Dear friends and fellow South Africans,
Sunday's incident in KwaMashu, in which SAPA reporter Mr Giordano Stolley's car was torched, costing him a new laptop, two hard drives and family photographs, is not quite what the NFP would like to portray it as. I thank God that the reporters, Mr Stolley, Ms Bawinile Ngcobo and Ms Mpume Madlala, were unhurt. My sympathies are with them over this terrible incident.
What they experienced needs to be placed in context.
There will be a by-election in KwaMashu next Wednesday, to fill the seat left vacant by the murder of the IFP's Councillor in that ward, Mr Themba Xulu.
Last month, on a Friday night, Councillor Xulu was abducted in KwaMashu by five men posing as police officers. On Saturday, as his distraught family awaited news, IFP supporters gathered in KwaMashu to surround them with support. Fears were rife that Councillor Xulu's abduction was politically motivated and that he had fallen victim to thugs affiliated to the NFP.
The Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthetwa, visited KwaMashu that Saturday, calling for calm and reassuring the community of a police presence. As the Minister left, Ms Celiwe Shezi, still wearing her IFP T-shirt, was gunned down near the train station. An NFP KwaMashu Councillor - a member of the NFP's National Working Committee - was arrested for her murder.
The following morning, Councillor Xulu's body was found, riddled with bullets. IFP leaders again called for calm. That same day, the IFP's Mr Bongani Lushaba was murdered. Mr Lushaba was a father of eight children.
A week later, IFP supporters were gathered outside Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court, where the NFP men accused of killing Ms Celiwe Shezi were on trial. In full view of the police and the media, a leader of the NFP - a member of the NFP's peace delegation - took out a gun and shot dead an IFP supporter, Mr Siyabonga Dlamini. Mr Dlamini had been a witness to Councillor Themba Xulu's abduction.
For weeks, leaders of the IFP implored people to stay calm, not to retaliate or seek revenge, and to assist the police with investigations. Tensions simmered in KwaMashu, with fear, grief and righteous anger pervading the community.
Then, last Sunday, IFP Councillor Mthembeni Majola was attacked by three armed men while travelling with his son. Thank God, they survived the hail of bullets. The following day, the IFP's block chairperson in KwaMashu, Mr Sihle Menzi Biyela, was gunned down in cold blood.
As the IFP's eThekwini Caucus leader Mr Mdu Nkosi said, "We keep telling our members to calm down, but we continue to bury members."
There is no question that the violent attacks over the past two months were meant to intimidate the IFP's members and supporters in KwaMashu, through the clear message that neither the police nor the media can offer safety. No one can stop our assailants.
Under these volatile circumstances, just days after their block chairperson was murdered, IFP supporters in KwaMashu saw the NFP's leader, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi come rolling into town in a convoy of some 30 vehicles, ready to campaign for their votes in next week's by-election.
As Mr Giordano Stolley pointed out, her presence in KwaMashu was far from wise. Community members took up bottles and sticks and loudly expressed their desire for Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi to leave. Shots were fired, but who fired those shots is unclear. It may have been the people wielding sticks and bottles, or it may have been the extensive entourage of the NFP leader's bodyguards.
Regardless of the facts, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi has jumped on her high horse accusing the IFP of creating a "no-go" area. Any thinking person's response would be that the NFP has created it themselves. Have your leaders kill a few people in a community, then see how welcome you are when you arrive to electioneer.
Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi is milking this incident for all it is worth, and then some. Police have been unable to verify her allegation that a woman was killed, or that two other cars were torched.
I am amazed at her accusation that, "Now everyone can see the IFP for what it really is." What it really is, is the party she grew up in and led as National Chairperson for years and years, until she grew tired of waiting for the top position. What the IFP really is, is the party she did her utmost to divide and split, through lies, treachery and even a failed court bid.
The IFP's supporters in KwaMashu are a community of angry, fearful residents in a situation of immense and on-going tension. They have been attacked and murdered. They have been killed in front of the police. They have been living in fear for their lives for months on end.
The NFP created this powder keg and Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi lit it.
I am not justifying the vandalism that took place on Sunday. I am pointing out that we are dealing with people who have been under duress for months. Outbursts like this cannot be unexpected.
Weeks ago, I asked Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi to go to her people and call for an end to violence, just as I was calling for peace among IFP supporters. This was the groundwork that needed to be laid before our two parties could come together and seek a resolution to the tensions between us. Instead, she arrived to campaign for the NFP to take over where the IFP's leader lay dead.
The IFP does not believe in "no-go" areas. We operate within the rules of democracy and the electoral system. We will therefore ask again that our supporters in KwaMashu remain calm and refrain from acting on their distress. Our supporters know that the IFP is a party of non-violence.
But we also know, just as Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi knows, that you can only push people so far. The leadership of the IFP will remain the fence holding in our people's emotions. I ask the leadership of the NFP .to stop being the dog that runs up and down outside the fence, inciting those emotions to burst.
I hope that Mr Giordano Stolley, Ms Bawinile Ngcobo and Ms Mpume Madlala will look deeper into what happened on Sunday and ask why KwaMashu really erupted.
Yours in the service of our nation,
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP
Issued by the IFP, November 27 2012
Source: Politicsweb
Showing posts with label eThekwini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eThekwini. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
NFP top brass split on sanctions against murder accused leaders
National Freedom Party (NFP) leaders are divided over whether sanctions should be taken against the two high-ranking party leaders and councillors currently in the dock on separate murder charges.
On Friday, the provincial executive committee (PEC) expelled Mzonjani Zulu, both as party member and councillor in eThekwini, and also decided to suspend Bhungu Gwala as a member.
But the national leadership of the party was said to be against this, and has called a meeting on Tuesday where it is to discuss the issue with the provincial leaders.
Gwala is suspected of being involved in the murder of IFP supporter Celiwe Shezi at KwaMashu hostel on October 6, while Zulu was charged with the murder of another IFP supporter, Sya Dlamini.
The latter was shot dead in full view of the police outside the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court, allegedly by Zulu, with the incident being captured on camera.
This happened on October 15, shortly after Gwala and his two sons made their first court appearance at the court in connection with Shezi’s murder.
Apart from serving on the eThekwini council, both Gwala and Zulu are national working committee members.
But on Monday the national leadership of the party said that only the national executive committee (NEC) had the power to expel any member from the party.
“We have to remember that there is only one membership of the party,” said the NFP’s secretary-general, Nhlanhla Khubisa.
The national leaders said that lower structures of the party could only make recommendations for someone to be expelled.
Party president Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi said while she detested violence and was in agreement with the PEC that such actions could not be condoned, she said she felt that the constitution of the party had to be followed.
“We also need to take into consideration what happened at the court [in the case of Zulu],” she said, adding that TV footage showed that Zulu had taken steps back as he was allegedly being attacked.
But Vusi Khoza, the provincial secretary, was adamant that the provincial leadership’s decision would stand.
Asked if the PEC had informed Gwala and Zulu of its decision, Khoza said letters had been written to the two men.
“We understand that they are currently in police custody, but we wrote letters and these were delivered to their home addresses,” Khoza said.
He said it was only Gwala who could appeal the decision after the conclusion of his court case, but said the same did not apply to Zulu.
“With Zulu it was clear that he shot someone in full view of the media and the police. It was not for us to consider whether he was being attacked or not; it is for the court to consider.”
Khoza said Zulu’s actions at Ntuzuma had brought the party into disrepute.
Source: IoL
On Friday, the provincial executive committee (PEC) expelled Mzonjani Zulu, both as party member and councillor in eThekwini, and also decided to suspend Bhungu Gwala as a member.
But the national leadership of the party was said to be against this, and has called a meeting on Tuesday where it is to discuss the issue with the provincial leaders.
Gwala is suspected of being involved in the murder of IFP supporter Celiwe Shezi at KwaMashu hostel on October 6, while Zulu was charged with the murder of another IFP supporter, Sya Dlamini.
The latter was shot dead in full view of the police outside the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court, allegedly by Zulu, with the incident being captured on camera.
This happened on October 15, shortly after Gwala and his two sons made their first court appearance at the court in connection with Shezi’s murder.
Apart from serving on the eThekwini council, both Gwala and Zulu are national working committee members.
But on Monday the national leadership of the party said that only the national executive committee (NEC) had the power to expel any member from the party.
“We have to remember that there is only one membership of the party,” said the NFP’s secretary-general, Nhlanhla Khubisa.
The national leaders said that lower structures of the party could only make recommendations for someone to be expelled.
Party president Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi said while she detested violence and was in agreement with the PEC that such actions could not be condoned, she said she felt that the constitution of the party had to be followed.
“We also need to take into consideration what happened at the court [in the case of Zulu],” she said, adding that TV footage showed that Zulu had taken steps back as he was allegedly being attacked.
But Vusi Khoza, the provincial secretary, was adamant that the provincial leadership’s decision would stand.
Asked if the PEC had informed Gwala and Zulu of its decision, Khoza said letters had been written to the two men.
“We understand that they are currently in police custody, but we wrote letters and these were delivered to their home addresses,” Khoza said.
He said it was only Gwala who could appeal the decision after the conclusion of his court case, but said the same did not apply to Zulu.
“With Zulu it was clear that he shot someone in full view of the media and the police. It was not for us to consider whether he was being attacked or not; it is for the court to consider.”
Khoza said Zulu’s actions at Ntuzuma had brought the party into disrepute.
Source: IoL
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Richmond Farm Transit Camp in KwaMashu
Mchunu and Others v Executive Mayor of eThekwini and Others ('Mchunu')
implementation of court order - Siyanda - Durban High Court
In this matter, SERI and Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) seek an order against the Executive Mayor of eThekwini (Durban), together with two other senior officials in their personal capacities, to take all the steps necessary to implement a court order requiring housing to be provided to 37 occupants of the Richmond Farm Transit Camp in KwaMashu. The occupiers were evicted from the Siyanda informal settlement in March 2009 in order to allow the construction of a road. One of the conditions of the eviction order was that the occupiers would be provided with permanent housing within a year. The deadline for doing so expired almost two years ago and nothing has been done to comply with the order.
This is an important case because it establishes whether individual officebearers can be held personally responsible for the state’s failure to perform on specific obligations. SERI served the application in February 2012, and filed a replying affidavit in May 2012. Heads of argument were filed on 4 September 2012, and the case was heard in the Durban High Court on 17 September 2012.
On 19 September 2012, Acting Judge Nigel Hollis granted an order and delivered an ex tempore judgment in the Durban High Court. His decision requires the Mayor of eThekwini, the City Manager and the Director of Housing to take all the necessary steps, within three months, to provide permanent housing to the 37 families. They are “constitutionally and statutorily obliged to take all necessary steps” to comply with the 2009 order. If they do not, they may be held in contempt and fined or imprisoned.
In this matter, SERI and Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) seek an order against the Executive Mayor of eThekwini (Durban), together with two other senior officials in their personal capacities, to take all the steps necessary to implement a court order requiring housing to be provided to 37 occupants of the Richmond Farm Transit Camp in KwaMashu. The occupiers were evicted from the Siyanda informal settlement in March 2009 in order to allow the construction of a road. One of the conditions of the eviction order was that the occupiers would be provided with permanent housing within a year. The deadline for doing so expired almost two years ago and nothing has been done to comply with the order.
This is an important case because it establishes whether individual officebearers can be held personally responsible for the state’s failure to perform on specific obligations. SERI served the application in February 2012, and filed a replying affidavit in May 2012. Heads of argument were filed on 4 September 2012, and the case was heard in the Durban High Court on 17 September 2012.
On 19 September 2012, Acting Judge Nigel Hollis granted an order and delivered an ex tempore judgment in the Durban High Court. His decision requires the Mayor of eThekwini, the City Manager and the Director of Housing to take all the necessary steps, within three months, to provide permanent housing to the 37 families. They are “constitutionally and statutorily obliged to take all necessary steps” to comply with the 2009 order. If they do not, they may be held in contempt and fined or imprisoned.
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SERI and Abahlali baseMjondolo media statement (19 September 2012) here.
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Draft order (19 September 2012) here.
- Occupiers' supplementary heads of argument (14 September 2012) here.
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Respondent's heads of argument (13 September 2012) here.
- SERI and AbM press release (29 February 2012) here.
- Short film entitled "A Fish in a Tin" about the eviction and relocation to Richmond Farm Transit Camp here.
- Notice of motion (12 December 2012) here.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Prince Mashele on the ANC's moral corruption
Hot on the heels of Limpopo’s financial implosion comes eThekwini, the municipality that looks set to earn the dubious honour of being this country’s most corrupt. Political analyst Prince Mashele says South Africa is easily disposed to corruption because of the ANC’s political structures which encourage patronage and a quid pro quo reward system. This, together with gross materialism and rampant greed, he says, is creating a deadly cocktail of moral degradation.
Sicelo Shiceka gave local governments five years to clean up their acts when he launched operation Clean Audit 2014 to Parliament in 2009. Perhaps the then minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs was a little optimistic, but God knows the good minister did his best when it came to corruption. Shiceka, of course, bit the dust despite his singing “What a friend I have in Zuma”, and it comes as no surprise that operation Clean Audit had as much chance of success as the good minister did of sticking to a budget.
As the Auditor General’s municipal horror show came to town and the debacle that was most municipal audits were revealed, the writing was on the wall. Then Limpopo imploded, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the Manase report into corruption at the eThekwini municipality revealed the worst. The forensic audit showed that 10 councillors and 123 municipal officials were engaged in business dealings with the city, in what is said to be one of the most extensive local government graft networks detailed yet.
Political analyst Prince Mashele says that the very structures and morality of the ANC has set up this system, where party politics and economic favours go hand-in-hand. “The ANC is the ruling party at a local, provincial and national level, so if you are a member of the ANC and you hope to occupy a position of power in the state, you know that there is a 90% chance of succeeding if you go through your structures,” says Mashele. If you want to be a municipal councillor, you simply work through the internal structures of the ANC until you realise your goal, he says.
“Anybody who wants a position in the state needs to mobilise with his or her delegates internally,” explains Mashele, who says that this structure has given rise to the corruption of the entire organisation at all levels. “Human beings are naturally acquisitive – they want to better their lot,” he says, adding that lobbying and jostling for power in local structures creates an obligation in ANC politicians to reward those who have helped people get to their desired station in the party, and in government. “As a result of this, the politics of the ANC have been subverted into the politics of material possession,” says Mashele.
The head of the Centre for Politics and Research, Mashele says this obligation by ANC politicians to reward patronage creates a quid pro quo kind of mentality that is pervasive in the ruling party. “I have tested this informally with folks from different municipalities, and if there is a municipality run by the ANC and you are a local businessman who is known to oppose the ANC, it doesn’t matter if you are black or talented, you will never get a tender in that municipality. If you examine the folks who get tenders in municipalities, these are people who are a part of the reward system within the politics of the ANC and the politics of the municipality.”
Mashele says this patronage is played out from a local level, right to the very top. “Look at Limpopo at a provincial level where the premier centralised procurement, which only meant that essentially the premier centralised the distribution of patronage. He is a businessman who proudly says: 'I am a business doing business with government.’ There is a whole ring of business people around the premier who always get tenders. It is two-way traffic. If you were to check who contributes to Chancellor House and what tenders these people get, you would be shocked. That is why the ANC will never allow people to know who contributes to Chancellor House, because the dynamic that I am talking about would become apparent,” he says.
The bad news, according to Mashele, is that the system of nepotism and corruption embedded in government will not change until there’s a viable opposition or a surge of political activity in civil society. “Until there is potential for the ruling party to be booted out of power, these guys are going to wallow in a comfortable sense of complacency,” says Mashele, who believes the DA won’t be able to make inroads into the ANC’s support base quickly enough.
“If you take current trends and look at the weakening of the ANC and the rise of the DA, it would – in my view – take another three or four elections before the DA becomes a threat that would topple the ANC. The ANC has been declining since Jacob Zuma came to power, but not significantly enough,” says Mashele, who adds that the hope for the DA would be a massive crisis within the ruling party which could quicken the pace at which the opposition party grows its constituency.
“And the ANC will not just sit back and do nothing, because there are many people in the ANC who are aware of the dangers in the party if the current trajectory were to continue,” says Mashele. He adds: “In fact the danger of materialism and corruption is highlighted in political report after political report, but we have not yet seen the ANC take the political courage to act seriously, especially when it involves people at the top like the president.”
Mashele says the ANC’s lack of political will and courage creates a real danger of a low road scenario for South Africa – one where materialism and corruption create the collapse of morality. He says the role models that youths aspire to in townships and villages today are tenderpreneurs who don’t achieve wealth through academia or hard work, but by political connections and party favours.
“Once you have this situation in society, you’re creating a culture without even realising it. You are saying to younger generations: ‘Don’t go to school and work hard and become educated, and aspire to be a professor, an academic, a teacher or a doctor. There is a shorter way to materialism’. When this thing happens, society is being destroyed. How do you construct a productive society, a society that emphasises the importance of merit, a society that is caring, when materialism as graphic and grotesque as it is today, abounds?” asks Mashele.
The political analyst says when masses lose the will to learn and be productive, and there’s huge inequality between the elite and everyone else, the state inevitably veers to authoritarianism. “The outcome of this system is clear, and there’s evidence of it all over the world. The outcome is a Nigeria where you have a small strata of the super wealthy, making their money through all sorts of underhand dealings. Around them is a sea of poverty, because the economy has literally collapsed. The poor are cursed, the economy becomes informalised, nothing is formal, corruption becomes normalised, morality is thrown out of the window, there is a decay of public institutions and no one has confidence in the state. It is a cocktail for disaster,” says Mashele.
The state then threatens those who want to uncover the rot, and anyone who poses a threat to those who possess power become counter-revolutionaries. “We must expect the worst, and the worst is the deepening of corruption. We have corruption now, but we haven’t seen anything yet. We must expect the worst until ordinary citizens reach that stage when they realise that enough is enough,” he says. That, says Mashele, is when ordinary people will join with civil society to demand change.
Source: Daily Maverick (By MANDY DE WAAL)
Sicelo Shiceka gave local governments five years to clean up their acts when he launched operation Clean Audit 2014 to Parliament in 2009. Perhaps the then minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs was a little optimistic, but God knows the good minister did his best when it came to corruption. Shiceka, of course, bit the dust despite his singing “What a friend I have in Zuma”, and it comes as no surprise that operation Clean Audit had as much chance of success as the good minister did of sticking to a budget.
As the Auditor General’s municipal horror show came to town and the debacle that was most municipal audits were revealed, the writing was on the wall. Then Limpopo imploded, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the Manase report into corruption at the eThekwini municipality revealed the worst. The forensic audit showed that 10 councillors and 123 municipal officials were engaged in business dealings with the city, in what is said to be one of the most extensive local government graft networks detailed yet.
Political analyst Prince Mashele says that the very structures and morality of the ANC has set up this system, where party politics and economic favours go hand-in-hand. “The ANC is the ruling party at a local, provincial and national level, so if you are a member of the ANC and you hope to occupy a position of power in the state, you know that there is a 90% chance of succeeding if you go through your structures,” says Mashele. If you want to be a municipal councillor, you simply work through the internal structures of the ANC until you realise your goal, he says.
“Anybody who wants a position in the state needs to mobilise with his or her delegates internally,” explains Mashele, who says that this structure has given rise to the corruption of the entire organisation at all levels. “Human beings are naturally acquisitive – they want to better their lot,” he says, adding that lobbying and jostling for power in local structures creates an obligation in ANC politicians to reward those who have helped people get to their desired station in the party, and in government. “As a result of this, the politics of the ANC have been subverted into the politics of material possession,” says Mashele.
The head of the Centre for Politics and Research, Mashele says this obligation by ANC politicians to reward patronage creates a quid pro quo kind of mentality that is pervasive in the ruling party. “I have tested this informally with folks from different municipalities, and if there is a municipality run by the ANC and you are a local businessman who is known to oppose the ANC, it doesn’t matter if you are black or talented, you will never get a tender in that municipality. If you examine the folks who get tenders in municipalities, these are people who are a part of the reward system within the politics of the ANC and the politics of the municipality.”
Mashele says this patronage is played out from a local level, right to the very top. “Look at Limpopo at a provincial level where the premier centralised procurement, which only meant that essentially the premier centralised the distribution of patronage. He is a businessman who proudly says: 'I am a business doing business with government.’ There is a whole ring of business people around the premier who always get tenders. It is two-way traffic. If you were to check who contributes to Chancellor House and what tenders these people get, you would be shocked. That is why the ANC will never allow people to know who contributes to Chancellor House, because the dynamic that I am talking about would become apparent,” he says.
The bad news, according to Mashele, is that the system of nepotism and corruption embedded in government will not change until there’s a viable opposition or a surge of political activity in civil society. “Until there is potential for the ruling party to be booted out of power, these guys are going to wallow in a comfortable sense of complacency,” says Mashele, who believes the DA won’t be able to make inroads into the ANC’s support base quickly enough.
“If you take current trends and look at the weakening of the ANC and the rise of the DA, it would – in my view – take another three or four elections before the DA becomes a threat that would topple the ANC. The ANC has been declining since Jacob Zuma came to power, but not significantly enough,” says Mashele, who adds that the hope for the DA would be a massive crisis within the ruling party which could quicken the pace at which the opposition party grows its constituency.
“And the ANC will not just sit back and do nothing, because there are many people in the ANC who are aware of the dangers in the party if the current trajectory were to continue,” says Mashele. He adds: “In fact the danger of materialism and corruption is highlighted in political report after political report, but we have not yet seen the ANC take the political courage to act seriously, especially when it involves people at the top like the president.”
Mashele says the ANC’s lack of political will and courage creates a real danger of a low road scenario for South Africa – one where materialism and corruption create the collapse of morality. He says the role models that youths aspire to in townships and villages today are tenderpreneurs who don’t achieve wealth through academia or hard work, but by political connections and party favours.
“Once you have this situation in society, you’re creating a culture without even realising it. You are saying to younger generations: ‘Don’t go to school and work hard and become educated, and aspire to be a professor, an academic, a teacher or a doctor. There is a shorter way to materialism’. When this thing happens, society is being destroyed. How do you construct a productive society, a society that emphasises the importance of merit, a society that is caring, when materialism as graphic and grotesque as it is today, abounds?” asks Mashele.
The political analyst says when masses lose the will to learn and be productive, and there’s huge inequality between the elite and everyone else, the state inevitably veers to authoritarianism. “The outcome of this system is clear, and there’s evidence of it all over the world. The outcome is a Nigeria where you have a small strata of the super wealthy, making their money through all sorts of underhand dealings. Around them is a sea of poverty, because the economy has literally collapsed. The poor are cursed, the economy becomes informalised, nothing is formal, corruption becomes normalised, morality is thrown out of the window, there is a decay of public institutions and no one has confidence in the state. It is a cocktail for disaster,” says Mashele.
The state then threatens those who want to uncover the rot, and anyone who poses a threat to those who possess power become counter-revolutionaries. “We must expect the worst, and the worst is the deepening of corruption. We have corruption now, but we haven’t seen anything yet. We must expect the worst until ordinary citizens reach that stage when they realise that enough is enough,” he says. That, says Mashele, is when ordinary people will join with civil society to demand change.
Source: Daily Maverick (By MANDY DE WAAL)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Durban won't act against officials, for now
But the council yesterday said it would not suspend implicated employees or take disciplinary action, as recommended by the forensic auditors, until it was clear on the proper procedure. "It is must be noted that the report has not found anyone guilty and it is therefore proper that different parties mentioned are given a chance to state their side of the story," city mayor James Nxumalo said. "But we must reiterate that we will take disciplinary action against officials and councillors that have been implicated."
The council declined to mention names, so Nxumalo did not comment on the allegations levelled at former mayor Obed Mlaba and municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe. The forensic investigation came after the auditor-general found that the city had irregularly spent R535-million and the Ngubane audit implicated Sutcliffe and three other officials in irregular housing contracts. Mlaba was alleged to have had shares in a company that nearly landed a R3-billion tender to convert the city's waste to energy. Dube said a company linked to Mlaba had allegedly expressed an interest in the tender and that was a breach of the municipal code of conduct.
The report claims that Sutcliffe, who controlled the city's R25.9-billion budget, contravened the Municipal Finance Management Act when he allegedly failed to promptly report irregular expenditure in dodgy housing contracts in writing to the mayor, the MEC and the auditor-general. It also alleges that Sutcliffe contravened the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act by not reporting fraud and corruption in a housing tender to the police. Sutcliffe, who is currently overseas, has not yet responded to the allegations. However, it was reported that he had said the allegation that he did not report corruption was "absolute nonsense".
The media report also stated that Sutcliffe demanded to know why Dube's sister was not implicated when "she was conducting business with the metro where she was an employee". Nxumalo said yesterday he was not aware of Dube's sister's business dealings with the municipality.
An ethics committee has been established to investigate allegations that 10 councillors had business contracts with the municipality. Nxumalo said 30 employees who had businesses with the municipality had already been disciplined and that the 123 officials implicated in the report would be investigated. "It must be understood that we are dealing with processes but those that are found guilty will face the full might of the law," he said.
Nxumalo said the report did not signal a crisis in the municipality. "It is, however, a wake-up call for us to arrest toxic practices that seemed to characterise the behaviour of our officials and councillors, disregarding applicable supply chain management processes," he said. "It is also revealing that if we address these loopholes within our systems of governance, the municipality could be on its way to achieving a clean audit before 2014. "We are therefore determined to root out the scourge of maladministration that has been afflicting us in recent years."
DA caucus leader Tex Collins said his party was part of the council but would continue to play an oversight role as the opposition party. "We will provide checks and balances as the opposition party. We have to hold the ruling party accountable and no one will stop us from doing that," he said.
Source: The Sowetan
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane's R176m deal
Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane is demanding the eThekwini municipality honour a secret R176-million housing contract on which it is backtracking. The contract, which never went out to tender, was suspended after the city's legal advisers pointed out that Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane had a criminal record.
Mpisane and her husband, former city policeman Sibusiso Mpisane, are known for their flashy lifestyle and for hosting lavish parties attended by celebrities and high-ranking politicians. Mpisane's company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, of which she is sole director, is also listed in a forensic report on alleged financial irregularities and tender fraud within the municipality. The company has received more than R300-million in housing contracts from the city over the past five years - excluding the one for R176-million - while Mpisane is facing 172 new tax-related charges. And, despite probes into Mpisane and her company by the municipality, the provincial housing department and the SA Revenue Service, in September last year the municipality gave her the contract to build and complete 2114 low-cost homes in Umlazi, south of Durban. Normal tender procedures were not followed and the city suspended the contract after being advised to do so by its legal department.
The Sunday Times has established that Mpisane instructed her lawyers to force the municipality to reverse its decision. In a letter dated December 6 2011 from lawyer Themba Mjoli, the municipality was given a 24-hour deadline to reverse its decision. "Unless you do so immediately ... our instructions are to seek appropriate relief from the high court on an urgent basis," he wrote. This week Mjoli declined to comment, saying he had just returned from holiday and was unaware if the city had responded. Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng failed to answer questions forwarded to him. According to municipal documents, Mpisane's company was hand-picked for the tender by the city's bid adjudication committee in September last year - despite it being tarnished by claims of poor workmanship in several of its projects.
Documents seen by the Sunday Times show that the committee used Section 36 of the procurement policy to bypass the normal public tender route. However, a month later the municipality's legal department objected and, on two separate occasions, warned the committee to reverse its decision. In two scathing letters, legal advisers questioned the selection of Mpisane's company, saying she had been convicted of VAT fraud in 2005. At the time, the company was fined R15000 and Mpisane received a three-year jail term suspended for five years.
The advisers also said the Close Corporations Act prohibited Mpisane from owning a business because of her conviction and sentence. "The amount of public money involved is such that the [committee] is obliged to follow the public tender process, so that council can get value for money," it said.
Housing head Cogi Pather wrote to Mpisane on December 2 explaining their decision to suspend the contract. Mjoli responded: "You are undoubtedly aware that the impugned decision was taken and made arbitrarily and capriciously." The lawyer attacked the municipality for ignoring the cost to Zikhulise of paying "1000 employees" and "18 subcontractors". "On a more serious note, the community, which is currently awaiting being accommodated before the builder's shutdown, is likely to be seriously angered by your impugned decision."
Mjoli also questioned the applicability of the Close Corporations Act in view of the fact that Mpisane's sentence had been suspended. Council minutes show that the tender in question was simply reconfigured from an old deal in 2006 for the construction of 3100 homes in Umlazi. The Mpisanes were then appointed as the main contractors but, after the auditor-general denounced the deal as highly irregular two years ago, work came to a halt. But early last year the provincial human settlements department approved the new, re-jigged contract to finish the work.
In 2010 forensic auditors Ngubane & Co recommended an investigation into Zikhulise and 34 other contractors. Two years ago, the Special Investigating Unit also began a probe of payments linked to a R37-million housing project in Durban's Lamontville township involving Mpisane.
The DA's Tex Collins, who has cried foul over the municipality's procurement practices for years, said: "Clearly all is not well ... any such work [Mpisane's company is involved in] should be stopped immediately for investigation." Mpisane and her husband, meanwhile, spent an estimated R1-million on an Egyptian-themed seventh wedding anniversary in March last year. Guests included socialite Khanyi Mbau, Khulubuse Zuma and May Mkhize, wife of KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize.
Source: Times Live
Mpisane and her husband, former city policeman Sibusiso Mpisane, are known for their flashy lifestyle and for hosting lavish parties attended by celebrities and high-ranking politicians. Mpisane's company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, of which she is sole director, is also listed in a forensic report on alleged financial irregularities and tender fraud within the municipality. The company has received more than R300-million in housing contracts from the city over the past five years - excluding the one for R176-million - while Mpisane is facing 172 new tax-related charges. And, despite probes into Mpisane and her company by the municipality, the provincial housing department and the SA Revenue Service, in September last year the municipality gave her the contract to build and complete 2114 low-cost homes in Umlazi, south of Durban. Normal tender procedures were not followed and the city suspended the contract after being advised to do so by its legal department.
The Sunday Times has established that Mpisane instructed her lawyers to force the municipality to reverse its decision. In a letter dated December 6 2011 from lawyer Themba Mjoli, the municipality was given a 24-hour deadline to reverse its decision. "Unless you do so immediately ... our instructions are to seek appropriate relief from the high court on an urgent basis," he wrote. This week Mjoli declined to comment, saying he had just returned from holiday and was unaware if the city had responded. Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng failed to answer questions forwarded to him. According to municipal documents, Mpisane's company was hand-picked for the tender by the city's bid adjudication committee in September last year - despite it being tarnished by claims of poor workmanship in several of its projects.
Documents seen by the Sunday Times show that the committee used Section 36 of the procurement policy to bypass the normal public tender route. However, a month later the municipality's legal department objected and, on two separate occasions, warned the committee to reverse its decision. In two scathing letters, legal advisers questioned the selection of Mpisane's company, saying she had been convicted of VAT fraud in 2005. At the time, the company was fined R15000 and Mpisane received a three-year jail term suspended for five years.
The advisers also said the Close Corporations Act prohibited Mpisane from owning a business because of her conviction and sentence. "The amount of public money involved is such that the [committee] is obliged to follow the public tender process, so that council can get value for money," it said.
Housing head Cogi Pather wrote to Mpisane on December 2 explaining their decision to suspend the contract. Mjoli responded: "You are undoubtedly aware that the impugned decision was taken and made arbitrarily and capriciously." The lawyer attacked the municipality for ignoring the cost to Zikhulise of paying "1000 employees" and "18 subcontractors". "On a more serious note, the community, which is currently awaiting being accommodated before the builder's shutdown, is likely to be seriously angered by your impugned decision."
Mjoli also questioned the applicability of the Close Corporations Act in view of the fact that Mpisane's sentence had been suspended. Council minutes show that the tender in question was simply reconfigured from an old deal in 2006 for the construction of 3100 homes in Umlazi. The Mpisanes were then appointed as the main contractors but, after the auditor-general denounced the deal as highly irregular two years ago, work came to a halt. But early last year the provincial human settlements department approved the new, re-jigged contract to finish the work.
In 2010 forensic auditors Ngubane & Co recommended an investigation into Zikhulise and 34 other contractors. Two years ago, the Special Investigating Unit also began a probe of payments linked to a R37-million housing project in Durban's Lamontville township involving Mpisane.
The DA's Tex Collins, who has cried foul over the municipality's procurement practices for years, said: "Clearly all is not well ... any such work [Mpisane's company is involved in] should be stopped immediately for investigation." Mpisane and her husband, meanwhile, spent an estimated R1-million on an Egyptian-themed seventh wedding anniversary in March last year. Guests included socialite Khanyi Mbau, Khulubuse Zuma and May Mkhize, wife of KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize.
Source: Times Live
Friday, December 9, 2011
EThekwini Mayor Councillor James Nxumalo Officially Introduced The New City Manager
EThekwini Mayor Councillor James Nxumalo officially introduced the new City Manager Mr Sibusiso Sithole to the media at a news conference held at City Hall this morning.
Sithole’s appointment was announced in December shortly after the Council took a unanimous decision that he should take over the baton from his predecessor, Dr Mike Sutcliffe. But this morning he was meeting the media for the first time where he outlined his vision and plans that would take the City forward.
After briefing senior managers at a breakfast meeting also held at the City Hall, Sithole then delivered a similar message to the media- of shaping things up in the Municipality, saying that he was under no illusion that his acceptance of the mammoth responsibility carries with it a plethora of challenges.
“We are keenly aware that the hopes and dreams of millions of people of our City, especially the poorest of the poor and indeed throughout the province and the country as a whole stand either to be realised or deferred through this appointment. Secondly we are not oblivious to the reality that the environment within and outside the Municipality, within which we shall be operating is characterised by volatility and high velocity of changes, which carry with them many paradoxes of opportunities for development and risks that must be managed at the same time,” Sithole said.
He also acknowledged the role played by his predecessor, Sutcliffe for allowing a smooth transition. Sithole admitted that he was inheriting a City that is stable and sound financially and that has set a record for spending on capital and operating budgets, saying that he was also promising to build on the foundation laid by Sutcliffe.
He mentioned 13 issues that are urgent and need to be prioritised. Those issues were:
* To facilitate participation around the Integrated Development Plan and the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, including Tariffs Model and all Budget Policies
* To develop Project Management Framework for accelerating the implementation of sustainable service delivery and human settlement solutions.
* To embark on a process of reviewing the status of the economy of the City and development proposal s to improve the City’s National and Global competitiveness; and institutional models for investment attraction and retention and branding.
* To develop a concept of a City Region with sister municipalities of KwaDukuza, Msunduzi and Hibiscus Coast in particular with a view to facilitating corridor development along the N2 and N3 gateway.
* To define the City’s role in the expansion of the port.
* To table the 2010/2011 Annual Report, which includes the Auditor-General’s report and to facilitating an oversight report around it.
* To finalise the implementation of the Revenue Management System.
* To act swiftly around the recommendations of the report of Manase and Associates into allegations of supply chain irregularities once the MEC of Cogta, Ms Nomusa Dube, has released its findings.
* To review supply chain management processes with a view to find a sustainable broad based black empowerment model.
* To finalise issues pertaining to Durban Transport within the framework of integrated transport system.
* To conclude decisions about AFD loan application.
* To respond to all pending legal issues and contingent liabilities; and
* To work with the Auditor General and the City’s Audit Committee to strengthen internal controls and the strategic and operational risk management process, towards a clean audit outcomes.
Sithole also promised unity in all the people of the City across racial, religious, political formations.
Introducing Sithole to the media, Nxumalo said he is a man with many accolades in Local Government. “As most of you would know, Mr Sithole is not a new comer to eThekwini, and in the Local Government administration. He worked as the Deputy City Manager between 2001 and 2002, and he spent part of that experience as Acting City Manager for eThekwini following the untimely death of Mr Felix Dlamini,” said Nxumalo.
Sithole joins eThekwini Municipality from the Msunduzi Municipality where he was deployed by the Provincial Cabinet as an Administrator; and he has held similar posts at Indaka and uMhlabuyalingana Municipalities.
His local government experience goes as far back as 1996 when he was Deputy CEO and later CEO of the North and South Central Local Council. Between 2003 and 2008 he did consulting work for both public and private sector; including general consulting on Local Government. He has also worked as General Manager: Corporate Services at Umgeni Water.
Amongst the educational qualifications, he holds a
* Master of Business Leadership (MBL): 2009 (UNISA School of Business Leadership);
* Master of Education (Policy & Planning): 1996 (Manchester University, UK)
* Post-Graduate Diploma Industrial Relations: 1993 (Natal University, Durban)
* B.PROC. (Law) 1991 (Natal University, Durban)
Source: eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit
Sithole’s appointment was announced in December shortly after the Council took a unanimous decision that he should take over the baton from his predecessor, Dr Mike Sutcliffe. But this morning he was meeting the media for the first time where he outlined his vision and plans that would take the City forward.
After briefing senior managers at a breakfast meeting also held at the City Hall, Sithole then delivered a similar message to the media- of shaping things up in the Municipality, saying that he was under no illusion that his acceptance of the mammoth responsibility carries with it a plethora of challenges.
“We are keenly aware that the hopes and dreams of millions of people of our City, especially the poorest of the poor and indeed throughout the province and the country as a whole stand either to be realised or deferred through this appointment. Secondly we are not oblivious to the reality that the environment within and outside the Municipality, within which we shall be operating is characterised by volatility and high velocity of changes, which carry with them many paradoxes of opportunities for development and risks that must be managed at the same time,” Sithole said.
He also acknowledged the role played by his predecessor, Sutcliffe for allowing a smooth transition. Sithole admitted that he was inheriting a City that is stable and sound financially and that has set a record for spending on capital and operating budgets, saying that he was also promising to build on the foundation laid by Sutcliffe.
He mentioned 13 issues that are urgent and need to be prioritised. Those issues were:
* To facilitate participation around the Integrated Development Plan and the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, including Tariffs Model and all Budget Policies
* To develop Project Management Framework for accelerating the implementation of sustainable service delivery and human settlement solutions.
* To embark on a process of reviewing the status of the economy of the City and development proposal s to improve the City’s National and Global competitiveness; and institutional models for investment attraction and retention and branding.
* To develop a concept of a City Region with sister municipalities of KwaDukuza, Msunduzi and Hibiscus Coast in particular with a view to facilitating corridor development along the N2 and N3 gateway.
* To define the City’s role in the expansion of the port.
* To table the 2010/2011 Annual Report, which includes the Auditor-General’s report and to facilitating an oversight report around it.
* To finalise the implementation of the Revenue Management System.
* To act swiftly around the recommendations of the report of Manase and Associates into allegations of supply chain irregularities once the MEC of Cogta, Ms Nomusa Dube, has released its findings.
* To review supply chain management processes with a view to find a sustainable broad based black empowerment model.
* To finalise issues pertaining to Durban Transport within the framework of integrated transport system.
* To conclude decisions about AFD loan application.
* To respond to all pending legal issues and contingent liabilities; and
* To work with the Auditor General and the City’s Audit Committee to strengthen internal controls and the strategic and operational risk management process, towards a clean audit outcomes.
Sithole also promised unity in all the people of the City across racial, religious, political formations.
Introducing Sithole to the media, Nxumalo said he is a man with many accolades in Local Government. “As most of you would know, Mr Sithole is not a new comer to eThekwini, and in the Local Government administration. He worked as the Deputy City Manager between 2001 and 2002, and he spent part of that experience as Acting City Manager for eThekwini following the untimely death of Mr Felix Dlamini,” said Nxumalo.
Sithole joins eThekwini Municipality from the Msunduzi Municipality where he was deployed by the Provincial Cabinet as an Administrator; and he has held similar posts at Indaka and uMhlabuyalingana Municipalities.
His local government experience goes as far back as 1996 when he was Deputy CEO and later CEO of the North and South Central Local Council. Between 2003 and 2008 he did consulting work for both public and private sector; including general consulting on Local Government. He has also worked as General Manager: Corporate Services at Umgeni Water.
Amongst the educational qualifications, he holds a
* Master of Business Leadership (MBL): 2009 (UNISA School of Business Leadership);
* Master of Education (Policy & Planning): 1996 (Manchester University, UK)
* Post-Graduate Diploma Industrial Relations: 1993 (Natal University, Durban)
* B.PROC. (Law) 1991 (Natal University, Durban)
Source: eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit
Monday, June 6, 2011
Durban mayor declares war on corruption
Durban's new mayor on Monday "declared war" against corrupt councillors and officials. “I declare war against fraud, corruption and maladministration and we will take action against councillors and officials who are found to be doing business with the municipality,” James Nxumalo said at the Durban City Hall on Monday afternoon, after being sworn in as the municipality's new mayor. A forensic firm was appointed earlier this year to probe fraud, corruption and maladministration allegations in the municipality. Auditor General Terrence Nombembe's 2009/10 report indicated R532m had been spent irregularly in the municipality.
Nxumalo said strict measures would be put in place to ensure departments adhered to supply chain management processes. The municipality would also not allow officials to flout tender procedures. He said he expected employees to work productively and passionately to improve the lives of residents. The municipality would continue “the great track record of unqualified audits”.
He would convene a two-day workshop in August where the city’s "strategic framework" would be mapped out. Improving the city’s economy, providing jobs and ensuring the costs of public transport, housing and basic services were reduced, would be among subjects to be discussed. Former deputy mayor Logie Naidoo was voted the municipality's new speaker on Monday. Executive committee member Nomvuzo Shabalala would fill the vacancy he left.
Naidoo got 134 votes to the beat the Democratic Alliance's Warwick Chapman, who got 44. The African Christian Democratic Party's speaker candidate Jonathan Naidoo managed to get three votes. Speaking after he was sworn in, Naidoo said he would ensure the municipality was a leading council in South Africa. “I will make sure that this council improves the lives of our people. I will make sure that service delivery is a priority.”
Source: News 24
Nxumalo said strict measures would be put in place to ensure departments adhered to supply chain management processes. The municipality would also not allow officials to flout tender procedures. He said he expected employees to work productively and passionately to improve the lives of residents. The municipality would continue “the great track record of unqualified audits”.
He would convene a two-day workshop in August where the city’s "strategic framework" would be mapped out. Improving the city’s economy, providing jobs and ensuring the costs of public transport, housing and basic services were reduced, would be among subjects to be discussed. Former deputy mayor Logie Naidoo was voted the municipality's new speaker on Monday. Executive committee member Nomvuzo Shabalala would fill the vacancy he left.
Naidoo got 134 votes to the beat the Democratic Alliance's Warwick Chapman, who got 44. The African Christian Democratic Party's speaker candidate Jonathan Naidoo managed to get three votes. Speaking after he was sworn in, Naidoo said he would ensure the municipality was a leading council in South Africa. “I will make sure that this council improves the lives of our people. I will make sure that service delivery is a priority.”
Source: News 24
Monday, May 30, 2011
New eThekwini mayor pledges change
James Nxumalo was announed mayor of eThekwini municipality yesterday. It will not be business as usual in the eThekwini municipality and the days of councillors flouting the law by doing business with the very council they have been elected to serve are over. This was the promise from James Nxumalo, who was named the new eThekwini mayor at a press briefing at the ANC’s provincial offices in Durban on Sunday.
The ANC also announced the first citizens of 10 other KwaZulu-Natal municipalities. However, the names of other political office-bearers who will take up prominent positions, such as the deputy mayors and speakers, at ANC-controlled municipalities in KZN were not revealed. Outgoing mayor Obed Mlaba, who has been at the helm of eThekwini for 15 years, will officially hand over the R2.3 million mayoral chain to Nxumalo next week. He will take the reins as mayor just two months after Co-operative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube announced an unprecedented forensic investigation into the city’s financial affairs. Dube said she would receive preliminary feedback from the forensic audit firm Manase and Associates, which was tasked with investigating allegations of fraud, maladministration and corruption in the city. “I’m not expecting a final report anytime this month, but it will just be to look at the progress and to see whether there are any other issues that may have arisen from the investigation,” she said.
Nxumalo said it would be premature for him to make statements regarding the investigation, as processes were under way. “But I must say that we are going to be very strict this time. It cannot be business as usual, and we will make sure that we implement the code of conduct governing councillors, because councillors are not allowed to do business with the municipalities. We will be very strict in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act,” he said. Nxumalo said councillors would be trained to understand that the law did not allow them to do business with the council. He said those who owned companies should resign from those companies “as a matter of urgency and declare their business interests”.
The ANC on Sunday announced that it was still engaged in talks with the NFP, aimed at forging a coalition, after both failed to secure governing majorities in 19 councils in the province. The ANC on Sunday announced Ester Qwabe as its Zululand mayoral candidate, but the party said this could change depending on the outcome of talks with the NFP.
ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said the outcome of talks with the NFP would determine the candidates for other key positions at eThekwini and other municipalities. “We have taken an approach that we will announce other positions after that engagement. That also goes for Zululand. We have announced our mayoral candidate in Zululand, but if talks and negotiations compel us to take a deputy mayoral position, we will determine that when we discuss with the NFP,” he said. Zikalala said the ANC would announce the progress of the talks today.
NFP leader Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi laughed off suggestions that she or any other member of her party would be appointed mayor of Msunduzi municipality, but said her party was open to talks with both the ANC and IFP. Makhosi Khoza, a front-runner for the eThekwini mayoral post, said on Sunday she would remain the party’s spokeswoman and MPL. – The Mercury
The ANC also announced the first citizens of 10 other KwaZulu-Natal municipalities. However, the names of other political office-bearers who will take up prominent positions, such as the deputy mayors and speakers, at ANC-controlled municipalities in KZN were not revealed. Outgoing mayor Obed Mlaba, who has been at the helm of eThekwini for 15 years, will officially hand over the R2.3 million mayoral chain to Nxumalo next week. He will take the reins as mayor just two months after Co-operative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube announced an unprecedented forensic investigation into the city’s financial affairs. Dube said she would receive preliminary feedback from the forensic audit firm Manase and Associates, which was tasked with investigating allegations of fraud, maladministration and corruption in the city. “I’m not expecting a final report anytime this month, but it will just be to look at the progress and to see whether there are any other issues that may have arisen from the investigation,” she said.
Nxumalo said it would be premature for him to make statements regarding the investigation, as processes were under way. “But I must say that we are going to be very strict this time. It cannot be business as usual, and we will make sure that we implement the code of conduct governing councillors, because councillors are not allowed to do business with the municipalities. We will be very strict in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act,” he said. Nxumalo said councillors would be trained to understand that the law did not allow them to do business with the council. He said those who owned companies should resign from those companies “as a matter of urgency and declare their business interests”.
The ANC on Sunday announced that it was still engaged in talks with the NFP, aimed at forging a coalition, after both failed to secure governing majorities in 19 councils in the province. The ANC on Sunday announced Ester Qwabe as its Zululand mayoral candidate, but the party said this could change depending on the outcome of talks with the NFP.
ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said the outcome of talks with the NFP would determine the candidates for other key positions at eThekwini and other municipalities. “We have taken an approach that we will announce other positions after that engagement. That also goes for Zululand. We have announced our mayoral candidate in Zululand, but if talks and negotiations compel us to take a deputy mayoral position, we will determine that when we discuss with the NFP,” he said. Zikalala said the ANC would announce the progress of the talks today.
NFP leader Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi laughed off suggestions that she or any other member of her party would be appointed mayor of Msunduzi municipality, but said her party was open to talks with both the ANC and IFP. Makhosi Khoza, a front-runner for the eThekwini mayoral post, said on Sunday she would remain the party’s spokeswoman and MPL. – The Mercury
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The mystery of Mpisane millions
Three weeks after receiving R30-million from the eThekwini municipality, high-flying Durban couple S'bu and Shawn Mpisane have halted the completion of RDP housing projects in Umlazi, apparently because they have no money to continue the work. The R30m paid in December was part of a series of electronic payments amounting to about R219 million, which the company received from eThekwini last year. The last payment of R4 785 720 was made on December 14, two weeks before their A-list, bling party on New Year's Eve. That's when the big-spending former metro officer and his politically connected wife dazzled friends at their luxurious La Lucia home.
Top-end whiskies and champagne flowed, while they splurged on special thrones and showed off their new Rolls-Royce. Guests included national police commissioner Bheki Cele. While Shawn Mpisane, daughter of the late ANC local councillor Dumazile Flora Mkhize, is the one who was granted the Umlazi housing contract, it is her husband, Wiseman Sibusiso (S'bu), who has been the focus of media attention. While working as a metro police constable, with a salary of less than R15 000 a month, Mpisane raised eyebrows by arriving at work in a Lamborghini and living in a R17 million mansion. This week, he made headlines of a different kind when The Mercury's news editor, Philani Makhanya, laid a complaint of intimidation against him. The alleged intimidation came after Mpisane became aware The Mercury was investigating his affairs.
On Monday, workers of Shawn Mpisane's Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company, as well as those employed by sub-contractors, in Umlazi, were told to go home because the company allegedly had no money to continue their work. An estimated 1 300 people, many from Umlazi, and their families have been affected, according to Ward 79 councillor Sthenjwa Nyawose. Mpisane had told him her company had received no money from the municipality since October. Despite repeated attempts to interview Shawn Mpisane, she failed to return calls to The Mercury as promised. As a result of the job and housing uncertainty, Nyawose described the situation in the township as "volatile but calm". "We are very angry, the councillors of Umlazi are fuming," he said. "As we speak, the project is not going on because the contractor has not been paid. The problem is the municipality is not coming up with the money."
Contradicting this, however, documentary records in The Mercury's possession indicate that more than R50 million was paid by the municipality to Zikhulise in November and December. Municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe confirmed a total of "around R300 million" had been paid to Zikhulise over 18 months and said the project had been completed in mid-December. The project involved building low-cost cost RDP houses on 4 500 sites in Umlazi B10, KwaMgaga and Umlazi Infill.
The Mercury has documentary proof that a total of R219 930 939 was electronically transferred from eThekwini to Zikhulise in 2009. In December alone, four payments totalling about R30 million were made. Nyawose said thousands of houses were still under construction or to be built in Umlazi, contradicting Sutcliffe's statement that all work had been completed. Sutcliffe explained that some funding was usually paid in advance. "Contractors submit claims based on work done; the city's professional team verify that and if such work has been done, payments are then made," he said. Like Nyawose, Sutcliffe confirmed that the development was initially a provincial project which the municipality was asked to take over. "In August, 2006, eThekwini municipality resolved to take over the project and become the developer and further agreed that the professional team and contractors... be kept for the duration of the project."
But just months after construction, some of the houses were crumbling, The Mercury established during a field trip. The houses were not plastered or painted. Some had no toilets, taps, baths or showers. An eight-member family living in a leaking, three-roomed house said their biggest concern was how they would eat. Only two members of the family were employed, one by Zikhulise and the other by one of its sub-contractors. "Eish, school has started and we can't take the children to school because we have no money," said one woman. Another angry man said the houses were of a poor quality because workers were told to rush their work.
Source: IoL
Top-end whiskies and champagne flowed, while they splurged on special thrones and showed off their new Rolls-Royce. Guests included national police commissioner Bheki Cele. While Shawn Mpisane, daughter of the late ANC local councillor Dumazile Flora Mkhize, is the one who was granted the Umlazi housing contract, it is her husband, Wiseman Sibusiso (S'bu), who has been the focus of media attention. While working as a metro police constable, with a salary of less than R15 000 a month, Mpisane raised eyebrows by arriving at work in a Lamborghini and living in a R17 million mansion. This week, he made headlines of a different kind when The Mercury's news editor, Philani Makhanya, laid a complaint of intimidation against him. The alleged intimidation came after Mpisane became aware The Mercury was investigating his affairs.
On Monday, workers of Shawn Mpisane's Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company, as well as those employed by sub-contractors, in Umlazi, were told to go home because the company allegedly had no money to continue their work. An estimated 1 300 people, many from Umlazi, and their families have been affected, according to Ward 79 councillor Sthenjwa Nyawose. Mpisane had told him her company had received no money from the municipality since October. Despite repeated attempts to interview Shawn Mpisane, she failed to return calls to The Mercury as promised. As a result of the job and housing uncertainty, Nyawose described the situation in the township as "volatile but calm". "We are very angry, the councillors of Umlazi are fuming," he said. "As we speak, the project is not going on because the contractor has not been paid. The problem is the municipality is not coming up with the money."
Contradicting this, however, documentary records in The Mercury's possession indicate that more than R50 million was paid by the municipality to Zikhulise in November and December. Municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe confirmed a total of "around R300 million" had been paid to Zikhulise over 18 months and said the project had been completed in mid-December. The project involved building low-cost cost RDP houses on 4 500 sites in Umlazi B10, KwaMgaga and Umlazi Infill.
The Mercury has documentary proof that a total of R219 930 939 was electronically transferred from eThekwini to Zikhulise in 2009. In December alone, four payments totalling about R30 million were made. Nyawose said thousands of houses were still under construction or to be built in Umlazi, contradicting Sutcliffe's statement that all work had been completed. Sutcliffe explained that some funding was usually paid in advance. "Contractors submit claims based on work done; the city's professional team verify that and if such work has been done, payments are then made," he said. Like Nyawose, Sutcliffe confirmed that the development was initially a provincial project which the municipality was asked to take over. "In August, 2006, eThekwini municipality resolved to take over the project and become the developer and further agreed that the professional team and contractors... be kept for the duration of the project."
But just months after construction, some of the houses were crumbling, The Mercury established during a field trip. The houses were not plastered or painted. Some had no toilets, taps, baths or showers. An eight-member family living in a leaking, three-roomed house said their biggest concern was how they would eat. Only two members of the family were employed, one by Zikhulise and the other by one of its sub-contractors. "Eish, school has started and we can't take the children to school because we have no money," said one woman. Another angry man said the houses were of a poor quality because workers were told to rush their work.
Source: IoL
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Illegal Evictions Happening at Gunpoint in Mpola Now
Residents of Mpola informal settlement at Marrianridge, near Pinetown, spent Thursday rebuilding and repairing their shacks. This was after a group of armed municipal security guards had ransacked and demolished more than 20 shacks, leaving about 100 people homeless. The guards were acting on the orders of ward councillor Derrick Dimba.
The residents said that the evictions were illegal because the guards did not have an eviction court order. One, Lindiwe Ndlovu, said the guards ordered people out of their shacks before breaking them down. Sipho Hlambisa said he had to take time off from work to rebuild his shack. "If they want to evict us, they must be prepared to take us somewhere else. "They should not just remove our furniture and demolish our shacks." Dimba said he had sent the guards to demolish the shacks because the residents were occupying the land illegally. "The people invaded that land. "The area is not designed to be a residential area - the place is steep and it is near a stream. "The municipality has no plans to build houses or for any projects in that area." Dimba said eviction orders were necessary only where people had built proper houses.
Centre for Applied Legal Studies researcher Kate Tissington said, however, that an eviction without a court order was illegal, "and this most definitely is". "The occupiers of Mpola informal settlement are protected by the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act and if the municipality wants to evict those living there, it needs to go through the eviction application process and get an order of court."
Tissington said the city had acted illegally by bypassing the act's provisions.
The eThekwini council speaker, James Nxumalo, said he understood that the city had to obtain a court order to evict people. He said although councillors acted as the eyes of the municipality, they did not have the right to evict people.
Source: Cape Times
The residents said that the evictions were illegal because the guards did not have an eviction court order. One, Lindiwe Ndlovu, said the guards ordered people out of their shacks before breaking them down. Sipho Hlambisa said he had to take time off from work to rebuild his shack. "If they want to evict us, they must be prepared to take us somewhere else. "They should not just remove our furniture and demolish our shacks." Dimba said he had sent the guards to demolish the shacks because the residents were occupying the land illegally. "The people invaded that land. "The area is not designed to be a residential area - the place is steep and it is near a stream. "The municipality has no plans to build houses or for any projects in that area." Dimba said eviction orders were necessary only where people had built proper houses.
Centre for Applied Legal Studies researcher Kate Tissington said, however, that an eviction without a court order was illegal, "and this most definitely is". "The occupiers of Mpola informal settlement are protected by the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act and if the municipality wants to evict those living there, it needs to go through the eviction application process and get an order of court."
Tissington said the city had acted illegally by bypassing the act's provisions.
The eThekwini council speaker, James Nxumalo, said he understood that the city had to obtain a court order to evict people. He said although councillors acted as the eyes of the municipality, they did not have the right to evict people.
Source: Cape Times
Monday, September 28, 2009
Police task team for Kennedy Road on cards after weekend killings
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has moved swiftly to liberate a Durban community (Kennedy Road) that had been placed on an illegal curfew, wherein residents had been forced to stop watching television, walking or cooking after seven at night.
Matters came to head at the weekend when a group of men brandishing an assortment of weapons including assegais, knobkerries, spears and guns attacked and killed two people. Scores of others were injured.
The MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu visited the area yesterday. Mchunu directed that the South African Police (SAPS) provincial commissioner and the provincial Department of Community Safety and Liaison meet with the community (today) and find the root cause of the problems that led to the killing.
At a meeting held today, community members made impassioned pleas to the multi-agency provincial government team to liberate them from the clutches of a structure simple known as The Forum. Community members told the provincial team that The Forum had placed them under an illegal curfew. They also told the team of assaults, intimidation, and how a community hall had been hijacked. They also alleged that The Forum were responsible for the weekend attack. The Forum apparently has links with the chairperson of Abantu Basemjondolo [sic], Sbu Zikode
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government team comprised of, the Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Bongani Ntanjana, Head of Department of Community Safety and Liaison, Yasmin Bacus, eThekwini Councillors, Yacoob Baig (ward 25) and Nelisiwe Nyanisa, eThekwini municipality Head of Community Participation Mina Lesoma, Senior Superintendent Msomi of Metro Police, Holson Mbhele of the Community Safety and Liaison Department, he is the Community Liaison Officer for eThekwini, Ishmael Nxumalo, the Director for Provincial Community Policing at the Department of Community Safety and Liaison.
At the meeting today, it was agreed as follows:
* The provincial commissioner’s office will set up a special police task team to hunt down the killers responsible for the weekend mayhem
* The Forum has no official standing, and shall disband
* The Department of Community Safety and Liaison through its head of community policing is to meet with all community structures including The Forum so as to set up a properly recognised community policing structure and encourage dialogue
* That, an illegal curfew is lifted with immediate effect
* That, Kennedy Road informal settlement is placed under 24 hour policing by teams from the Public Order Policing unit, and the Durban Metro Police,
* eThekwini municipality is to investigate ways of improving lighting in the area that may include installing flood lights
* eThekwini municipality shall without delay clear bushes and plantation that may impinge the work of police
* All crimes shall be reported to the new special task team
* A special focus will be placed on proliferation of illegal taverns. All legal taverns shall operate within the law including operating hours.
MEC Willies Mchunu said: “We condemn the killing of our people. It is absurd for any one to impose an illegal curfew on residents. We want to assure all Kennedy Road residents that, we stand ready to defend their freedoms including their right to freedom of association and the freedom of movement. Criminals, who are holding the Kennedy Road resident’s hostage, must be arrested without delay.
We want all Kennedy Road residents to be as free as any other citizen in a democratic society. All challenges in the community shall be addressed through dialogue within properly constituted community structures.
We have directed that the Department of Community Safety and Liaison through its Communities in Dialogue Programme shall assist the Kennedy Road residents to talk and solve all problems peacefully, in the meantime, police will be deployed in greater numbers, and killers hunted down.”
Deputy Commissioner Bongani Ntanjana said: “We want the community to know that as of today, they are free to walk, cook, and watch television as they so desire. No curfew. No forum has any authority to dictate how this community ought to live. Police are here to ensure your freedom of movement and association. Killers will be hunted down and jailed.”
Source: Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Matters came to head at the weekend when a group of men brandishing an assortment of weapons including assegais, knobkerries, spears and guns attacked and killed two people. Scores of others were injured.
The MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu visited the area yesterday. Mchunu directed that the South African Police (SAPS) provincial commissioner and the provincial Department of Community Safety and Liaison meet with the community (today) and find the root cause of the problems that led to the killing.
At a meeting held today, community members made impassioned pleas to the multi-agency provincial government team to liberate them from the clutches of a structure simple known as The Forum. Community members told the provincial team that The Forum had placed them under an illegal curfew. They also told the team of assaults, intimidation, and how a community hall had been hijacked. They also alleged that The Forum were responsible for the weekend attack. The Forum apparently has links with the chairperson of Abantu Basemjondolo [sic], Sbu Zikode
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government team comprised of, the Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Bongani Ntanjana, Head of Department of Community Safety and Liaison, Yasmin Bacus, eThekwini Councillors, Yacoob Baig (ward 25) and Nelisiwe Nyanisa, eThekwini municipality Head of Community Participation Mina Lesoma, Senior Superintendent Msomi of Metro Police, Holson Mbhele of the Community Safety and Liaison Department, he is the Community Liaison Officer for eThekwini, Ishmael Nxumalo, the Director for Provincial Community Policing at the Department of Community Safety and Liaison.
At the meeting today, it was agreed as follows:
* The provincial commissioner’s office will set up a special police task team to hunt down the killers responsible for the weekend mayhem
* The Forum has no official standing, and shall disband
* The Department of Community Safety and Liaison through its head of community policing is to meet with all community structures including The Forum so as to set up a properly recognised community policing structure and encourage dialogue
* That, an illegal curfew is lifted with immediate effect
* That, Kennedy Road informal settlement is placed under 24 hour policing by teams from the Public Order Policing unit, and the Durban Metro Police,
* eThekwini municipality is to investigate ways of improving lighting in the area that may include installing flood lights
* eThekwini municipality shall without delay clear bushes and plantation that may impinge the work of police
* All crimes shall be reported to the new special task team
* A special focus will be placed on proliferation of illegal taverns. All legal taverns shall operate within the law including operating hours.
MEC Willies Mchunu said: “We condemn the killing of our people. It is absurd for any one to impose an illegal curfew on residents. We want to assure all Kennedy Road residents that, we stand ready to defend their freedoms including their right to freedom of association and the freedom of movement. Criminals, who are holding the Kennedy Road resident’s hostage, must be arrested without delay.
We want all Kennedy Road residents to be as free as any other citizen in a democratic society. All challenges in the community shall be addressed through dialogue within properly constituted community structures.
We have directed that the Department of Community Safety and Liaison through its Communities in Dialogue Programme shall assist the Kennedy Road residents to talk and solve all problems peacefully, in the meantime, police will be deployed in greater numbers, and killers hunted down.”
Deputy Commissioner Bongani Ntanjana said: “We want the community to know that as of today, they are free to walk, cook, and watch television as they so desire. No curfew. No forum has any authority to dictate how this community ought to live. Police are here to ensure your freedom of movement and association. Killers will be hunted down and jailed.”
Source: Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Bye-bye to history - tribute to Durban’s Early Morning Market where frenetic haggling was a way of life
“WOZA, makoti, woza, banana shibhile lapha! Only 10 pence a dozen, woza ...” The words rang out from all directions at the Early Morning Market in Durban as each stall holder, mostly Indian women in saris, coaxed customers to buy fruits and vegetables. The words were familiar throughout my early teens as a spindly-legged boy accompanying my mother to buy vegetables and fruit on Saturdays way back in the 1960s.
The current stand-off between the eThekwini municipality, who want to demolish the market to make way for a R400 million development, and the traders who are opposed to the move, appears to have united Indian and African traders. The eThekwini municipality had planned to have the market closed on July 31 so demolition could start, but the traders won a high court stay of execution last week.
Source: The Sowetan
The current stand-off between the eThekwini municipality, who want to demolish the market to make way for a R400 million development, and the traders who are opposed to the move, appears to have united Indian and African traders. The eThekwini municipality had planned to have the market closed on July 31 so demolition could start, but the traders won a high court stay of execution last week.
Source: The Sowetan
Friday, May 9, 2008
Metro deal for Metro cop’s wife
The wife of Durban’s "millionaire" Metro cop secured a R10,3 million housing deal funded in part by the eThekwini Municipality where he works.
S’bu Mpisane (48), a sergeant in the Metro police dog unit reportedly earning R15 000 a month, hit the headlines last week when it emerged that he and his accountant wife Shauwn Mkhize (33) own a R15,5 million mansion in La Lucia. Now questions are being asked about a housing tender granted to a company owned by Mkhize, her business dealings with the municipality and whether she declared her links to Mpisane and to an ANC councillor believed to be her mother. A lawyer acting for the Mpisane family has threatened to sue anyone who "defames" them.
The DA has written to the KwaZulu-Natal head of the Scorpions, calling for them to investigate Mpisane’s "lavish lifestyle". eThekwini councillor John Steenhuisen wrote that "it is abundantly clear that Mpisane could not afford this lifestyle on a police officer’s salary". The municipality paid R3,5 million in January 2004 to fund the Lamontville housing project and develop 277 sites. The balance of funding came from the Housing Department. Zikhulise Construction was awarded the tender to build the "top structures", according to a press release issued before the launch on
January 17, 2004.
The only company that corresponds on the eThekwini municipal suppliers list is Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, which is owned by Mkhize. A previous member of the business was Dumazile Mkhize (65), an eThekwini ANC councillor who, according to Steenhuisen, is Mkhize’s mother.
The councillor has refused to comment and referred questions to the same legal team representing the younger Mkhize. The elder Mkhize reportedly resigned from the business on February 25, 2004 — a month after the tender was announced.
According to the municipality’s "vendor" records, Zikhulise’s listed "competencies" include civil construction, concrete works, fencing, general building work, paving, plumbing and roadworks. It can also supply building materials, cleaning supplies and chemicals, food supplies and stationery. According to a print-out of the municipality’s computerised records, Zikhulise has five full-time employees and lists its annual turnover at only R200 000.Mkhize this week did not deny securing the tender, but declined to comment and referred all queries to her legal representatives.
Lawyer Thipe Mothuloe — who is acting for her and her husband — said he is unable to comment on whether his client declared a conflict of interest as he has not seen the tender documents submitted to the municipality. "What is wrong with being a cop and being a millionaire? … What are you seeking to achieve with that line of questioning?" Mothuloe asked. He said he has been "instructed to institute legal action against the publications who have clearly defamed my client by suggesting he is a fraudster". "You must just be careful about that," he warned.
eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe would not be drawn on whether Mkhize declared her interests or whether there is a conflict. "The Mpisane issue emerged out of our own investigations into procurement matters. I’m not going to answer to specifics now until our investigations are complete."
Another company of which Mkhize is the sole member, Ukhozi Civil Cleaning and Construction CC, is also on the eThekwini Municipality list. It too has five full-time employees, but has a far greater annual turnover of R5 million.
In 2004, Mkhize’s business was highlighted in the Soros Economic Development Fund annual report as a beneficiary of Nurcha, a not-for-profit construction finance company funded by the South African government and the Soros Foundation.
According to the report, Mkhize — an accountant — started business with contracts to renovate schools. In March 2003, it built 117 houses in KwaZulu-Natal.Not long afterwards, Mkhize received another construction contract worth about R4,7 million to build 307 low-income houses. She obtained a R1,4 million loan from Nurcha. According to the Soros report, she made a R290 000 profit. By 2004 she was involved in two other projects.
Mpisane has remained mum about the source of his wealth. "I do a lot of things other than being a policeman, but I cannot mention them right now," he said last week.
He also said he is a qualified pilot, a claim dismissed by the Civil Aviation Authority, which said his student pilot licence expired in March.
Source: The Witness
S’bu Mpisane (48), a sergeant in the Metro police dog unit reportedly earning R15 000 a month, hit the headlines last week when it emerged that he and his accountant wife Shauwn Mkhize (33) own a R15,5 million mansion in La Lucia. Now questions are being asked about a housing tender granted to a company owned by Mkhize, her business dealings with the municipality and whether she declared her links to Mpisane and to an ANC councillor believed to be her mother. A lawyer acting for the Mpisane family has threatened to sue anyone who "defames" them.
The DA has written to the KwaZulu-Natal head of the Scorpions, calling for them to investigate Mpisane’s "lavish lifestyle". eThekwini councillor John Steenhuisen wrote that "it is abundantly clear that Mpisane could not afford this lifestyle on a police officer’s salary". The municipality paid R3,5 million in January 2004 to fund the Lamontville housing project and develop 277 sites. The balance of funding came from the Housing Department. Zikhulise Construction was awarded the tender to build the "top structures", according to a press release issued before the launch on
January 17, 2004.
The only company that corresponds on the eThekwini municipal suppliers list is Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, which is owned by Mkhize. A previous member of the business was Dumazile Mkhize (65), an eThekwini ANC councillor who, according to Steenhuisen, is Mkhize’s mother.
The councillor has refused to comment and referred questions to the same legal team representing the younger Mkhize. The elder Mkhize reportedly resigned from the business on February 25, 2004 — a month after the tender was announced.
According to the municipality’s "vendor" records, Zikhulise’s listed "competencies" include civil construction, concrete works, fencing, general building work, paving, plumbing and roadworks. It can also supply building materials, cleaning supplies and chemicals, food supplies and stationery. According to a print-out of the municipality’s computerised records, Zikhulise has five full-time employees and lists its annual turnover at only R200 000.Mkhize this week did not deny securing the tender, but declined to comment and referred all queries to her legal representatives.
Lawyer Thipe Mothuloe — who is acting for her and her husband — said he is unable to comment on whether his client declared a conflict of interest as he has not seen the tender documents submitted to the municipality. "What is wrong with being a cop and being a millionaire? … What are you seeking to achieve with that line of questioning?" Mothuloe asked. He said he has been "instructed to institute legal action against the publications who have clearly defamed my client by suggesting he is a fraudster". "You must just be careful about that," he warned.
eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe would not be drawn on whether Mkhize declared her interests or whether there is a conflict. "The Mpisane issue emerged out of our own investigations into procurement matters. I’m not going to answer to specifics now until our investigations are complete."
Another company of which Mkhize is the sole member, Ukhozi Civil Cleaning and Construction CC, is also on the eThekwini Municipality list. It too has five full-time employees, but has a far greater annual turnover of R5 million.
In 2004, Mkhize’s business was highlighted in the Soros Economic Development Fund annual report as a beneficiary of Nurcha, a not-for-profit construction finance company funded by the South African government and the Soros Foundation.
According to the report, Mkhize — an accountant — started business with contracts to renovate schools. In March 2003, it built 117 houses in KwaZulu-Natal.Not long afterwards, Mkhize received another construction contract worth about R4,7 million to build 307 low-income houses. She obtained a R1,4 million loan from Nurcha. According to the Soros report, she made a R290 000 profit. By 2004 she was involved in two other projects.
Mpisane has remained mum about the source of his wealth. "I do a lot of things other than being a policeman, but I cannot mention them right now," he said last week.
He also said he is a qualified pilot, a claim dismissed by the Civil Aviation Authority, which said his student pilot licence expired in March.
Source: The Witness
Monday, August 21, 2006
CORRUPTION AND ARMED INTIMIDATION AS MOTALA HEIGHTS EVICTIONS CRISIS DEEPENS
On Saturday 17 June 2006 Ward Councillor Derek Dimba arrived at the Motala Heights settlement in Pinetown with municipal officials and 5 car loads of municipal security guards to mark out shacks that would then be destroyed by the militarised police Land Invasions Unit. They had probably chosen the Youth Day weekend thinking that many people would be away at their rural homes. They were wrong. The community was able to mobilise quickly and see off this first threat.
The Motala Heights Development Commitment spent the next day gathering detailed information from residents and preparing affidavits and were at the Legal Resources Centre first thing on Monday morning. They then moved on the Municipal offices in New Germany where they were able to win an unscheduled emergency meeting with Mr. Geoff Nightingale. Nightingale confirmed that the Municipality planned to move 63 families with ‘numbers’ to a new housing development at Nazareth Island and to evict the other residents. The Council’s ‘one shack = one house’ policy means that many families who are sharing shacks face eviction with no prospect of relocation. Nightingale also confirmed that Cllr Dimba had asked the Municipality to immediately destroy all new structures that had been erected. The eThekwini Municipality does not allow the construction of new shacks or the expansion or development of existing shacks. The Development Committee pointed out that all the new shacks and developments (all well made wooden cabins) had been built by long standing residents who needed more space for growing children, had got married, wanted to move out of over crowded shared shacks after finding work and so on.
On Women’s Day, 9 August 2006, Cllr Dimba returned with pistol holstered to each hip and flanked by his usual cohort of armed men. He summoned the community to a meeting where he began by gesturing to his weapons and promised to ‘chase away’ named individuals on the democratically elected committee. He then said, in a chilling echo of high apartheid language, that people in shacks without numbers would have to ‘hamba khaya’ and ‘go back where they came from’. He said that after those people with numbers were relocated to Nazareth Island on 27 August 2006 the houses of the others would be demolished.
The Motala Heights settlement lies amongst the gum tress on the hill behind Motala Heights suburb which is, in turn, just behind the many factories in Pinetown’s industrial area. It was founded in 1992 by Mr. Richard Nzuza and the residents mostly come from Zululand, the Eastern Cape and Ixopo although some are from as far away as the Free State. Almost everyone came here to work or to reunite families divided by migrant labour. Most of the men work in the nearby factories and most of the women work in the houses in the adjacent suburb. There is a school, clinic, library and shops within walking distance which means that living in Motala Heights has the tremendous benefit of radically cutting down the time and money that poor people usually have to spend on transport.
There are almost 300 shacks in the settlement. The land is owned by local tycoon Ricky Govender who has developed cottages for rent on adjacent land and also owns the local bottle store and supermarket as well as a trucking company amongst other businesses. It is rumoured that he has many government contracts too. People in the Motala Heights settlement have excellent relationships with most of the residents in formal houses. They often work in their homes and share the same taxis. The local taxi boss, just known as Leon, is widely respected in the settlement. But the conflict with the Govender family goes back to 1997 when Ricky’s father, Harry, used industrial earth moving equipment to dig up the road leading into the settlement. The shack dwellers responded by building their own road with their own tools and labour. It is now widely believed that Govender is aiming to extend his private development, including housing and a petrol station, up the hill in a large private development after the shack dwellers have been evicted. Cllr Dimba appears to report directly to Govender usually visiting him before and after his armed visits to the Motala Heights Settlement. The Housing Department have told the Motala Heights Committee that they cannot buy the land from Govender as he is demanding a completely unreasonable price. The Community is demanding the expropriation of the small section of Govender’s large land holding where they have built their community in order that there can be an upgrade where people are already living.
The 63 families scheduled to move to Nazareth Island would rather stay in Motala Heights where they are close to work, schools, the local clinic, shops and the other benefits of being near to Pinetown and where they are part of an established community. Many amongst them refused to register for the tiny badly built houses in Nazareth Island for these reasons and many also refused to register in solidarity with others who don’t have ‘a number’ and face eviction without relocation. Numerous people in the community allege that the ‘numbers’ of the people that didn’t register have been sold off to people from elsewhere, especially KwaMashu The Committee is currently making the arrangements to pursue vigorous legal action against this alleged corruption. The more than 200 families who now face eviction and the destruction of their community, their houses and their access to urban opportunity are determined to resist eviction by all means. They will explore all legal options but will also use mass mobilisation and will draw on the support of shack dwellers elsewhere to defend their homes, their community and their right to live near the city. The resistance is being organised by the democratically elected and mandated Motala Heights Development Committee which is affiliated to the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement.
For comment on the particular situation confronted by Motala Heights please contact the following members of the Motala Heights Development Committee:
Mr Bhekuyise Ngcobo 0769212891, Chair
Ms Lousia Motha 0781760088, Deputy Chair
Mr Alson Mkhize, 0827608427
Mr Sizwe Nkwanyana 0839951351
For comment on the general situation confronted by shack dwellers in the eThekwini Municipality as they face the onslaught of the Municipality’s looming mass evictions and forced removals under its World Bank/UN designed ‘slum clearance’ programme that aims to ‘clear the slums by 2010’ please contact the following members of the Abahlali baseMjondolo secretariat.
Mr S’bu Zikode 0835470474, Chair
Mr Mnikelo Ndabankulu 073565241, Media Liason
Ms Fikile Nkosi 0842501446
Mzuyanda Ngthobane (24), Nkosinathi Gabella (28) and Slethiwe Ngcobo (3) all confront eviction from their home in the Motala Heights Settlement. They are pictured outside Mr Ngthobane’s home. Mr Ngthobane is a long time resident of Motala Heights and has just built his own wooden home after years of sharing a shack with 6 others.
Mr. Richard Nzuza, founder of the Motala Heights Settlement.
“I will not be moved. I will die here.”
Source: abahlali.org
The Motala Heights Development Commitment spent the next day gathering detailed information from residents and preparing affidavits and were at the Legal Resources Centre first thing on Monday morning. They then moved on the Municipal offices in New Germany where they were able to win an unscheduled emergency meeting with Mr. Geoff Nightingale. Nightingale confirmed that the Municipality planned to move 63 families with ‘numbers’ to a new housing development at Nazareth Island and to evict the other residents. The Council’s ‘one shack = one house’ policy means that many families who are sharing shacks face eviction with no prospect of relocation. Nightingale also confirmed that Cllr Dimba had asked the Municipality to immediately destroy all new structures that had been erected. The eThekwini Municipality does not allow the construction of new shacks or the expansion or development of existing shacks. The Development Committee pointed out that all the new shacks and developments (all well made wooden cabins) had been built by long standing residents who needed more space for growing children, had got married, wanted to move out of over crowded shared shacks after finding work and so on.
On Women’s Day, 9 August 2006, Cllr Dimba returned with pistol holstered to each hip and flanked by his usual cohort of armed men. He summoned the community to a meeting where he began by gesturing to his weapons and promised to ‘chase away’ named individuals on the democratically elected committee. He then said, in a chilling echo of high apartheid language, that people in shacks without numbers would have to ‘hamba khaya’ and ‘go back where they came from’. He said that after those people with numbers were relocated to Nazareth Island on 27 August 2006 the houses of the others would be demolished.
The Motala Heights settlement lies amongst the gum tress on the hill behind Motala Heights suburb which is, in turn, just behind the many factories in Pinetown’s industrial area. It was founded in 1992 by Mr. Richard Nzuza and the residents mostly come from Zululand, the Eastern Cape and Ixopo although some are from as far away as the Free State. Almost everyone came here to work or to reunite families divided by migrant labour. Most of the men work in the nearby factories and most of the women work in the houses in the adjacent suburb. There is a school, clinic, library and shops within walking distance which means that living in Motala Heights has the tremendous benefit of radically cutting down the time and money that poor people usually have to spend on transport.
There are almost 300 shacks in the settlement. The land is owned by local tycoon Ricky Govender who has developed cottages for rent on adjacent land and also owns the local bottle store and supermarket as well as a trucking company amongst other businesses. It is rumoured that he has many government contracts too. People in the Motala Heights settlement have excellent relationships with most of the residents in formal houses. They often work in their homes and share the same taxis. The local taxi boss, just known as Leon, is widely respected in the settlement. But the conflict with the Govender family goes back to 1997 when Ricky’s father, Harry, used industrial earth moving equipment to dig up the road leading into the settlement. The shack dwellers responded by building their own road with their own tools and labour. It is now widely believed that Govender is aiming to extend his private development, including housing and a petrol station, up the hill in a large private development after the shack dwellers have been evicted. Cllr Dimba appears to report directly to Govender usually visiting him before and after his armed visits to the Motala Heights Settlement. The Housing Department have told the Motala Heights Committee that they cannot buy the land from Govender as he is demanding a completely unreasonable price. The Community is demanding the expropriation of the small section of Govender’s large land holding where they have built their community in order that there can be an upgrade where people are already living.
The 63 families scheduled to move to Nazareth Island would rather stay in Motala Heights where they are close to work, schools, the local clinic, shops and the other benefits of being near to Pinetown and where they are part of an established community. Many amongst them refused to register for the tiny badly built houses in Nazareth Island for these reasons and many also refused to register in solidarity with others who don’t have ‘a number’ and face eviction without relocation. Numerous people in the community allege that the ‘numbers’ of the people that didn’t register have been sold off to people from elsewhere, especially KwaMashu The Committee is currently making the arrangements to pursue vigorous legal action against this alleged corruption. The more than 200 families who now face eviction and the destruction of their community, their houses and their access to urban opportunity are determined to resist eviction by all means. They will explore all legal options but will also use mass mobilisation and will draw on the support of shack dwellers elsewhere to defend their homes, their community and their right to live near the city. The resistance is being organised by the democratically elected and mandated Motala Heights Development Committee which is affiliated to the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement.
For comment on the particular situation confronted by Motala Heights please contact the following members of the Motala Heights Development Committee:
Mr Bhekuyise Ngcobo 0769212891, Chair
Ms Lousia Motha 0781760088, Deputy Chair
Mr Alson Mkhize, 0827608427
Mr Sizwe Nkwanyana 0839951351
For comment on the general situation confronted by shack dwellers in the eThekwini Municipality as they face the onslaught of the Municipality’s looming mass evictions and forced removals under its World Bank/UN designed ‘slum clearance’ programme that aims to ‘clear the slums by 2010’ please contact the following members of the Abahlali baseMjondolo secretariat.
Mr S’bu Zikode 0835470474, Chair
Mr Mnikelo Ndabankulu 073565241, Media Liason
Ms Fikile Nkosi 0842501446
Mzuyanda Ngthobane (24), Nkosinathi Gabella (28) and Slethiwe Ngcobo (3) all confront eviction from their home in the Motala Heights Settlement. They are pictured outside Mr Ngthobane’s home. Mr Ngthobane is a long time resident of Motala Heights and has just built his own wooden home after years of sharing a shack with 6 others.
Mr. Richard Nzuza, founder of the Motala Heights Settlement.
“I will not be moved. I will die here.”
Source: abahlali.org
Tuesday, January 6, 2004
1 216 get new homes in Durban
Housing Minister Brigitte Mabandla officially opened a slums clearance project in the eThekwini (Durban) municipality on Tuesday. Keys were handed to some of the 1 216 new homeowners located in the Welbedacht West area. It is one of six main areas that stand to benefit from the slum clearance housing project, which began in 2001 and has, to date, cost almost R218m to implement. "The settlements selected have been earmarked for complete relocation for a variety of reasons such as the threat of flooding, major environmental health risks, unstable land, fire risks and the size of the settlement which may be too small to be feasible for an upgrade project," said Mabandla.
She said project beneficiaries would receive their subsidies from the department of housing, as well as a substantial top-up from eThekwini municipality to ensure that adequate levels of service - such as tarred bus routes, sewer reticulation, water and electricity to each household - were provided. "Houses have been constructed in terms of the housing department's minimum norms and standards, which provide for a 30m² house," said Mabandla. All projects with the exception of Namibia Stop 8 in Inanda were at an advanced stage of construction.
The 10 869 houses and sites was anticipated to be a three-year construction programme, with the construction of houses and services almost 60& complete. Welbedacht East and West, as well as Parkgate, are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004.
Meanwhile, eThekwini mayor Obed Mlaba said his council had committed itself to funding services and had contributed about R70m to achieve this. "The council has pursued a policy of bridge financing the development to ensure rapid delivery of housing and services," said Mlaba at Tuesday's handover. He said that, according to the eThekwini council's informal settlement programme, proposed housing interventions had been divided into four categories. These were in-situ upgrade; relocation; partial in-situ upgrade and partial relocation; and approved in-situ upgrade housing projects.
In phase one of the slums clearance project, a total of 3 500 informal households will need to be relocated from 10 settlements.
Source: News 24
She said project beneficiaries would receive their subsidies from the department of housing, as well as a substantial top-up from eThekwini municipality to ensure that adequate levels of service - such as tarred bus routes, sewer reticulation, water and electricity to each household - were provided. "Houses have been constructed in terms of the housing department's minimum norms and standards, which provide for a 30m² house," said Mabandla. All projects with the exception of Namibia Stop 8 in Inanda were at an advanced stage of construction.
The 10 869 houses and sites was anticipated to be a three-year construction programme, with the construction of houses and services almost 60& complete. Welbedacht East and West, as well as Parkgate, are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004.
Meanwhile, eThekwini mayor Obed Mlaba said his council had committed itself to funding services and had contributed about R70m to achieve this. "The council has pursued a policy of bridge financing the development to ensure rapid delivery of housing and services," said Mlaba at Tuesday's handover. He said that, according to the eThekwini council's informal settlement programme, proposed housing interventions had been divided into four categories. These were in-situ upgrade; relocation; partial in-situ upgrade and partial relocation; and approved in-situ upgrade housing projects.
In phase one of the slums clearance project, a total of 3 500 informal households will need to be relocated from 10 settlements.
Source: News 24
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