Langa shack fire protester arrested

Cape Town - Residents who lost their homes in a shack fire in Langa in 2005, toyi-toyi-ed this morning outside the Delft police station after one of their leaders was arrested.

Siviwe Nondonga was arrested by police because he was seen as a “trouble maker”, residents said.

It was unclear this morning if he had been formally charged.

“But, he is no different from the rest of the community, we are all frustrated. We are here to see him released without being charged,” said resident Florence Myeki.

Myeki, who has been living between tent camps, community halls and a temporary relocation area (TRA) in Delft, said the provincial and local government had not stuck to their promises to provide housing for those left homeless after the fire.

A blaze in Joe Slovo informal settlement left 1 600 families homeless in January 2005. A year later, the Cape Argus reported on the confusion of residents as they were moved into a temporary location in Delft.

“That was years ago. We all thought that we would be out and in new houses by now, but the structures are deteriorating badly and we recently heard the news that the council wants to move us into a new set of TRA structures that are being constructed on land that was supposed to be for real houses,” said Myeki.

She said residents would resist moving into another temporary location by taking their protests to the streets again this week.

- Cape Argus

Parliament stunned as full cost of Nkandla is revealed

The DA claims the state paid 260% more on President Jacob Zuma's private home in Nkandla than it did in securing a new prison in the Northern Cape.

On Thursday afternoon, Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer stunned the House when she revealed that R117-million was paid to provide security in Zuma's Nkandla home, compared to R45-million spent in securing the new jail in Kimberley.

While giving a breakdown of the Nkandla security costs, Dreyer also revealed the names of companies that she said benefitted from the development and received payments for contracts that seemed to be for bona fide security measures at Nkandla.

They were: the Bonelena Construction Enterprises & Projects for emergency works relating to security measures; Moneymine [which] got a negotiated contract for security measures inside the house; Natal Parkhomes for the supply and delivery of Parkhomes accommodation for members of the South African Police Services and or defence; Pro-Hydraulics for the supply and installation of a mobile generator; South African Bullet Resistant Glass installed bulletproof glass; Betafence Projects South Africa supplied and installed a high security fence; Otis got the tender to install a lift and E Magubane installed phase 11 security measures.

Dreyer said the cost for these security measures added up to R117-million.

"To put this amount into context, the department of public works built a new jail in Kimberley with top range security for R45-million, but spent R117-million – exactly 260% more – to provide security for one man," she said.

The Kimberley prison which entails buildings of 41 754sqm and accommodates 3,000 male offenders was completed in 2010 at a cost of R777-million to the state.

Confirmation

Dreyer's allegations come a day after National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu announced that he had received a letter from Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi regarding the tabling of the report by the department's task team on the security upgrade of Zuma's home.

Responding to Dreyer in Parliament, Nxesi did not reject Dreyer's allegation and appeared to confirm them.

He was not impressed with the DA member for not waiting for the tabling of the task team's report and instead bringing information from her "informers".

He said: "We said it publicly [when releasing the preliminary report] that there were irregularities in the supply chain and there was overpricing which we were suspecting, hence we said we are subjecting those issues to further investigation.

"I'm not sure what is this thing which is new that you are trying to say here," said Nxesi.

Meanwhile, the ANC in Parliament welcomed Nxesi's intention to table a report on the security upgrades at Zuma's private residence.

"The minister's decision to subject the report to parliamentary scrutiny is demonstrative of his commendable respect for the authority of Parliament. The decision is also reflective of the seriousness with which the minister regards his obligations in relation to parliamentary accountability and oversight," it said.

Security

​The ANC proposed that a special parliamentary mechanism be created to ensure that Parliament deals with the report without compromising the president's security. "We will therefore prefer that the report of the department of public works task team be dealt with by a special committee and in-camera."

The party said section 59 of the Constitution permitted in-camera committee meetings when "it is reasonable and justifiable to do so in an open and democratic society".

In terms of rule 152 of the rules of the National Assembly, meetings of the committees are open to the public, including the media, except when the committee is considering a matter which is, among others, of a private nature that is prejudicial to a particular person or confidential in terms of the legislation.

The ANC said matters pertaining to the security details of the head of the state have similar weight of sensitivity to those normally dealt with by the joint standing committee on intelligence, which conducts its business in-camera.

"An open deliberation on this matter will not only compromise the security of the president but it may also make Parliament liable to court action or be legally prejudicial to individuals and companies under investigation.

"Democratic parliaments all over the world employ similar mechanisms when dealing with sensitive security matters as those contained in the task team report," it said.

- M&G

R886m of housing budget unspent

Cape Town - MPs said they were “sick to the stomach” when they heard that as much as R886 million of the human settlements budget was likely to remain unspent by the end of the fiscal year and be surrendered to the Treasury.

“I look forward to the day, maybe I won’t be here, when we come with a report where we’re up to date with everything, people are getting delivery on the ground,” said ANC MP Gloria Borman, after the Human Settlements Department had presented a report in Parliament on Wednesday on its underexpenditure.

“I feel sick to my stomach when I think of the money that is not being spent. I hear all the reasons – we’ve heard them all before – but when you see the need out there and how people are struggling, it’s very sad,” Borman said.

Stevens Mokgalapa, of the DA, shared her views. “The bottom line is that underspending is continuing and the demand out there is huge. We all know that housing is in demand and you see that a lot of unspent monies are taken back, it’s quite sad,” he said.

The main culprits were the provincial departments of Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, which are set to forfeit R294m and R284m respectively of the Human Settlements Development Grant they had been unable to use.

The national department was set to surrender R144m of its operational budget, while spending for the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant, intended for sanitation, would fall short by R164m. The R886m total represents 4 percent of the human settlements budget of R25bn.

Chief financial officer Funani Matlatsi said the figures were based on projections for the end of the fiscal year, and could improve if delivery was found to have exceeded expectations, especially in errant provinces.

Director-general Thabane Zulu said a decision would be taken on Friday, based on the latest figures, on whether to transfer the outstanding amounts to Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, but this seemed unlikely.

“The decision we arrived at was, if we can’t find existing projects within the pipeline plans, the money must go back to the fiscus. That’s a principle position. Don’t dump the money. Declare the money as savings.”

Zulu said the department had first intervened in October, after establishing that there was a high risk of underspending.

The department had gone as far as demanding to see a cash-flow process in provincial planning “because that’s then guaranteeing the spending”.

“It still didn’t happen. I’m sorry to say, we can only go as far as that in providing leadership,” Zulu said.

But Mokgalapa accused the department of “flip-flopping” on whether it would release the funds.

This would amount to “fiscal dumping” – spending leftover funds on unplanned items so as not to have it subtracted from the baseline for the following budget.

“I wish you wouldn’t refer to savings – it’s underspending,” said Borman.

- IOL

Cape falls short on housing delivery

Cape Town - Municipalities, and not the provincial government, are responsible for building houses in the Western Cape, says Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela.

“They (municipalities) are the implementing agents. We (the department) provide the funds and monitor projects,” Madikizela said.

He was responding after the provincial Treasury revealed in a budget committee meeting that by December, only 2 515 of the planned 4 691 houses had been delivered for the 2012/13 financial year, which ends on March 31. Madikizela admitted that municipalities would not meet this target by the end of the month.

“For the past two years we haven’t met our targets, but this is mainly a result of the huge basic infrastructure backlog,” he said. “The municipalities submit their plans to the department and that is what we base our numbers on. Houses can only be built where there is basic infrastructure.”

For the new financial year, starting next month, the department is expected to fund municipalities to build 12 102 houses. But Madikizela said he would not be “chasing numbers”.

“I would rather under-deliver than build where there is no infrastructure. Chasing these numbers will also result in shoddy workmanship. Then we’ll have to spend even more on repair work when those houses start falling apart,” he said.

Madikizela said it would take at least 30 years to “work through” the Western Cape’s housing backlog.

- Cape Argus

Sexwale exposed as enclosed-toilet drive bogs down

BILLIONAIRE business success story Tokyo Sexwale has spent only 9% of this year’s budget to provide toilets for 2.2-million rural and semi-urban households, it emerged on Wednesday, underlining a missed opportunity to finally flush away the shame of South Africa’s toilets in the veld.

Politicians from both the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) were quick to make political capital out of the unenclosed toilets saga in the general election of 2009.

Unenclosed toilets were first discovered in Makhaza, in the DA-run municipality of Cape Town, and later in the ANC-run Moqhaka municipality in the Free State.

Last week, protests erupted in Moqhaka, and on Wednesday the South African Human Rights Commission subpoenaed the Moqhaka municipality for failing to enclose toilets in the area, as ordered to do in 2010.

However, in rural and semi-urban areas, millions of people live with no toilets at all and have to make use of the bush or rough home-made latrines.

The establishment of a special budget allocation — the rural household infrastructure grant — was initiated by the Treasury in 2010 to overcome the backlog.

Now the Treasury has cut this year’s budget for rural toilets by 28%, from R479m to R350m. But even this looks unlikely to be spent: with a month to go to the end of the financial year, the department has spent 26% of the reduced budget.

In total, of the 2.2-million target that the grant was established to eradicate, only a little more than 11,000 toilets have been built.

Asked to explain the failure of the programme, Mr Sexwale said the pace of delivery was "unacceptably slow" and was attributed to contracted service providers.

The contractors involved are development agencies Mvula Trust and the Independent Development Trust. Mr Sexwale said he had instructed that private sector companies be brought in to help.

From next year, the grant will be moved to the Presidency’s infrastructure commission. Mr Sexwale said he supported this move.

However, the performance of the past three years reflects poorly on Mr Sexwale, who since joining the Cabinet in 2009 has spoken out strongly on decent sanitation.

- BDlive

R49m spent on Nkandla consultants:

More than R49 million was spent on consultants involved in building projects at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home, Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer said yesterday.

While the generally-accepted norm for consultants fees in the building industry was "about 18% of the total cost of the contract", those paid at Nkandla where "almost double" this figure, she told MPs in the National Assembly.

"While we know that the total cost for the Nkandla project amounts to R210m, the amounts paid on consultants warrant a closer look... a total of R49.1m was spent on consultants."

Dreyer said this figure included:

- payment of R2.8m to mechanical engineers Mustapha Cachalia;

- a total of R4.8m paid to two electrical engineering companies, Igoda Projects and CA du Toit;

- R5m to "Ramcon project manager";

- R6m to structural engineers Ibongho Consulting cc;

- R13.8m to quantity surveyors Ilangalethu Consulting; and,

- R16.6m to Minenhle Makanya Architects.

"In Nkandla, consultant fees constituted 30.4% of the total cost of the contract. This raises the question: Why were they paid so far above the industry norm?"

Dreyer called on Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi to table his report on spending at Nkandla "without any further delay".

Responding in the House, Nxesi said a preliminary investigation into spending at Nkandla had revealed "irregularities", and investigations, by both the Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit, were underway.

"Honourable Dreyer appears to have more information. Please, come forward with that information, we need it," he said.

- SAPA

Parliament set for Nkandla report

Cape Town - The report of the public works department's task team appointed to probe spending at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead is to be tabled in Parliament soon.

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu made this announcement at the start of proceedings in the House on Wednesday.

He told MPs he had received a letter in this regard from Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi.

"The minister has requested that as the residence has been declared a national key point, the report be considered with utmost sensitivity.

"He has also requested that the report, when tabled, be referred to an appropriate parliamentary mechanism [committee]."

Sisulu said the matter was receiving urgent attention.

The announcement was welcomed by Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer, who said it followed the DA's repeated calls for the full report to be tabled, scrutinised, and debated in Parliament.

However, this was not the end of the road. The DA would push for Nxesi to table the full, unexpurgated report, with no omissions or deletions.

When the report came before the relevant parliamentary committee, that committee had to be open and members of the public able to attend.

Nxesi should also undertake that action would be taken against all those implicated in any wrongdoing.

"So long as the spending of R206m on President Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla is concealed under the dark cloud of secrecy, Nkandla will forever remain a symbol of government corruption under the presidency of Mr Jacob Zuma," Dreyer said.

The task team was appointed in November last year after the costs of Zuma's residential complex caused an outcry. The matter was also raised in Parliament.

In January, Nxesi said government spent R206m on security upgrades and consultants for Nkandla.

The task team investigating the spending had found, among other things, irregularities in the appointment of the 15 service providers and consultants who worked on the project, he said.

- SAPA

Holomisa wants oversight inspection at Nkandla

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu should urgently facilitate an inspection in loco at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said on Monday.

Holomisa wrote to Sisulu to ask what had happened to the United Democratic Movement's proposal which, if approved, would see members of the portfolio committee on intelligence conduct an oversight visit at the president's KwaZulu-Natal homestead.

"The reason why I made this proposal was that the president's residence was declared a national key point and the members of this committee have been vetted and as such have security clearance."

Holomisa said at the time Zuma had not rejected the proposal.

"The members of this committee should go to Nkandla to establish how the R206 million of public funds was allegedly used to improve the president's private residence," he said.

An inspection in loco is usually done during court proceedings, when a court visits the spot where a crime or an event connected to a case took place.

- Timeslive

Free State ANC ex-leaders' homes to be auctioned to pay off R2 million debt

The homes of former Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff and former ANC provincial secretary Sibongile Besani will be auctioned to settle outstanding bank debt, it was reported on Wednesday.

Orders for the homes to be auctioned were granted by the Free State High Court in 2011 and 2012, the Beeld reported.

The former premier's R2.2 million home in Waverley, Bloemfontein, would be sold to pay an outstanding mortgage debt of just over R2 million with FirstRand Bank.

Marshoff, who now works as a scrub sister in the operating theatre of a private hospital in Bloemfontein, told the newspaper the "misunderstanding" between her and the bank had been resolved and that her home would not be auctioned.

However, the sheriff of the court, insisted on Tuesday that the auction would proceed as planned next Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that an order to sell off Besani's townhouse, in the suburb of Langenhoven Park, was granted on January 26 last year.

Besani and his wife Puseletso reportedly owed R815 197 to FirstRand Bank in 2011.

- Timeslive

‘Let owners sell their RDP homes’

Cape Town - Beneficiaries of government houses should be allowed to sell their properties at a profit, says Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela.

Speaking on Tuesday in Mamre on the West Coast, where 365 title deeds were handed to housing beneficiaries, Madikizela said residents could use their title deeds as a “ticket to escape poverty”.

He said the provincial Human Settlements Department would assist beneficiaries who wanted to sell their government houses and move elsewhere.

“We cannot have a clause preventing poor people from participating in the property market,” Madikizela said.

“That’s a way of integration. Some people have waited decades for their title deeds. They were given a house years ago and couldn’t do anything. Now, if you want to sell and move to Rondebosch or another area, come to us, we will assist.”

But 83-year-old Hermina Armoed, who was among those who received their title deeds on Tuesday, said she would never sell her house.

“I’ve waited too long for this piece of paper,” said Armoed, who lives with her nephew.

She was on the province’s housing waiting list for 30 years before being given a two-bedroomed house in Mamre in 2006.

“Seven years later and I have the papers to prove I’m the owner,” she said. “Now I can get my will in order.”

Another beneficiary, Fredrika Isaacs, moved into her government house in 2000. “Finally, I have my title deed. It feels wonderful,” she said.

During the 2013/14 financial year, Madikizela’s department is expected to build 12 102 houses.

“However, I will not build houses where there is no basic infrastructure,” Madikizela said. “I would rather under-deliver than build houses where there is no basic infrastructure. Our focus is on quality, not quantity. I won’t be chasing numbers this year.”

- Cape Argus

Cape Town Stadium analysis biased - ratepayers

Cape Town - A move to commercialise Cape Town Stadium would be “disingenuous” because there hasn’t been a “eureka” solution to the problem of the struggling venue, the Green Point Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association says.

The association says the city has provided “little clarity and certainty” about the future financial implications to ratepayers. The city plans to reverse the record of understanding for the stadium and is looking at incorporating, among others, a nightclub, hotel, paid parking facilities, restaurants and sports bars at the venue to drive up revenue.

Many Green Point residents were opposed to the building of the stadium, citing high costs, noise levels and traffic volumes, and concerns about sustainability. To appease residents, the province imposed restrictions banning commercial activity.

In its first detailed response on the idea of commercialising the R4.5 billion venue, the association said a 43-page analysis on a business model for the stadium was “heavily weighted with propaganda” in favour of the city’s predetermined application.

The city previously said the analysis would give the public the associated risks of each business model.

“Having read the report, one is left with the unfortunate impression that the city is being disingenuous in seeking blanket removal of restrictions…” the association said, adding that there was concern “that there is a more sinister intention of removal of all controls over what is done on the public open spaces of the common”.

It said it was not opposed to the commercialisation of land between the stadium and Granger Bay Boulevard, provided the development does not a further “drain upon the city’s coffers”, but it was opposed to having more infrastructure on the common or outside the stadium.

The association also pointed that the city had socio-economic problems with underprivileged areas that needed upliftment, and could ill afford financial liabilities that do not improve the lives of the people in the city.

As part of the association’s submission for the public participation process, which closes on the March 31, it will suggest the stadium be donated to a private entity, probably the Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU), demolished or kept as it is - funded by ratepayers.

Mayco member for tourism, events and marketing Grant Pascoe said they had received over 100 submissions.

Once the public participation process has been completed, the city will apply to the province to unban commercial activity and overturn the Record of Decision.

The stadium has run at a loss since the 2010 Soccer World Cup, costing the city R44.6 million a year to run. The city has been unable to secure an anchor tenant, but it is still in talks with the WPRU.

A study by International Risk Mitigation Consultants provided seven proposed business models for the stadium, including the city as an operator with an anchor tenant, an independent operator with an anchor tenant or operating the stadium as a municipal entity.

- Cape Times

District Six claimants return home

The District Six claimants will return to their homes this year, the Rural Development and Land Reform Department said on Monday.

“Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti told land claimants... that the land claimants who opted for the restoration of their land will this year be able to return to their stands at District Six in Cape Town,” spokesperson Mtobeli Mxotwa said.

Mxotwa said the minister was addressing land claimants in a meeting over the weekend.

“He said the poor people will be given priority by the Social Integration Committee when the empty houses were allocated to the claimants in District Six this year,” he said.

They were urged to register with the committee promptly so they could get their houses “as soon as” this month.

Minister Nkwinti called on the land claimants and their Reference Group to differentiate between the restoration of the land claimants' rights and the business enterprise planned for District Six for its future economic development.

In cases where a person had owned more than one stand, the government would restore one stand and pay financial compensation for other stands.

Land reform beneficiaries, that is people who never lived in District Six before the evictions, would not be considered in the District Six restoration and restitution.

Mxotwa said the restoration of District Six was meant to restore the rights of the people of District Six that were taken away by the apartheid government.

The stands whose owners had opted for financial compensation would be used for business purposes.

Residents were forcibly removed from District Six in the 1960s, following the introduction of the Group Areas Act. - Sapa

Cape fire leaves 128 homeless

Cape Town - Around 128 people were left homeless after several fires in Cape Town over the weekend, the Disaster Risk Management Centre said on Sunday.

One fire occurred on Saturday morning in Elsies River, spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said.

Five people were left homeless when their shack, at the back of a main house, burnt down.

“Upon arrival of firefighters the structure was engulfed with flames and the personal belongings, furniture, appliances and bedding was completely destroyed. The blaze spread to the formal house and the firefighters averted the dwelling catching alight.”

He said the intensity of the blaze cracked the house's windows and damaged a door. It was suspected that children entered the shack and started the fire.

In Blackheath seven shacks were destroyed in the Happy Valley informal settlement on Sunday morning. Twenty-three people were displaced and one person injured. An unattended fire was believed to be the cause.

In Athlone, 20 shacks and two RDP houses were destroyed.

“A total of 100 persons were affected by the blaze. The shacks were built under the overhead powerlines that were also damaged. It is suspected that one of the occupants of the shacks (left) a pot on a stove (and) that resulted in the blaze”.

Solomons-Johannes said they helped those affected with food parcels, blankets, baby packs, clothing, and building material. - Sapa

Nkandlagate motion referred back

A DA motion for a debate on the R206 million upgrade of President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home has been referred back to the Chief Whips' Forum, the party said today.

This followed today morning's National Assembly programming committee meeting, where no agreement could be reached, Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said.

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu opted to refer the matter back.

"The DA will stand firm on this matter. We have been allocated the space in the parliamentary schedule to have a DA motion debated, and it cannot be up to the ANC to decide on our behalf what to debate," Mazibuko said.

"If the ANC continues to block my motion in its ongoing effort to protect President Zuma from being held to account, then the Speaker must reconsider the decision not to allow a debate of public importance on 'Nkandlagate' in terms of... the Rules of the National Assembly."

Yesterday, African National Congress Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga said allowing a debate on state spending on Zuma's Nkandla home would be like putting the cart before the horse.

"This is because the matter is currently under formal investigation and the findings have not 1/8yet 3/8 been made. The investigative institutions, such as the Office of the Public Protector, which is accountable to Parliament, must be afforded space to do their work without undue political influence from Parliament," he said.

Earlier, Mazibuko said yesterday Chief Whips' Forum meeting, the ANC rejected her notice of motion for debate on the "Nkandlagate" scandal to be held on Tuesday.

The DA had also proposed an alternative, should the debate on Nkandla not go ahead. But, this motion to debate the constitutionality of the National Key Points Act was also rejected, she said.

- SABC