R472Million in Disaster funding remained unspent as Eastern Cape approaches High-Risk Summer

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

R472 million in disaster funding remained unspent as Eastern Cape approaches high-risk summer     The Democratic Alliance will request that the Eastern Cape Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs convene a joint briefing by COGTA and Provincial Treasury on the spending of disaster relief and recovery funding across the province. The departments must present a municipality-by-municipality recovery plan setting out the reasons for every outstanding balance, the projects affected, revised completion dates, interventions already undertaken, and the consequences imposed where municipalities have failed to comply. This follows a response to a parliamentary question submitted by the DA, which revealed that R472.4 million of the R3.147 billion allocated for disaster relief and recovery since 2023 remained unspent as of July 2026. COGTA identified 11 municipalities as currently underspending their disaster grants. Among the most concerning cases is Makana, which had spent just R5.78 million of a R29.11 million allocation, leaving R23.33 million unspent. Separate Buffalo City allocations carried unspent balances of R23.86 million and R8.53 million, while Enoch Mgijima had R9.31 million unspent. Two Nelson Mandela Bay allocations reflected outstanding balances of R9.13 million and R3.35 million respectively. Disaster funding is intended to repair damaged roads, bridges, stormwater systems, water infrastructure, and other essential services on which vulnerable communities depend. COGTA claims that no compliant municipal application has been delayed at the provincial level since 2023. It also points to monthly monitoring meetings, site visits, and engagements with underspending municipalities. However, the response does not disclose how many cases of non-compliance have been escalated, what interventions followed, or whether those interventions improved delivery. The timing is particularly concerning. Parts of the Eastern Cape are currently experiencing disruptive rain and the risk of localised flooding. At the same time, strengthening El Niño conditions are expected to bring hotter and potentially drier conditions to southern Africa over the coming summer, increasing the risk of drought, water stress, heatwaves, and veld fires. The Eastern Cape is a disaster-prone province. It must be prepared for floods, droughts, fires, and severe storms, rather than scrambling to respond after lives, homes, and infrastructure have already been lost. Despite this, the province’s separate disaster funding framework is still being developed and is only expected to be finalised before the end of the 2026/27 financial year. This means it could arrive after the province has passed through much of the coming high-risk summer. The DA’s 2026 Local Government Election Manifesto commits DA-led municipalities to building resilience into municipal planning by factoring climate risks and maintenance backlogs into long-term decisions. This requires competent officials, data-driven planning, transparent expenditure, and real consequences when public money is not converted into delivery. The Eastern Cape cannot afford disaster management that exists mainly in frameworks, protocols, and meetings. Disaster funding must translate into completed projects, stronger infrastructure, and better-protected communities before the next emergency strikes.

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 COURT GRANTS BAIL TO MALEMA ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN EMFULENI MUNICIPALITY R16MILLION FRAUD AND CORRUPTION CASE

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

COURT GRANTS BAIL TO MALEMA ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN EMFULENI MUNICIPALITY R16 MILLION FRAUD AND CORRUPTION CASE

Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng – The Vanderbijlpark Magistrates’ Court has granted bail of R30 000 to Mpho Edward Malema (40), a service provider and director of Mabula Forestry and Construction.

 Malema faces charges of corruption, fraud and theft involving approximately R16Million.

It is alleged that between July 2015 and July 2023, Emfuleni Local Municipality Fleet Manager Lerato Selaelo Mpholo (45), who is Accused 1 in the matter, received a payment of R50 000, as well as other undisclosed amounts, from Malema in exchange for allegedly facilitating the awarding of fleet procurement contracts by the municipality to Malema and his company.

Following the awarding of the contracts, the municipality allegedly ordered and paid approximately R16Million to Malema for the procurement of 18 vehicles, including UD trucks and bakkies. However, the vehicles were allegedly never delivered to the municipality.

Seven of the vehicles have since been recovered from other entities, while the remaining vehicles are still outstanding.

During the bail proceedings, the State opposed Malema’s release on bail. However, the magistrate found that it was in the interests of justice for the accused to be released on bail and granted him bail of R30 000.

The matter was postponed to 29 September 2026 for further investigations and for Malema to join his co-accused, Mpholo, who was previously released on bail.

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 IEC 2026 CANDIDATES LIST OFFICIAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS 

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

IEC 2026 CANDIDATES LIST OFFICIAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS 

CLICK HERE  : 

IEC 2026 CANDIDATES LIST

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 ANC off the PR Ballot in Mangaung, the DA can Win!

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

ANC off the PR Ballot in Mangaung, the DA can Win!   The DA welcomes the Electoral Court's judgement this morning, dismissing the ANC's appeal to include its non-submitted proportional candidate list for Mangaung after the deadline. The DA understands that all 8 of the ANC's potential mayoral candidates have now been excluded from contesting. The ANC's absence from the PR ballot presents a unique opportunity for the already disheartened residents of Mangaung to vote for an honest, capable, and hard-working local government that can get Mangaung Working For All. The chance for political and governance change now presents itself, where the ANC is the author of its own demise. The reality is that the ANC’s decreasing support places many of their Ward Councillors at risk of not being elected again – and the Wards the ANC loses can no longer be balanced out from the PR list. The battle to get Mangaung working is well and truly on. The DA has been running a year-long campaign in Mangaung, as we have across Metros in South Africa, with pre-announced Mayoral Candidates who were submitted to the IEC on time. Since the DA named me Mayoral Candidate for Mangaung, I have been actively engaging residents on the immense service delivery issues across this Metro. A political party that cannot submit its candidate list on time cannot be trusted to govern a Metro, provide quality basic services, and grow the local economy of the City of Mangaung. This non-submission clearly indicates a lack of political will and leadership, as shown by the mismanagement of the Metro, which has now been under both provincial and national administration. On 4 November, residents across Mangaung can unite behind a strong and united DA to get Mangaung Working For All.

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 THE ELECTORAL COURT'S DISMISSAL OF THE ANC'S APPLICATION AGAINST THE IEC 

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BY: CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS | ONLINE EDITOR

THE ELECTORAL COURT'S DISMISSAL OF THE ANC'S APPLICATION AGAINST THE IEC 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes and welcomes the decision of the Electoral Court to dismiss the African National Congress's (ANC) application challenging the Independent  Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa's refusal to accommodate its late submission of candidates for the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections. 

The ruling is a victory for electoral integrity, for the rule of law, and for every party and every voter who respected the deadlines set out by the IEC.   On 28 August 2026, at 5pm, the statutory deadline closed for political parties to submit their ward candidate nominations and party lists through the IEC's Online Candidate Nomination System. 

Every party contesting the November elections knew this deadline months in advance, it was not sprung on anyone. The ANC failed to complete its submissions for six municipalities affecting 181 of its candidates. Rather than accept responsibility for this failure, the ANC claimed that "technical glitches" on the IEC's system prevented its administrators from clicking the final "submit" button, and approached the Electoral Court demanding that its incomplete submissions be recognised as validly made. 

The IEC's response exposed this excuse for what it was. The Commission's own server logs showed zero downtime on the nomination platform before the deadline, and demonstrated that ANC officials were actively uploading candidate information for other municipalities right up until 5pm, proof that the system was fully operational the entire time. 

Tellingly, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula was later forced to admit that the party's own list had contained inaccurately captured identity numbers. The "glitch" the ANC blamed on the IEC was, in truth, the ANC's own administrative failure to manage a process it had known about for months. 

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