The Special Investigation Unit must be tasked with investigating the controversial and unlawful tender awarded to Quality Filtration Systems (QFS) for the Port Alfred Desalination Plant. The Grahamstown High Court has set aside the tender, saying that the conduct on the part of the Ndlambe Local Municipality was beset with problems and irregularities and ran afoul of proper procurement procedure requirements. I have now written to Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar …


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The Eastern Cape is fighting for its survival, battling the deadly Covid-19 outbreak on the one hand, and the cancerous spread of corruption on the other. Not only is the province one of the epicentres for the Covid-19 outbreak, it is fast becoming the epicentre of Covid19 corruption. While government pleads for residents to wash their hands in the fight against the disease, it has now come to light that …


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Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu’s latest report on the Audit Outcomes for Local Government is the clearest message yet that Local Government in the Eastern Cape is collapsing. Not only have 13 municipalities reports worsened compared to the previous year, only one municipality in the entire province received a clean audit! These poor audit outcomes are as a result of the continuing looting of municipalities, corruption and maladministration, as well as …


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The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality (DBNLM) is descending into financial chaos, with residents facing the very real possibility of being overcharged for rates and services, that may then have to be voided by the municipality, as the budget processes have been severely flawed. The municipality is of the opinion that the budget has been passed, but nothing could be further from the truth! Not only will this have dire …


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Municipalities across the Eastern Cape are in crisis. People across the province are waking up to piles of uncollected rubbish, dry taps, no electricity and deteriorating municipal infrastructure, as the consequences of years of poor governance and lack of proper financial management have begun to manifest. Municipal workers and service providers are going unpaid and service delivery has all but ground to a standstill as municipal coffers run dry. In …


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Thousands of residents in the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM) have been left without water for more than a week, after Eskom disconnected the power supply to pump stations in the area due to non-payment. The SRVM municipal officials responsible for this humanitarian crisis should hang their heads in shame and tender their resignations to make way for competent government who will put the people and securing jobs first. I …


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The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has lost over R1-billion in revenue from electricity theft and technical losses over the last three years, up to and including February 2020. This was revealed in a response to a parliamentary question by the MEC of COGTA, Xolile Nqatha. SEE: IQP 5 Q 84 The Democratic Alliance is calling on Nelson Mandela Bay to put a plan in place to eradicate illegal connections, and …


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The race-based policy for office leases, announced by the MEC of Public Works, Babalo Madikizela, during the tabling of his department’s budget in the EC legislature yesterday, is unconstitutional and possibly nothing more than a smokescreen to enrich politically connected individuals. The Democratic Alliance agrees that the province should give preference to Eastern Cape owned, managed and controlled landlords, in order to benefit the economy of the province. The DA …


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A watershed ruling to have the Makana Municipality dissolved, handed down in January this year, has come back into effect after Judge Igna Stretch dismissed the application by the Provincial Government and the Municipality for leave to appeal the ruling, with costs. In the judgement handed down late yesterday afternoon, Judge Stretch found that there were no reasonable prospects that the appeal would succeed. This ruling means the original order …


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A recent oversight visit to the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality has revealed that critical water infrastructure projects, started more than two years ago, have been abandoned, half built, with the sites left hazardous and unsafe for surrounding communities. Contractors for these debacles should be blacklisted, and the province must sue them for non-performance. We need to start enforcing accountability! In response to a parliamentary question regarding the reservoirs, MEC for …


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