase. These stations are an easy target due to the lack of CCTV cameras.

From our oversight inspections, it was clear that traffic stations run by municipalities are worse off and therefore we request the MEC to put a spotlight on safety, security and service delivery.

We request MEC Lehari to visit all traffic stations to ascertain where equipment is needed to assist motorists with the speedy renewal of licenses.

The risk of criminals producing and distributing licenses is cause for urgent action and we call on citizens not to participate in such transactions.

Dr Kenneth Kaunda Municipality spends at least R2 million on consultants to update asset register and compile financial statements

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Johannes Le Grange.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learned that Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality has spent R870 150 on consultants to update the asset register and a further R1.4 million for assistance with financial accounting statements.

Both these services were procured at an inflated amount, any actual accountant could have performed these duties at a fraction of the price.

Further to this, the district municipality deviated from the stipulated Regulation 36 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations. Deviations from normal procurement processes are allowed if there is a justifiable emergency or unavailability of required goods and services from multiple providers.

The use of consultants to update the asset register and the municipality’s financial statements does not constitute an emergency.

This is also contrary to an explicit stipulation in Regulation 36 which stipulates that any deviation that could have been avoided through proper planning will be regarded as an induced emergency and regarded as irregular expenditure.

The administration also failed to report this deviation to the Auditor- General (AG) as it exceeds the R1 million threshold.

The DA will report this to the Auditor-General, Provincial Treasury and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee for investigation and report back. The district municipality needs to account for deviating from the procurement process.

The district must also account for their staff’s failure to perform basic and mandatory duties such as updating asset registers and compiling financial statements.

Paying consultants to do the work of permanently employed municipal staff amounts to a double expenditure for a single service. The R2 million wasted on consultants should have been applied towards the improvement of service delivery.

It is clear that the current financial administration staff is not capable of performing their duties as they need to hire consultants to perform basic and mandatory duties that they should be performing.

Rustenburg Municipality must fix and service 728 blocked sewers

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English by Cllr Luan Snyders.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learned that there are an estimated 728 blocked sewerage drains that the Rustenburg Local Municipality has not serviced and maintained in the past three months. This was revealed in a report presented by the Outbound Complaints Centre department.

For months the municipality has failed to devise a plan to deal with the sewerage drain blockage backlog within Rustenburg.

Sewage waste from the blocked sewerage drains and pipes runs into the Dorp Spruit polluting the clean water stream that flows from the Rustenburg Kloof into the Bospoort Dam.

The lack of urgency to resolve this problem shows that Rustenburg Local Municipality is not concerned with the health and well-being of residents as the sewage spilling into the water stream can be detrimental to the health of residents.

It can take up to three weeks to get a sewerage blockage cleared and this only happens if the Councillor or complainants keep following up.

The DA has raised this issue with the Municipal Manager, Victor Makona, who has promised that a plan will be set up to deal with this backlog.

The DA will continue applying pressure on the municipality to resolve the sewerage problem quickly. Should the municipality fail to resolve this, the DA will lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission for the violation of residents’ fundamental rights.

DA rejects Bojanala District Municipality illegal extension of leave period with pay for officials

Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Martin Coetzee, Bojanala Platinum District Municipality.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality rejects with contempt the Council’s adoption of a resolution to extend an ex-gratia leave period to municipal employees from 11 December 2020 until 11 January 2021.

It is completely unjustifiable to extend additional leave with full pay to municipal employees on top of the legislated and regulated annual leave they are entitled to. Council is not empowered under the Constitution, the Municipal Systems Act or the Municipal Finance Management Act to take such a decision.

The decision is therefore illegal and the DA’s objection to the motion was duly noted.

Council’s decision basically means that double leave pay will be facilitated for double the duration of non-existent performance and non-existent service delivery.

In fact, municipal officials and employees would actually enjoy three extended leave periods on full pay this year should we consider the ridiculous level 5 lockdown period earlier this year.

Last year the municipality could not pay salaries for several months and borrowed R50 million purely for this purpose. The municipality also, through what appears to be some sort of collusion with the North West Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), received R134 million intended for Rustenburg Local Municipality, but promptly spent it on things like travel, catering and maintenance which, incidentally, nobody can confirm ever took place. The DA lodged a case with the Hawks and it is under investigation.

The Bojanala Platinum District Municipality is bankrupt and under Section 139 administration.

We will request the DA’s provincial spokesperson, Freddy Sonakile MPL, to escalate this matter to Premier Job Mokgoro and the MEC for COGHSTA, Mmoloki Cwaile, to intervene and reverse the illegal decision taken by Council.

Council also cannot force employees to take leave, and it would be interesting to see how they will get support for this decision from employees and their unions.

Should this decision be implemented, it will set a precedent which other municipalities may follow to implement, which will result in a further deterioration in service delivery.

The DA has to ask what is the purpose of the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality when it entirely exists merely to pay salaries instead of fulfilling its constitutional mandate to support local municipalities, especially with regards to bulk services?

DA condemns Tswaing Municipality for billing ratepayers with massive electricity accounts backdated three years

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Soret Viljoen.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Tswaing Local Municipality condemns letters of demand issued by the Municipal Manager (MM), Isaac Moruti, to businesses and ratepayers billing them massive amounts for electricity backdated three years due to supposed faulty meters.

Business owners have approached the DA with letters of demand ranging from between R500,000 up to R1,9 million. The letters fail to identify account numbers, meter numbers, meter readings or any statement of account.

Incidentally, the letters of demand were compiled after more than 100 smart meters were installed throughout the municipality. This appears to be a desperate and devious attempt to rob business owners and ratepayers of their hard-earned money.

If the previous meters were faulty then it quite simply means that the municipality failed to effectively monitor its meter and billing system. Retrospectively extrapolating charges cannot be justified.

More shocking is that Council, the elected representatives of the Tswaing community, were left completely in the dark about these letters of demand, nor have we been provided with any explanation as to the rationale behind this plot.

Residents in the towns of Delareyville, Sannieshof and Ottosdal regularly experience electricity and water supply outages. The Tswaing Municipality does not deliver any services in these towns. Street lights are in disrepair, potholes are never fixed, refuse is never collected and there is never a response to any service delivery problem.

Parts of Delareyville have been without any municipal water supply for more than three months now. In the vacuum created by the collapsed Tswaing Municipality, private water traders are supplying water to meet the very basic sanitation requirements of people.

Meanwhile, in Agisanang and Sannieshof raw sewage flow down streets and into people’s homes.

It is clear that MM Moruti has completely gone over the edge and forgotten about the service delivery needs of people. He is never available in his office, he refuses to answer phone calls or to respond to messages.

We are shocked that MM Moruti was, however, available to sign letters of demand in a bid to cash in at the expense of the people, but then this is what we can expect from an ANC governed municipality. Always eager and present to fleece money out of people and never available when it comes to the delivery of services.

The DA stands in solidarity with businesses and ratepayers who have received these ridiculous letters of demand. Business owners and ratepayers should pay their current accounts and not an additional cent more should be paid to Tswaing.

If MM Moruti wants people to pay for services, he should ensure that they are delivered, recorded and charged for in line with the rates and tariffs adopted by Council and not suck amounts out of his thumb.

DA requests urgent meeting between Minister & Premier to resolve North West Water Crisis

Note to Editors: Please click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Leon Basson MP, North West Provincial Leader.

I have today written to the National Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu MP, and my colleague, the DA Caucus Leader in the Provincial Legislature, Winston Rabotapi MPL, wrote to Premier Job Mokgoro, where we request an urgent meeting to consider the North West Water Crisis and resolve on short, medium and long term interventions to ensure that the people of the province enjoy access to clean water supply in their homes.

Public representatives of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the North West are inundated with pleas for help to resolve the water crisis.

Collectively, North West municipalities owe Sedibeng Water in excess for R1,5 billion in unpaid debt which is now rendering the water board unable to ensure water supply to meet demand. The water board is struggling to meet its obligations, specifically with regards to procuring chemicals for water purification and maintaining and expanding infrastructure to meet demand.

Due to the complete collapse in local governance in each municipality in the North West, the water reticulation infrastructure throughout the province is in an advanced state of decay due to a lack of effective maintenance and adequate upgrades resulting in millions of cubic litres of purified water that go to waste instead of into the taps in people’s homes.

The failure to expand the water infrastructure hampers the expansion and establishment of sanitation networks, which also, unfortunately, finds itself in an advanced state of decay. Throughout every North West town, raw sewage leaks are a common sight in town centres and in communities. The seeping raw sewage not only poses a public health hazard but also pollutes freshwater sources and streams, leading to environmental degradation, which negatively impacts on the agriculture, conservation and tourism industries.

Without adequate water supply and infrastructure, there can be no adequate sanitation services. Coupled with the security of electricity supply, these three crucial services form the foundation of all social-economic activity.

The lack of water and sanitation services in North West is indicative of a failed state where even the basics, the supply of water and sanitation services, cannot be guaranteed. This is a failure in the constitutional mandate of local, provincial and national government and it infringes on the Human rights of citizens, who are constitutionally entitled to enjoy access to water and dignified sanitation services.

Not a single municipality in North West has a local water management plan. Failure to plan is quite plainly planning to fail – and this is exactly what has happened in the province.

The DA in North West is currently conducting an extensive audit on the water and sanitation problems in every town and community in the province and we will we make that specific information available to government in order for them to respond immediately to the water crisis so that ordinary citizens can enjoy some relief.

It is a betrayal of our freedom and our Constitution that people in North West have to endure the collapse of basic services as a direct result of the total collapse in governance here.

It is now crucial for people in North West to realise that the ANC in government has failed and the only way to rebuild what has been destroyed is to elect a new DA-led government in every municipality in the province.

DA rejects corruption-accused JB Marks Mayor’s bid to ease bail conditions

Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Chris Hattingh, DA Constituency Head for the JB Marks Local Municipality.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the JB Marks Local Municipality rejects the application brought today by the corruption-accused Executive Mayor Khotso Khumalo and his two co-accused, the Director for Municipal Services and Local Economic Development, Cyril Hendry, and the caretaker for sports and recreation facilities, Mohau Shuping, to relax their bail conditions to the extent that they may again enter the municipal building and Council Chambers.

This is a desperate attempt to enjoy access to the municipal offices and the Council chambers to manage their patronage network affairs and influence Council decisions. The DA has previously been informed that the three accused are allegedly operating from the library adjacent the JB Marks municipal offices and we have reported this to the authorities.

It must be noted that the Motion of No Confidence the DA submitted in Mayor Khumalo is set to be heard by Council tomorrow. This application to relax bail conditions is clearly motivated by the need to attend Council proceedings in a bid to intimidate ANC Councillors who may opt to support the DA’s motion.

This cannot be allowed. Relaxing the bail conditions risks compromising further investigations through possible intimidation of witnesses and other municipal officials.

Interestingly, at today’s court proceedings, the court was packed with ANC cadres wearing “Hands Off Magashule” t-shirts. In support of the accused, the Municipal Manager, Lebo Ralekgetho, and other ANC Councillors and Officials were also present. This is the clearest indication yet of a compromised state capture cable within JB Marks Municipality.

We appreciate the court’s decision to postpone hearing the application to ease the bail conditions to 11 December 2020 and we hope that the State will oppose the application.

NW Provincial Government spends more than R10 million a month on leased office space

Note to Editors: Find attached soundbites in English and Sesotho by DA Chief Whip in the North West Provincial Legislature, Freddy Sonakile.

During a question and answer session with North West Premier, Job Mokgoro in the Legislature yesterday, it was revealed that the Provincial Government spends well over R10 million on leased office space.

This amount includes rent paid by the Office of the Premier, Treasury and Departments of Social Development, Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Health, Public Works and Roads and Arts and Culture.

This substantial figure excludes amounts spent by the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Economic Development, Environment Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT), Education and Community Safety and Transport who failed to submit a response on time.

The Department of Social Development is the biggest spender, totalling over R4 million per month, of which one building exceeds R1 million.

The Department of Health is second in line, also paying more than R4 million a month, but with two properties contributing more than R1 million each.

It is disappointing that Premier Mokgoro misled the public during his 2019 and 2020 State of the Province Addresses when he spoke of a multi-tenancy office park complex. The Premier indicated that the Agri-Centre Office Park site in Mafikeng will be developed and utilised to eventually accommodate at least three Departments, but this building was declared unsafe by the Department of Labour earlier this year. No further steps were taken towards revamping this property.

The Premier must take the people of North West into his confidence and explain why the promise of a multi-tenancy office park complex, as well as the big plans he announced regarding the Agri-Centre, never came to fruition.

The DA will write to the Premier and request him to present a strategy to reduce the high rental costs by negotiating with landlords, moving to lower cost buildings or buying property.

We will further request him to summon the Department of Public Works and Provincial Treasury to discuss ways of dealing with this exorbitant expenditure, including strategies to best utilise deserted government buildings, such as middle schools that were vacated as part of the Schools Rationalisation Programme.