SIU gives DA’s Sodi referral the green light

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has this week confirmed that it has launched a full investigation into the R86 million Duncan Village Housing tender awarded to a company under the Directorship of Ace Magashule co-accused, Edwin Sodi.

This, after the DA referred the matter, along with substantiating evidence to the Unit earlier this year.

The investigation will take place in line with Proclamation 23 of 2020.

The DA’s referral relates to the Housing Development Agency’s (HDA) Temporary Residential Unit (TRU) de-densification programme and in specific, to the contract awarded to a company known as G5 Group, trading as NJR in respect of the Duncan Village (Mdantsane) TRU.

Despite Minister Lindiwe Sisulu having noted in response to a Parliamentary question submitted by the DA in November 2020 that NJR / G5 Group was not awarded any contracts by the HDA, a Promotion of Access (PAIA) response filed by the DA revealed otherwise.

The contact was awarded by the HDA on the basis of a ‘deviation from normal procurement process’, for the value of R75 653 734 which was later increased to R86 106 471.

A single individual was responsible for the award of the Sodi linked contract. This contract was signed off by the Acting CEO whose tenure was later extended by the Minister.

The DA has furthermore referred all remaining TRU tenders awarded by the HDA during this period to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

Minister Dlamini-Zuma must repeal irrational regulations stopping auctions

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbite by Noko Masipa MP.

The DA is calling on the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to urgently repeal the irrational regulations stopping the auctions of livestock to take place during the current Level 4 lockdown.

The DA notes that the Minister allowed auctions to take place in accordance with stringent safety protocols during last year’s Level 4 lockdown. The regulations then allowed auctions to place as long as only owners of livestock, livestock agents and livestock agencies, registered with the registrar were allowed to hold or attend auctions, provided that they all had the necessary documentation required under the Stock Theft Act to transport livestock to and from the venue where auction was conducted.

Strong safety protocols were followed during these auctions which were hybrid in nature and held with great success. It should be noted that not one such auction turned into a super spreader event.

In terms of current Disaster Management Act, 2002, Amendment of Regulations issued in terms of Section 27(2) stipulate in Schedule 21 (16) that gathering at auctions are not permitted until 11 July 2021 after which the provision will be reviewed.

The DA calls on the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to stop this irrationality and inconsistency in the application of the lockdown rules.

Agriculture is deemed an essential service. Auction of both large and small livestock play an important role in the food value chain. The meat industry is dependent on livestock auctions. While the sales and purchases of livestock directly through abattoirs do occur, the vast majority are through auctions where commercial feedlot, emerging farmers and commercial farmers participate. Most emerging farmers do not have arrangements with butcheries or abattoirs and are dependent on auctions.

This regulation shall have dire consequences on the meat industry, where farmers are still battling the dire consequences of severe drought and Foot-and-mouth-disease restrictions that cost the industry over R10 billion.

The DA calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform (DALRRD), Thoko Didiza, to petition her counterpart, Minister Dlamini-Zuma to allow auctions to take place.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

DA to submit formal request for an Economic Impact Assessment on the Constitution 18th Amendment Bill

Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Dr Annelie Lotriet MP.

Three years since the initiation of the ongoing parliamentary process to introduce the Constitution 18th Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation, there has been no fully costed socio-economic impact assessment of the legislation’s impact on the economy.

The DA will submit a formal request to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Unit (SEIAU) in the Presidency asking that they conduct a risk assessment of the impact that expropriation of land without compensation will have on the economy should the Bill be passed.

The SEIAU falls under the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. Formed in 2015, it is tasked with conducting government-wide assessment of the impact of policy initiatives, laws and regulations in South Africa. Its brief is to highlight unintended consequences, unanticipated outcomes and unnecessary costs from policy initiatives, regulations and legislation.

A reply to a DA parliamentary question by the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, revealed that the government “has not conducted research on the impacts of land expropriation without compensation or undertaken a risk assessment of the impact on the economy”. This is despite repeated warnings from a cross-section of independent economic studies that have shown an immeasurable negative knock-on effect on the country’s GDP, investment inflows and jobs.

In a study conducted to show the macro-economic effect of the Bill, researchers Roelof Botha, of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and Ilse Botha, of the University of Johannesburg’s department of accountancy predicted that R270 billion will be wiped off South Africa’s GDP in a least case scenario of capital formation with 2.3 million direct job losses.

Not only this, but South Africa will lose access to important export markets such as America. Section 104 of the Agoa Act, which have given South African products preferential access to American markets, requires that beneficiary countries commit to protecting private property rights. The Section 25 Bill is a direct assault on property rights in South Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s repeated claim that Section 25 can be amended without affecting the economy and food security, is very misleading. In Venezuela and Zimbabwe, tempering with property rights collapsed their economies, led to widespread hunger and resulted in wholesale capital flight.

Deliberations on the disastrous Section 25 Bill have been done in an evidence free context despite the various warnings on the Bill’s impact on the country’s economic prospects. A fully costed risk assessment of the expropriation without compensation Bill is not only imperative but necessary to show the full implication of this disastrous piece of legislation.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

Struggling ECD sector left in limbo as Minister Lindiwe Zulu wastes opportunity to provide clarity and reassurance

Please find a corrected version of the statement below.

  • Please find attached soundbite by Alexandra Abrahams MP.

This morning’s media briefing by Minister for Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, was a wasted opportunity for the Minister to provide clarity and reassurance to the struggling ECD sector.

The media briefing shared no new information despite public outcry for the Minister to address the vaccination of ECD employees and payment of the ECD Presidential Employment Stimulus Relief Fund (ECD-ESRF).

Minister Zulu should have provided a clear timeline as to when ECD employees will be vaccinated. Minister Angie Motshekga was able to secure vaccinations for teachers under the Department of Basic Education, but Minister Zulu has failed to follow suit. Instead, the Minister has once again left the sector in limbo.

The Minister failed to indicate when ECD-ESRF payments will continue as Provincial Treasuries are still to approve roll over funds. All while many ECDs permanently close their doors one after the other due to lack of financial support since the beginning of lockdown in March 2020.

Provinces such as KZN are sitting on R91 242 million meant for ECD-ESRF while Northern Cape on R39 300 million, Free State on R38 880, North West on R28 million and Mpumalanga on R30 495 million all while ECD employees and the children they teach, feed and care for, are left hungry and out in the cold during adjusted level 4 lockdown.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, the department indicated that a total of 28,283 applications were received by ECD centres while only 23 079 ECD employees have been paid despite the targeted amount for the ECD-ESRF being 108 833 ECD employees.

The Minister stated that ECDs remain the full responsibility of DSD even though the ECD transfer of administration and powers and functions proclamation was signed on 27 June 2021. However, given the Minister’s failure to address any of the ECD sectors’ pressing concerns this morning, one has to question whether or not Minister Zulu and her department has already ‘checked out’.

The Democratic Alliance has written to the Social Development Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Hon. Mondli Gungubele, on 25 June 2021 to urgently call a joint committee meeting with the Department of Social Development and Department of Basic Education to obtain clarity on the status of the ECD migration.

The last joint committee meeting took place on 4 March 2020, more than a year ago, with just over 10 months until the April 2022 deadline for the transfer.

The testimonies provided by the many ECD practitioners, principals and centre managers during the Children’s Amendment Bill public hearings in Limpopo and Mpumalanga earlier this month, displays a sector in crisis and many misinformed about the ECD migration.

The Democratic Alliance will continue to support the ECD sector’s call for urgent vaccination and payment of the ECD-ESRF.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

Moseneke Inquiry: DA objects to the postponement of 2021 Local Government Elections

Please find soundbite here

The DA has today presented oral submissions to the Moseneke Inquiry in support of the Local Government Elections (LGE) proceeding this year. The submissions can be accessed here.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) appointed Judge Dikgang Moseneke to prepare a report in terms of Section 14(4) of the Electoral Commission Act. The Inquiry was established to make findings and recommendations on whether the IEC would be able to ensure a free and fair 2021 LGE.

The DA does not support the postponement of the LGE and submitted the following arguments to back our position:

The LGE must adhere to the Constitutionally prescribed timeframe:

According to our Constitution, the LGE must take place every 5 years. The decision by the IEC, as a Constitutional body operating in a Constitutional democracy, to investigate whether it is likely or not to ensure a free and fair election, should never have been made on the grounds that some political parties hold the view that the election should not take place within the Constitutionally prescribed timeframe. Especially since none of those political parties has attempted to initiate any process, via their representatives in Parliament, to amend the Constitution in order for the LGE to take place at a later stage, in a Constitutionally compliant manner. The decision by the IEC to formalise this process is at best ill-advised, and at worst a failure on the part of the Commission to uphold its own independence and the requirement to not treat some political parties differently to others. Furthermore, any process to entertain arguments that are in contradiction to Constitutional provisions which obligates the IEC to arrange the elections to take place on/before 1 November 2021, must be viewed as questionable Constitutional conduct.

State of readiness for political parties:

The state of readiness, or lack thereof, of any party, should not be considered in any way by either the IEC or the Moseneke Inquiry, as a valid reason to postpone the elections. The DA is of the view that many political parties who argue for a postponement of the 2021 LGE have, in as many words, admitted that a major reason for their position is their own state of unpreparedness for the elections. The election timetable is a regulatory mechanism to ensure free and fair elections. It cannot and should not be changed based on the readiness of a party to contest in an election.

Participation:

Protestations of political parties that the LGE should be postponed because it will lead to the infection and death of many South Africans are irresponsible and emotional. These statements are unfounded in light of the various by-elections which took place since the start of the State of Disaster. While scepticism exists around the Covid-19 protocols and turnout had been lower than the average turnout in the 2016 LGE, this is not indicative of any general intention on the part of the electorate not to vote in the 2021 LGE because of the Covid pandemic.

Covid infection rates:

The DA has been advised that a number of unlikely events and occurrences would have to materialise in order for an “unmanageable spike” in infections to be present in the run-up to the 27 October Election Day. We were further advised that most scientific models, at this stage, predict that there is a very good possibility that infection rates will be stable and even low in the period immediately before and on 27 October. The fact that government’s vaccination programme is now finally showing some progress also works against the possibility of an “unmanageable spike” in infections even though it is accepted that the number of people that will in all likelihood have been vaccinated by Election Day will not meet the threshold that will establish so-called “herd immunity”.

The right to campaign :

The right to campaign is ultimately not a right that exists for the benefit of political parties but rather for the benefit of voters. The postponement of the LGE cannot, therefore, be based on the convenience of political parties to host political campaign events. Parties cannot claim that they are unduly restricted from campaigning solely on the basis that one form of campaigning (i.e. larger and mass meetings) are prohibited. It is our view that no reasonable voter will view the prohibition on larger gatherings during the campaign period as a clampdown on political rights. The prohibition of large gatherings can therefore not be viewed as an impediment to free and fair elections. A range of other campaign methods remains available to political parties and candidates.

Ultimately, South Africa’s systems to contest free and fair elections are still intact. For one, South Africa’s legislative framework and Bill of Rights are mechanisms that give effect to the formal protection of rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, the right to form and participate in the activities of political parties and the right of individuals and political parties to contest elections. In addition to this, the IEC has already made it clear that it has either already discharged its duties to ensure the presence of some of the elements of free and fair elections, or is favourably positioned to do so. The Commission is also on record that it will, once again, call on all political parties to sign and commit to the Electoral Code of Conduct.

The DA is of the view that the IEC is ready to ensure free and fair elections and there is no basis for the elections to be postponed.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

DA exposes a daring case of ‘Land Capture’ and marginalisation of communities in KZN 

Please see attached a press briefing document.

Today, together with my colleagues, Dean Macpherson MP, who is the DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry and Martin Meyer MPL, who is the DA Spokesperson on Agriculture in the KZN Legislature, we exposed how the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform (DALRRD) has used delaying tactics to keep communities in the Melmoth area of KZN from obtaining full title to their land.

The DA will write to Parliament to request a joint hearing before the Trade and Industry and the Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Committees. This is to allow the affected communities to present their case and the challenges they have gone through as they struggled to secure title to their land. We will also write to the Auditor General to request a full audit of all the funds that were transferred to this third party by the DALRRD.

A claim for the restitution of rights in land in respect of property, located in the area surrounding the town of Melmoth in KwaZulu-Natal, was lodged on 8 December 1995. The claimed land consists mostly of commercial farms located within the district of Melmoth.

The Land Restitution Commission awarded the affected communities full rights to the land that they had applied for. Instead of honouring this decision, the DALRRD has stubbornly refused to transfer the reclaimed land. Instead it has used the court system to argue that it is the rightful ‘guardian’ of the land in question.

As if this was not enough, the Department has gone ahead and appointed a third party to be the caretaker of these communities’ reclaimed land. The affected communities have essentially been reduced to squatters in this ‘guardian/caretaker’ arrangement that the Department has with the third party.

Minister Thoko Didiza has largely chosen to ignore the pleas that the affected communities have sent to her office to try and get their land back. The DA has complemented the communities’ efforts by submitting parliamentary questions, PAIA applications and oral questions during budget debates. In one parliamentary reply (see here), the Minister how uninformed she was about the challenges that the communities have faced over the years.

Transferring restitution land to its rightful owners has always been a challenge for the DALRRD and the Melmoth issue is just a tip of the iceberg. Another reply (see here) from Minister Didiza revealed that there are countless other communities across the country who are yet to have obtain rights to their land despite acquiring it through land restitution.

The actions of the DALRRD in Melmoth is a violation of the Land Restitution Act (Act No.22 of 1994) in 1994, which was promulgated to ensure equitable land redress to victims of land dispossessions committed by the apartheid government.

The struggle that the Melmoth communities have endured at the hands of the DALRRD is a forewarning of the chaos that awaits land administration in South Africa should state custodianship become government policy.

State custodianship of land, as advocated for by the ANC/EFF coalition through the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation, will worsen the plight of tens of thousands of land restitution claimants who have waited for years to have their cases settled.

What is clear is that the state is adamant on keeping land registered in its name rather than transfer it to communities. The ANC government wants to keep South Africans as permanent tenants of the state. This is precisely why the DA is taking a firm stand against the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution because it will trample on people’s right to justice and ownership of private property.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

DA to PAIA report regarding sexual offences at SSA

Please find attached soundbite by Veronica van Dyk MP.

The DA has written to the Swimming South Africa (SSA) president and board member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Alan Fritz, regarding the serious allegations that not only are there still coaches at SSA that have been accused of sexually abusing swimmers, some who are minors, and against whom criminal cases have been opened, but that SSA has yet to release a report into an investigation of these allegations.

The DA has also sought this report through a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application as we believe that it sheds light on the sexual misconduct that seems to be rife at SSA.

The Goldman report was completed in September 2020 but seems to be hidden away since then. This report needs to see the light of day as a matter of urgency to ensure that the safety of swimmers at SSA are safeguarded. It cannot be that sexual predators are protected at SSA while victims and other swimmers are at risk of being harassed or worse.

And while the swim team for the Tokyo Olympic Games have yet to be announced, the DA is extremely worried that coaches accused of sexual abuse will accompany the team to the Games, which will not only put athletes at risk, but also reward vile predatory behaviour.

South Africa needs to know if and how all members of Team South Africa was vetted. We also need to know what safeguarding policies SSA has in place and more importantly whether they have been implemented at all. At the moment it seems that complaints of abuse are simply swept under the carpet in an effort to avoid scandal and responsibility.

Mr. Fritz needs to ensure that his swimmers are protected at all times. They fall under his care. The DA would also remind him that under Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 it is offence to fail to report knowledge of the sexual abuse of minors to the South African Police Service (SAPS), and that an investigation by British newspaper The Guardian last year revealed his failure in this regard.

Mr. Fritz cannot continue to fail swimmers under his care. If he wishes to be in a position of power, he must shoulder all the responsibilities that come with it. If he cannot do that, he should be replaced as SSA president and SASCOC board member with someone who takes the safety and well-being of the athletes to heart.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

Place EC Department of Health under Administration now

Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Jane Cowley, MPL.

The Democratic Alliance is calling on the national government to place the dysfunctional Eastern Cape Department of Health under immediate administration, to prevent its imminent collapse and the loss of lives in the wake of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The financial status of the Eastern Cape Department of Health (EC DoE) is no longer sustainable and the collapse of the entire department is inevitable.

Contingent liability, made up almost entirely of medico-legal claims against the Department, has soared beyond R37 billion, while accruals of R4,06 billion from the previous financial year have drained the Goods and Services budget almost dry.

My colleague Retief Odendaal, the Eastern Cape Shadow MEC for Finance, and I have repeatedly called for the Department to draw up a time-bound Financial Recovery Plan, with input from Provincial and National Treasury, to curb irregular expenditure and reduce the cost of a bloated administration.

Instead, the Provincial Cost Containment Committee opts to leave critical vacant funded medical posts unfilled, while continuing to create and fill unnecessary administrative posts for cadres who are not suitably qualified for the work at hand.

This tactic has left most hospitals and clinics desperately short of medical personnel, which has compromised quality of care and in turn, has cost our province many lives.

In March of this year, specialist vacancy rates at Frere and Livingstone Hospitals stood at 65,6% and 44,8% respectively. In May, Medical Officer vacancy rates at Dora Nginza Mental Health Unit and Fort England Hospital stood at 50% and 60% respectively. (See responses here, here and here).

While delinquent directors and millionaire managers live the VIP life, mental health patients are left to live or die on the streets because there are no beds or psychiatrists to care for them. They die because the department does not employ enough medical personnel.

Newborns in Dora Nginza Neonatal Unit are dying because there are not enough specialist ICU nurses to care for them. In such intensive care units, the ratio of nurses to babies should be 1:2 at the most, but instead one nurse cares for more than twenty newborns.

In rural areas, patients die while waiting for an ambulance. Instead of the 650 ambulances required for our population as per national norms, we have half of that in working condition.

The Government Fleet Management Services do not prioritise the repair of emergency vehicles as they are owed a fortune by the Department of Health.

Last year, while departmental cadres and friends jumped on the gravy train to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for huge profit, healthcare workers were given inferior PPE and many of them succumbed to the Covid-19 virus as a result. The Eastern Cape Province holds the shameful record of accounting for almost half the national total of Healthcare worker deaths to Covid-19 as a result.

In the DA-led Western Cape, Compensation of Employees accounts for 57% of the Health budget, while Goods and Services receive 33,6% of the Health budget. Goods & Services budgets pay for medical equipment, theatre equipment, Oxygen, medication, food, linen and security.

In the Eastern Cape, Compensation of Employees accounts for 80% of the budget. Non-medical staff suck up 20% of this, which equates to R3,4 billion, while Goods and Services receive just 7% of the budget, which equates to a pathetic R1,56 billion. (See attached response).

This Goods and Services budget will be depleted by the end of July which coincides with the predicted peak of the third wave of Covid-19 in the province. Who will pay for oxygen then? The department cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. Peter is broke.

I have written to the acting Minister of Health, Hon Kubayi-Ngubane, urging that national government place the Eastern Cape Department of Health under administration in accordance with Section 100 (1) (b) (i) of the Constitution, to ensure that established minimum standards for rendering health services in the province are maintained.

This incapable state has cost us the highest price of all – that of human life. Only a capable state, such as the DA-led Western Cape, can offer effective healthcare services that save lives instead of destroying them. Where we govern we get the job done.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

AG report again proves DA gets things done through good governance 

Please find attached soundbite by Cilliers Brink MP.

The DA welcomes the release of the Auditor-General (AG) report into the financial health of South Africa’s municipalities which has once again confirmed that where the DA governs, we get things done.

The AG report has confirmed that 5 out of the 7 municipalities who sustained their clean audit status over four years are DA-governed. These include Midvaal in Gauteng and Witzenberg, Cape Agulhas, Cape Winelands District and Overstand in the Western Cape.

While the report has shown consistent DA good governance, it has also shown consistent ANC bad governance.

The report has proven that municipalities across the country has all but collapsed. Where the DA is delivering water services, refuse collection and fighting to free residents from Eskom’s loadshedding, these services are almost non-existent across many municipalities gripped by the ANC’s political infighting.

The AG, Tsakani Maluleke, has urged that drastic changes be made to address the “dwindling funds available to deliver services to citizens”. The ANC is unfortunately incapable of implementing change.

Only the DA can bring change to residents across the country. This upcoming local government elections, the voters will have two choices – either the ANC’s corruption and non-existent services or the DA with its proven record of delivery and good governance.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

South Africa urgently needs a specialised police unit on illegal mining

The investability of South Africa’s mining industry is slipping away. Across the country mines are under siege from mine invaders or criminals trying to extract wealth. The declaration by Richards Bay Minerals this week of force majeure on its customer contracts, shows how bad the problem has become. RBM declared it was not able to meet its contracts because it has had to shut down due to ongoing attacks on the mine’s personnel and equipment.

The mine has been under siege for years from local tribal leaders and militant groups who are demanding jobs, contracts and money. In May the company’s general manager was assassinated and equipment worth millions has been destroyed.

RBM is the biggest but not the only example. The Orion mine at Preiska and the Nuco chrome mine in North West are just two other recent examples of invasions by the mining mafias.

What’s significant about RBM is that it is the last remaining investment in South Africa of Rio Tinto, the world’s third biggest mining company. South Africa’s mining industry is desperate for foreign investment to maintain operations and open up new opportunities. The closure of an operation owned by Rio Tinto is going to chase away potential investors, worsening the decline of the industry. Potential investors, particularly in junior mining operations will worry that if a company as big and experienced as Rio Tinto cannot make it in South Africa, that smaller operations will stand no chance. As mining revenues are a vital source of government funds, the government needs to be very attentive.

Unfortunately it has not been. Police have been very slow to act in all three cases mentioned. Ordinary police are often bamboozled by legal counterclaims and regulatory loophole-jumping used by mining mafias. It is clearer than ever that South Africa needs a unit of police specialists, familiar with mining law and empowered to take on even heavily armed mining mafias.

This is not a new idea. Such a unit has been suggested in the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s discussion document on artisanal mining released in April. But that vague policy outline took years to develop. The mining industry needs action now.

Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe has visited Richards Bay and talked about the harm conflict is doing to investment, but there’s been little sign of concrete action. The violence in Richards Bay has not stopped, and at Nuco chrome mine, invaders are still on the mine site, unbothered by police.

Matashe needs to get his cabinet colleagues to authorise immediate police action to disarm and remove mine invaders. Police need to investigate and arrest those responsible and demonstrate that mining mafias cannot simply ignore the law. Then the cabinet needs to set up a specialised police unit and capacitate it and instruct it to act vigorously to protect the mining industry.

Talk is not enough, Mantashe needs to step up.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.