BRANDWAG SOCIAL HOUSING (BSH) PROJECT.

BRANDWAG SOCIAL HOUSING (BSH) PROJECT

In August, 12 2024 Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) issued a notice to all BSH tenants (occupiers), notably the notice sought to regularise tenants occupancy before and/or by September, 11 2024 in terms of Reg 9(2) of the Social housing regulations, and failure to do so, tenants were to voluntarily evacuate (vacate) the BSH unit on and/or by September, 25 2024. 

Thus, can be interpreted that SHRA was to issue, an inspection notice and solicit police assistance as contemplated in Reg 30 of the social housing regulations, at least after the tenancy audit notice expires on September, 25 2024. 

However, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality City Manager Sello More and Executive Mayor Gregory Nthatisi undermined SHRA tenancy audit by issuing another Regularisation Notice on its official Facebook page, that sought to do Door- to -Door tenancy audit (verification), starting on September, 09 2024, two (2) days before the expiry of SHRA tenancy audit notice and sixteen (16) days of grace period for evacuations of non-complying tenants. Insofar as issuing tenancy audit notice, the City acted ultra vires (Outside Authority) as such powers are statutorily bestowed to SHRA as the Regulator. 

Furthermore note, that the SHRA continues to act as Freshco administrator as per the order that was issued in December, 17 2019 and executed in October, 26 2020, meaning the lease agreement signed to between FRESHCO and the City remains operative to date as such the City's rights are ceded to FRESHCO at least until 2033.

In the correspondence to BSH tenants attorneys, SHRA seems to be ignoring the fact that incidents of September, 09 2024 went against its notice of August, 12 2024 and disregarded the said timelines nor does it associate itself with the City's conduct of continuously harassing BSH tenants, from September, 09 2024. Even if wrongly and/or falsely understood it does not indicate the rescindment of August, 12 2024 and/or Joinder of the City's notice in its reply. 

The question is why City Manager and EM are adamant on harassing out people non-stop outside the legislated process and have forsaken the City's duties in terms of section 7(2) which places an obligation on the municipality to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights.

COJ ( CITY OF JOBURG ) aggressive Cut-Off Operation to collect R1 Billion from Defaulters

 

COJ ( CITY OF JOBURG  ) aggressive Cut-Of Operation to collect R1 Billion from Defaulters

The City is set to aggressively collect R1billion from high defaulters in September 2024 as part of revenue collection.

 Kgamanyane Maphologela, Director for Communications and Stakeholder Management, says the City is going after various categories of customers with huge municipal debt. 

Among those targeted include directors of companies whose companies are contracted to the City as service providers, properties where the City pays rental and landlords owe the City municipal services, customers who sell and buy properties but owe the City, customers who are currently objecting or appealing the new values of their properties but have not paid the new increases, vacant land properties in arrears, equestrian properties, sectional tittle properties, property owners with debit 

orders in which the City will deduct money from customers with credit or refund to settle the debt for other properties they own. 

Maphologela says the City is aware who their defaulting customers are and will be targeting these property owners with the following Credit Management approached in the following categories:

1. Service Providers to the City 

The City’s service providers who are in arrears with the municipality, including the director’s company properties, will be among the targeted defaulters. The City’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) policy is clear that service providers should not be in 90 days in arrears with the municipality. Should the service providers not honour the debt, the City will first deduct the money that is owed for municipal services before paying the service providers for services provided. In addition, credit control will be affected to the director’s properties whose company municipal accounts are in arrears.

2. Landlords

Landlord in arrears will attract credit control and where the City is inconvenienced as the occupiers of the property, they will pay the municipal debt and set it off against the rent.

3. Property sellers/buyers 

The City will:

• Upon property transfer inform the conveyancing attorneys of the outstanding amount to enable settlement of the debt when the sale is concluded. This will prevent stale debt after the sale by the outgoing property owner.

• Outstanding old debt will be pursued through tracing of the old property owner’s current property within the City and if not in other municipalities. Litigation process will be applied.

• New outstanding debt could be because of contact details not updated therefore new owners may not be aware of the municipal debt, awareness will be exercised, and credit control effected.

4. Objections

Properties owners with objections/appeals and in arrears will be advised that the City

is aware of the objection process underway and refer these customers to the Municipal

Property Rates Act (MPRA) that the municipal bill should be paid until the objection/appeal process is concluded. Where property value will be revised down a refund will be affected with interest. This is intended to prevent future bulk debt that may strain the customers if the property value does not change or increases.

5. Vacant Land

Property owners may not be interested to honour the municipal bill as there is no metered service to terminate. Ownership of other properties will be traced, and services will be terminated on the properties of the same owners representing the debt of the vacant land. If the debt is still not settled, the City will auction the vacant land as this would have demonstrated that the owner can afford more than one property and there in no requirement to provide alternative accommodation on vacant land.

6. Equestrian Properties

These are properties from the value of R20 million and above which demonstrates the appetite for preferred lifestyle by owners. Such properties will not only attract service termination as the owners can clearly afford alternative energy sources such as borehole services, and the City will therefore attach furniture, appliances etc.

7. Sectional Titles

These are property owners governed by body corporates. The City would encourage them to enter a debit order which could be mandatory in the future. That way the

sectional title debt will be migrated from the City’s growing debtor’s book. Notices will be sent to body corporates to assist the municipality with the collection of their trustees/unit owner’s - failure to that the debt of the unit owners will be consolidated and service termination effected to the body corporate bulk service.

8. Debit Order

These are customers whose debit orders are set to a fixed amount and where the billing fluctuates, the debt grows. Full settlement will be encouraged for those customers and flexible debit order amounts set to avoid future arrear debt.

9. Credit /Refund 

These are accounts in credit and account holders also have properties in debt, a set-off project will match the business partners/ identity numbers/ company registration numbers to accounts in debit and set off the credit against the ones in debit to settle or reduce the debt.

“As the City we will continue to go on aggressive campaigns to collect the huge amount of money that is owed to the City.

 Residents should understand that without them playing their part by paying for services they consume; we are unable to render services as a municipality,” said Kgamanyane Maphologela.

Property owners who are struggling to service their accounts for various reasons, are requested to approach the City for further assistance, by means of payment arrangements (Acknowledgement of Debt sign off) to avoid disconnection of services.

Customers may pay using any of the listed methods below:

• e-Joburg Portal: www.e-joburg.org.za

• With EasyPay, facilitating a quick payment option at many shops that you visit on a regular basis, including Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite Checkers

• Debit orders

• Direct deposits at major banks

• ATMs

• Internet and cell phone banking

• SA Post Office

• Any Council pay-point (Customer Service Centre) – listed below:

o Midrand Civic Centre - 300 - 15th Road, Midrand.

o Sandton Civic Centre – 24 Fredman Drive, Sandton.

o Roodepoort City Hall – C/o Berlandina and Dieperink Streets, Roodepoort.

o Eureka House – C/o Marlborough Street & Rosettenville Road, Wemmerpan.

o Lenasia Civic Centre – C/o Rose Avenue & Eland Street, Lenasia Ext 2.

o Thuso House, 61 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein

o Ennerdale Ext 9 – C/o Katz Road & Smit Street, Ennerdale.

o Eldorado Customer Service Centre – 4046 Link Crescent Avenue, Ext 5,

Eldorado Park.

o Randburg (Civic Centre), Braamfischer drive and Jan Smuts Road, Randburg

Customers who wish to make payment arrangements and do not wish to visit any of the abovementioned walk-in-centres may contact the City’s Credit Control Department by emailing them on creditcontrol@joburg.org.za

THE APPOINTMENT OF ZONDO COMMISSION EVIDENCE LEADERS MATTHEW CHASKALSON AND PAUL PRETORIUS AS CONSULTANTS IN THE NATIONAL PROSECUTING AUTHORITY

APPOINTMENT OF ZONDO COMMISSION EVIDENCE LEADERS MATTHEW CHASKALSON AND PAUL PRETORIUS AS CONSULTANTS IN THE NPA 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the appointment of Advocate Matthew Chaskalson and Advocate Paul Pretorius as consultants in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the strongest terms. These appointments can only be characterised as gross collusion, opportunism, and undermining of the wheels of natural justice.

In a move by the NPA to fast-track its prosecution of those who were implicated in allegations of corruption during the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, the NPA   has resorted to recruiting Chaskalson and Pretorius who were evidence leaders in the very same Commission, to now advise the NPA on how to proceed with prosecution on the evidence that they led and developed.

Paul Pretorius served as the head of the legal team of the State Capture Commission, and specifically led evidence as it related to the operations of the State Security Agency (SSA) and BOSASA. Pretorius further led the testimony of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the same Ramaphosa who appointed Shamila Batohi as head of the NPA, and the same Batohi who has now hired Paul Pretorius to form part of a prosecutorial process.

Matthew Chaskalson also formed part of the legal team of the State Capture Commission   of Inquiry, and dealt primarily with the illicit flows of money, in particular, as it related to Transnet. Chaskalson will now be tasked with advising prosecution on the same evidence  he led on a different forum.

The appointments of these two individuals under a cloud of secrecy, wherein there is also    a refusal to disclose their remuneration for their consulting services, would be amusing if it did not undermine the integrity and legitimacy of the NPA. In a quest to rescue her dwindling reputation and salvage a sense of achievement in a term defined by failure, Shamila Batohi has abandoned sense, and lost an appreciation of the law as a neutral instrument to administer justice in South Africa.

Her actions paint a picture of an unhinged and desperate individual, as she is also pursuing  a non-specific and invasive raid on the records and evidence of the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, because she needs anything to effect a prosecution by any means necessary. The EFF affirms that the Department of justice is correct that the evidence of   the Commission cannot be accessed without specific reference to what is required, in relation to which matter, and the relevance of such required evidence to that matter.

The NPA ought to engage in targeted, scientific and specific prosecutions that substantiate the need to access evidence, and not embark on an attempt to obtain possibly irrelevant information by seeking unfettered access, as this poses a risk of the NPA engaging in political witch-hunts, blackmail, and extortive use of sensitive nformation.

Furthermore, there should be transparency in the recruitment and amount of benefits budgeted, including accommodation, offices, and personal remuneration. This is to ensure what happened at Zondo Commission where an unlimited budget of over R1billion had      to be made available.This special prosecution unit should not be a moneymaking scheme for white lawyers as it was the case in Zondo Commision.

The EFF states categorically that our objection to the appointment of Pretorius and Chaskalson, as well as our objection to the blind-raid by Shamila Batohi on the evidence held by the Justice Department, does not constitute any belief that those implicated in the State Capture Commission Report are innocent or guilty.

Those who are implicated in the degeneration of our state-owned entities, law enforcement agencies, state-security agency and various levers of our government must be investigated and if found guilty must face the full might of the law. Our interest is in protecting the sanctity and fairness of the process, because it is clumsiness and collusion of this nature  that allows the corrupt to escape justice and raise questions on the credibility and neutrality of our justice system.

At all times justice must be seen to be fair, and antics such as appointing evidence leaders  as de facto prosecutors of the same evidence they developed and led in a Commission, do not help foster a positive image of the integrity of our investigating institutions.

SABC GHOST WORKERS FOREIGNERS ETC

 

SABC GHOST WORKERS ~ FOREIGNERS ETC

SABC GE: News and Current Affairs, Moshoeshoe Monare has launched a “ghost workers” verification process at the public broadcaster. 

The physical verification process will take from 19th of September 2024 from 09h00 to 14h00 until 26th September 2024.  

A memo was sent to the staff last night. 

The following information will be required on the day of verification:

 Proof of Identity i.e. South African ID smart card.

Bank Account confirmation Letter or Bank Statement not older than 2 months.

A clear photo of an Independent Contractor holding proof of Identity must be submitted when verification is performed through Microsoft Teams (Video Call). This may be submitted to ndabenit@sabc.co.za prior verification.

This follows months of the public broadcaster being under scrutiny for wasteful expenditure by paying “ghost workers” under the leadership of GE, Moshoeshoe Monare. 

Last year in December, Monare went on live TV to confirm that an investigation was underway into “ghost workers”.

SIU investigates Masilonyana's water pipeline

SIU investigates Masilonyana's water pipeline

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Masilonyana Local Municipality welcomes the decision by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate the refurbishment of the water pipeline from the Sandvet Canal to Brandfort.

Despite the significant amounts spent on this project since its handover in July 2017, the Brandfort community continues to endure prolonged water shortages, often for days or even weeks. Water tankers are brought in as a temporary solution, but the needs of the community remain unmet, and the additional costs involved must be included in the investigation. We question who benefits from the community's ongoing hardships.

The DA has posed detailed questions appropriately, yet these have been blatantly ignored by those responsible. We remain committed to ensuring transparent governance and value for money in municipal contracts. We pledge our full cooperation with any investigations that will lead to accountability and improved performance from officials entrusted with public funds.

Proclamation 182 of 2024 mandates the SIU to investigate allegations of maladministration in two tenders within the Masilonyana Local Municipality, including the refurbishment of the Brandfort Water Treatment Works and Raw Water Pump Stations. The scope of the investigation covers conduct between 1 May 2020 and 13 September 2024.

The ongoing failure to properly manage and maintain the Brandfort pipeline is having a direct, negative impact on the daily lives of the Brandfort community. Access to clean and reliable water is a basic human right, yet the residents have been denied this essential service for years. The DA believes that the community's welfare must be prioritised and that public resources must not be squandered on ineffective solutions or mismanaged projects.

The DA will continue to advocate for strict maintenance and repair plans for the 2024–2025 financial year to ensure that the residents of Brandfort receive the clean, reliable water they are constitutionally entitled to. We will press for immediate, transparent actions to correct the current situation, including ensuring that service providers deliver as per agreed specifications and that value for money is upheld.

Additionally, we call on the SIU to expedite the investigation and for the municipality to take immediate corrective action. We will remain vigilant in holding those responsible accountable and will not rest until the people of Brandfort have access to the water they deserve

Galeshewe death reeks of foul play, demanding more from SAPS

Galeshewe death reeks of foul play, demanding more from SAPS

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape will request the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Koliswa Otola, to investigate the recent death of Lazarus Ikaneng “Pankie” Thomas, from Galeshewe, Kimberley, following reports of alleged negligence on the part of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The DA visited with Thomas’ family yesterday to convey our sympathy on his passing. According to his relatives, his decomposed body was found on his bed last week, after a foul smell prompted his neighbours to inspect his shack.

The neigbours apparently informed the family that the shack was locked with a padlock from the outside, which they had to break to gain access to Thomas. Despite this indicating potential foul play, the police proceeded to register the death as being due to natural causes.

Thomas’s death has sparked concern amongst the LGBTQI+ community regarding safety issues. Their concerns, coupled with reports that the police failed to collect proper fingerprint evidence and neglected to cordon off the scene, is cause for concern.

I have written to Otola, asking that she urgently reviews this case and the way in which the police investigation was handled.

Thomas deserves justice in death, his family deserves closure and the greater LGBTQI+ community deserves the assurance that their community is safe from perpetrators of violent crimes.

 

Police on suspects arrested this week as part of Operation Shanela

Police on suspects arrested this week as part of Operation Shanela   

           

@KASIBCNEWS       17 SEPTEMBER 2024

Police have through their high density operations commonly known as OPERATION SHANELA arrested 13 950 suspects from the period starting, Monday, 09 September ending Sunday, 15 September  2024.

Through detectives and crime intelligence tracing operations, roadblocks as well as stop and searches - police have taken a bold and decisive approach in protecting the communities that they serve.

All Shanela operations are led by the Provincial Commissioner of each province.

Just this week alone, the following arrests were made:

• 2 673 wanted suspects for crimes such as murder, rape, possession of illegal firearms and business robberies were arrested
• 116 suspects were arrested for Murder
• 94 suspects were arrested for attempted murder
• 218 suspects were arrested for rape, 94 of them were arrested in the province of KwaZulu Natal
• 122 suspects were arrested for being in the illegal possession of firearms, 41 were arrested in EC and 34 in KZN
• Assault GBH continues to register a large number of arrests with 1 635 suspects arrested
• 444 suspects were arrested for the illegal dealing in liquor, 133 arrests were made in MP while 121 were made in KZN
• 185 drug dealers were arrested during this period
• 462 were arrested for drunk and driving, 103 arrested in KZN and 86 were arrested in GP
• 2001 suspects were arrested for being in possession of drugs, 1 257 of these arrests were made in the Western Cape

Under recoveries and confiscations, police registered the following successes:

• 151 firearms were confiscated during operations, 30 of these firearms were confiscated during police operations in EC, KZN confiscated 29 and WC confiscated 22.
• 3 765 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated. 2 205 rounds were confiscated in KZN
• 81 hijacked and stolen vehicles were also recovered during this weeks operations

A highlight of major takedowns include the following:

• A Nigerian drug mule was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport. In the last two months, Police at the OR Tambo Airport have arrested 9 drug mules and confiscated R13 million worth of drugs
• An Emfuleni Local Municipality employee and a branch party leader were arrested on extortion related claims in the Vaal area
• Three wanted suspects were shot and killed in KZN. The suspects were wanted in connection on serious and violent crime charges including murder
• 85 illegal miners were arrested and 52 of them were arrested in the Free State through  OPERATION VALA UMGODI
• Seven police officers were arrested by the HAWKS for attempting to extort R100 000 from a Durban businessman
• Two off-duty police officers acted on information about a kidnapping in Soweto. They immediately placed themselves on duty and rescued a victim of kidnapping for ransom. One suspect was arrested.

Police will continue with their operations in stamping the authority of the state to ensure the safety and security of all people living in South Africa.