Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Nxesi mum on Zuma 'siege' bunker

Cape Town - Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi would not say on Wednesday whether the underground bunker reportedly planned for President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla private residence was designed to handle a long siege.

"With due respect, I don't understand the... question," he told the Inkatha Freedom Party's Mario Oriani-Ambrosini in the National Assembly.

The IFP MP had asked him: "[Is] the design of the complex to enable the president... to survive a long siege? Because it doesn't seem the complex is designed specifically to [withstand] a terrorist attack."


Oriani-Ambrosini also enquired, to laughter from opposition MPs, if the bunker was to ensure the "long-term sustainability" of the president should he ever find himself under siege "and unwilling to surrender himself to somebody wanting to get him there".

Earlier, Nxesi dodged questions about the reported R200m-plus upgrades to Zuma's private residence at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal, acknowledging only that his department met "on a continuous basis" with the department of defence and the SA Police Service to discuss the "implementation of security measures at... state facilities."

Such discussion included the private and the official accommodation of members of the executive, and whether "various projects were executed in accordance with risk assessments done by the SAPS and the defence department".

Asked whether an underground bunker was warranted at a private residence, Nxesi again repeated he could not discuss such security matters, which were a matter for the department of defence.

However, he did suggest the reported cost of the project was not correct.

Asked by Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer whether the R230m spent on the safety of one person was worth more than the education, health and safety of millions of poor South Africans, he responded: "I do not know where [you] get this figure."

- SAPA

Who's funding Nkandla?

QUESTIONS about how President Jacob Zuma is funding the construction of his private family compound are set to arise after he dismissed claims that it was financed by taxpayers' money.

Zuma broke his silence over the saga yesterday, saying the upgrade of his home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, was purely for security purposes.
Addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association in Johannesburg, Zuma said he had built his own home and that the state had funded the fencing for the property. 
"I built my own house. No government built my house. Government came to say that we need security features. They have done things in my building for security." 
He said it was also "wrong" to suggest he had asked for the renovations to be done.
Regarding state house Mahlambandlopfu in Pretoria, Zuma said: "It is a very huge house and I only use one room. It has every feature of security. I would not prefer to stay in such a house, whether in Pretoria or Cape Town. If you become president, you have got to do things which as an individual you would not have done."

Zuma's home, believed to have been financed by the government for nearly R250-million, boasts underground corridors and a helipad.

The construction is now subject to numerous probes:

lParliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) will be taking the Department of Public Works - which is spearheading the construction - to task.

Scopa chairman Themba Godi said yesterday that the department would be addressing the committee on its financial report and that during the briefing, questions around the KwaZulu-Natal residence would be raised.

Godi said a decision to call the department had been informed by the disclaimer its financial report received from the auditor-general and a request by DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko;

  • Public protector Thuli Madonsela has announced her office would investigate the upgrading of Zuma's private home as well as a state- funded R2-billion town development in the same area;
  • The Public Works Ministry recently said it would probe what appeared to be inflated costs of the upgrade;
  • The DA will be proposing a litany of measures to force Zuma and the government to come clean on the amounts spent.
This follows media reports that the Department of Public Works would be footing the bill for the upgrade, but Zuma would only be personally liable for 5% (about R10-million) of the bill. Zuma earns about R2.6-million a year.

Mazibuko told the media in Parliament yesterday that the government had proffered a series of weak excuses for sidestepping the issue.

She said this included hiding behind the National Key Point Act - which allowed for a lack of transparency in cases where the state security, of residences, for example, could be jeopardised.

Mazibuko plans to introduce a Private Members Bill to amend the act to ensure transparency.

DA MP Anchen Dreyer said the party would also be re-submitting proposed amendments to the Executive Ethics Act which governed the conduct of members of Cabinet, including the president.

"However, limitations within the current Executive Ethics Act prevent appropriate action from being taken. This is because the president is effectively his own adjudicator in cases of alleged conflict of interest," Dreyer said.

She said the upgrade was also in breach of the Ministerial Handbook, which stipulated that Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi may only approve state funds for security measures not exceeding R100,000.

DA chief whip Watty Watson said the party would also continue to push for a portfolio committee on the presidency to be constituted in order to ensure parliamentary oversight and ensure transparency. Currently, such a structure does not exist.

"This has created a culture of being seen to be above the law within the presidency."

South Africans are following the money

South Africans, rich and poor, are following the money as they shun rural parts of the country and head for either Gauteng or Western Cape.

Millions of people have migrated between provinces in the past decade, the latest census reveals.

Gauteng has gained more than 3.1million people and Western Cape 1.3million, putting pressure on infrastructure and eroding the income base of poorer provinces.

Statistician-general Pali Lehohla said yesterday that Gauteng seemed to have a "pull effect".

The pull was money - or at least the opportunities it offered.

Gauteng has the richest population - more than 20000 people in the province earn more than R2.45-million a year. Another 30292 earn between R1.29-million and R2.45-million, according to the census.

Professor Carel van Aardt, who specialises in demographic and econometric modelling at the Bureau for Market Research, said the migrants were a mix of rich and poor. Two million people born in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga have settled in Gauteng since 2001.

"It is either the very poor that go to these areas for jobs, or the highly skilled and rich, who follow lifestyle and business opportunities," said Van Aardt.

With Gauteng's population growing by more than a third since 2001, it has overtaken KwaZulu-Natal as the most populous province, with 12.27million people.

Western Cape added nearly 29% to its population to 5.88million.

Almost 900000 people born in Eastern Cape have moved to Western Cape, boosting the proportion of Xhosa-speaking people in the province to nearly a third.

Earlier this year, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille - referring to the influx of people to her province - labelled pupils from Eastern Cape attending Western Cape schools "refugees" and compared the poorer province to an "incapacitated state".

As Gauteng and Western Cape - already the most prosperous provinces - grab a larger share of the population, they are also likely to get a bigger slice of the national government's budget.

According to Van Aardt, this will put the squeeze on poorer provinces' finances.

Municipalities in the poorer provinces will suffer even more as they continue to lose ratepayers to Western Cape and Gauteng's urban areas.

Howard Gabriels, chairman of the Statistics Council, which advises the government, said the migration figures were "surprising".

"What this suggests is that urbanisation in Gauteng and Western Cape is happening much faster than expected," he said.

Rapid urbanisation 'a serious problem'
- 14 Oct 2005

He said it was important that the government align its financial planning with the new data.

"They need to set their programmes to deal with a broad range of service-delivery issues [and providing] access to basic services. With comprehensive new data set like this, it will definitely help the government to review its policies," he said.

Van Aardt said the census had confirmed some of his own research, which showed that large numbers of people had moved to urban centres, not only Johannesburg and Cape Town but also Durban and other cities.

Some of the metros, he said, gained more than others as entrepreneurs and professionals flocked to Gauteng's cities in search of bigger markets and other opportunities.

Professor Ivan Turok, deputy executive director of the Human Sciences Research Council, said economic data supported the census finding that Gauteng "has become the golden egg of the country".

Turok said internal migrants prompted many service-delivery protests and the government should take cognisance of this.

"There are service-delivery protests because people are moving and the services [they find] are not what they are expecting.

"Government funding does recognise this movement . the money is following the people with the services they need," he said.

President Jacob Zuma, who received the results of last year's census from Lehohla yesterday, said great strides had been made in improving the lives of South Africans.

Van Aardt agreed, saying the provision of housing, piped water and access to electricity contributed to the improvement.

Parliament watchdog to question Nkandla upgrades

Parliament's public accounts watchdog committee, Scopa, will question public works on the upgrade of President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead.

Parliament's public accounts watchdog committee Scopa will question the public works department on the upgrade of President Jacob Zuma's private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

Standing Committee on Public Accounts chairperson Themba Godi reportedly told the Citizen newspaper that the Democratic Alliance requested that Scopa investigate the Nkandla expenditure.

"We are not going to launch a separate investigation," he told the newspaper.

"We will inquire about the Nkandla project when the department of public works present its financial report to the committee."

Godi added a date for the briefing would be confirmed on Wednesday.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said the party would closely monitor the preliminary investigation and ensure all the details related to the upgrade of Zuma's personal home were brought before the committee by the department.

"The DA will ensure that Scopa does not abdicate its responsibilities to investigate fully the Nkandla upgrade," Mazibuko told the Citizen.

"While the first step towards doing so, we cannot allow the preliminary investigation to be used as a mechanism by the [ANC] to block or delay a full investigation by Parliament."

Mazibuko said Godi must follow thorough with his commitment as the chairperson of Parliament's watchdog.

Reports have estimated the cost of the work to be between R203-million and R238-million. Zuma would reportedly pay only 5% of the bill – around R10-million. – Sapa

Nkandla splurge a betrayal of taxpayers and constitution

The Nkandla splurge debacle is a litmus test of the core values of the constitution 

Democrats and constitutionalists cannot take refuge in apartheid legislation for the sole purpose of looting public resources. It should not be forgotten that the ANC cannot and should not simply lay its hands on the apartheid state, but has an obligation to transform it.

Since when has a private residence of a mortal become a key national point?

The controversy unleashed by the Nkandla revamp undermines a core function of the president mandated by the constitution, namely to promote "the unity of the nation and that which will advance the republic".

Our point of departure is South Africa's democratic constitution, not the relics of apartheid misrule. This is a matter of public interest and principle and overrides crass materialism. - Mzukisi Gaba, Cape Town

DO THE president and the Department of Public Works believe the majority of the population cannot count or don't know how much R220-million is ("Scopa to study Nkandla bill," yesterday)?

The security system at Nkandla must be the most expensive for one of the most inefficient presidents in the world.

If Zuma finds his official residence in Pretoria too large, maybe he should not have accepted the job in the first place and would not have had to put up with it. The territory comes with the job.

Zuma's call for freezing of salaries sounds hollow if we take his immense waste of taxpayers' money into account.

That the whole matter of disclosure is shrouded behind the National Key Points Act and security is highly unacceptable. - E Schwentzek, Randburg

IT IS worrying that Nkandlagate was kept secret for long enough for roads and buildings to be completed, meaning that whatever comes to light from the investigation is pointless (are we going to knock down the buildings?). 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Makhaza toilet saga surfaces again

Cape Town - Residents in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, are again up in arms over incomplete toilets the City of Cape Town installed last year, and have vowed to return to the streets.

In 2010, violent protests erupted in Khayelitsha after residents, led by the ANC Youth League, destroyed corrugated iron enclosures the city had erected, and when the council removed the exposed toilets.

In May 2011, Western Cape High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled that the city had violated the residents’ human rights when, in 2009, about 1 200 toilets without walls and roofs were installed in Makhaza.

In August last year, after consulting residents, the city had the toilets enclosed, as ordered by the court.

On Monday, ANC councillor Andile Lili, who led the residents in protest against exposed toilets, joined several residents in saying that some toilets still had no taps and sewerage connection.

“This community believed this matter was finished, but it seems the city is flouting an order of the court. Families are forced to use their neighbours’ toilets. This leads to arguments and friction. The community wants to take to the streets again,” Lili said.

Lili, who faced being expelled from the council after a disciplinary committee found him guilty of participating in the illegal demolition of homes and making derogatory remarks to Khayelitsha residents last year, said residents had met on Friday and demanded the city be told to solve the toilet issue.

Residents showed the Cape Times at least 15 toilets without taps and sewer connections.

“It is very difficult. We can’t do washing and can’t use the toilet. There is no water. We use the neighbour’s toilet, but at night it is a problem because it is dark. When we want to cook we ask neighbours for water,” said resident Amanda Mazula.

Community activist Thembinkosi Dlisani said: “People feel disrespected. They are angry and feel the council has failed them. The hold their leaders to account, but there is only so much their leaders can do.”

Ward 95 councillor Mpucuko Nguzo said he had approached mayor Patricia de Lille who referred him to the city’s human settlements directorate. Nguzo said he had not received a proper answer.

A city undertaking to construct 1 316 houses in the area had also not been honoured, he said. “There is lot of frustration. Residents say they’ll write to the mayor and if there is no proper response, they’ll have to show their frustration.”

De Lille’s spokesman, Solly Malatsi, said all queries had been referred to Ernest Sonnenberg, the mayco member for human settlements.

In a statement, Sonnenberg said: “Seven out of the 280 units do not have a connection. This is because it requires the inhabitants of these seven structures to relocate, due to the engineering works that are required to make the necessary connection.

“The matter is being dealt with at the highest level possible and a solution will be sought soon.”

Asked about whether residents had been consulted, Malatsi said: “The city has tried to engage them. They’re refusing to move.”

Asked about this, Mazula said she was not consulted.

Lili replied by saying this was not true.

Sonnenberg did not respond to messages left for him. - Cape Times

Housing projects back on the go after being stalled by corruption

Ten Peoples Housing Projects in Khayelitsha that had been halted due to allegations of corruption and nepotism on the part of the steering committees have been restarted.

Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela announced the continuation of the housing projects in an address to Khayelitsha residents at the OR Tambo Hall on Monday afternoon.

He told ward councilors and beneficiaries that his department had partnered with the Development Action Group (DAG), who assistance was crucial in sorting out irregularities in the projects and unblocking R64m worth of funding.

“We formed a partenership with DAG to assists us on making sure that no other project will be blocked in Khayelisha. These projects were left unfinished, which led a number of people into getting unfinished houses. DAG was called to assist us to find those projects and find out what happened.  This is a very successful programme and some beneficiaries already got their houses,” said Madikizela

The continuation of the housing projects, benefiting 2173 households follows the signing of a service level agreement between DAG and the People’s Housing Partnership Trust to form a support organization in 2007.

Madikizela’s spokesperson Bruce Oom said DAG spent five years in the pre-construction phase assisting the department to put “institutional systems” in place and “secure financial flows” enabling the projects to commence construction.

“DAG had to strike a fine balance between social facilitation with multiple stakeholders to ensure open communication as well as the technical aspects of preparation for construction,” said Oom.

He said the department was legally obliged to complete the projects but the “unscrupulous actions” of suppliers and community leaders meant houses were not built, were incomplete, or were of poor quality.

The affected Khayelitsha projects were spread across Site B, Makhaza, Town Two, Harare and “old Khayelitsha”, said Oom.

At what amounted to the launch of DAG’s case study on PHP housing, DAG CEO, Josette Cole said they had unblocked 340 housing project in the Western Cape since they partnered with the Department of Human Settlements.

The case study launch was also attended by the National Department of Human Settlements Deputy Minister Zou Kota-Fredericks, who welcomed the unblocking of projects, saying it gave relief to them as politicians.

She also added that the community needed to work together with government to make sure those projects would never be blocked again.

Project beneficiary Gcinile Mahlombe said he was proud to work with DAG.

“I made lots of efforts in getting government to finish my house, but all those efforts never materialized, I even hired a lawyer to assist me. I was supposed to get my house completed by the Zenzele housing project in 2003. However, due to non-accountability from the project committees, I never receive it, until DAG came along, now I have my house.” Said Mahlombe.

Oom said as a result of lessons learnt, the Department has since changed how it manages PHP projects.

It would only sign contracts directly with contractors who had a proven track record, would ensure the standards of the contractors and would have the final say over who got appointed.

The department would also be more “hands on” in ensuring the integrity of the beneficiary lists and PHP projects would need to be enrolled with the National Home Builders Registration Council to guarantee the quality of the houses for five years after completion.

The psychological strain of living in Blikkiesdorp (Tin Can Town)

CAPE TOWN, 30 October 2012 (IRIN) - A recent academic study has identified a range of mental health disorders suffered by shack dwellers in South Africa's Western Cape Province, from chronic insomnia to low self-esteem. 

The study, The Impact of Living in Transitional Communities; The Experiences of People in Blikkiesdorp and Happy Valley, was conducted by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Because of budget considerations, the study was constrained to two settlements. 

“The researchers did not have the resources to do large-scale interviews, so instead we set up four different focus groups of between 10 and 20 people living in Blikkiesdorp and another similar transit camp called Happy Valley. And we found there was a high level of correlation between the findings in each case,” Shaheed Mahomed, a CPUT civil engineer lecturer and Blikkiesdorp community activist told IRIN. 

Among the mental health issues identified were depression, anxiety and panic attacks, chronic insomnia, anger and low self-esteem. 

No hope 
The study's authors said there was a dearth of information about the mental health of shack dwellers; the report was an attempt to address this knowledge gap. 

Blikkiesdorp - also known as “Tin Can Town” - was established in 2008 as a temporary transit camp for 600 people. It has since grown to hold more than 4,000 inhabitants in 1,500 one-roomed corrugated iron structures, about 34km from Cape Town. Happy Valley is another relocation camp in the same vicinity, inhabited by 3,000 people. The camps were created ahead of the 2010 World Cup, which South Africa hosted, to house people removed from illegally occupied buildings. 

''The big negative to come out of the interviews was the sense of hopelessness and fatalism these people end up succumbing to''
Rasheed Ahmed, a clinical psychologist at UWC who led the team of psychology student researchers, told IRIN, “The big negative to come out of the interviews was the sense of hopelessness and fatalism these people end up succumbing to. A lot of this has to do with the fact they see no future for themselves. Humans have to have hope and a sense of purpose to develop." 

“Future orientation is crucial for a healthy life, both mentally and physically. Many of the people interviewed described ongoing psychosomatic complaints like headaches that were clearly linked to stress and anxiety,” he said. 

Challenges massive 

Etienne Clarson, a Blikkiesdorp resident and community leader campaigning for low-cost housing, told IRIN the area is a “human dumping ground.” 

“We are stuck here because we have nowhere to go, and the challenges we face are massive,” Clarson said. “There are huge problems with crime - people are afraid to leave their homes because they will be robbed. We are far from employment opportunities so no one has money. People are ashamed of their situation, and they have no confidence or self-esteem.” 

The study found the living conditions had significantly influenced social and interpersonal relations, with the lack of privacy having a negative effect on people’s relationships, often resulting in marital problems. Children had no recreational facilities and were exposed to drug- and gang-related activities as young as age five.

However, the study revealed that, in a minority cases, the adversity led to high levels of resilience. “A very small proportion of people showed exceptional resilience when faced by these issues. This manifested itself in community activism, primarily. But it should not be seen as a major positive. If someone gets up after being knocked down, we should keep the focus on why they were knocked down in the first place,” Ahmed said. 

Key Points fig leaf too small to hide Nkandlagate

The Times Editorial: The furore around security upgrades at residences used by heads of state will never be resolved as long as the government hides behind the National Key Points Act.

The apartheid-era legislation stipulates that no information or photograph of a National Key Point can be published without official permission.

However, the key points have never been publicly listed. So we are all flying blind over what constitutes a key point.

Back in 2007, then president Thabo Mbeki came under attack when it emerged that the government was to build a R90-million security wall around his official residence.

Now, President Jacob Zuma is caught in the same web. His administration is unable to explain the upgrade at his Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal, which is said to be costing taxpayers more than R200-million.

While we need a law that governs what is public or private where state residences are concerned, it is disconcerting that there is an information clampdown even on matters that do not place the security of the president at risk.

There is a bad tendency developing within the government - officials are quick to hide behind laws to avoid explaining the process of doing their work.

In 2007 when Mbeki was under attack , the Public Works Department was found wanting. It is, sadly, repeating the mistakes with the Nkandla project.

As long as South Africans are treated as enemies of the state, government officials should not cry foul when citizens add more bunkers and golden ceramic tiles to their stories of the Nkandla makeover.

Resorting to an apartheid-era law to restrict information is counter-productive.

A clampdown on information allows disinformation and lies to fester.

MEC clamps down on corrupt builders

CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape Human Settlements Department said on Monday a number of measures have been put in place to prevent unscrupulous building suppliers and contractors from operating in the province.

Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela met with Khayelitsha residents on Monday, after some housing projects were recently unblocked.

Ten projects were previously blocked due to the actions of corrupt suppliers.

Many of these houses were either not built, were incomplete or of poor quality.

Madikizela said they were trying hard to change this practice.

“We are ensuring that before any appointment is made, we do a background check on those service providers to see that they are credible. We are now finalising an agreement so that we can manage the space and make sure the projects run smoothly.

We’ve taken the responsibility to ensure that we assist the families of those houses that were left incomplete and make sure we avoid these types of situations going forward.”

Monday, October 29, 2012

Provinces under-delivering: Sexwale

Provincial housing departments under-spending their budgets are at risk of losing funding if they do not improve, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale warned on Monday.

“As in the past, we shall not hesitate to apply intervention measures by taking funds from under-performing provinces and transferring them to those that are doing well, for the sake of delivery to our people,” Sexwale said in a statement.

He recently convened a meeting of human settlement MECs and issued his warning. The MECs agreed to implement recovery plans, to be approved by the minister, that would spend the unused funds, intended for housing and settlement improvements. - Sapa

Nkandla upgrade 'illegal' - DA

The Democratic Alliance has asked President Jacob Zuma to explain the over R200-million upgrade to his private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal, party leader Helen Zille said on Thursday.

"The president must also explain what personal accountability he takes for the scandal, and who else in his government will be held accountable for this failure of judgement," she said in a statement.  

The DA had written to Zuma, and to the ministers of public works, defence, police, and public service and administration.

It had offered them "a formal opportunity to offer a full and thorough explanation of how this unacceptable expenditure came to be approved, and on what basis".

Zille said government's footing such a large bill on Zuma's private residence could be illegal.

"The DA believes that spending R250-million on upgrades to the president's private home is not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given our country's social needs, but that it is also possibly illegal.

"It is, we believe, in violation of the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook and the Executive Ethics Code."

Based on the response the DA received, it would consider whether to take legal action.

Zille said the president and his government had been dodging questions on Nkandla.

"The president's office has referred queries to the department of public works, as the department that contracted the work in Nkandla.

"But the Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi, has said that it was the departments of state security and defence that requested and planned the upgrades.

"The government has even tried to justify the expenditure for vague security reasons, hiding behind provisions in the National Key Points Act."

On Wednesday, Parliament blocked a question submitted by DA Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko on Nkandla.

Reports have estimated the cost of the work to be between R203-million and R238-million. Zuma would reportedly pay only five percent of the bill — around R10-million.

- SAPA

Boy, 6, dies in shack blaze

Cape Town - A six-year-old boy burnt to death after the shack in which he lived with his parents was destroyed by a fire on Sunday, in one of four fires over the weekend.

Siyasanga Afeni Dyantyi was asleep when a fire swept through the shack in the Kosovo informal settlement in Philippi.

His mother Nothando Dyantyi had gone to throw water away into a nearby drain when the fire broke out.

A distraught Mika Hamukwaya, Siyasanga’s father, said he had left early for work and later received a call from a friend to tell him his house was on fire.

“I couldn’t believe it. We don’t even know how the fire started,” Hamukwaya said.

Siyasanga suffered from epilepsy and was asleep when the fire tore through their small shack at about 8am.

His tiny body was found on his bed. He died after suffering serious burns.

“When I got home at about 9am the paramedics were still here and they showed me his body.

“I didn’t look for a long time, it’s not nice to see you child like that,” Hamukwaya said. He said his family hadbeen living in the informal settlement for eight years. Neighbours tried to get into the shack to get the boy out but were unable to.

Neighbour Xoliswa Busani said there was too much smoke when they had tried to get in.

“We just heard screams from outside that there was a fire. “When I went out to look there was just black smoke everywhere and nobody could get in. “By the time the fire brigade came the fire was already out,” Busani said.

Siyasanga was the only fatality reported in the weekend fires. Several people were however displaced after they lost their homes to fires. A fire in the Fisantekraal informal settlement in Durbanville left four people homeless while eight people were displaced after two shacks were destroyed in Khayelitsha.

The City’s disaster risk spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said the causes of the fires were unknown.

The city’s disaster response teams were on hand and assisted the victims by providing them with food parcels, blankets, clothing and fire kits.

DA cries foul as Nkandla debate rejected

Cape Town - The DA is crying foul after its request for a parliamentary debate on “Nkandlagate” was turned down by acting Speaker of Parliament Nomaindia Mfeketo.

Mfeketo and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairman, Mninwa Mahlangu, also rejected the DA’s request for a joint sitting of Parliament to allow President Jacob Zuma to present his plans to revive the economy.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said that over the past week she had received two letters from parliament’s presiding officers rejecting both her calls for a debate on the money being spent on President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead and for a joint sitting of Parliament to allow Zuma to present his plan of action for the economy.

The improvements to Zuma’s Nkandla homestead are reportedly costing taxpayers almost R250m, but the government is refusing to divulge details.

Referring to the rejection of her call for debate, Mazibuko said: “These decisions are disappointing in the context of the serious challenges facing South Africa today.

“Instead of engaging with these pressing public matters, Parliament is increasingly divorcing itself from the concerns of South Africa’s citizens for the sake of avoiding politically contentious issues.”

She said the DA would raise both requests at the next meeting of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority.

“It must be made clear to the presiding officers that debating issues of public importance is not a nice-to-have, but a key component of our constitutional obligation to hold the executive to account,” said Mazibuko.

In a letter to Mazibuko, Mfeketo said such debates failed to satisfy relevant parliamentary criteria and there were more suitable channels.

14 residents given notice after drug raid

Cape Town - Fourteen Cape Town residents have a month to vacate their homes after being issued with lease terminations by the City of Cape Town for being involved in “illegal activities”.

This comes after mayor Patricia de Lille visited Kewtown and Hanover Park during a drug raid and saw first-hand “the extent to which illegal activities are conducted in council rental units”.

During the raids they were confronted by graffiti on walls, the smell of urine on stairs, illegal electricity connections and drugs inside flats.

De Lille said the 14 notices were served for violations ranging from selling drugs to sub-leasing units.

“In line with the law, the occupants have now been given one month to vacate the units. In the event that they fail to honour the notice… we will institute steps that will ultimately lead to their eviction.”

She said they had identified about 350 more properties where residents were allegedly involved in illegal activities. These were all over the city, not only in Kewtown and Hanover Park.

“Council properties must not be havens for illegal activities. Any occupant who conducts criminal activities on council property does not deserve to occupy one. There are over 350 000 people on the City’s housing database… And while we are determined to meet their housing needs, we will not tolerate any criminal elements in council rental units or any other part of the city,” De Lille said.

She said the council relied mostly on tip-offs from residents and encouraged people to report illegal activities to their nearest housing office.

Sexwale in trouble for underspending

A parliamentary portfolio committee wants Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale to explain the under-expenditure of R2.5bn in his department.

MPs said on Friday that of the R25bn allocated to the department only R10bn had been spent during the first six months of the financial year.

The department’s officials told the human settlements committee they had spent only 40% of the expected 50% of the budget by the end of September.

The committee also said that the department had not succeeded to meet thousands of targets it had set.

Chairperson of the portfolio committee Nomhle Dambuza said the department needed to clean up its act and start using all the funds it had been allocated.

The department was supposed to have used half of the R25bn by the end of September, but it emerged from the officials, who appeared before MPs, that only 40% of the funds had been used by that time.

Dambuza and the members of the committee wanted Sexwale and provincial housing MECs to appear before the parliamentary committee to explain the under-expenditure of R2.5bn.

While no date had been set for the appearance of the minister and provincial MECs, the committee wanted all the funds to be used.

Dambuza said she wanted the department to ensure the money allocated to it was used by the end of the financial year.

She said the funds could not just be under-spent when there was a pressing need for houses for thousands of needy South Africans.

This is the second time that the department has been hauled over the coals by a parliamentary committee for under-spending on projects.

The department told the select committee on public service in September that it had not used all the budget for the building of toilets in all provinces except the Western Cape and Gauteng.

The department had set aside R1.2bn for the construction of toilets over four years.

During the 2010-11 financial year the department set aside R100m, but spent only R70m on the building of toilets.

In the 2011-12 period human settlements allocated R257m for the building of toilets, but it spent only R187m.

This forced the department to shift the funds to the next financial year.

The department has allocated R479m for toilets this financial year and R389m for the 201-14 financial period.

DA's Nkandla inquiry rejected

The Democratic Alliance on Wednesday claimed it was prevented from directing questions at President Jacob Zuma about the controversial Nkandla upgrade.

Nkandla has been in the headlines after it emerged taxpayers will end up footing a large portion of the bill, thought to be around R230 million, for the revamp of Zuma's KwaZulu-Natal homestead.

DA Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko submitted questions to the presidency, the defence ministry and police department in hope that the matter will be debated. 

Mazibuko said her submissions have all been rejected.

“I believe this is a decision which sets a very dangerous precedent, because it allows parliament to protect the presidency from answering difficult questions.”

The opposition wants Zuma to come clean about the multimillion rand upgrade and to reveal how much he is contributing, personally.

The matter was brought up in the National Assembly on Tuesday, sparking a fierce debate.

While Nkandla was not officially dealt with in the National Assembly, a Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) asked a question about the multimillion rand property upgrade.

Anchen Dreier could not resist raising the Nkandla debacle and labelled Zuma an enemy of the poor.

RESPONSE

Two weeks ago, the Presidency said the Zuma family are paying for upgradesfrom their own pockets.

It also rejected “the ongoing campaign by the media” of linking every development around the KwaZulu-Natal village to Zuma.

The Presidency said it rejected the mischievous and inaccurate insinuation that the upgrade and construction of roads around Nkandla was because of favouritism - as the president lives there.

The Mercury newspaper previously reported that a stretch of road linking Zuma's village to Kranskop had been built at a cost of R290 million, while another road to Eshowe cost R292 million

The Presidency said the road construction started in 2003, and that Nkandla was one of 23 districts identified by the government for development.

It also said the upgrade of Zuma's residence began long before he became president, and that it was a family decision to start the extensions - paying out of their own pockets.

The issue came to light last month when the City Press newspaper reported that taxpayers paid for 95 percent of the renovations to Zuma’s homestead.

It said upgrades, which would amount to a total of R203 million, would include underground living quarters, a health facility for Zuma and his family, a helicopter pad, as well as playgrounds and a centre for visitors.

Last month, Zuma told a Cabinet meeting that he was not embarrassed about improvements in Nkandla.

He said he is committed to rural development and other areas will get their chance.


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Child dies in Cape Town shack fires

A child burnt to death in a shack fire at the Kosovo informal settlement in Philippi on Sunday, the City of Cape Town said.

Spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said the fire broke at about 8am.

He said two more shacks were destroyed at Section C, Fisantekraal informal settlement in Durbanville.

“As a result of the fire three adults and one minor were left homeless.”

He said eight more people were left homeless when their shack caught fire in Hout Bay.

In Khayelitsha, two people were left homeless when fire destroyed their shack.

Solomons-Johannes said the city's disaster response teams had provided the victims with food parcels, baby packs, blankets, clothing and fire kits. - Sapa

Friday, October 26, 2012

In Hailey, a house built with hemp

Builder touts ancient materials, low carbon footprint

Local builder Blake Eagle and his wife, Angie, began researching healthy and sustainable building materials about four years ago for use in a house they planned to build in the Northridge subdivision of Hailey. They settled on a material with high thermal mass that does not require the usual amount of chemicals and vapor barriers used in conventional construction. 

“It just makes sense to build our living environment using natural, breathable materials in a healthy, sustainable manner as our budget allows,” Blake Eagle said.

It took the couple nine months to receive permitting from the city of Hailey to proceed with construction of their two-story, wood-framed Northridge home. The delay was due to their decision to use a thick layer of hemp and a non-concrete lime binder in the walls of the building. 

The material is poured like concrete into forms surrounding the framing and replaces insulation in the walls.

Hemp is a low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) variety of the plant Cannabis sativa. THC is the compound that gives cannabis its intoxicating effect. Estimates indicate that of the approximately 2,000 cannabis plant varieties known, about 90 percent contain only low-grade THC and are most useful for their fiber, seeds and medicinal or psychoactive oils.

“People keep asking me if they can smoke my house,” Eagle said with a laugh.

The answer, in a word, is “no.” Hemp—which doesn’t produce the same intoxicating effect as its cousin marijuana—is mainly used for industrial purposes. It can be used to make paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics and in construction.

The Eagle family used Hemcrete, a commercial product bought in Canada and shipped to Idaho. Blake Eagle said the material costs more than conventional siding materials, but will last much longer.
“We’re looking at long-term viability,” he said. “There should be 30 years of durability. This seems forward-thinking, but it is actually a very old practice.”

Eagle said the 12-inch-thick Hemcrete walls will wick moisture away from the interior of the building while providing thermal mass that keeps the home cool in summer and warm in winter. As far as Eagle knows, it is the first hemp building in Idaho. 

The two-story, wood-framed home is built to Energy Star certification standards, and in keeping with Hailey's better-building practices, is aimed at reducing carbon footprints and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Because hemp growing uses very few pesticides and herbicides, and the lime-based binders use less firing time than concrete, the materials in the Eagles’ home are considered to have less impact on the environment. 

“This building is carbon capturing,” Eagle said. “The hemp absorbed carbon while growing and when you add water to the binder; the curing process slowly absorbs carbon through the process of carbonation. As this wall system ages, it will become harder over time and petrify.”

Yet because the building materials have not been cleared by the International Code Council, the agency that authorizes the International Building Code adhered to by municipal building departments, the Eagles had to supply a 200-page report to the city of Hailey before proceeding with their project. The home was approved based on the report.

“We will experience and collect actual living performance data on this style of building first-hand in order to show comparison with current building practices,” Eagle said.

Such information could prove useful to the International Code Council, which opened a 30-day public comment period on Oct. 1 to help study the viability and safety of hemp for use in construction.

Nkandlagate: Passing the bucks

Answers about security spending at Zuma’s private home have raised only more questions.

Click image for the big picture
President Jacob Zuma should not only have known exactly how much security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead would cost, but he should have been intimately involved in their ­planning, according to Cabinet ­regulations.

But Zuma has said he does not know about the details, a claim that has been backed by Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi.

“I don’t know how much it costs,” Zuma said in reply to a question put to him earlier this month, explaining that he did not ask about the details of security arrangements for Cabinet ministers either.

In Parliament this week, Nxesi said if anyone was to blame for overspending at the president’s private home it would be his department, reinforcing an earlier statement that public works had simply implemented plans drawn up by state intelligence agencies, the police and defence force.

Under ethics rules, this would mean Zuma was in contravention of the Ministerial Handbook, with which Cabinet ministers, although not necessarily the president himself, must comply.

Security, please
In terms of the handbook, an office bearer must submit a formal request for public works “to make a contribution towards security measures” recommended by police evaluators. 

The official is then not only responsible for getting quotations for the work, but must also claim the money spent from the department of public works before paying it to the contractors involved.

Nxesi originally claimed that the work done at the Nkandla compound had complied with the requirements of the handbook, which sets a reviewable maximum expenditure on security at private homes of R100 000, although he later said the work had been in compliance with the National Key Points Act.

But this law states clearly that security spending at a declared key point — ordered by the minister of defence in the interests of the country — is for the account of the owner. 

This, in the case of the Nkandla home, is either the Ingonyama Trust, which owns the land on which it is built on behalf of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, or Zuma, the lawful occupant. The trust is the landowner in law of 2.7-million hectares of KwaZulu-Natal.

Failure to spend the money necessary to secure a key point without reasonable cause can carry a jail term of up to five years under the Act.

Owners' consent
The law empowers the minister of defence to “take, or cause to be taken, any or all of the steps which in his opinion are or may become necessary in respect of the security” of a key point — but only with the consent of the owner, who remains liable for the cost, unless the minister chooses to reduce the liability.

The payment for state spending on securing key points, should an owner fail to comply or the state offer a loan or contribution, should come from a specially created account — the special account for the safeguarding of national key points. 

But documents released by the department of public works (which now denies releasing them) as well as leaked information reveal that about R240-million spent at the Zuma house was ascribed to the public works portfolio for accommodation for very, very important persons (VVIPs).

Nxesi and his department have consistently refused to speak about the Nkandla security work, citing a secrecy obligation in the key points law. 

This week the presidency was asked whether Zuma had submitted a request for public funding to secure his home, or whether security measures were installed after the military took over contracts, but it did not respond.

Two investigations
Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts this week deferred a decision on whether to investigate the Nkandla spending. A similar preliminary inquiry by the public protector is under way.

Among the issues that might be investigated is the extent to which security costs were inflated with what a senior source close to the matter has described as “inflated concern” by those tasked with the security assessment, which required the construction of underground bunkers.

The bulletproof glass used at Nkandla, the source told the Mail & Guardian, had to be specially manufactured because it was required to be of a higher standard than that regularly used by banks, cash-in-transit companies and in other high-risk areas. 

“They are extremely paranoid, worse than security specialists in the United States,” said the source, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Last week City Press published figures showing R3-million was spent on bulletproof glass at the homestead. The company identified as the supplier, South African Bullet Resistant Glass, would not comment on either the cost or the nature of the product it had supplied.

- M&G

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Zille: Green economy tied up in red tape

Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille says the “green economy” has the potential to help solve the country’s biggest problems of poverty and unemployment, but there is a need to get red tape out of the way.

Zille was speaking on Wednesday on the first day of the Sustain Our Africa Summit at the V&A Waterfront, which ends on Friday.

Click Image for how to build a Cannabrick home
She said the country already had the advantage of the sun, wind and ocean which could be harnessed to create “green” jobs. “We have the oil wells of the green economy here,” she said.

That was why the provincial government was looking to develop a “green hub” in Atlantis.

“We are hoping investors will come… there’s enormous interest but we need to get the red tape out of the way.”

She said the summit was important because ideas being discussed there were once “fringe ideas” and it was important to make them more mainstream.

Deon Robbertze, co-founder of Sustain our Africa, said the idea for the conference was born a year-and-a-half ago when he realised people did not understand what sustainability meant.

“If you put together a questionnaire with 10 questions on sustainability issues facing us, people will fail.

“People do not understand the issues. We are trying to help them understand… and inspire them to come up with solutions,” said Robbertze.

Some of Wednesday’s speakers included journalist Leonie Joubert who spoke about why cities made people fat and sick.

There was also a debate on whether restoring the environment could restore the economy.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Zuma: Enemy of the poor

There was an uproar in the National Assembly on Tuesday when the opposition attacked President Jacob Zuma over the R203-million spending on his home in Nkandla and accused him of failing to respect and uphold the constitution.

Mr Zuma has defended the immense spending on the renovations, saying it was not his decision, but that of the Department of Public Works.

The opposition members’ remarks triggered numerous complaints from the African National Congress benches, particularly from chief whip Mathole Motshekga, who said statements had to be accurate.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Anchen Dreyer got the ball rolling when she charged that "Mr Zuma was spending R203-million of hard-earned taxpayers’ money on his private home in Nkandla".

"We can ask ourselves what else could be done with that money," she said, adding that for R15,000 a day, Mr Zuma could have hired thousands of trucks to deliver textbooks to schools in Limpopo.

She was immediately interrupted by Mr Motshekga, who said Mr Zuma was not in charge of the Department of Public Works.

His point of order did not find favour with deputy speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo.

Ms Dreyer added that the DA would have used the money to pay the salaries of teachers and build Reconstruction and Development Programme houses.

"This is the difference between the voter-sensitive DA and the self-enriching authoritarian and corrupt clique of President Zuma, who is the enemy of poor people," she said.

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said that if anybody was to blame for the Nkandla renovations it was the government’s security departments and his department - and not Mr Zuma.

He said he was not prepared to play politics with the security of the president and again cited the apartheid-era National Key Points Act as his justification for investigating how newspapers got access to the information on Nkandla.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Cape Town highway blocked

Cape Town - Service delivery protesters blocked the N2 highway and roads in Nyanga and Gugulethu with rubbish bins and tyres overnight, Cape Town police said on Tuesday.

“The situation started around 10pm (on Monday) and concluded at 2am this morning (Tuesday),” said Lt-Col Andre Traut.

“It is suspected that the matter is related to a service delivery situation.”

No arrests had been made. - Sapa

Monday, October 22, 2012

Sanitation plan goes down the drain in Khayelitsha

Cape Town is revising a pioneering programme that was meant to maintain and keep toilets clean and provide jobs.

A pioneering programme to maintain and keep toilets clean in Khayelitsha has failed. As a result, each blockage diminishes the number of toilets and forces people to walk longer distances, sometimes at the risk of their lives, to find another, or squat in the bush.

One of the first things you see when heading into Khayelitsha along the N2 highway towards Port Elizabeth are rows of blue chemical toilets. They are one of three types of toilet provided for residents; the others are flushing and portable.  

Khayelitsha, which means "new home" in isiXhosa, is stuck between the highway and the ocean. A prime bit of real estate with views of Cape Town's famous mountain, it is home to between 300,000 and a million people. The area is a jumbled mass of corrugated iron shacks and illegal electricity wires clinging to pylons. The smell of sewage mingles with that of the sheep heads and chicken being cooked for commuters.   

In tiny gaps between the packed houses are toilets. But finding one that works is a challenge, as is holding it in for as long as you can and making sure you do not go to the toilets at night, which is just too dangerous. Here the simplest of acts, enjoyed without restraint by people in Cape Town's suburbs, is a daily terror.

Axolile Notywala, a local activist, said a favourite tactic of malicious people is to kick over the chemical toilets when someone is inside. "They are supposed to have cement bases, but most of them do not. And they have to be emptied by a company that sometimes does not do its job."

Risky outings
Portable plastic toilets are handier; they can be used indoors and reduce the need for risky outings at night. You see them lying around communal taps, waiting to be washed.

On the day the Mail & Guardian visited it was the flushing toilets, maintained by the city, that seemed to be the cause of the most discontent and people gesticulated angrily when they were mentioned. Built in blocks of up to 10 toilets, some were in good working order, but most were not and could be found by their smell.  

Most of the seats had been broken off, leaving a water tank and a ceramic base. And in about half of the toilets the bowls were overflowing with faeces, newspaper and other solid rubbish. The solid mass was an indication that they had been like this for a while.

Amanda Mcenge said the only way to use these toilets is to balance yourself by placing your hands against the walls and your feet on a brick or rock on the floor. "You have to do anything you can not to touch the toilet."

A row of toilets forms the northern wall of Grace Mabesa's yard. A broken standpipe next to the toilets leaks water.

Standing barefoot on a dry spot, she said the toilets are always a problem. Three do not work. "They have been broken for many months and we cannot get anyone to come and fix them. People from other areas are also coming here because their toilets are broken. With so many people using our toilets, maybe 500, they are getting broken."

With so many toilets out of commission, people have to walk a long way to find one that works.

Daily fact of life
Notywala said many people give up or are too afraid to wander far from home, so they end up using the area next to the N2 highway or go in the wetland in the middle of the RR section of Khayelitsha.

Jo Barnes, senior lecturer in community health at Stellenbosch University, has tested the wetland's water. It is toxic, she said. As is the water at the base of the standpipes.

This water also flows into the sea. "This kind of environment creates a situation where diarrhoea is not an affliction, but a fact of life," she said.

The Social Justice Coalition, a non-governmental group that works in Khayelitsha, has been collecting testimonials from people who have fallen foul of criminals while trying to find a place to go to the toilet. One man was attacked while squatting down beside the highway by a group of men who demanded his cellphone and stabbed him.

That, said Gavin Silber, the coalition's coordinator, is a daily fact of life in Khayelitsha and the reason why the organisation campaigns to get the city to do better in terms of providing sanitation.

"It may seem like a small thing. But if you get the sanitation working and do so by involving the community, you create a safer environment and one where people trust their city more."

The coalition's campaign bore fruit when the city created a janitorial service, he said. It was supposed to be a way of giving people jobs – cleaning the toilets and reporting any faults. But it has not worked.

Patricia de Lille, executive mayor of Cape Town, has admitted this.

Community consultation
"I would like to apologise to the affected communities," she said in a press statement. Although 282 janitors were employed, they did not have adequate clothes or training and were not monitored, she said. But with lessons learnt, the programme will be attempted again.

"Of further concern is that little or no provision was made for community consultation or education," she said.

This is critical, said Silber. "You have to include the community in its own development. If you don't then they have no ownership [of it] and these projects will fail."

Kylie Hatton, the city's spokesperson, said the programme is a victim of its own success, with people streaming into Khayelitsha because of the work opportunities. So any services that are provided are overwhelmed by people coming into the area to use them.

Councillor Shehaam Sims, mayoral committee member for utility services, said providing toilets to areas such as RR is a real problem, as is maintaining them. Although RR has 188 flushing toilets, 579 portable toilets and 100 chemical toilets, they are always being broken, Sims said.

They might stink, but locals seemed to have mastered their gag reflex. A bright yellow sticker on a row of flushing toilets tells people who to call to report a leak, but water in one of the toilets runs constantly.

Mpathi Baliso, standing outside the toilets talking to someone inside, said there is no response when the number is dialled.

He said people come from far away to use "his toilets", even if three of them are blocked. And when the queue for them becomes too long, people go to the verge of the N2. "Where else can we go?" he said.

- M&G