BHAMBANANA ABATTOIR ADA CASH INJECTION @KASIBC_NEWS

BHAMBANANA ABATTOIR ADA CASH INJECTION @KASIBC_NEWS 

The Bhambanana Abattoir project - a facility meant to uplift livestock farmers within uMkhanyakude District – may yet become a beacon of hope after years of failure following a recent cash injection of R6.1million by the Agribusiness Development Agency (ADA).

Further steps in the right direction include the involvement of the National Agricultural Marketing Council and the Red Meat Abattoir Association in developing a business plan and infrastructure assessment.

Bhambanana Abbatoir has, for many years, been a major concern for the DA. A facility that was meant to provide support instead became a symbol of government inefficiency and poor planning. 

Initiated in 2012 and constructed at a cost of R82.9million, the abattoir was envisioned as a solution to the economic devastation caused by the 2011 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak.

The facility was meant to provide a safe, regulated space for livestock slaughter, enabling trade in meat rather than live animals. However, due to glaring structural defects and non-compliance with national meat safety regulations, the facility has remained non-operational for nearly a decade.

The DA has consistently called for accountability in infrastructure spending and the Bhambanana Abattoir is a textbook case of how poor oversight and lack of technical due diligence can derail a well-intentioned project. The absence of basic operational features, including proper slaughter line height, sterilization points and adequate washing facilities, has rendered the facility unusable until now.

The DA strongly supports the proposal for a public-private partnership (PPP) model to operationalise the facility. By involving local livestock associations, traditional authorities and private sector operators, we can ensure that the abattoir becomes a sustainable economic hub. This model will not only create jobs but also empower local farmers, improve food safety, and stimulate the rural economy of Northern KwaZulu-Natal 

The DA urges KZN’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) to fast-track the handover processes, resolve outstanding utility and land issues and ensure full transparency in the appointment of operational partners.

The people of uMkhanyakude deserve better. As part of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will continue to monitor this project closely to ensure that public funds are used effectively and that the Bhambanana Abattoir finally delivers on its promise.

DIHLABENG INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENT 54% VACANCY RATE @KASIBC_NEWS

DIHLABENG INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENT 54% VACANCY RATE @KASIBC_NEWS 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Dihlabeng has requested an urgent performance audit of the Infrastructure Department to identify internal bottlenecks and hold senior officials accountable for the inaction regarding the deteriorating state of service delivery.

This is a direct result of the Infrastructure and Public Works Department operating at a staggering 54% staff vacancy rate.

This failure to fill critical positions is not just an administrative issue but a direct assault on the constitutional right of residents to basic services.

Infrastructure is the backbone of any municipality. Without the necessary personnel, Dihlabeng’s ability to maintain roads, respond to water leaks, manage sewerage systems, and uphold public safety infrastructure is collapsing before our eyes.

Communities are suffering, and the ANC-led administration has no plan to arrest this decline.

The DA continues to receive daily complaints from residents across the entire Dihlabeng Municipality.

This collapse in service delivery is due to a failure of governance, planning, and political will.

The remaining employees in the Infrastructure Department are overburdened and under-supported. Staff are working excessive overtime to compensate for the shortfall, leading to exhaustion, low morale, and mistakes that further delay service delivery. This is unsustainable and dangerous.

The DA in Dihlabeng is proposing the following immediate and long-term interventions to stabilise the department and restore service delivery:

Declaration of a Local Infrastructure Emergency

The municipality must formally declare an Infrastructure Emergency to unlock special funding and support from the Free State Provincial Government.

Urgent filling of critical posts

We are demanding that all funded and vacant technical posts be advertised and filled within 60 days. We will table a motion in Council for quarterly reporting on progress.

Deploy retired Engineers and artisans

Engage qualified retirees on short-term contracts to stabilise operations while permanent recruitment continues.

Accelerate learnerships and internships

Fast-track DA supported partnerships with colleges to place young artisans into municipal departments with structured mentorship.

Ward-based maintenance teams

Establish community-based maintenance teams under municipal supervision to assist with basic repairs, road patching, and cleaning while skilled staff focus on technical duties.

Transparent reporting to residents

A weekly Service Delivery Report should be published publicly to track complaints, repairs, and departmental performance. The DA will initiate this transparency through its own Ward Councillors when the administration fails to act.

The current state of Dihlabeng’s infrastructure is unacceptable. It is not only a result of capacity; it is a symptom of broken leadership. 

The DA is committed to fixing what is broken by focusing on clean governance, professional administration, and people-centred service delivery.

We will not allow the residents of Dihlabeng to be forgotten.

GAUTENG TRAFFIC WARDENS VEHICLE ACCIDENT @KASIBC_NEWS

GAUTENG TRAFFIC WARDENS VEHICLE ACCIDENT @KASIBC_NEWS

The Gauteng Provincial Government has noted media reports regarding an accident involving a traffic warden vehicle in Kagiso. 

A thorough investigation is underway to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the accident. Until this process is complete, we urge the public and media to refrain from speculation, as uninformed speculations do not serve the interests of justice or those involved. 

The Gauteng Provincial Government takes such incidents extremely seriously, and any necessary corrective measures will be implemented decisively once the facts are established. 

We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of safety and accountability in all our operations. It is important to remember that this isolated incident should not overshadow the dedication and bravery of the thousands of traffic wardens who work tirelessly, often in hazardous conditions, to ensure the safety of all residents of Gauteng. 

Their professionalism and commitment continue to play a vital role in keeping our communities safe. 

Further updates will be provided in due course as the investigation progresses. 

PLANNED WASTEFUL R700MILLION EXPENDITURE ON NATIONAL DIALOGUE @KASIBC_NEWS

PLANNED WASTEFUL R700MILLION EXPENDITURE ON NATIONAL DIALOGUE  @KASIBC_NEWS 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) strongly rejects the outrageous and wasteful plan to spend at least R700 Million on a so-called “National Dialogue” while our people are subjected to a brutal cost-of-living crisis, rising unemployment, and collapsing public services. 

The preparatory committee for this dialogue, dubbed the National Dialogue Preparatory Task Team, have stated that they will submit a draft budget to the government amounting to hundreds of millions of rands. According to the Task Team, this dialogue is meant to include two national conventions and public engagements, but in truth, it is nothing more than an expensive talk shop with no tangible benefit to the masses of our people. 

This comes at a time when we had to fight, tooth and nail, against a Treasury determined to increase Value-Added Tax (VAT), which was going to hit the poor the hardest. South African are also facing an unjustified upcoming increase in the fuel levy, which will drive up the cost of food, transport and general cost of living in an already tough economic climate. 

Meanwhile, government has refused to adjust personal income tax brackets, punishing low and middle income workers as inflation erodes their earnings. 

It is, therefore, an insult to millions of South Africans, who are battling with food insecurity, load shedding, broken healthcare, and unaffordable education, that the same government would entertain wasting close to a Billion Rand on elite talk shows while failing to deliver basic services. 

How does a government that is pushing austerity and presenting a budget with deep cuts to spending on crucial issues such as education and healthcare, find money to spend on dialogue? 

It is clear that this dialogue is not about nation-building. It is about cronyism, tender manipulation, and providing platforms for failed politicians to rehabilitate themselves under the guise of public consultation. It is a direct attack on public funds and we will not allow it to continue unchecked. 

The EFF will demand full transparency and public disclosure of the budget for this dialogue. Furthermore, we are considering legal action to halt this reckless allocation of public funds to a non-essential, unmandated vanity project. 

We will not allow the political elite to drain the national fiscus with manufactured consensus-building while South Africans starve. 

South Africa does not need dialogue, it needs action on job creation, land reform, free education, safety, free public healthcare, and economic growth. 

ISRAEL’S UNPROVOKED STRIKE ON IRAN AND IRAN’S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE @KASIBC_NEWS

ISRAEL’S UNPROVOKED STRIKE ON IRAN AND IRAN’S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE @KASIBC_NEWS

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the violent, provocative, and imperialist airstrike launched by the Apartheid State of Israel on the Sovereign Territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

This reckless assault has resulted in the deaths of civilians, military officials, and scientists, and marks yet another attempt by Israel to ignite full-scale war in the Middle East, with the full backing of its genocidal allies, the United States, Britain, and several other European States. 

The EFF reaffirms Iran’s legitimate and inalienable right to defend itself. No sovereign nation can be expected to sit in silence while its people are murdered and its security infrastructure destroyed. We further affirm Iran’s right to develop its own nuclear deterrent capacity, free from the coercion and double standards of the United States and Israel. 

While the United States have distanced themselves from this attack we cannot overlook their funding of weapons to Israel and their use of Israel as a proxy to maintain imperialism through instability in the Middle East. 

These nations arrogantly believe that nuclear power should remain their exclusive preserve to wage war, colonise, and commit genocide without fear of retaliation. This attack forms part of a long history of criminal aggression. Iran has shown remarkable restraint in the face of repeated provocations and unlawful assassinations by the United States and Israel. 

From the cold-blooded drone murder of General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, the killings of top Nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh also in 2020, Colonel Sayad Khoyadee in 2022; while in 2024 Israel killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, among many others. Iran has absorbed blow after blow, even while the world looked away. And in this latest strike Israel has once again murdered General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s top military commander and head of the country’s armed forces, and his deputy commander Gholamali Rashid. 

Now Israel, the clear aggressor, seeks to provoke a wider conflict under the false pretext of “self-defence,” claiming existential threat from Iran’s nuclear programme while it possesses a covert and unregulated arsenal of nuclear weapons. This is the height of hypocrisy. 

The truth is that Israel, emboldened by the United States does not fear Iranian weapons, it fears a Middle East that can no longer be bullied, occupied, or bombed with impunity. 

The EFF reiterates our call for the total isolation of the apartheid state of Israel. Israel has already been found culpable of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stands accused of orchestrating a genocide in Gaza. 

His latest crime against Iran is a continuation of this pattern, which is a desperate attempt to distract the world from the ongoing extermination of Palestinians, the destruction of Gaza, and Israel’s broader settler-colonial ambitions. 

The EFF will always stand with the oppressed against the oppressor, with the colonised against the coloniser, and with the people of the world who demand justice, not imperial control. 

We therefore encourage Iran to take any action that is necessary for them to defend their sovereignty, whatever form it takes.  

ANC RESPONDS TO AFRIFORUM CHARGES GBV-F @KASIBC_NEWS

ANC RESPONDS TO AFRIFORUM CHARGES GBV-F @KASIBC_NEWS 

The African National Congress (ANC) has noted the reported laying of charges led by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit targeting ANC Secretary-General, Cde Fikile Mbalula. This follows public remarks made in condemnation of the rape of a seven-year-old girl at Bergview College in Matatiele. 

The ANC reaffirms its unwavering position on the crisis of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBV-F), which President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as the second pandemic devastating our society. The violation of a child is not only an act of brutality, it is a reflection of systemic failure. 

It demands outrage and urgent action. Our comments were made in that spirit to express the ANC’s collective response to this atrocity, to rally society behind justice for the survivor, and to call for institutional accountability. 

Following the public apology by the Minister of Police regarding the misidentification of an individual, the ANC responded with a formal statement acknowledging the correction and reiterating our support for the survivor and her family. This is the conduct of a movement committed to truth, accountability, and justice. AfriForum’s decision to pursue this matter is disingenuous, ideologically driven, and flawed. 

It reflects a tendency to deflect attention from the pain of victims and the responsibility we all share in building a society free of fear and violence. 

We will not apologise for speaking out in defence of the voiceless. We call on all progressive forces, including our Alliance partners, the ANC Women’s League, youth formations, religious and community organisations, to reject any effort to criminalise outrage and moral clarity in the face of GBV-F. To be silent, to be overly cautious, to apologise for speaking out, is to betray the pain of the survivor and the broader struggle against patriarchal violence. 

The ANC remains guided by the principle that justice for victims must always take precedence over the reputational sensitivities of institutions. We have full confidence in the institutions responsible for crime prevention and justice. We will not be deterred from standing up for those who cannot stand for themselves. 

The ANC reaffirms its support for our Secretary-General, Cde Fikile Mbalula, who carried the voice of millions when he said, “Enough is Enough.” We urge all to act with vigilance against those who exploit the justice system for ideological ends and threatening prosecution against those who defend what is right. 

PROGRESS TOWARDS FATF GREYLISTING REMOVAL

PROGRESS TOWARDS FATF GREYLISTING REMOVAL @KASIBC_NEWS 

PROGRESS TOWARDS FATF GREYLISTING REMOVAL 

The African National Congress (ANC) welcomes the significant progress made by the South African government in addressing the 22 action items identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since South Africa was greylisted in 2023. This development follows the FATF’s positive report confirming that South Africa has substantially completed its action plan and now qualifies for an on-site assessment. 

This assessment will verify the implementation of reforms in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and assess the country’s sustained political commitment to financial system integrity and transparency. 

This is a major milestone for South Africa, both domestically and internationally. It strengthens the credibility of our financial system and contributes to the global and national fight against illicit financial flows, terrorism financing, and the legacy of state capture. 

The ANC commends the sterling work and collaborative effort of the National Treasury, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the South African Police Service (SAPS), and the State Security Agency (SSA) in realising this achievement. 

This progress not only enhances investor confidence but also affirms South Africa’s role as a serious and responsible global actor in combatting financial crimes and upholding democratic governance. As the ANC, we reaffirm our commitment to building a capable, ethical, and developmental state. 

We will continue to support government efforts to fully comply with global standards, ensuring that the country is permanently removed from the greylist and that our financial systems are protected from abuse. 

This is a victory for good governance, institutional renewal, and the people of South Africa.