R53 Million Somerset East Airfield now cattle grazing field
August 28th, 2019
The R53-million Somerset East Airfield that was opened in January 2016, has now become nothing more than grazing field for stray cattle due to the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality’s failure to act. The airfield, with its 1.2km long runway, was built by the Cacadu Development Agency in collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. It was supposed to be the gateway for transportation of domestic produce …
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Service delivery failing in EC municipalities
August 15th, 2019
Service delivery in Eastern Cape municipalities is buckling under the weight of financial mismanagement and the lack of support by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). Maladministration, irregular and wasteful expenditure, corruption and factionalism are also rampant, and this contributes to the general implosion of service delivery in our municipalities. The plight of Eastern Cape municipalities was highlighted in terms of the 2018/19 Consolidated General Report on …
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Less than a month after having violated the Municipal Structures Act by purporting to have passed the municipal budget with far less than a majority of the vote, and violating the Municipal Finance Management Act by irregularly appointing a permanent Chief Financial Officer, the rogue Sunday’s River Valley Municipality (SRVM) has struck again. SRVM seems to be determined to achieve a hat trick in maladministration, as they have proceeded to …
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Graaff Reinet community rally as ANC fail to address water crisis
February 18th, 2019 The Graaff Reinet residents are outraged as raw sewage is believed to be flowing into the Nqweba Dam, while the quality of water in their taps has drastically deteriorated as the water crisis deepens. This follows after sewage has been flowing from the nearby sewerage works for the past six months, due to a broken pump, which has yet to be repaired by the municipality, despite numerous reports of the …
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Graaff Reinet waste transfer site reported to Green Scorpions
February 13th, 2019
I have written to the Green Scorpions to report that the Graaff Reinet waste transfer site is in a deplorable state and is an absolute health hazard as well as a safety risk for residents of the municipality. Please view the letter below: Letter I have requested that the Green Scorpions take steps against the municipality for allowing this environmental health situation to reach disastrous levels. Hopefully, this will draw …
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Taps, along with service delivery, runs dry in Klipplaat
November 22nd, 2018
Thousands of people in the Karoo town of Klipplaat have been denied their Constitutional right of access to water for more than a week, with taps in running dry in homes, schools and clinics across the town. What makes it worse, is that the situation was entirely preventable as, despite the drought, there is water. It is simply not reaching the intended end-consumer. I have written to the MEC of …
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R49 Million spent on “Critical” Bhisho precinct, with no tangible results
November 21st, 2018 The Department of Public Works has blown through R49-million on the anticipated Bhisho Precinct, which is aimed at alleviating the issue of office space for several provincial departments, but has nothing to show for it. In the interim, while the tender process for the precinct is plagued by delays, the provincial government is currently spending in excess of R238 million a year on office rental. I will be asking follow-up …
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Children denied new schools as Department fails to pay contractors
November 19th, 2018 The Department of Public Works owes contractors attending to the upgrading and construction of schools in the Eastern Cape in excess of R 104 million, which has led to the suspension and imminent suspension of 37 school projects. The Department also owes consultants on these projects a further R9 million. This means learners continue to suffer in overcrowded classrooms, prefabricated structures that reach boiling point in summer and generally poor …
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Bulk electricity disruptions will further cripple the Eastern Cape’s failing economy
October 23rd, 2018 Thousands of businesses and residents in the Eastern Cape are facing the reality of not having electricity, even though they have paid for the service, because their municipalities have failed to pay Eskom. Eskom has announced planned power disruptions that will cripple the already failing Eastern Cape economy. Businesses will be forced to close their doors and thousands of jobs stand to be lost. This is a clear indication of …
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The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape has written to the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Fikile Xasa, to intervene and ensure that the Steytlerville refuse site is adequately maintained to prevent a health hazard to surrounding communities. Pleas from the community to the ANC-led Dr Beyers Naude Municipality, to do the work that ratepayers are paying for, have simply been ignored. The lack of management has seen …
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