Sexwale under fire for high spending

Cape Town - ANC MP Nomhle Dambuza has slammed Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale’s department for spending R91 million on consultants.

“You cannot appoint consultants for the sake of appointment,” she told the Cape Times on Sunday.

Dambuza chairs the portfolio committee that oversees Sexwale’s department and said her committee found that R91m had been spent on consultants when it went through the financial statements contained in the past financial year’s annual report.

“Our concern stems from the fact that there are projects or operations that appear to be departmental daily operations, but we found that the department opted to use consultants,” she said.

Dambuza said the committee was especially concerned with the use of consultants when the white paper on sanitation was drawn up.

She said this work was still outstanding.

The other instance the committee found was the department appointing a consultant to provide reports on the N2 Gateway Solar Water Heaters project, said Dambuza.

She said the project had a steering committee, comprising various stakeholders that were meant to update the department on the progress of the project and yet a consultant was used to compile the report from information they already had.

Dambuza and her committee met officials from the auditor-general and asked them to look into this spending before the end of next month.

They want to find out wether the department got value for money when they hired the consultants.

Dambuza said she wanted the department’s officials to report back to the committee on why they had spent millions of rands on consultants.

She said the committee would question where the department would use consultants when it discussed its strategic plan for the coming financial year.

- Cape Times

Secrecy, impropriety and the failure of accountability coil around each other in a triple helix of misgovernance.

Nowhere is that more clear than at Nkandla, where President Jacob Zuma's grotesque mansion complex lords it over the steep hills of KwaZulu-Natal.

And nowhere is a strategy of obfuscation more vigorously pursued than in the department of public works, where Minister Thulas Nxesi and his officials wield the National Key Points Act to block requests for financial and other information about the quarter-billion rand spent on the project, to threaten journalists who dig it up themselves and to shield the president from scrutiny.

Until now.

Nxesi's deputy, Jeremy Cronin, on Wednesday delivered a classic parliamentary skewering to opposition parties during the debate on the State of the Nation address. It was a fine debating chamber performance and it must have stung.

But the best bits were never heard in the National Assembly. They were in his prepared text, which had been distributed to journalists, and, although they were far off the Nxesi message, they were right on the money.

'Dastardly apartheid legislation'

In his response to Zuma's speech, Mosiuoa Lekota had characterised the Act as "dastardly apartheid legislation", Cronin recalled, adding "he is probably right".

And he went further: "This Parliament does need to look at this anachronistic and problematic piece of legislation; it may well be unconstitutional."

And further still, referring to the "probably excessive and undoubtedly extremely costly security operational requirements".

In the written text, these comments are made en passant, by way of exposing what Cronin suggests is Lekota's hypocrisy in criticising the Act after doing nothing as defence minster to reform it. But the blow to the Congress of the People leader is glancing compared with the frontal assault on what has become a key tool of the secret state – and indeed on the excesses of the Nkandla project itself.

A "probably" here and a "may well be" there hardly cushion the impact.

"As the current government, we are not running away from our responsibilities in this matter and we will not sweep abuse under the carpet," he concluded.

There is much speculation about why these comments did not make it into the final speech and the Democratic Alliance has called on him to clarify his position.

Crisp point

But the point is that he has since stood by the remarks.

Of course, the problem of the Key Points Act goes much deeper than Nkandla. As the freedom of information campaign group Right2Know recently showed, the use of the Act has increased 50% in the past half-decade.

There are almost certainly nastier things hiding under its skirts than a ­hilltop fortress.

Cronin surely knows this. Indeed, he may be more acutely aware of it than ever, now that he toils in the Augean stench of public works. It is worth asking whether he will again, as he did last year, vote for the Protection of State Information Bill, which could be used to similar effect.

The crisp point is that the whole edifice of the national development plan, so loudly trumpeted by Zuma and by the ANC, rests on a capable and accountable government.

Capable and accountable ministers of state, then, must stand for openness. No doubt that is what Cronin will say when the commissars come.

We will see if they listen.

- M&G Editorial

Thuli uncovers RDP shambles

Public protector Thuli Madonsela said a "blitz" by her officials had uncovered government-subsidised housing projects that were often shambolic, and instances where beneficiaries were selling their RDP houses for as little as R2000.

Madonsela told parliament's portfolio committee on human settlements that 10% of complaints received by her office in 2010/2011 related to maladministration in the delivery of government-subsidised housing.

"By July 2012, the public protector had received approximately 1987 complaints relating to maladministration in the delivery of RDP houses," said Madonsela.

The blitz by officials from her office and the Department of Human Settlements found that houses had been built without provision for water and sanitation in the Eastern Cape's Sakhisizwe Municipality.

Municipalities often planned housing projects without factoring in rapid urbanisation and, in many cases, informal settlements mushroomed overnight. This placed a strain on sanitation and electrical systems, she said.

While the people's housing projects process had placed the initiative at the door of beneficiaries, these projects were often "hijacked" by developers who sometimes built sub-standard houses.

"People's housing projects were supposed to put the projects in the hands of beneficiaries but officials and inspectors [have used the opportunity] to abdicate their responsibilities," said Madonsela.

The six-month period beneficiaries were given in which to complain about their new homes was too short, she said, adding that evidence of RDP homes falling apart was increasing. In the middle of last year, Madonsela found there was no standardised specification for RDP houses, though this was a requirement of the National Home Builder Registration Council.

Madonsela said her officials had uncovered instances where houses had been allocated to beneficiaries only to be sold for as little as R2000 later on.

She added that some beneficiaries complained that they had not yet received their title deeds.

Committee chairman Nomhle Dambuza said there were systems in place to ensure that housing beneficiaries received their title deeds.

Human Settlements director-general Thabani Zulu said the observations made by Madonsela were "quite confirming".

"There are some solutions in the policy instruments that we have. The issue is implementation," said Zulu.

He said housing officials were often more focused on outcomes - delivering houses - than the necessary processes.

"Our project management teams have to be equipped to ensure that processes aren't neglected. Getting that right will resolve some of our problems," said Zulu.

- Timeslive

Department of Human Settlements Welcomes Public Protector's Report

The Department of Human Settlements notes and welcomes the observations made by the South African Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements this morning.

The two presentations dealt with matters relating to the delivery of human settlements as the department strives to achieve its vision. These relate to issues of housing allocation lists, corruption, defective houses, provision of basic services, title deeds, amongst others.

Director-General in the Department of Human Settlements Thabane Zulu told the committee that it was not a mistake to change the mandate of the department from just dealing with the provision of housing to human settlements in 2009.

"The issues raised talk to our mandate in terms of the delivery model. Our turn-around strategy talks to houses being closer to work, education, and health facilities. Gone are the days when housing development projects can take place far away from social and economic amenities," said Zulu.

The department would soon be implementation its housing rectification programme to deal with defective houses built from 2002. Contractors who were responsible for this shoddy workmanship are currently being prosecuted and public monies being recovered.

Housing contracts worth R20 billion have been identified for investigation by the Special Investigating Unit at the request of the Department of Human Settlements in terms of the Presidential Proclamation of 2007.

A total of 59 housing contracts worth R4 billion have already been investigated and finalized. These relate to the payment of contractors for incomplete and poorly constructed houses.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is currently conducting 13 criminal investigations on this matter

Potential public funds recoverable on this category of an investigation amount to R101 million.

On the issue of public servants from various national, provincial and local municipalities who fraudulently benefited from government housing programme, the department revealed that 1 061 such officials were prosecuted between 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years.

A total of 1 002 of these officials were convicted.

And R17,9 million recovered.

The Director-General informed the Portfolio Committee that from the next financial year, no provincial business plans would be approved without bulk services.

Zulu said the department would be working very close with the Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector to make sure the two institutions were kept abreast of developments.

"We want to inculcate the culture of human rights in as far as human settlements is concerned. I can confirm that most of the issues raised are on the implementation side and the soon to be established Project Management Unit will ensure that the quality is not compromised," he said.

- Department of Human Settlements

Public Protector asks Human Settlements Portfolio Committee to request a progress report from government on RDP Preliminary observations

Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela has asked the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements to request the Department of Human settlements and other relevant role players to brief Parliament on progress made in addressing RDP concerns where there is consensus that there are problems. The Public Protector said while briefing the Portfolio Committee on preliminary observations and progress made by her team in the RDP systemic investigation she is currently conducting. 

She told the Committee that complaints relating to alleged maladministration in the delivery of RDP housing are categorised under planning, procurement and post allocation. Her systemic investigation focused on the following specific areas:

• Planning inadequacies
• Procurement irregularities (including corruption and fraud) leading to defective houses among many inadequacies
• Allocation irregularities and
• Post allocation challenges such as missing title deeds and illegal sale of RDP houses.

On progress made, the Public Protector indicated that her team has been using early resolution measures to resolve individual complaints while the systemic investigation is ongoing. 

The Committee members welcomed the investigation and agreed with the general observations, including policy considerations in terms of Prioritisation of allocations, risk management, compliance with Section 26 of the Constitution, infrastructure challenges in response to rapid urbanisation and informal settlements as well as standardization of sizes of RDP houses. Clarification of the role of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) was also covered. 

The Public Protector also called on Parliament to note the need for a uniform approach regarding accountability of wrongdoers such as staff, professionals, public office bearers and contractors in cases where payment has been made for work not done or poorly executed and urgently address policy or regulatory gaps.

- Public Protector

Lekota: Zuma's Nkandla home like Hitler's Berghof

The expansion of President Jacob Zuma's homestead could be compared to that of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's, suggests Cope's leader

"In passing, may I say that the manner in which Adolf Hitler expanded Berghof and the way in which the Nkandla estate was expanded merits a close examination," the Congress of the People (Cope) MP Mosiuoa Lekota said during a debate on Zuma's State of the Nation address on Tuesday.

Lekota said the government was abusing the public purse and was spending fewer resources on eradicating the country's social ills.

"The R200-million that was spent at Nkandla could have been used to give bursaries of R10 000 to 20 000 matriculants," he said.

There was concern about the lack of mention, in Zuma's address, of how the government would address the massive wasting of public money.

Instead, Zuma had emphasised the need to review the country's current tax system, Lekota said.

"Before asking citizens to fork out more money to the state, the state should thoroughly clean up its own act.

Wasted money

"It must stop corruption and put an end to futile and fruitless expenditure," he said.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure in government departments, and the massive amounts of money spent on consultants, as highlighted by the auditor general (AG), was hampering development.

"In the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years, an amount of R45-billion was wasted. If this amount was used for bursaries, 125 000 university students could have been funded over three years," Lekota said.

He called for a review of the entire public service.

"The review must include all appointment where appointees are not properly qualified and not productively engaged."

Civil servants who were not adding value to the public service should be fired.

"It is these elements in the public service which account for the finding by the deputy AG that the government, both national and provincial, had spent more than R102-billion on consultants between 2008 and 2011."

- Sapa

Minister announces more upgrades for Nkandla

The state intends to fund further upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's rural homestead in Nkandla, says Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

"There will be further additions to the clinic at the president's Nkandla residence, in order to service the members of South African National  Defence Force that conduct duties there,"  Mapisa-Nqakula said on Tuesday during parliamentary debate on the president's State Of The Nation address.

The Nkandlagate scandal came to light after a string of reports revealed that over R200-million would be forked out for infrastructural improvements at the president's private residence at Nxamalala in rural Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

The project is chiefly financed by the public works department with the last payment reportedly taking place days before Zuma called for financial caution in light of current economic conditions – along with a pay freeze for senior public and private sector executives.

Additions to the property include a helipad, medical clinic, bulletproof glazing and air-conditioning in certain residential units as well as a bunker.

The upgrade is currently the subject of an investigation by public protector Thuli Madonsela, although a public works' report on alleged abuse of public funds during the upgrades found no signs of wrongdoing.

Details of the additions to the clinic were not provided by the minister, however Mapisa-Nqakula reiterated all upgrades were solely on the basis of providing added security at the president's rural residence.

She added it would be investigated if the the clinic could be made available for the use of the greater Nkandla community.

Requests for further comment from the minister were left unanswered at the time of publishing.

- M&G

Correction: No further upgrades for Nkandla

The Mail & Guardian erroneously reported that Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Tuesday the president's rural residence would receive further upgrades to the clinic situated on the premises.

It was in fact that the clinic would receive "minor adjustments" to serve the Nkandla community along with Zuma and personnel designated for his protection.

"Having assessed both the location and size of the clinic facility, it is our view that, save for minor adjustments, the clinic has adequate capacity to serve both the requirements of the president whenever necessary as well as provide for the community of Nkandla," Mapisa-Nqakula said.

The minister said discussions were already underway with the Kwazulu-Natal department of health to effect the decision.

Details of the additions to the clinic were not provided by the minister, however Mapisa-Nqakula reiterated all upgrades were solely on the basis of providing added security at the Zuma's Nkandla residence.

A briefing with the minister's special advisor Mike Ramogoma on Wednesday revealed that the additional work carried out at the the clinic would not be extensive.

"It certainly doesn't mean there will be additional works carried out at the clinic or anywhere else at the residence," he said.

Upgrades to the president's private residence at Nxamalala in rural Nkandla have become a bone of contention since it was reported that over R200-million would be forked out for infrastructural improvements.

The project is chiefly financed by the public works department with the last payment reportedly taking place days before President Jacob Zuma called for financial caution in light of current economic conditions – along with a pay freeze for senior public and private sector executives.

Additions to the property include a helipad, medical clinic, bulletproof glazing and air-conditioning in certain residential units as well as a bunker.

The upgrade is currently the subject of an investigation by public protector Thuli Madonsela, although a public works' report on alleged abuse of public funds during the upgrades found no signs of wrongdoing.

Mapisa-Nqakula also said on Tuesday that there is no evidence that any funds were used to build the "actual houses" of the president, as they were already at "completion level" when he was sworn into office in 2009.

The Mail & Guardian apologised for errors in its previous report.

Philippi resembles a warzone

Cape Town - At least two sets of traffic lights were trashed by protesters on Eisleben Road in Philippi this morning when residents from Marcus Garvey informal settlement took to the streets for a second day.

Thanduxolo Makana, a community leader and resident, said about 700 protesters descended on Eisleben at 1.30am. They burned tyres, toppled road signs, blocked the road with rubble and destroyed eight traffic lights.

By mid-morning, city law enforcement was still diverting traffic from Eisleben as solid-waste management workers cleared the road.

“They can clean but tomorrow the same thing will happen. And the day after that. The residents will not stop until their demands for land and better conditions are met,” said Makana.

The protest was a response to a breakdown in meetings with the council human settlements division, Makana added.

Last year, Marcus Garvey residents marched to the Civic Centre and handed a memorandum to human settlements director Seth Maqetuka.

In it, residents expressed concerns over their living conditions and petitioned the city to make land between Stock Road and Mitchells Plain available for a housing development.

“We are being told that all the land is already reserved or owned by someone else. But all we can see is that it is standing vacant,” said Makana.

Marcus Garvey lies beneath an Eskom pylon, a fact which apparently excludes parts of it from the possibility of legal electrical connections.

Taila Mqokozo, who has been living there for 10 years, said illegal connections, which were a fire hazard, were the only alternative for most of the shack dwellers.

“I live right beneath the pylon lines. When it rains they buzz, they make a big noise and it concerns us because we know that it is dangerous,” he said, pointing to a weak point in one of the cables above his roof. “If that was to break it will cause a fire and chaos.”

Other grievances are lack of running water and sanitation, crime, and piles of rubbish.

Mqokozo complained about a string of ward councillors who had come and gone without addressing the residents’ concerns.

A meeting between a local councillor and the residents was scheduled for on Tuesday

Maqetuka was in a meeting and could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.

- Cape Argus

83 shacks up in flames in 90 minutes

Cape Town - About 300 people have been left homeless after a fire raged through Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa on Monday, burning down 83 shacks.

The fire broke out at 9.25 am, said Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, city disaster management spokesman.

There were no reports of injuries or fatalities, and firefighters brought the blaze under control by about 11am.

Men and women carried buckets of water and tried to douse the flames alongside firefighters. Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the edges of the settlement.

“I was at work when I heard the news of the fire,” said mechanic Lucky Khatywa. “I rushed back. All I could save was this fridge, there is nothing left of my shack. I want to know where I will sleep tonight, and whether the city will help us.”

A number of people were seen climbing electricity poles with pangas to cut down copper cables. Onlookers said the wires would be gathered and sold off as scrap.

Zoleka Vukuza, who has been living in Joe Slovo for 11 years, said this was the fourth time she had lost her shack and all her possessions in a fire.

“Each time we have to rebuild… it is difficult to see everything go up in smoke. We wish we could have decent houses, and the government has been building houses here. They need to speed up the process,” she said.

A disaster management official promised to provide emergency parcels of food and blankets to those affected.

On Monday afternoon, residents were picking through the rubble in an attempt to salvage their possessions and retrieve building materials for rebuilding. Food parcels had not yet arrived, but Solomons-Johannes said that the parcels and blankets, baby packs, clothing and building material would be dispatched.

Zukisani Sibunzi, a spokesman for the SA National Civic Organisation in the area, said a community hall would be hired for displaced people.

“The situation is a bit desperate at the moment. People have lost food, clothing, everything. But we will be working with disaster management to accommodate and feed the victims of the fire,” Sibunzi said.

Theo Layne, spokesman for the city’s fire and rescue services, said the cause of the fire was unknown.

But Anele Kabingca, a resident and community leader who lost his shack in the fire, said it was caused by an electrical fault in a shack where a woman was cooking.

- Cape Argus

Cape Town fire leaves 300 homeless

Cape Town - Three hundred people were left homeless after a fire destroyed their homes in Langa, Cape Town on Monday, the Cape Town disaster risk management centre said.

Spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said fire-fighters were sent to the Zone 30 informal settlement when the blaze was seen by the city's surveillance centre.

Solomons-Johannes said the fire started around 9am but emergency workers only managed to extinguish it at around 2pm.

“The (fire) destroyed 83 wooden and iron structures, leaving 168 adults and 120 children homeless,” he said.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was not known.

He said some residents had started rebuilding their homes and some refused to go to the hall the city provided.

“Others said they will stay on the site overnight, to protect what is left.”

He said the disaster management team would clean up the area on Tuesday. 

- Sapa

Zuma hears woes of fire victims

Cape Town - “I can’t live like this any more. The conditions are unbearable,” wept January 1 fire victim Phakama Nhose after about seven weeks of living in OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha.

Another of the victims, mother Nonzwakazi Ligunya, agreed: “We’re overcrowded, some people are sick. It gets claustrophobic in here and the ambulance frequents this place, coming in at least three times a day.”

That was the scenario that met President Jacob Zuma on Friday when he came face-to-face with the victims of the New Year’s Day fire in Khayelitsha that razed 220 shacks and 15 formal houses, killing five people.

Thousands were left homeless, and on Friday Zuma was at their temporary home to officially open what the residents hope will be better temporary homes – housing units donated by NGO Gift of the Givers, and erected in the area around the hall.

Fresh from his State of the Nation address, Zuma heard from residents who have become extremely frustrated at their conditions.

He was accompanied by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.

Zuma told the many fire victims he was visiting them to assure them that while he understood that “government proceedings are slow”, he would keep on eye on the progress of plans to rehouse them.

“I’m counting down the two months as from today,” said Zuma, switching between Xhosa and Zulu. He was referring to the two-month deadline the city set itself to complete the rehousing process.

Between 400 and 500 people also affected by the fire are apparently living elsewhere with family and friends.

About 150 people are living in the hall, and it remains unclear whether everyone will get new homes.

Local ANC councillor

Monde Nqulana said while it was impossible to say exactly when everyone would be rehoused, “by mid-March everyone should be out of the hall”.

Nqulana added that another 15 people were expected to move into the new temporary units outside the hall on Monday.

Nqulana agreed that conditions inside the hall were problematic, and confirmed that the ambulance had to be called for patients there about three times daily.

“Some of the people that live here have tuberculosis. It’s unfair,” Nqulana said.

BM section resident Ligunya, who has a two-month-old baby, agreed: “It’s not nice living here.”

Nosicelo Phakamisa, who lives in the hall with a family of eight, took a brighter view of the situation: “They give us everything. We’ve been promised that the houses outside are just temporary, and that we’ll get better houses.”

After the president’s address, Nomthandazo Damane, a single parent of a three-month-old, remained unconvinced.

She said the situation was “quite dire”, and that she didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“The infant foods they give us for our children have expired,” she complained.

After addressing the residents, Zuma inspected the temporary houses. Gift of the Givers branch manager Gawa Sayed said the organisation would build 100 temporary houses, each costing more than R20 000.

“We pledged 100 houses for the victims,” Sayed said, explaining that while their focus was normally on feeding victims of disasters, they had decided this time to help with housing. They had already erected 24 homes, and the residents would move in on Monday.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Home Affairs department set up mobile services at the hall to help those affected by the fire replace their IDs and assist with their social grants.

- Weekend Argus

SONA Ping: Half the amount spent on GAP vs Nkandla

Honourable Members, Distinguished guests & Homeless South African Citizens...

In last year's address we raised the issue of the gap market, the people who earn too much to qualify for an RDP house and too little for a bank mortgage bond.

From April 2012 to December 2012, Provincial Departments committed a budget of 126 million rand of the Human Settlements Development Grant for this programme, known as the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy programme.

The money is being used through the National Housing Finance Corporation, which has been appointed to deliver houses to people within the Gap market in twelve registered projects.

A total of 70 million rand of this amount has been used to date.

Projects include Walmer Link in the Eastern Cape, Lady Selbourne, Nelmapius, Bohlabela Borwa, Cosmo City and Fleurhof in Gauteng, Intabazwe Corridor Housing in the Free State and Seraleng in North West.

The implementation of these eight GAP housing projects is currently underway...

State of the Nation Address - SONA

State of nation speech low on green details

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address covered a wide variety of social issues, but was scant on detail, a sociologist said on Thursday evening.

“The president covered a wide range of ground, but perhaps he lost a bit of focus,” said Prof Roger Southall of the University of the Witwatersrand's sociology department.

He said Zuma mentioned the importance of small business and government support for such entities, but gave “absolutely no details”.

It was promising that Zuma had spoken about renewable energy, but more money should be allocated to realising green initiatives, Southall said. 

- Sapa

Zuma warns agains violent protests

Parliament, Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma warned on Thursday that action will be taken to prevent violent protests.

“There are some lessons from Marikana and other incidents that we cannot allow to recur in our country,” he told a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament convened for his state-of-the-nation speech.

“Our Constitution is truly one of our greatest national achievements.

“Everything that we do as a government is guided by our Constitution and its vision of the society we are building.

“We call on all citizens to celebrate, promote and defend our Constitution,” he said.

The Bill of Rights guaranteed that “everyone has the right, peacefully, and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions”.

“We therefore call on our people to exercise their rights to protest in a peaceful and orderly manner.”

It was unacceptable when people's rights were violated by perpetrators of violent actions, such as those which led to injury and death, damage to property, and the destruction of public infrastructure.

“We are duty-bound to uphold, defend, and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic. We will spare no effort in doing so.

“For this reason, I have instructed the justice, crime prevention, and security cluster to put measures in place, with immediate effect, to ensure that any incidents of violent protest are acted upon, investigated, and prosecuted,” he said.

Courts would be allocated to deal with such cases on a prioritised roll. The law had to be enforced and it had to be seen to be enforced, fairly, effectively, and expeditiously.

“The citizens of our country have a right to expect that their democratic state will exercise its authority in defence of the Constitution that so many struggled so long and hard for. We cannot disappoint this expectation.”

The Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security cluster had put measures in place at national, provincial, and local level to effectively deal with such incidents.

“Let me hasten to add that government departments at all levels must work closely with communities and ensure that all concerns are attended to before they escalate. That responsibility remains. We are a caring government,” Zuma said. 

- Sapa

Motlanthe spokesperson sticks to his guns on island holiday

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s spokesperson is sticking to his guns after presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj denied the existence of a “presidential manual”.

On Sunday, City Press revealed that Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe had spent 12 days on the Island of Desroches in the Seychelles over the festive season after he had lost the contest for the position of ANC president at the party’s Mangaung conference in December.

Motlanthe’s spokesperson, Thabo Masebe, said Motlanthe covered his accommodation bill.

The state covered the cost of a Falcon 900 and a charter plane – estimated to be about R2 million – and the expenses for security personnel.

This was in accordance with the presidential manual, Masebe said.

But today, on Talk Radio 702, Mac Maharaj said there was no such document.

Asked to comment on Maharaj’s claim, Masebe said he was sticking to his earlier statement. “I don’t want to get involved in what Mac had to say. Ask him about that. According to a policy document called the presidential manual the deputy did nothing wrong,” he added.

Masebe said the manual was a confidential document and not for public consumption.

City Press filed an application on Monday, through the Promotion of Access to Information Act, to get a copy of the manual.

In 2006 the Public Protector investigated allegations of unethical and improper conduct against former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka relating to her unofficial visit to the United Arab Emirates. He stated that the president and deputy president were not governed by the ministerial handbook and that the presidential handbook, which was in a draft phase, should be put before Cabinet for consideration to regulate the Presidency’s use of public funds.

- CityPress

Who needs the Ministerial Handbook if you can rely on the (secret) Presidential Manual

We have all heard of the infamous Ministerial Handbook that regulates the benefits and perks of public office bearers, including cabinet ministers, Premiers and MEC’s – the Father Christmas list for politicians in government. Now we are told that neither the President nor the Deputy President is bound by the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook. We are now told that there is a secret Presidential Manual regulating the perks of the President and the Deputy President. Does this Manual actually exist and if so, can it really be said to be top secret?

When the scandal about the wasteful expenditure of more than R200 million of public funds on the private home of President Zuma broke, the Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi issued a statement in which he claimed that the spending was justified by the Ministerial Handbook, stating on 1 October 2012 that:

The Department of Public Works is in terms of the Ministerial Handbook responsible for general maintenance, renovations and upgrading of State-Owned and Private Residences of Members of Cabinet including that of the President. I would like to state categorically that everything that has been approved and carried out at the private residence of the current President is in line with the Ministerial Handbook as far as it relates to security arrangements for private residences of the President. This is also the normal practice for the former presidents of South Africa.

Nxesi also revealed that Nkandla had been declared a National Key Point (although it later emerged that this was done only a year after the upgrade at Nkandla commenced) and that all details about money spent at Nkandla was therefore a state secret. He further claimed that City Press (who broke the story) was illegally in possession of a “top secret document” (later revealed to have been tabled in Parliament) and called for an investigation to determine how the City Press illegally ended up in possession of this document.

After some of us pointed out that the Ministerial Handbook only allows security upgrades at the private residence of a public office bearer like the President to the tune of R100 000, and that Nxesi’s statement was therefore demonstrably false, Nxesi changed his story. Having been caught out in a fib, he had to come up with another explanation for the R200 million upgrade of Nkandla.

On 27 January 2013 he therefore issued another statement, claiming that a secret internal investigation had shown that it was the responsibility of Public Works to upgrade the President’s private home, and that this was regulated by a “Cabinet Decision of 20 August 2003 which is now known as the Policy on Security Measures at Private Residences of the President, Deputy President and former Presidents and Deputy Presidents”. The report produced after the secret internal investigation was itself kept secret, so it is impossible to ascertain whether such a  report actually exists and if it exists, whether Nxesi’s representation of what was in this report was accurate or not.

Last week this “cabinet decision” or “policy” invoked by Nxesi after his Ministerial Handbook defence was shown to be false, evolved into a “Presidential Manual”. This was revealed when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s spokesperson, Thabo Masebe, justified the spending of R2 million of public funds on transport for a private holiday by the Deputy President by invoking a newly revealed “Presidential Manual”. Masebe claimed that the “Presidential Manual” was finalised in 2006, but that the Manual is a confidential document that will not be released like the Ministerial Handbook.

In 2006 the previous Public Protector investigated trip that the then Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, took to the United Arab Emirates and found that there was no finalised policy dealing with who pays for the travel arrangements of President’s and Deputy President’s on private visits. Last year Nxesi did not know about the existence of such a policy or a Manual. This year we are told that the Manual was finalised in 2006 but that it is secret.

A few questions arise from this curious state of affairs. First, does this Presidential Manual actually exist? None of us have ever seen it. Neither have we ever been informed that such a Manual has been finalised. Maybe, like the emperor’s clothes, it is a document that we are asked to pretend to exist to placate the sovereign. When Minister Nxesi first had to defend the Nkandla splurge he invoked the Ministerial Handbook and said nothing about this top secret Presidential Manual. Even people more trusting of politicians than myself would raise an eyebrow.

Second, if it exists, can it override the publicly available Ministerial Handbook? Surely, a secret document not known to anyone cannot override a publicly available document? The Ministerial Handbook incorporates the Executive Members Ethics Code and gives effect to the relevant ethics legislation. Whether a secret cabinet decision (if there was one) can trump a publicly available document giving effect to a parliamentary law is open to question.

Third, on what legal basis is this Presidential Manual being kept secret? Is there a law that authorises the classification of this document (if it exists) as secret? As far as I am aware there is no law authorising secrecy around such a document. It cannot possibly threaten state security to know what perks the President and the Deputy President are entitled to. Anyone holding otherwise really should take their anti-paranoid pills more regularly. As no one has been able to point to a law that would authorise this secrecy, I would assume this claim of secrecy is bogus. If anyone wishes to leak the document to me (maybe to prove that it indeed exists) I will be happy to post it on my Blog, secure in the knowledge that there is no law prohibiting its publication.

Of course, what this demonstrates is just exactly how easily the Secrecy Bill could and almost certainly would be abused to avoid openness, accountability and transparency in government. When you have spent more than R200 million on the personal enrichment of an elected official (who happens to be –temporarily at least – the President of the country), it is understandable that you would abuse the notion of secrecy to try and hide the facts from the public whose money was used to enrich the President. Accountability is usually only invited when you follow the rules.

Secrecy is toxic because it encourages illegality and abuse of power. When the very documents which the public needs to hold the executive accountable is kept secret, it allows the executive to evade accountability and undermines the democratic process. Secrecy is not primarily about the infringement of the media’s right to report what it likes. It is about citizens being robbed of their democratic right to hold the elected government to account and to decide for themselves whether they wish to vote for the governing party to renew its mandate or to lend their vote to an opposition party in the hope of a fresh start. Secrecy robs voters of their right to exercise their vote in a meaningful way.

- Constitutionally Speaking

Minister Sexwale Must Go!

The IFP calls for the immediate removal of the Minister of Human Settlements, Hon Tokyo Sexwale as he is consistently failing in his duties as Minister.

IFP Spokesperson on Human Settlements, Mr Petros Sithole MP said, "Tokyo must go! The Department of Human Settlements despite having more than adequate funding is still failing to provide housing and sanitation services to our people. The under-spending that is rampant in various provincial departments of Human Settlements is a clear indication that the minister has lost all control of the Department. It is therefore imperative that the Minister vacate his position immediately and allow a capable individual to take over this executive portfolio."

"This under-spending in some provinces raises more concerns as it may lead to a re-direction of funds from planned to un-planned projects or the money be directed back to Treasury. The Provinces, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and Gauteng are the main culprits of under-spending with their housing budget allocations and it is impossible for them to spend all of the remaining balances before the end of March."

"Furthermore, we are very concerned about the Ministerial Sanitation Task Team led by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela which seems utterly dysfunctional. We have no idea what it is doing as it does not report. Many people are still using the bucket system and others have no sanitation at all," said Sithole.

The IFP believes that the MECs and Heads of Departments who under-spend their Housing budgets must also be held accountable and be dismissed together with the Minister.

- AllAfrica

Western Cape MEC of Human Settlements Bonginkosi Madikizela's Keynote Address

The Western Cape MEC of Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela, today gave a keynote address in a sod turning ceremony at the new Eluxolweni Housing Project in Pearly Beach, Overstrand, Western Cape.

"It's always important sketch the housing picture. More than 2.3 million households are waiting for houses in South Africa, and in the Western Cape it's over 500 000. This puts a lot of pressure on the province to build houses, and along with in migration, the need keeps increasing. We only have a budget to build around 15 000 houses a year. The resources we have as a government is far less than the demand, and so we do the best we can to improve the living conditions of our people.

This is why we are taking a multi-pronged approach to housing, and we r focusing on making sure everyone has access to basic services while they wait for houses. Building a house is not always the best approach. We also need to ensure that there is enough bulk of infrastructure to enable the provision of basic services, like water and sanitation. In the Western Cape, the bulk infrastructure backlog is around R20 billion.

We must service the areas where people lie, so that there living conditions are improved while they wait for housing. We must also be creative how we use our limited budgets, to make sure we make the best impact in people's lives we can.

In Eluxolweni, we have managed to address the infrastructure problem to make sure the 250 unit Eluxolweni Housing Project can go ahead. We are also making sure that the wrongs of the 1913 Bantu Land act are addressed. We have to make sure that everyone who gets a house or service site also gets a title deed, so that they have legal ownership and control of their property.

Finally, we must also ensure that development is non-political. Too many developments are blocked or never get off the ground because of in-fighting among different political groups. People must put their political differences aside and unite behind development that benefits everyone."

The R24.5 million project is located along the southern coast of the Western Cape Province, within the jurisdiction of the Overstrand Municipal area, approximately 30 kilometers east of Gansbaai. The 211 informal residential housing units will be built in and around the existing Eluxolweni residential area. Part of the site is occupied by an existing informal settlement which will be upgraded in-situ. Construction is already underway.

- allAfrica

SAB & Province built Nkandla sport facilities

The two state-of-the-art AstroTurf soccer pitches and a tennis court that complement President Jacob Zuma’s upgraded Nkandla homestead were constructed by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation at a cost of R4.2 million, it emerged on Sunday.

A further R650,000 had come from the South African Breweries (SAB), the department said.

The pitches and a tennis court, just a stone’s throw from Zuma’s home – controversially upgraded to the tune of more than R200m – had been assumed to be part of the upgrade undertaken by the Department of Public Works.

The green soccer fields are highly visible when approaching the Zuma homestead from Kranskop.

The pitches are emblazoned with KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation slogans urging young people to stay off booze. They are separated by a fence from 10 security cottages built outside Zuma’s home.

A spokesman for the department, Mluleki Mntungwa, said: “Initially, the site that was identified for the construction of the project was Lindela, which is approximately 7km from the president’s house. But the surveyor deemed the site not suitable for the construction of this project. The community, led by a local inkosi, identified the current site. The construction began in 2011.”

Mntungwa said the project had been initiated after his department had received a request from local people.

“Once completed it is going to be utilised by the entire community,” he said, adding that the department had entered into a partnership with SAB to construct the facilities.

“Other facilities of this nature have been constructed in uMbumbulu (completed), KwaNxamalala (completed, waiting for second phase) and Engome in Umvoti (completed),” he said.

Mntungwa said the project consisted of two phases, the first being earthworks, fencing and drainage.

“We are now on phase two. Once completed, the project will be handed over to the municipality. A service agreement has been signed with the municipality for the maintenance of the infrastructure.”

Early this year, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said the government had spent R206m in public funds on security and operational requirements at Zuma’s home, including R71m on security.

- The Mercury

Judy Sexwale won’t back down

Judy Sexwale isn’t backing down on claims that her husband Tokyo turned her into a punch bag, subjecting her to emotional, mental and verbal abuse during their marriage.

Speaking through her lawyer on Sunday, the woman who fell in love with the human settlements minister while he was still incarcerated on Robben Island said she stood by her statement whose details were published in The Star on Friday.

Judy’s lawyer, Beverly Clark, said on Sunday that her client “stands by the contents of her affidavit, which is a document deposed to under oath. The facts will, if necessary, be fully ventilated in court.”

In an e-mail on Sunday, Clark also said “Mrs Sexwale does not want to get into a public argument or slanging match with either her husband or his attorney”.

“She also does not believe the history of the marriage is a matter for public consumption. Mrs Sexwale remains hopeful that the parties will settle the matter in an amicable and dignified fashion for the sake of their children,” the lawyer said.

The Star first reported on a rule 24 application Judy had brought before Johannesburg High Court Judge Ramarumo Monama on Thursday.

In the application, Judy accused Tokyo of trying to hide from her the wealth they had amassed since their marriage in 1993.

She said all their assets, including two trust funds, should be divided equally between them because they were married in community of property.

But, being a “control freak”, Tokyo had kept all information relating to their financial affairs from her, despite the fact that she was a trustee of The Family Trust Fund, Judy said in the papers before court.

“(He) has been controlling and secretive in relation to financial affairs. Since the formation of the family trust, and at all times thereafter, the first defendant… exercised effective control of it…

“He took all major decisions, with scant regard of the wishes of other trustees,” she said.

Judy also wants a house worth no less than R70 million; R3m to furnish it; a new car worth no less than R1m every five years; and R150 000 a month in maintenance, in addition to the equal division of their wealth.

She also wants R50 000 a month for each of their two adult children – all of which must be increased every year by the rate of inflation.

The minister currently earns R1.8m a year, or R150 000 a month. He also has considerable business interests, having quit politics at some point to focus his energies on building a business empire.

Tokyo instituted the divorce proceedings on October 2 last year, claiming in his summons that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.

Judy then made the abuse claim in an affidavit amended to her rule 24 application papers.

“There have been problems in the marriage which the parties have been unable to resolve, including but not limited to (the minister) having subjected the (wife) to physical, verbal, mental and emotional abuse and cruelty,” she said in her affidavit.

But Tokyo, who is represented by celebrity divorce lawyer Billy Gundelfinger, denies the claims.

“Mr Sexwale rejects as false the allegations made relating to his conduct. The allegations will be fully ventilated during court proceedings,” Tokyo’s spokesman, Chris Vick, said in an e-mail on Sunday.

* When The Star published the story on Friday, names or any identifying details were omitted.

 Pending the outcome of the judge president’s review of the matter, we had elected to respect the laws governing divorce in South Africa, thereby not naming the parties involved.

- The Star

Two killed in shack fire

Strand - Two Zimbabwean men burnt to death in a shack fire at the Llwandle informal settlement in Strand, the City of Cape Town said on Monday.

“The local authorities have notified their families in Cape Town and in Zimbabwe regarding their tragic death. The circumstances surrounding the occurrence are unclear,” said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He identified the men as Elliot Zuzu, 28, and David Chinyanga, 35.

Solomons-Johannes said the 33 people were left homeless after a fire ripped through the settlement on Saturday.

There had been fires also at Bishop Lavis and Parkwood. No injuries were reported.

He said the disaster response teams assisted 60 people displaced by the fire with food parcels, blankets, baby packs, clothing and building material. - Sapa

Ex-residents return to District Six

Cape Town - They were forcibly removed and their homes demolished in a process that started 47 years ago today.

On Monday morning, about 80 former District Six residents will return to where their houses once stood to reflect on their difficult journey to restitution.

District Six was declared a White Group Area on February 11, 1966. For many, this date signalled the beginning of the destruction of a close-knit community. Families were forcibly removed by the apartheid government and “dumped” on the Cape Flats, including in Bonteheuwel, Mitchells Plain, Langa and Khayelitsha.

On Monday, former residents will go on a “remembrance walk”, starting at the District Six Museum at 11am and ending at the District Six Homecoming Centre, both on Buitenkant Street. “The 47th anniversary is all about holding on to the legacy of District Six, but letting go of the evils of the Native Land Act,” said Bonita Bennett, the director of the District Six Museum and organiser of the walk.

“It’s been a difficult journey for people. They are still waiting for their houses.

“This event allows for them to reflect, revisit the site, and gives government and the District Six redevelopment task team the opportunity to update ex-residents on the restitution process.”

District Six is being redeveloped, managed by the District Six redevelopment task team, headed by the regional Land Claims Commission and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

Claimants were given a full picture of the redevelopment plan at a public exhibition at Trafalgar High School in December 2011.

The redevelopment was expected to be completed towards the end of next year.

In April 2011, during a visit to the site, President Jacob Zuma announced that 2 670 former inhabitants would be returned to the area by 2014. The restitution has spanned more than a decade as claimants have been listed and their claims verified. Some have died waiting to return to the homes they were forced out of.

It will cost about R7 billion to turn the 42 hectares of District Six into a mix of claimants’ housing, commercial and office space, and extra rental housing.

Michael Worsnip, the chief director of restitution support at the regional Land Claims Commission, said they were on track to deliver the houses by the president’s 2014 deadline. “I’m not saying that every last one of the claimants will move in by 2014, but there is an eye on the ball as far as that goes.”

Worsnip said a special-purpose vehicle would be launched in July to drive the process forward.

About Monday’s walk, Bennett said that, as had become a tradition, ex-residents would bring stones from the areas to which they were displaced and walk with these to Hanover Street, where a cairn had evolved from the annual commemorative act.

- Cape Argus

How many homes does the Minister of Human Settlements need?

Tokyo Sexwale’s courtship of Judy van Vuuren began with smuggled love notes and secret games of footsie in the political prisoners’ camp and ended, a year before South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, with their marriage.

But 20 years to the day, it has emerged that their union has dissolved in acrimony and the stage is set for one of the biggest and most sensational divorce trials in the Rainbow Nation’s history.

Mr - My People the Poor - Sexwale, who has risen to become one of the country’s richest men through oil and diamond interests and the Human Settlements Minister in Jacob Zuma’s cabinet, has filed for divorce in Johannesburg.

Mrs Sexwale has responded with an affidavit accusing her husband, with whom she has two children aged 19 and 20, of "physical, verbal, mental and emotional abuse and cruelty".

According to her lawyer, the marriage has been over for some time but 10 months ago, she moved into a hotel.

Mr - My Houses Rock - Sexwale is meanwhile said to have been dividing his time between the couple’s mansions –

1. two in Johannesburg including 
2. one around the corner from former president Nelson Mandela, 
3. one in the exclusive Cape Town seaside suburb of Clifton and 
4. another in the wine producing town of Franschhoek. 
5. The couple also own a game farm in the North West Province and 
6. an island off the coast of Mozambique.

Mrs Sexwale's lawyer, Beverley Clark, said her client was “devastated” at the breakdown of her marriage.

In the heady post-apartheid 90s, the Sexwales featured regularly in the social pages of glossy magazines and newspapers. One columnist described them as a "gem of a couple" and praised Mrs Sexwale’s fashion sense.

“It was a great love story – he was the love of her life,” Mrs Clark said.

The lawyer said her client had preferred to reach a settlement with Mr Sexwale in "an entirely discreet and dignified manner".

But as whispers and Twitter speculation grew this week as to the identity of the senior minister whose marriage had landed in the divorce courts, Mr Sexwale issued a statement to South Africa’s Sunday Times confirming he was involved.

Professor Billy Gundelfinger, a celebrity divorce lawyer who last made world headlines through his representation of Shrien Dewani, the British businessman accused of staging a professional hit on his wife during their honeymoon in Cape Town, told the paper that Mr Sexwale rejected as "false" the allegations made by his wife relating to his conduct.

Mr Gundelfinger added that it was regrettable that Mrs Sexwale, whom he described as "a wealthy woman", should be claiming that she was receiving insufficient maintenance payments from her estranged husband.

Court papers show she is seeking a R70-million (49m GBP) house, R3 million to furnish it, a new R1 million car every five years and monthly maintenance of R150,000 (10,000 GBP).

She claims that Mr Sexwale has been "controlling and secretive" about his financial affairs in a bid to deny her a fair share of their wealth.

Representatives of Mr Sexwale could not be reached for comment.

- The Telegraph