Nkandla upgrades 'could' be tabled in Parliament... but will we ever know...

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi has proposed that a report on upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence be tabled before a Parliamentary committee that deals with national security matters.

He says this is due to the sensitive nature of the matter. However, he says he's requested the Speaker of the National Assembly to advise on the appropriate manner of tabling the report for a debate.

Nxesi's given a written reply to a Parliamentary question from DA Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko. He says appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against all those found guilty of wrong-doing related to expenditure on the Nkandla upgrades.

- SABC

‘Some people were armed with pangas’

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has condemned an attack on six city officials in Kanana informal settlement in Gugulethu last Thursday.

Lawrence Grootboom, manager of the injured officials, said that a group of about 30 service providers were on their way to service toilets when they were attacked.

He said Sanitech workers were dismissed from their jobs last Monday after three weeks of labour unrest.

About 20 former Sanitech employees and a few members of the community, armed with weapons including pangas, appeared as the team from the city arrived.

“They saw our guys coming in there and felt they were taking money out of their hands. They attacked as soon as they started servicing.”

According to Grootboom, one official narrowly escaped having his head chopped off by a panga, but lost parts of several fingers. Others sustained injuries to their shoulders, backs, and heads. One official, who had jumped into a van to flee, got his foot stuck in the door and was badly hurt. Six were taken to hospital and were discharged on Friday. A municipal vehicle and cleaning equipment was set on fire during the attack.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille’s spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the city was considering laying charges.

Grootboom said that when the city had told the community that workers would be servicing the area, community leaders had given the go-ahead for the plan.

The workers were in official city uniforms and clearly not working for a private company. - Cape Argus

Public Works' rejects PAIA request on Nkandla - Anchen Dreyer

DA appeals Public Works' rejection of PAIA request on Nkandla

The Department of Public Works has failed to respond to the DA's Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request for information relating to the Auditor-General's audit findings on construction at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead. According to PAIA, the failure of the Department to respond to our PAIA application amounts to a rejection of the request. The DA has lodged an appeal to have the request reconsidered.

In October last year, the A-G presented his audit findings to the Public Works Portfolio Committee. In this presentation, the A-G said that he is in possession of detailed information on Nkandlagate which he does not plan to release to the committee.

The DA subsequently submitted a PAIA application to gain access to this information.

In terms of PAIA, if the request has not been responded to within 30 days then access must be considered refused. We have therefore lodged an internal appeal in terms of section 75 of the Act.

The A-G's report on the Nkandla expenditure would not in any way have security implications, it would simply detail how this exorbitant amount of money was spent by the Department of Public Works on the President's private residence.

The public have a right to know how their money is spent and this should not be hidden from scrutiny.

It is time to stop the secrecy and reveal the details now.

Statement issued by Anchen Dreyer MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Works, April 28 2013

The buckets don't stop here: Toilet trials and tribulations in the Cape

For the past nine months photographer David Harrison has been documenting sanitation issues in the informal settlements around Khayelitsha.

Khayelitsha is reputed to be one of the fastest growing partially informal areas in South Africa and, despite some improvement, the situation is still dire. In Khayelitsha, going to the toilet means putting your life at risk.

It is early morning and in the dim light I walk carefully along the narrow stretch of grass and sand that runs between the shacks of Khayelitsha Site C and the N2 highway. 

I find myself in the middle of an open latrine with faeces in varying states of decomposition all around me. An overwhelming smell assaults my senses; I struggle to fight my gag reflex. 

Cars rush past to my right as the morning traffic heads into the city. 

• View slideshow: Cape Town's dirty secret

To my left Site C residents emerge through broken gaps in the concrete pillar barrier that separates their shacks from the road. Many are carrying buckets containing "dirty water" accumulated in their shacks during the previous night, which they throw out on to the ground, hesitantly once they spot me.

A young boy walks past me followed by his twin brother. They are wearing matching shirts and shorts, both are barefoot. They each find an open piece of ground, squat and relieve themselves.

A woman standing in an opening in the concrete barrier calls out and asks me what I am doing. 

I explain my presence and why I hope taking photographs could help to make a difference. 

"Lots of people come to take photos," she says. "Still nothing changes."

Sewerage infrastructure

The City of Cape Town spends nearly 60% of its direct service delivery budget in poorer areas and has doubled the number of toilets delivered to informal settlements to more than 34 000 for the 2011-2012 financial year. It has also increased the budget for the provision of sewerage infrastructure and the provision of water, yet despite this, for large numbers of people living in informal settlements, there are still limited options when it comes to sanitation and it may indeed seem as though little changes.  

In September last year I started documenting sanitation issues around Khayelitsha. I've tried to understand and document some of the issues and problems faced by so many people living there without basic services and proper sanitation. 

I've seen how few properly working toilets there are in some communities and how far away many toilets are. Many communities don't have any access to flushing toilets at their homes. They must use either the blue plastic chemical toilets or portable toilets.

In extreme cases, going to the toilet might literally mean risking your life. Khayelitsha has some of the highest crime statistics in the country, with violent crime on the increase, rape and murder rates being particularly high. 

Added to this is the breakdown of the relationship between communities in Khayelitsha and the South African Police Service. There is currently a commission of inquiry into the police. It was prompted by allegations of ineffectualness, incompetence and corruption. 

But there are steps being taken, seemingly in the right direction, as special programmes get up and running. Also, community-based organisations are getting involved. They advocate for better sanitation and hold the service providers and city officials accountable.

Sitting in the rain one evening last year looking out over RR Section in Khayelitsha and the heavily polluted waterway that runs through the middle of the settlement, it was easy to see how there would be a sanitation problem there. 

Infant deaths

Just like so many other informal settlements nearby, it is in a low-lying area, prone to flooding, densely populated, and has little infrastructure and few basic services.

Residents don't have their own toilets. There are rows of flushing toilets, but the blue plastic chemical toilets and the portable toilet system are also in use. I have seen standpipes, which provide water to the community, that are located right next the toilets. They become a focal point for the community and young children regularly play in these areas, often barefoot.

Water samples taken from around RR Section show high levels of raw sewerage and of E.coli bacteria, which are responsible for diarrhoea. Khayelitsha reportedly has the highest rate of diarrhoea-related infant deaths of all districts in Cape Town.

In 2008 the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) was formed in RR Section. When the organisation heard testimonies of people who had been raped or had family members murdered while they walked long distances to use a toilet it started to focus on sanitation issues in Cape Town's informal settlements.

In 2010 the SJC launched its clean and safe sanitation campaign, which has, with the City of Cape Town's help, seen the introduction of a janitorial service project for flushing toilets. Now in its second and more successful phase, more flushing toilets are being constructed where conditions allow. 

City of Cape Town councillor Ernest Sonnenberg, the member on the mayoral committee responsible for utility services, has said that the city tries to provide these flushing toilets where possible. But he says topographical constraints, servitudes, land ownership issues and technical hindrances such as population density often make this impractical. When this happens, alternatives such as chemical or portable toilets are used. 

Nomlungisi Qezo lives with her three children in RR Section and is also a member of the SJC. Until a month ago she and her family used a portable toilet in an outhouse that she built on the side of her shack. A number of flushing toilets have recently been built in RR. Qezo and her family now have access to one not far from their home. 

"I'm so proud of SJC because without the clean and safe campaign this wouldn't have happened," she says. "I'm safe if I want to go the toilet late at night or early in the morning; we're seeing an improvement here."

Temporary services

I join Qezo and members of the SJC on their door-to-door campaign to get new members and begin new branches throughout the areas where services are still lacking. 

We go to Ndlovini, another informal settlement in Khayelitsha. The campaigners are well versed in the issues confronting the communities – they face the same challenges.

"These people still haven't got proper toilets", says Qezo. "But we'll fight for them."

Axolile Notywala, a researcher with the SJC, says: "There is still a lot that needs to be done because there are many people who still have to use the chemical or portable toilets. There are many areas that still need flushing toilets."

He believes that, because authorities see many informal settlements as being temporary, only temporary services are provided. These end up being used for years in some 

cases. Maintenance of these services is also a major problem.

"The city's janitorial project is having an effect in the communities in which residents are employed to clean the rows of flushing toilets, but there is a long way to go because people reporting issues often have to wait months before problems are attended to," he says.

This week, the SJC will be involved in a social audit in RR Section and other informal communities in Khayelitsha, where community members will learn to be involved in the monitoring of the performance of sanitation service providers. 

Notywala says: "We want communities to empower themselves through information, to hold service providers responsible."

Lack of access 

Community members will be involved in monitoring the chemical toilet service provider in this programme.

The social audit system has been pioneered successfully in India, where, despite early resistance, it's become an important mechanism to address corruption and strengthen accountability in government service delivery there. Along with other SJC members, Qezo has been going door to door again, getting residents involved in gathering information and ensuring the service provider is held to account. 

"We need to know if the service provider has built the chemical toilets properly on a concrete base, otherwise they're not safe," she says. "We need to know how often the toilets are being cleaned and what chemicals are being used. We also need to know about the possible side effects of these chemicals."

Residents are supposed to report any issues they have with chemical toilets to a specific service provider community liaison officer, but they can report problems directly to the City of Cape Town if they're not attended to.

There is a toll-free number that city officials made available at a community meeting this week. The problem is that there aren't any payphones in this community to make the call from.

Although there are flushing toilets in many informal communities around Cape Town, in Khayelitsha there are still people who use buckets overnight because of safety concerns. And many people still use the open bush because of a lack of access to clean and working toilets.

Near the N2 highway the twins walk back through the concrete barrier into Site C and disappear into the sea of shacks. Just another day; just part of their normal routine.

- M&G

Cape Town's dirty secret

Please click on these words to see the shit!

or read the Mayor's .... 

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Patricia de Lille ‏@PatriciaDeLille10h

In Khayelitsha with the national Deputy Minister of Human Settlements for the launch of Sanitation and Hygiene Week.

DA under attack over cost of stadium

Cape Town - Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson has admitted that the city was suspicious about the high costs for the construction of Cape Town Stadium, but said the city had to carry on to meet the deadline to complete the R4.5 billion venue for the World Cup.

On Wednesday the DA in council came under attack from the ANC over a “lack of political oversight” over the finances during the construction of the stadium. Council was asked to approve the appointment of a law firm and a team of experts for R4 million to investigate how much money the city could recover if the Competition Commission finds companies involved guilty of collusion and bid rigging.

Neilson admitted: “We were very suspicious from the beginning. We were particularly concerned when we got to the sub-contracts, where prices came in twice as high than we expected. The city didn’t just sit back, we looked for other contractors… but in the end the city had to proceed because the deadline to complete was upon us.”

Mayco recommended the appointment of Adams & Adams, a law firm specialising in competition law, to investigate possible damages the city could claim.

In a memorandum to the city, Adams & Adams said: “The Competition Commission’s view is that the information and documentation they have received provides strong evidence in support of allegations of collusions and bid-rigging in respect of the construction of the Cape Town Stadium.” The law firm will appoint a team of specialists including forensic auditors and construction industry specialists to calculate the damages the city could recover.

The city has notified the Competition Commission of its formal status as a complainant in the case.

As a complainant the city can negotiate a settlement if contractors admit to flouting competition law in the construction of the stadium.

Earlier this year, the Hawks revealed that top construction companies had illegally rigged contracts worth billions of rand. The Hawks said their investigation disclosed details of a “decades-long, formal kickback and price-fixing racket that allegedly involved prominent names in the industry”. Some of the companies said to be involved in the bid-rigging are Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO), Stefanutti Stocks, Murray & Roberts, Group Five, Concor, and Aveng.

The Competition Commission is also investigating possible tender-rigging by the companies related to contracts worth at least R30bn, including the Cape Town Stadium.

ANC chief whip Xolani Sotashe said: “It is very interesting to listen to the deputy mayor on the lack of political oversight over the finances of the institution. That was the role of the deputy mayor.”

The recommendation for council to approve the team of experts to quantify damages also included the establishment of a mayoral sub-committee to report on progress in the matter. Sotashe added: “We are going to waste R4m of ratepayers’ money for something that should never have happened.”

- Cape Times

Nkandla probe almost complete: protector

The investigation into the multi-million rand upgrade of President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead is almost complete, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said on Wednesday.

"We are 90 percent done," she told reporters in Pretoria.

"The field work is virtually concluded and the written report is 90 percent done."

Madonsela was waiting for information from outstanding sources.

"The report should be complete in the next couple of weeks," she said.

"We shouldn't go beyond May 24... if we get information expeditiously."

Madonsela said the Nkandla case involved more parties and was more complicated than the case involving Communications Minister Dina Pule.

"This case [involving Pule] was slightly simpler and less complex... and may be finalised faster than the Nkandla one," she said.

The Protector is investigating Pule's role in the ICT Indaba scandal, following reports that R25 million raised by sponsors for the event could not be accounted for.

Madonsela said Pule's claim that the Sunday Times was involved in a smear and blackmail campaign against her would have no bearing on the investigation.

"The minister's comment is not going impact on the investigation.... We have a framework to follow," she said.

"What she has said has no implications..., because we interview people who were involved in the matter at ICT and not journalists."

On Monday, Pule called a press briefing and announced she would be approaching the Press Ombudsman to complain about a series of articles written about her by the newspaper.

She alleged that business people linked to the newspaper had a vested interest in trying to secure a multi-billion rand set-top-box tender and were willing to do anything to get it.

Set-top-boxes are required for the move from analogue to digital television broadcasting.

Pule said high-profile business people and politicians had tried to force her to make decisions in their favour.

She detailed several stories written about her which, she claimed, sought to project her as a corrupt minister who was easily bribed with a pair of shoes, and who gave tenders to a boyfriend, meddled in tender processes, and interfered in the appointment of officials.

She also accused journalists of having links to business interests.

       

-Sapa 

Shack dwellers ‘living in filth’

Kayamandi - A little over a month after a fire destroyed hundreds of shacks and left thousands homeless in Kayamandi outside Stellenbosch, the community has all but rebuilt itself. Yet, residents have complained that they have faced a chronic lack of solid waste removal since the fire.

Resident Vuyo Ngxubaza said her queries to the municipality had initially fallen on deaf ears.

Now the municipality has apparently responded to her by explaining there was only one refuse truck serving a large area, and they were working on fixing this.

“I’m very disappointed because I thought that there would be a better explanation than that,” Ngxubaza said.

“There are dump sites that haven’t been cleaned in over a month. This, after a garbage truck used to come two or three times a week in 2012.”

Resident Bulelwa Masanini said she was also disappointed.

Municipality spokesman Vernon Bowers said he would follow up the community complaints, adding merely that “Kayamandi is cleaned more often than other parts of Stellenbosch”.

Queries to the municipality’s waste removal section were referred back to Bowers. He elaborated on what the municipality had achieved in terms of aid and relief after the fire.

He said 28 000 meals, 1 357 housing kits, security, and the replacement of lost identity documents had been sponsored by the municipality. The efforts cost the municipality close to R14 million, he added.

“Stellenbosch Municipality cleans Kayamandi, which includes Zone O, twice a week. We are engaging the community of Zone O to attend to their claims. Our approach to complaints about service delivery matters is to resolve any challenges by working with the community,” said Bowers.

Another resident, Nelson Mayezana, said he had been through similar fires before and he was impressed with the municipality’s response to this one.

“The building materials they gave us were particularly welcome,” he said.

- Cape Argus

Protesters throw stones on N2 highway

Cape Town - More than 70 people burnt tyres and threw stones at passing cars on the N2 highway during a service delivery protest in Cape Town on Thursday, Western Cape police said.

Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said police received information about the protest at 7am.

The protesters were primarily from Langa and Philippi East.

Kinana said police dispersed the protesters. However, they later began protesting on Lansdowne Road.

“No injuries were reported and police are monitoring the situation,” he said.

- Sapa

'Anomalies in Nkandla report'

CAPE TOWN - Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin on Wednesday said they want the findings of a preliminary investigation into upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home brought to Parliament as soon as possible.

He said a number of irregularities like overcharging were picked up in the probe.

The public protector's investigation into the multi-million rand upgrades is also nearly complete.

Cronin told the media the report must come before Parliament.

“The problem is we can’t break the law, even if it’s an apartheid law. It’s covered by the National Key Point Legislation, that’s our dilemma in wanting to be as transparent as we can around the matter.”

Cronin said the initial findings were serious.

“I have not seen the report because the minister is dealing with it. However, according to the preliminary findings, there are serious anomalies in terms of the numbers, overcharging and variation of costs. The minister has asked the SIU [Special Investigating Unit] to look into the matter.”

The Nkandla upgrades cost around R200 million and Zuma maintains his family members will foot the bill.

An investigation conducted by the Public Works Ministry in January found no evidence of state funds being irregularly used for the upgrades.

According to the report, R71 million was spent directly on security features such as bulletproof windows, security fencing, evacuation mechanisms and firefighting equipment.

A further R135 million was spent on operational costs incurred by state departments involved in the upgrade. 

- EWN

Cape braces for rain, high winds

Cape Town - The city’s disaster risk management centre is on high alert as the Western Cape braces for a cold front accompanied by heavy rains and gale force winds.

Disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said supporting disaster response agencies and public safety authorities were “prepared and ready” as heavy downpours hit Cape Town on Tuesday night, and were forecast to continue on Wednesday and tomorrow.

“It is likely that the expected heavy rainfall will cause localised flooding across the Cape Peninsula,” Solomons-Johannes said.

“This may be exacerbated by the fact that the water table in the Cape Flats is already very high as a result of recent rains.”

The city’s disaster team was hard at work on Tuesday at informal settlements in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, cleaning stormwater drains of blockages caused by mud and sand, among other things, said Solomons-Johannes.

“We are also clearing paths for emergency service access.”

SA Weather Service forecaster and meteorologist Henning Grobler said the cold front would be accompanied by “on and off” rain showers.

“Heavy rainfall of 50mm is expected in the Cape Town metro and Overberg. There is a small chance of flooding. The rain will start clearing by tomorrow morning. Fine and sunny conditions are expected over the weekend,” Grobler said.

A resident of Europe informal settlement in Gugulethu, Sinezwi Radebe, said the community was preparing for the winter months.

The informal settlement is one of many in the city that is seriously affected by flooding every year.

Radebe said residents had started digging trenches outside their homes to allow for easy water flow.

“That’s all we can do for now. We have to wait for it to see what damage the rain will cause. Usually it’s bad, with water seeping into our shacks from the roof and the floor,” he said.

The SA Weather Service has also warned of gale-force north-westerly winds travelling at 70km/h between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas. Rough seas with waves of 4-6m are expected between Table Bay and Cape Agulhas and Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay on Wednesday.

In cases of emergency, dial 107 from a landline, or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone. Dial 0860 103 089 for flooding, blocked drains and service disruptions.

How to weather wet and wild conditions

The city’s tips to residents to prevent wind and fire damage to their homes:

* Install straps or additional clips to your roof to secure it to the frame structure, in order to prevent roof damage.

* Trim trees and shrubs around your home.

* Protect windows and doors with covers or wind shutters.

* Reinforce double entry doors.

* Secure metal siding and metal roofs.

* Brace gable-end roof framing.

* Ensure adequate insurance cover for possible storm damage.

* Exercise extreme caution in mountainous areas.

* Keep a watchful eye on open flames and extinguish them before going to bed (including candles, lamps and paraffin stoves)

- Cape Argus

Reveal Nkandla contracts: IFP

Confidential Nkandla agreements between Bonelela Construction Enterprises and the department of public works must be disclosed, the IFP said on Monday.

"Millions of rands worth of tenders were awarded to Bonelela Construction Enterprise in the recent upgrade of President [Jacob] Zuma's homestead in Nkandla," Inkatha Freedom Party MP Petros Sithole said in a statement.

"It is alleged that Bonelela Construction Enterprise sub-contracted to Zuma family members, who undertook many work projects at the private homestead."

The Sunday Times reported that court documents filed in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg spelled out an abandoned liquidation dispute between a contractor which was hired for the state-funded project and sub-contracted creditors, which were owed more than R5 million.

Thandeka Nene, the sole director of Bonelela Construction Enterprise and Projects, reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement in February with 23 creditors who provided services for the project at Nkandla.

According to the report, the documents showed that more than 34 villagers in Nkandla, some of them close relatives of the president, were hired and paid about R75 a day by Nene.

Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj declined to comment and referred all questions to the department, the newspaper reported.

The public works department reportedly said Minister Thulas Nxesi was on public record as saying that issues pertaining to Nkandla were under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit.

Sithole said awarding tenders to Bonelela had to be investigated to see if proper processes were followed.

- Sowetan

Row over Nkandla documents

The Department of Public Works has contradicted reports that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s investigation into Nkandla was being delayed because it failed to hand over key documents.

Madonsela’s office had indicated at the weekend that the investigation into President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead would take longer than expected because it awaited key documents.

A spokesman for the public protector, Oupa Segalwe, was quoted as saying they were still waiting for the Public Works Department to provide crucial documents.

Public Works spokesman Sabelo Mali said the department had co-operated with the office of the public protector at all times.

“When the department was requested to provide documents relating to the Nkandla project, the department duly complied with the request and subsequent further requests. We have provided the public protector with all the documents in the department’s possession in relation to the matter,” said Mali.

He said the department had several correspondences with the office of the public protector on the matter, including answering questions of clarity to assist the investigation.

Segalwe clarified his statement on Monday, saying he was not referring to the Department of Public Works specifically, but to the “state”.

He said he never said the Department of Public Works was the department responsible for the delay.

“We need to correct that. We are still waiting for the state, and the documents are not from them.

“We are in no position to say which department,” said Segalwe.

Madonsela’s report into Nkandla is being eagerly awaited, especially after the department’s own probe found that that there was no evidence that public money was spent on Zuma’s private residence.

The report found that no “house belonging to the president was built with public money”.

The investigation revealed, however, that 15 service providers including consultants were contracted by the Department of Public Works to render services ranging from bulletproof windows to security fence construction and many other services.

It recommended that in view of the supply chain irregularities found by the task team, the report would be referred to the law enforcement agencies, including the Special Investigation Unit, the auditor- general and the police with the view of instituting criminal proceedings.

- Political Bureau

Danish gov to the rescue - Joe Slovo settlement to go solar

Cape Town - More than 2600 new homes in Joe Slovo settlement in Cape Town will be fitted with solar-powered geysers, the human settlements department announced on Thursday.

The multi-million rand project, which would be funded by the Danish government, was launched by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

“(The households) will receive solar-powered geysers as part of government’s programme to create better living conditions for residents of the former Joe Slovo informal settlement,” the department said in a statement.

“The units will be fitted with 2639 solar geysers at a cost of R18 million.”

It said the houses had been specifically designed to accommodate the water-heating equipment. - Sapa

Zuma's Nkandla Home Gets More Money Than All Gap-Market Housing Combined

Reports that the Department of Human Settlements' Gap Market Housing Scheme has only assisted 274 households is an injustice to the millions of South Africans who are its intended beneficiaries.

I will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Beauty Dambuza, and request that Minister Tokyo Sexwale be summoned to Parliament to account for his Department and ensure that the programme reaches as many South Africans as possible.

In his 2012 State of the Nation Address, President Zuma said that a R1 billion guarantee fund would be available for people in the gap market, i.e. those earning between R3 500 and R15 000, to obtain credit to buy houses.

However, it's been reported that only 112 households benefitted from the scheme during the 2010/2011 financial year and 162 in 2011/2012. Furthermore, only 57 of the 835 applications during the 2012/2013 year were successful.

Between April and December last year, the Department of Human Settlements had committed a paltry R126 million budget to the programme but only R70 million has been used to date.

This is significantly less than the R206 million which is being spent on the upgrade of President Zuma's private residence in Nkandla. It represents a serious lack of priority by government on alleviating poverty and helping those in desperate need of state assistance, and inadvertently sends the message to South Africans that one man is more important than the millions of South Africans who lack decent housing.

It is high time the Department got its priorities right. The DA will do everything possible to ensure that this happens.

Stevens Mokgalapa, DA Spokesperson on Human Settlements - allAfrica

Unclear which dept is probing Nkandla

It still remains unclear which state department is holding up the investigation into the Nkandlagate scandal but Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's office said on Tuesday it plans to release a preliminary report at the end of this month.

The Public Protector office confirmed over the weekend that Madonsela was still awaiting crucial documents from government before she wraps up her investigation into the Presidential homestead.

Government has spent more than R200 million on consultants and security upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead, using taxpayer's money.

The Public Protector is remaining mum on which department has been keeping crucial documents from investigators and also won't say which documents are still outstanding.

Both the Presidency and the Department of Public Works have been fingered as the culprits by various media houses.

The Presidency has refused to comment on these allegations.

According to the Public Protector office’s Kgalalelo Masibi the report is expected to be released soon.

“The investigation is at an advanced stage the Public Protector hopes to release a provisional report by the end of April this year.”

Meanwhile the Justice Department's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has failed to start their own investigation into the matter.

- Eyewitness News

Mandela’s Company Directors Fight Daughters’ Bid to Oust Them

South African Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale and lawyers George Bizos and Bally Chuene opposed an application to remove them as directors from two companies started by Nelson Mandela.

Makaziwe Mandela and Zenani Dlamini, the daughters of South Africa’s first black president, filed papers with the High Court in Johannesburg on April 9 to have the three men removed, their law firm Norton Rose said in an e-mailed statement today.

“We are instructed to record our clients’ complete rejection of the scurrilous allegations made by the applicants in their papers,” Norton Rose said. Sexwale, Chuene and Bizos, an anti-apartheid lawyer who represented Mandela at his 1964 trial for sabotage and conspiracy, were “were identified by Mr Mandela and were in due course lawfully appointed,” it said.

Mandela’s daughters want the men removed as directors from Harmonieux Investment Holdings and Magnifique Investment Holdings, which have generated about 15 million rand ($1.7 million) in revenue from the rights to Mandela’s handprints, the Johannesburg-based Star newspaper reported today.

Mandela, 94, is recovering from a lung infection at his Johannesburg home after spending 10 days in a hospital in the capital, Pretoria.

- Bloomberg

Stadium’s running costs a mystery

Cape Town - The real cost of running Cape Town Stadium appears to be a mystery as financial reports purport that the venue, built for the 2010 World Cup, has recorded a loss of nearly R300-million over a period of three years.

But city officials were quick to point out on Sunday that the figures in the report - signed by both executive director for events in the city Anton Groenewald and the mayoral committee member for the portfolio responsible, Grant Pascoe - may be incorrect.

According to councillor Yagyah Adams, who serves on the city’s finance portfolio committee, the stadium - which cost over R4-billion to build - had losses of more than the R44.6-million a year the city initially reported.

Using figures from a report released at a committee meeting held last Friday, Adams calculated that the operating cost of the stadium from the end of 2009 until June 2013 was projected to be more than R300-million. In contrast, the income generated from the end of 2009 to February 2013 was a mere R35-million.

Chairperson of the Green Point Ratepayers and Residents Association, Bob Goebel, said that if the figures were correct, it was “frightening”. He added that he could not comment without confirming the in- formation and consulting other members of the association.

Deputy mayor Ian Nielson’s office has responded by saying the figures were incorrect and should have been withdrawn.

When questioned on what the correct figures were, the office was unable to respond. It was also unable to explain why the incorrect figures were allowed to circulate and why they had not yet been formally withdrawn.

Kevin Jacoby, chief financial officer for the City of Cape Town, said the financial results for the various financial years were presented in a manner that was unclear.

“It is not possible to determine the true operating results from the tables presented. In order to prevent any confusion... I will review the report and present (it) at the next finance portfolio committee (meeting).”

He added he could not confirm the released calculated operating costs.

“The stadium belongs to all the residents of Cape Town. As such we will continue to explore all avenues in order to make it benefit as many people as possible,” he said.

Mayoral committee member for tourism, events and marketing Grant Pascoe, who also signed off the report, was unable to comment at the time of going to print.

According to the director of the 2010 operations at the stadium, Lesley de Reuck, the report was “pulled back in order to make sure all the numbers were correct”.

However, Adams said he was alarmed by the amount of money wasted and how the meeting dealt with the flawed figures.

According to Adams, no formal withdrawal was made to him.

“We have not been told that the figures are incorrect. They said something may be wrong with them, but no resolution or further action was taken.”

The councillor believes that none of the relevant officials read the report before the meeting, as there were no objections until questions based on the figures in the report emerged.

“Based on the fact that the figures were described by the deputy mayor as inaccurate, what evidence is available to suggest that the figures bantered about in the past are correct?”

According to Adams, a senior finance manager publicly stated in the committee meeting that it was “impossible to unscramble an egg”, insinuating that it was impossible to determine what the stadium’s true cost.

Adams, who said he had been requesting the financial report for over a year, expressed concern about how the figures could be so grossly incorrect.

“What is apparent from this and the time that it took to compile the report is that only a few people actually know the true cost of the stadium expenditure,” he said.

* Concerts bring in loot for stadium

On the entertainment side, Cape Town Stadium has brought in a substantial amount of income by hosting many sold-out music events.

Massive sales were recorded for the Lady Gaga, U2, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts.

In addition, next month’s Justin Bieber concert is already sold out.

The stadium also hosted the Kings of Leon, Coldplay and Eagles concerts.

In 2011, the stadium showcased Premier Soccer League matches involving Ajax Cape Town, which drew 107 013 spectators over the season.

Bafana Bafana, has played to two full-house matches at the stadium this year, including a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

Other stadium income generators include film shoots and tours.

- Cape Argus

Protector needs more time for Nkandla investigation

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's office has indicated that the investigation into President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead will take longer to conclude than expected, according to a report on Monday.

The deadline was the end of March, but Oupa Segalwe, spokesman for the Public Protector, said on Sunday night that they were still waiting for the public works department to provide crucial documents, Beeld reported.

"We also underestimated the number of documents that we have to examine. We have to be comprehensive to complete our mandate properly."

According to Segalwe, negotiations are underway between the Public Protector and the department of public works to get the required documents.

Thulas Nxesi, minister of public works, said earlier that the government had spent R206 million on security upgrades and consultants at Zuma's private Nkandla home.

- Timeslive

Dodgy procurement costs R25bn every year

Tender corruption is adding up - ultimately affecting the poor.

South Africa loses about R25-billion each year to corruption in government procurement – think textbooks not arriving on time at schools, shoddily built RDP houses and tender-rigging. But the real victims are the poor and marginalised, who depend on these procured goods and services.

In 2011, Willie Homeyr, then head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) told Parliament that between R25-billion and R30-billion of the government’s procurement budget was lost to corruption; according to civil society activist Hennie van Vuuren, this is about 20% of the total procurement budget.

Corruption Watch has received 298 reports relating to corruption in public procurement and supply chain management and the question is whether these companies, awarded the tenders illegally, are able to provide the services tendered for? Take the Mvula Trust story and the Limpopo textbook saga – issues of procurement are clearly of concern. The harsh reality is that only a few people profit in these instances, as a result of corruption, and the majority, the intended beneficiaries, are the losers.

Education compromised

The lack of textbooks in Limpopo schools dominated the headlines in 2012, with many schools not receiving their education support material until well into the second-half of the academic year. The SIU report on the issue highlights irregularities and wasteful expenditure. The report, which was leaked to the Mail & Guardian, found that a R680-million contract was awarded to the politically connected EduSolutions for textbooks and educational material.

And the victims were again the disadvantaged – the pupils in the Limpopo schools. There are 5 297 schools in Limpopo and about 1.7 million students. Most of them were affected by the failure of the Department of Basic Education to deliver learning material. Section 27 has reported that in a group of 25 schools, 70% of grade 10 pupils failed the 2012 mid-year exams.

Trust used as front to get tender

Another case of the few benefiting on the backs of the majority is the Mvula Trust Community Work Programme (CWP). In January, a four-month investigation into the Mvula Trust by CW found tender irregularities worth R30-million. The Mvula Trust was used as a front for a company owned by an Mvula trustee. The CWP focuses on the creation of jobs for the poor – an initiative the trust has called “a South African success story”.

It has employed 30 000 citizens, and the goal is 54 000 people as part of the project. However, in March, dozens of CWP employees arrived at the organisation’s Braamfontein offices demanding their wages. They said they had not been paid for three to four months and could no longer afford to buy food, pay rent or take care of their children’s welfare.

On Thursday, about 500 CWP employees gathered at Joubert Park in Johannesburg to express their anger again about late payments and low salaries – they earn less than R600 a month. A co-ordinator from the CWP spoke about the frustration of not receiving adequate equipment to complete the jobs designed by the programme.

RDP waiting game

RDP housing is yet another example of how the marginalised have to bear the brunt of corruption. People around the country are cheated because of shoddy workmanship and graft in the construction of RDP houses. Last week, CW published a story about Naomi Genu, who applied for an RDP house in 2005. After six years she was notified that she would receive a home. Today Genu is still without her house.

This is the reality for many South Africans, who have been waiting for a promised house since 1994. A research report by the Housing Development Agency stated that 1 779 426 people lived in informal settlements; according to the General Household Survey of 2009, 458 00, or 38%, of people living in shacks had at least one member on the housing waiting list.

In her presentation to the portfolio committee on human settlements in February, public protector Thuli Madonsela outlined key observations on procurement corruption in the RDP housing sector. She noted that there had been an alleged irregular award of tenders, vetting of service providers, overbilling, false billing, and a lack of standardisation of houses.

In the reports relating to housing received by CW, corrupt public officials are alleged to have awarded tenders to companies to which they have some form of personal connection, or that the awarding of tenders may involve bribes being paid to officials by private commercial companies.

In 2012, the Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, said his department spent R400-million of the RDP housing budget to mend substandard houses built since 2002. He noted that 7 000 new houses could have been built with that money.

It was reported in 2011 that the SIU was investigating housing graft of R2-billion and that the unit was targeting five housing syndicates across the country. Sexwale said he was determined to root out “the incompetent shovel, wheelbarrow and bakkie brigade who line up for tenders only to cheat the poorest of the poor”.

The month of April signifies freedom and democracy for South Africa. In the past 19 years the country has made important and successful leaps, but looking back, one has to ask how it is possible that people are still living without adequate housing, education and jobs. It is the people who have nothing who stand to lose everything that should rightfully be theirs.

This article first appeared on Corruption Watch.

Kayamandi fire victims rebuild their lives

Cape Town - Residents have started rebuilding their lives after a devastating fire swept through a Stellenbosch informal settlement last month.

The blaze, in Kayamandi, Zone O, killed one person and left thousands homeless. It started in the early hours of March 14. Fanned by strong winds it spread through the tightly packed shacks.

The aftermath left 4 500 people homeless and destroyed 1 357 shacks, said Vernon Bowers, spokesman for the Stellenbosch municipality.

He said the fire was believed to have started when a paraffin stove was left unattended. The municipality had provided temporary shelter for residents in two community halls.

Bowers said residents had moved back to the informal settlement to start rebuilding their homes over the weekend.

“We have spent the past weeks cleaning and preparing the area. We are now working on the electrical network and ablution facilities, which will cost millions to repair,” he said.

“It’s an ongoing process. We’re not only working on getting things back to normal, we want to improve their lives and living conditions.”

When the Cape Argus visited the informal settlement on Wednesday, residents were hard at work. Most of them were using a mixture of building materials they salvaged from the fire and kits they received from the municipality to set up home again. The building kits include nails, corrugated sheets and wooden poles.

Resident Gents Silekala, 55, who started building his two-roomed shack on Sunday, said if it wasn’t for the help of local businesses, which donated some of the building materials, he would have had to build a smaller shack.

“It’s a struggle for us; we lost everything in the fire. The important thing right now is finishing the shack.”

Silekala has lived in the area for 10 years. “Since I’ve lived here we have had two fires. This was the bigger of the two. It was chaos that night. We tried to save what we could but the way the fire quickly spread from the bottom to the top… we couldn’t hang around in that heat,” said Silekala.

Around the corner from Silekala’s shack, Mwabisa Kala, 25, was putting the finishing touches to her home. Piles of clothing, pots and pans were littered around the two-roomed shack. Kaka was laying a mat on a muddy floor. She said water seeped through the floor when it rained.

- Cape Argus

One dead in Cape fires

Cape Town - A man died and others were left homeless in two Cape Town fires, a city official said on Wednesday.

A fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning killed Nkosibonile Tshangale in Philippi, disaster risk centre spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said.

He said Tshangale, in his early thirties, was apparently sleeping when the fire broke out at the School Yard informal settlement.

Neighbours tried to extinguish the flames of his shack but were unsuccessful. The police were investigating.

A second fire the same morning destroyed two shacks and damaged a house in Wallacedene.

“It is suspected that the fire was caused as a result of a lighted candle that overturned and ignited bedding in the shack,” Solomons-Johannes said. - Sapa

Government Is Gambling With Lives of Shack Dwellers

The increased number of deaths due to shack fires in the various Western Cape informal settlements is a clear indication that both the National and Western Cape governments are gambling with people's lives.

IFP Spokesperson on Human Settlements, Mr Petros Sithole MP said, "After 18 years of democracy, people are still living in filth and degradation. The Western Cape Government and the ANC led government must clarify whether people who are staying in shacks are being punished because they voted for the ANC nationally or whether national government is withholding resources because people voted for the DA in the Western Cape?"

"With winter fast approaching many people will be placing not only their own lives, but also the lives of their families and other residents of informal settlements at risk by lighting shack fires just to keep warm. This is unacceptable, especially when viewed in the light of the Department of Human Settlements having underspent on its allocated budget, while people are in dire need of housing," said Sithole.

- allAfrica

Family killed as home burns

Cape Town - A couple and their toddler burnt to death when their locked wendy house caught alight in Wesbank near Delft.

Mother Loretta Moos, 32, her two-year-old daughter, Haylee-Anne Moos, and boyfriend, Shaun Buys, 33, were killed in a fire that enveloped the wooden structure in Parsons Crescent late on Easter Sunday. The fire spread to two adjacent brick houses.

Neighbours and relatives had conflicting views about where and how the fire had started. Some said coals from an earlier potjiekos braai caused the fire while others speculated that it was an overturned candle.

The city’s Disaster Risk Management spokesman, Wilfred Solomons Johannes, said the cause of the fire had not been determined.

Police are investigating and have opened an inquest docket. Moos has two other children who live with their father in Mossel Bay. Moos’s mother, Anne Johnson, who also lives in Wesbank, was overcome with emotion on Monday.

She said her daughter usually locked the door with a chain and a lock on the inside. She believes a burning candle fell over in the wendy house, causing the fire. Her father, David Johnson, said: “We feel heartsore, but we have to accept it.”

Cathleen Coetzee, who owns the land on which the wendy house was situated, said that the family had been living there for about a month.

Coetzee’s brick house was also burnt and she has lost all her possessions. She said she woke around 9.40pm to find flames had spread across her house in strong winds.

On Monday, neighbours gathered to look at the remains.

Gilbert Thabani, who owned the wendy house, said he was woken by a knock on the door. He saw the flames coming through his room window.

Thabani and Coetzee did not know the family was inside and said they did not hear any screams.

“Some people came with buckets and some with (hose) pipes. But what shocked us was when the fire brigade came and then told us they were inside,” Thabani said.

Firefighters were kept busy by several shack fires this weekend:

* On Saturday, 120 people were left homeless when 31 shacks caught fire in Lerotholi Avenue in Langa around 11.45pm. No injuries were reported.

* On Monday morning, 27 people were displaced in Gugulethu when a fire gutted 12 shacks. Seven children were among those who lost possessions. The fire broke out behind Joburg Stores off Lansdowne Road. No injuries were recorded and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

* Firefighters also attended to fires in Belhar, Philippi and Gugulethu.

* About 1am on Sunday, a fire broke out in a shack in Freedom Park informal settlement. Police have opened an inquest docket for investigation after it was alleged that the resident’s fiancée had started the fire.

* Around 2.50pm on Sunday, firefighters responded to a fire at the Marcus Garvey informal settlement. Two shacks were burnt, leaving three people homeless. Two neighbouring houses were affected by the fire, suspected to have been caused by sparks from a short circuit in electrical wiring.

* A fire destroyed three wood-and-iron structures, leaving three people homeless, in Andrew Matshikwe Street in Gugulethu at 10.07pm on Sunday.

* At 10.23pm, firefighters found three shacks on fire in Barcelona informal settlement, where 11 people were displaced, reportedly after a lit candle fell over, setting bedding alight.

- Cape Argus

Councillor expelled for ‘selling RDP houses’

Cape Town - A Cape Town councillor who allegedly sold RDP houses has been found guilty of breaching the councillors’ code of conduct and will be expelled from the council.

ANC ward 35 councillor Thobile Gqola was found guilty by a disciplinary committee of “compromising the integrity of a councillor” and not acting in the best interest of the public after he allegedly sold RDP houses.

The disciplinary committee also found DA councillor Irma Jackson guilty of “bringing a councillor’s name into disrepute”, fined her R6 000 and issued a warning.

Last week, the city council agreed after a heated debate between ANC and DA councillors to expel Gqola.

Last year, six cases of theft were opened against Gqola by residents of New Crossroads and Khayelitsha after allegations of “housing corruption”.

The council found Gqola allegedly sold RDP houses for R7 000 in Philippi East Phase 5 housing project to people who were not on the housing list.

Anthea Serritslev, chairwoman of the disciplinary committee, said the outcome was fair.

“We had an unpleasant debate during council meeting. Councillor Gqola was found guilty for acting in his own interest.”

Jackson takes seniors on a trip to Durban annually, but last year over 40 elderly people who had paid R3 000 for the trip were unable to travel after her travel agent let her down.

Serritslev said Jackson had found herself at the airport with the elderly passengers, but they were unable to fly because of the travel agent’s failure.

“Later that week, some of the group managed to go to Durban on their own… she also paid their money back,” said Serritslev.

“Jackson pleaded guilty. What she did was not for personal gain.”

ANC spokesman and councillor Xolani Sotashe said the ANC was clear on councillors who breached the code of conduct.

“We support the removal of councillor Gqola from office; he should have proved without a doubt that he was not guilty.

“However, the DA is using the disciplinary committee to terrorise councillors from other parties.

“In the case of a DA councillor who used letters with the city’s letterheads to evict people, he only received a warning. Councillor Jackson, a DA councillor, is only getting a fine and a warning. DA councillors who commit the same breach should also be removed as councillors.”

Sotashe added that the ANC would approach the public protector to have the decision revisited.

- Cape Argus

Nkandla creditors hit by payment delay

The main contractor upgrading President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home has escaped liquidation, but has left a string of KwaZulu-Natal subcontractors with empty pockets.

Bonelena Construction, Enterprise and Projects, which had two major deals worth almost R100 million linked to the multimillion Nkandla upgrade, avoided liquidation in February after creditors were forced to accept a revised payment arrangement in an out-of-court settlement.

A total of 23 subcontractors, owed more than R5m, accepted the offer of 50 percent payment for their work.

Had these “concurrent creditors” not accepted, Bonelena would have been liquidated and they would have been paid nothing.

Bonelena, which is owned by Pietermaritzburg businesswoman Thandeka Nene, has until the middle of this month to effect payment. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) also gave Bonelena R10m for the repayment of creditors, despite already being owed R19.7m.

Subcontractors who spoke to The Mercury on condition of anonymity said Bonelena had not been paid by the Department of Public Works, hence its inability to pay them.

Some said they would still do business with Nene as she had always been a reliable client.

“We will now be taking more precautions when it comes to getting guarantees for payment from clients, like personal sureties…

“We have done a lot of business with Bonelena. Thandeka is a very nice lady who has kept in touch with us by e-mail and always paid,” said a Pietermaritzburg building materials supplier.

However, another subcontractor said although Bonelena’s financial struggle was due to the department’s not paying, he would not do business with the company again.

Some subcontractors have been hit harder than others, with a few admitting the loss of income from the contract had affected their business.

They said the liquidator’s report said Bonelena had failed to keep proper accounts, so the liquidator had been unable to establish its financial position.

Court documents revealed that Bonelena’s R8.2m worth of assets would only fetch R6.4m on forced sale.

Secured creditors such as Absa, Standard Bank, First National Bank, Wesbank, Sars and company employees would receive all or most of the R8.2m that was owed to them. The Industrial Development Corporation, which was owed R19.7m before Bonelena applied for liquidation, bailed the company out by granting it a further R10m to pay creditors. Of the initial amount, the IDC is a secured creditor for R11.5m, but will only receive 50 percent of R8.2m, the portion which falls under “concurrent creditor”.

IDC spokesman Mandla Mpangase did not reply to questions.

Nene could not be reached yesterday for comment. However, she said on previous occasions that the department owed her company R8m.

Public Works Ministry spokesman Sabelo Mani could not be reached for comment. He has in the past been quoted as saying he could not divulge information on Nkandla as it was a national key point.

- The Mercury

Three dead, 47 displaced in Cape fires

Cape Town - Three people were killed and 47 people were left homeless after several fires in Cape Town over the Easter weekend, the city's disaster risk management centre said on Monday.

Two adults and a two-year-old girl died when the wendy house they were living in caught fire on Sunday evening, spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. Police have opened an inquest docket and were investigating.

The fire which started in the wendy house spread to the main house on the premises and two people were left homeless.

A total of 41 people were left homeless after three separate fires in Gugulethu in the early hours of Monday morning and Sunday night.

Twelve shacks were destroyed behind Joburg Stores off Lansdowne Road in Gugulethu just after midnight on Monday.

A total of 20 adults and seven children were left homeless.

“The blaze completely gutted the informal shacks resulting in the victims losing all their personal belongings,” Solomons-Johannes said.

“The fire victims will be assisted with food parcels, clothing, blankets, building material.”

The cause of the fire had not been established.

Fourteen people were left homeless in two separate fires in Gugulethu on Sunday night.

A fire destroyed three wood and iron structures at 33 Andrew Matshikwe Street leaving three people homeless, said Solomons-Johannes.

At the Barcelona informal settlement in Gugulethu three shacks were destroyed and 11 people displaced.

It was suspected that a candle fell over and set the bedding alight.

At 1am on Sunday a fire destroyed a woman's shack at the R1

Freedom Park informal settlement in Belhar.

An eyewitness alleged that the woman's fiancé set the shack alight and fled the scene.

The police had opened an inquest docket and were looking for the man, Solomons-Johannes said.

Three people were displaced in Marcus Garvey informal settlement in Philippi when a fire destroyed two shacks.

The occupants tried to extinguish the blaze with garden hoses.

It was suspected that the fire was caused by sparks from a short circuit in the electrical wiring.

“The City's disaster response teams will assist the fire victims with the supply of food parcels, blankets, baby packs, clothing and building material during this morning (Monday),” Solomons-Johannes said. 

- Sapa