State to fund RDP housing

The national government will give some municipalities money for RDP houses, the human settlements department said on Friday.

This would cut the red-tape they currently had to go through to get housing funds from the provincial government, said department spokesman Xolani Xundu.

Accreditation and the assignment of the housing delivery function to capable municipalities were among the issues discussed at a meeting co-chaired by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi on Friday.

The meeting was attended by all MECs responsible for human settlements and local government, and all members of mayoral committees responsible for housing.

Xundu said the decision would affect about 16 municipalities, and that there would be ongoing support for other municipalities to also get national government accreditation.

Municipalities would be deemed to be capable based on their budget, financial status, track record, ability to spend and housing planning, he said.

“The meeting agreed on a time-frame that will see certain municipalities receiving accreditation before the 2014 deadline as stipulated in the Service Delivery Agreement the two Ministers (Tokyo Sexwale and Richard Baloyi) signed with President Jacob Zuma,” said Xundu.

The process would result in billions of rand flowing to municipalities, and would speed up the delivery of services, he said. - Sapa

State environmental body to be shut

The dissolution of the state's environment body Indalo Yethu Trust is on the cards, the environmental affairs department said on Thursday.

"After careful consideration, the department of environmental affairs has decided to enter into negotiations with the Indalo Yethu Trust to discuss its dissolution," the department said in a statement.

This followed a review of the organisation's viability.

Indalo Yethu was established in 2006 by government and the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (Wessa) to develop and implement a national environmental awareness campaign.

It was to serve as an endorsement brand, conduct a communication and outreach campaign, and generate the income needed to enable its running.

But a review found that the cost of compliance with statutory requirements and its operational expenses could not be supported from the funds allocated to it.

Indalo Yethu was expected to generate sufficient income to fund its operations within two years of its founding.

"As it was never the intention of the department to fund the operations of Indalo Yethu in perpetuity; it was decided to discuss the possible dissolution of the trust with its trustees."

The department would formally withdraw its funding from the trust, following Wessa's withdrawal, even if the trustees did not agree to the move.

"The department believes that the dissolution of the trust should not hamper the objectives for which the trust was set up. Similar work is already being done by the department and its partners and these might be expanded on in the future."

- timeslive

Land grabbers face eviction

Human Settlements officials on Thursday said arrangements were being made to evict people who invaded structures earmarked to temporarily house those waiting for state homes.

People apparently moved into the units in Delft on Wednesday night.

But authorities said the units were earmarked for beneficiaries who are currently being moved into communities, while their state-funded homes are being constructed.

Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said he would remove the land-grabbers within 24 hours.

“We’re now in the process of removing those people.” - iafrica

ANC lashed over cadres

Researchers at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) have warned the government to start listening to advice to improve services to poor South Africans.

They have lamented the state of the public service in the country, saying it was marked by incompetence and in need of urgent intervention.

The researchers, in a scathing paper presented on Thursday, also called on the government to invest in recruitment, training and retention of skilled and talented public servants who were appointed on merit and subjected to a strict code of conduct.

The researchers also criticised government departments for lacking the basic capacity to investigate charges of corruption and bribery, while officials who were found guilty generally received very lenient punishments, such as written warnings, without the matters being reported to police.

Professor Modimowabarwa Kanyane, an acting director at the HSRC’s democracy, governance and service delivery programme, called for a single public service to be able to produce more effective provision of services.

“One of the serious challenges facing the public service and municipalities is how to deal with the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment, and the consequences of this policy,” he said.

“One conclusion that seems to be common is that the ANC’s deployment strategy systematically places loyalty ahead of merit and even competence.

“Politically connected and, in many cases, incompetent people are deployed to positions, leading to demoralisation in the public service,” said Kanyane.

He said the lack of skilled professionals in the public service was also contributing to the government’s failure to provide even the most basic of services, such as water.

The public service was also struggling to attract and retain the most talented people, with skilled managers constituting only a small fraction of the public service at 0.4 percent, and the majority serving at national departments.

Another researcher, Gregory Houston, said numerous reports by the auditor-general had pointed to poor governance by many government departments and municipalities.

“Poor governance has resulted in prevalent underspending… in a situation of substantial service delivery and infrastructure backlogs,” said Houston.

Although all government failures to deliver services could not be attributed to corruption, it was disappointing that there was no feedback from most departments on corruption cases reported, he said.

- The Star

Number of Cape flood victims rises

Cape Town - The number of Capetonians affected by the floods at the weekend has risen to 32 691, the City said on Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Priya Reddy said the latest figure was recorded after acting mayor alderman Ian Neilson's visit to some of the affected areas.

These included the Masicendane informal settlement in Strandfontein and the Masiphumelele informal settlement in Fish Hoek.

Reddy said the city had worked with the provincial government and the SA Social Services Association to provide social relief amounting to over R1,4 million.

The money was spent on blankets, meals, flood kits, food parcels and baby packs.

Disaster risk management officials said some affected residents were still staying in their shacks, refusing to be moved to temporary centres.

“They don't want to move. They (are) saying they are afraid to lose their plots, but we will continue to talk to them,” said City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He said winter weather conditions always brought discomfort to residents. “This is not something new.”

On Sunday, the city said it had attended to 348 calls where roads, property and informal areas needed attention.

The SA Weather Services predicted showers on Thursday afternoon, with “localised floods” on Friday. - Sapa

Residents reel after heavy rains

The stench from flooded toilets, residents in rubber boots scooping water out of their homes, muddied roads: this is what life will be like for the next few weeks for people living in an informal settlement in Gugulethu.

Residents of Europe have suffered the full brunt of the heavy deluge which began last week.

Community leader Nombulelo Mgogo said this is what they go through every time it rains. “After the flooding, we get blankets and bread and then it ends there. But for us, that is when the real work begins.”

Resident Yandisa Kwale, 23, has a large pool of water in front of his shack and every time he opens the door his one-roomed shack floods.

His shoes are lying in the water inside the shack. He estimates it will take a week for the water to subside, assuming it does not rain again.

Another resident, Sandile Vice, 45, said he had missed work on Monday in order to clean his home after the floods. His carpet and belongings are hanging up to dry outside his shack as he cleans the muddied floor.

“Every time it rains we have to do the same thing. On Friday this whole place was full of water, it is only getting better now but it will take time for the walls to dry because the cardboard sucks up some of the water,” Vice said.

Neighbours said some residents moved to a different area during the rainy season to escape the flooding.

SA Weather Service forecaster Rian Smit said there would be some showers on Tuesday and that more rain was expected on Wednesday. - Cape Argus

Cape flood victims still need help

The City of Cape Town has spent nearly R1-million helping victims of the recent floods on the Cape Peninsula, it said on Monday.

The money was spent on blankets, meals, flood kits, food parcels and baby packs, said Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

The city had helped 19 641 people from 6 102 households since June 26, he said.

Solomons-Johannes said disaster response teams were continuing their mopping-up operations, but that weather forecasters were predicting rain for the whole week.

“The disaster response teams have been ordered to be on an enhanced level of standby, and to brace themselves for a very busy week,” he said.

“The continuous rain has the potential to cause or threaten to cause nearby ponds and rivers to overflow; and could potentially result in discomfort for people living in low-lying areas.”

On Sunday, the city said it had attended to 348 calls where roads, property and informal areas needed attention. - Sapa

Blikkiesdorp anger at residents who sell or rent out housing

Blikkiesdorp community leaders say residents have been illegally selling or letting structures which have been allocated to them as temporary homes.

The City of Cape Town has confirmed that it was aware of the practice, but added that it was difficult to monitor or control.

Community leader Beverley Jacobs said residents found alterative accommodation, sometimes in relatives' backyards, then collected rent of at least R300 a month from their tenants - mainly foreigners.

Structures have also been sold for up to R3 000, she added.

"People are here because they cannot afford homes, yet some are taking advantage to make money. It is sad to see when you consider how many people are out there without homes."

Jacobs said tenants and "new owners" often sneaked into Blikkiesdorp at night.

"We only notice these new arrivals the next morning when we see a new family living there," she said, adding that there were similar cases in surrounding temporary relocation areas.

Jacobs said con artists had also been preying on people, demanding advance rent in exchange for fictitious accommodation, and then disappearing with the cash.

One foreigner said a man offered her accommodation for R300 a month and asked for three months' rent in advance.

"He told me to go to an address in Blikkiesdorp but when I got there another family was living inside. They knew nothing about the man or any deal. I tried to call him again but the number was no longer in use. I had to borrow that money from friends and now it's gone."

She had moved in with her sister and four children because she had nowhere else to go.

Jacobs said the number of cases had increased and that dozens of residents had been complaining to her over the past few weeks.

She had raised the issue with the city numerous times but there was little or no action. Now residents had taken matters into their own hands.

Several foreigners had been assaulted after the community come to the conclusion their occupation was illegal.

"I understand that it is difficult to monitor but the main problem is that there are simply no regular checks. If people are reported they can quickly return when officials come knocking. This has made the community frustrated."

Hanif Loonat, chairman of the Western Cape Community Police Forum, said gangsters also used Blikkiesdorp as a place to hide. The area served as a perfect refuge for criminals, he said.

Ernest Sonnenberg, mayoral committee member for human settlements, was unable to say how many structures had been sold or let.

"This happens from time to time but is very difficult to monitor. In most cases the local residents will report such activities, and in some cases matters of this nature will be reported to our office when deals between the original occupant and lessee go sour."

Foreigners were not allowed to move into Blikkiesdorp, unless they were married to a South African. Only 40 foreign families had been allowed to move into the area after xenophobic attacks in surrounding areas in 2010.

Sonnenberg said the city would do more than random and regular checks in an attempt to prevent the illegal selling and letting of structures.

"We are also currently embarking on a full-scale survey to validate and update our current database."

- Weekend Argus (Saturday Star)

Roads, houses flooded… and there’s more on the way

Heavy rains in Cape Town on Sunday flooded roads and houses and caused the Liesbeek River to burst its banks, and there were “extreme weather” warnings of bitter cold over much of the country.

The M3 was flooded where the road dips near UCT, and traffic was backed up as motorists slowed down to plough through the muddy waters.

Many shacks on the Cape Flats were flooded and the city council and charity organisations provided hot meals, blankets and plastic sheeting to about 350 families.

The SA Weather Service said on Sunday’s cold front had been particularly strong, adding that the cold, wet weather was here to stay for the next few days....

...Charlotte Powell from the city’s disaster management said parts of the BM section of Khayelitsha had been flooded on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning.

She said the Mustadifin Foundation, Red Cross and Salvation Army had provided hot meals and blankets to the 350 families living in shacks.

In Khayelitsha many residents said flood waters were seeping through the floors because the houses did not have proper foundations.

Nosipho Ngqunge had to put her bed on bricks to keep the blankets off the flooded floor.

In Happy Valley, Blackheath, Anita Andrews, eight month’s pregnant, was lying on a wet mattress while her boyfriend made a fire inside their shack to ward off the cold and dry their belongings.

“I am tired of lying on the ground. Why don’t they (the council) fix our houses?

“They bring us plastic, how will that help? The water is still going to suck us in,” she said.

The weather office said snowfalls were likely on higher mountain peaks on Sunday. Because of the thick cloud, it was not possible to see whether it had snowed.

- Cape Times

Cape Town manager responds to protest

The expanded public works programme (EPWP) is not meant to be a permanent employment solution, the City of Cape Town said on Friday.

“The primary objective of the programme is to provide temporary relief over any period of time,” acting city manager Mike Marsden said.

“EPWP is not a permanent solution to our unemployment problems, but it is critical to the fight against poverty and unemployment.”

About 300 SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) and Housing Alliance members marched to the Cape Town civic centre on Thursday afternoon to demand equal rights for temporary workers.

They sang and danced outside the civic centre on Hertzog Boulevard, as a line of policemen dressed in protest gear kept watch.

Samwu Cape Metro regional secretary Mario Jacobs accused the city of misleading workers into believing that 11,000 EPWP jobs opportunities would translate into permanent positions.

“All you have done is to recycle job opportunities from one poor, unemployed person to another with no prospect of that leading to quality, permanent employment,” he said.

The union said it was unacceptable that a permanent council worker was paid about R240 a day, whereas an EPWP worker got R60.

Marsden said the conditions of the contracts were explained to workers at the beginning of the project.

“At no stage of an EPWP project is the expectation created that these work opportunities will become permanent.

“We cannot limit these opportunities to the same group of people. Workers are fairly recruited through a jobseekers' database on a random basis.”

The city said it had created over 34,000 temporary jobs in the past financial year. It was paying a minimum of R80 a day for these jobs, more than the R63.18 a day recommended by government.

The union has given the city a week to negotiate the terms of employment for these contracts.

It has asked for greater job security, health and safety protection, longer periods of employment, and access to training, among other things.

Housing Assembly chairman Mhlobo Gunguluzi demanded quality public housing without prepaid water and electricity systems.

He wanted the city to scrap arrears and evictions. – Sapa

Residents close Cape Town road with toilet waste

ENRAGED France informal settlement residents barricaded Lansdowne Road, which runs from Cape Town's southern suburbs through to Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, with a rubbish container and discarded buckets of toilet waste in protest against the lack of decent housing.

The incident prompted city employees to close the road and remove the mess. When Sowetan arrived in the morning the mess had already been cleaned up.

"We want houses, nothing else. We've been staying here since 1998 and there's no development. When we call our councillor to the general meetings he doesn't come. What we must do," asked a resident, who gave his name as Dlamini.

He described the protest as minor: "It's just the beginning. Maybe in the next protest we will discard (bucket toilet waste) into the councillor's house," he said.

Dlamini said local ANC councillor Monde Nqulwana was "disrespectful": "He doesn't care about us."

When Sowetan asked Dlamini about the health risk, he said any struggle has its consequences.

Other residents called for the arrest of protesters, saying their actions were a deadly threat to health.

- Sowetan

‘Convert stadium to low-cost housing’

Cape Town Stadium should be converted into low-cost houses, the Western Cape Congress of SA Trade Unions said on Monday.

“Cosatu has had discussions with engineers and architects who feel that it is possible to turn the stadium into low-cost housing for people in Cape Town,” provincial leader Tony Ehrenreich said.

“This represents an important opportunity to integrate black and white communities, which we should not miss out on.”

The city recently announced it was considering various options to make the R4.5 billion structure in Green Point sustainable.

Maintenance amounted to about R44m a year, with very few hiring activities taking place due to the cost of using the venue.

One proposal was to convert it into a commercial hub, but this had been met with resistance from residents, who did not want added noise and activity.

Ehrenreich said if public funds were being spent on the stadium, it should benefit the most vulnerable citizens.

“The community of Green Point, who does not want further commercial activities in the stadium, should support the plans to promote the building of affordable housing.” - Sapa

Khayelitsha fire leaves 60 homeless

A fire left 60 people without homes in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, the city says.

Disaster risk spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said the fire on Sunday evening gutted 15 shacks in Phakami Road.

The city was providing food, clothing, blankets and building material to those affected.

The cause of the fire was unknown. - SAPA

R1.4m tender ‘kickback’ probed

Nearly three months after The Sunday Independent revealed that Human Settlements director-general Thabane Zulu allegedly received a mysterious R1.4 million connected to a controversial tender, three government agencies are still “waiting for documentation”. And he is still at work.

While the Hawks, the public protector and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) have confirmed that they are investigating, the probes seem to be at an initial stage.

The Sunday Independent reported in April that the money was deposited soon before Zulu took part in the awarding of a R10 billion contract.

Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela confirmed that they were probing the matter after a complaint from the DA. “The complaint was referred to us last month. We are gathering necessary information for our investigation.”

SIU spokesman Boy Ndala said: “We have requested and are awaiting relevant documents to assess if we are able to motivate for a proclamation to investigate or refer the matter to another agency.”

Public protector spokeswoman Kgalalelo Masibi said the investigation was still at an initial stage.

“Documents are still being requested from the parties who can assist with the investigation.”

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said Zulu had personally referred the matter to the SIU and the public protector, with his backing. He added that after receiving reports from these institutions, he would then apply his mind and take a final decision, “as it would be inappropriate to act before receiving such reports”.

Zulu previously denied any wrongdoing, but he could not be reached for comment this week.

It is alleged that Zulu received the money from a black economic empowerment company that stood to benefit from the R10bn social grants distribution tender soon before his adjudication committee awarded the contract to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

CPS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Net1 UEPS Technologies.

According to documents in our possession, an intermediary deposited R2m into the business account of African Access Information and Communication Technology on behalf of the BEE company. A few days later, African Access transferred R1.4m into Zulu’s account.

Zulu is a former director of African Access.

Zulu and his lawyer, Naren Sangham, had denied ever receiving the money, but subsequently admitted receiving it.

- Sunday Independent