Wednesday, April 6, 2011

7 Held for Home Affairs Fraud

2011-04-06 

Durban - Six Home Affairs department officials and a marriage officer were arrested for fraud during a police operation at the department’s offices in Umgeni Road in Durban on Wednesday, police said.

“They have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation aimed at rooting out fraud and corruption at home affairs,” said Captain Thulani Zwane.

The police raid began at 07:00 following the arrest of a marriage officer on Tuesday afternoon.

“It was the marriage officer who helped the police to arrest more people,” said Zwane.

The home affairs offices in Umgeni were briefly closed as the investigators moved from one office to another confiscating documents and arresting officials.

Zwane said those arrested were expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court soon.

KwaZulu-Natal home affairs acting provincial manager, Sikhosana Dlamini said the investigation was carried out following a tip-off.

“We normally get tip-offs from people. We then conduct our own investigation in conjunction with the police,” he said.

Those arrested were suspected of facilitating “convenience marriages” between the South Africans and foreign nationals, he said.

“These are marriages which are aimed at helping foreign nationals to get South African citizenship.”




http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/7-held-for-home-affairs-fraud-20110406

Medical Depot Petrol Bombed

2011-04-06 

Johannesburg - A medical depot was petrol bombed in Mthatha and drugs to the value of R13m were destroyed, the Eastern Cape health department said on Wednesday.

"We suspect the motive was to destroy evidence as we are busy with stock-taking, something that was not done for many years at the depot," said spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

He said the depot was bombed on Monday night and the fire had destroyed antiretroviral and tuberculosis drugs.

MEC Sicelo Gqobana, has asked the provincial police commissioner to establish a task team to investigate the incident, he said

He explained that the MEC ordered a forensic investigation into pharmaceutical services after clinics and hospitals complained that medicine was not distributed on time and when they arrived there were always shortages.

The Mthatha depot supplies state hospitals and clinics in the eastern part of the province with drugs.
 http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Medical-depot-petrol-bombed-20110406

Who’s your Daddy?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Who’s your Daddy?

By Mike Smith
6th of April 2011

The Sowetan reports on a study by the South African Institute of Race Relations that reckons that Blacks are the WORST fathers in South Africa. A total of 9million children are growing up without their fathers.

“A racial dimension was evident in trends of absent fathers. African children under 15 years had the lowest proportion of present fathers in 2009 at 30percent, compared to 53percent for coloured children, and 85percent for Indians, and 83percent for whites.”

I don’t know why they always have to embark on time wasting studies of common facts known by all and sundry…It is not as if anybody would have expected any other results.

Even in the USA it is the same. 70% of African American children grow up without a daddy
From 1996 to 2009 [The period of ANC Misrule] the proportion of fathers who were present decreased from 49percent to 36percent.

9 million kids with no dads
Tebogo Monama
05.04.2011
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/04/05/9-million-kids-with-no-dads

A TOTAL of 9million children are growing up without their fathers.

Research by the South African Institute of Race Relations indicates that "the 'typical" child is raised by a mother in a single-parent household". The children have absent but living fathers.

Phindile Bhengu, who is unemployed, raises her 3-year-old daughter single-handedly.

"The father is not involved in any way. He left when I fell pregnant."

Lucy Holborn, family project manager at the institute, said: "Our research indicates that the lack of a stable family life contributes to some of the social problems.

"Problems such as youth unemployment, violent crime, teenage pregnancy and alcohol and drug abuse are facing many families."

The First Step's to Healing the South African Family states: "South Africa has a number of unique circumstances that affect the structure of families. They include its history of apartheid, and particularly the migrant labour system. The HIV-Aids pandemic has also affected the wellbeing of family members."

The institute says data indicates that the proportion of fathers who are absent and living increased between 1996 and 2009 from 42percent to 48percent. Over the same period the proportion of fathers who were present decreased from 49percent to 36percent.

A racial dimension was evident in trends of absent fathers. African children under 15 years had the lowest proportion of present fathers in 2009 at 30percent, compared to 53percent for coloured children, and 85percent for Indians, and 83percent for whites.

Only 35percent of children were living with both their biological parents in 2008. About 40percent were living with their mother only, and 2,8percent with their father only, which leaves 22,6percent of children who were living with neither of their biological parents.

In 2007 some 44percent of all urban parents were single. About 52percent of African urban parents were single, as were 30percent of coloured parents, 7percent of Indian parents, and 24percent of white parents.

Seventy-nine percent of African urban single parents were female, as were 84percent of coloured, 64percent of Indian, and 69percent of white such parents.

The research indicates that the majority of urban single parents were African, female and between the ages of 25 and 34 years. Unemployment rates among urban single parents were also high. 

http://mspoliticalcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/04/whos-your-daddy.html 

The ANC and it's Wrongs

SPEECH BY ROY JANKIELSOHN, LEADER OF THE DA IN THE FREE STATE BUDGET DEBATE ON OFFICE OF THE PREMIER, FREE STATE LEGISLATURE (PETRUS STEYN), 
                                                               ROY JANKIELSOHN

March 30 2011

Speaker


The office of the premier is responsible for the Free State provincial government. It is with concern that we note that this government is becoming less a provincial government and more an individual government. Hlasela remains the premier's private election campaign using the provincial government resources. The reason for this is because the ANC lost over 92 000 votes and three seats in this legislature in the last election.

That is why people are beginning to call the "Hlasela Campaign" the premiers' "Personal Pasela Campaign".

Everything in the Free State is run from the office of the premier. The Department of Rural Development informed the portfolio committee that they do not have to follow tender procedures, because the instructions come directly from the premier's office.

Speaker, on Monday the Honourable Neels van Rooyen stood here and blatantly lied to the House and the people about the DA run City of Cape Town. Let me enlighten this House with the truth about Cape Town.
  • In Cape Town the economy has grown under DA government and more jobs have been created than in any ANC run municipality in the country.
  • Within a year of taking over Cape Town the city's debt was cut by R1 billion which allowed capital for service delivery to increase by 15%. This extra money was put to good use by supplying electricity to informal settlements such as Happy Valley and Site B in Khayelitsha, areas that actually fall under the jurisdiction of Eskom, but Eskom had failed to supply power to these areas as the ANC had failed to do this as well when they governed Cape Town.
  • The city has been able to write off debt for the very poor by R1,5 billion.
  • Between 2006 and 2010 a total of R19 billion was invested in infrastructure in Cape Town. More than any ANC run city in the country.
The ANC governments talk Botho Pele, the DA governments deliver Batho Pele.
Most ANC run municipalities are not even able to deliver even the most basic of services. In fact the largest municipality in the Free State, that is soon to become the first metro in the province, namely Mangaung, is already bankrupt. This is because of its policy circulating corrupt and inept cadres.

Speaker, let me enlighten the people about this ANC that fools voters with its wit-gevaar, bruin-gevaar and Apartheid-gevaar tactics.
The same tactics it used to solicit funds from individuals, companies, and governments during the Apartheid era. Most of that money was stolen by the same corrupt leaders who are using the same tactics to steal South Africans money today.
The ANC hardly fired a shot at security forces during the liberation struggle. The new constitution was a negotiated agreement between many political parties and groups.

The DA acknowledges the wrongs of the Apartheid era, and the need for the moral and social reconstruction of our society. White people in South Africa are reminded of this every day. 

However, we must also acknowledge the wrongs carried out by the ANC.

During the liberation struggle, the ANC spent more time necklacing young people in townships and torturing, murdering and raping its own cadres at camps in Angola and Tanzania, than fighting the Apartheid regime. While this was going on their leaders were stealing Scandinavian country's funds meant for the struggle. In fact the training camps abroad were a farce to solicit funds from donors, which were then stolen by ANC leaders abroad.

Jacob Zuma was head of the security branch of the ANC during the 1980's, while the abuse of innocent ANC cadres was taking place. He and his security branch in Quatro, according to the ANC's own Stuart Commission of enquiry, treated women "as sex objects that can not develop militarily or politically".

In the Free State some ANC women are promoted into senior positions, even executive positions, because of relationships with senior politicians who do not want to pay alimony. In fact, taxpayers pay this alimony for them. The Honourable Maloka requested me to mention this here today.

Speaker, let me give you another example of the ANC's corruption. The World Bank decided to grant Eskom a $3.75 billion loan to finance Hitachi Africa's building of a coal-fired power station in Limpopo. Hitachi Africa is 25% owned by the ANC's investment arm, Chancellor House. This means that the ANC has a R5,8 billion stake in the deal, from which it will make an estimated R1-billion clear profit - enough to fund its election campaigns and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders for many years to come.

While ANC is the richest political party in the World, it continues to blame others for the people's poverty and unemployment.

The people of the Free State will not be fooled forever. The Premier can not beat up every ANC member who is not happy with him, as he did in Winburg recently. This is not Quatro and he is not the Mkobodo here.

The people will continue to see through the lies, deceit, theft and corruption that is the current ANC. Within the ANC, this situation continues because good men and women keep quiet.

The people are tiring of the ANC extravagance and abuse. We know that the biggest lie in South Africa's history is the concealment of the ANC's real history. 

This is a history of extravagance and human rights abuses. The ANC's own Stuart and Skweyiya commission reports support this statement.

Whoever continue vote for the ANC, deserves the ANC.

SA Needs a Major Service

Civil engineers issue worrying report on the state of the country's infrastructure

Apr 5, 2011

This is according to the South African Association of Civil Engineering, which found that while infrastructure provision to urban areas improved dramatically in the past five years, thanks to the soccer World Cup, service infrastructure in rural areas had deteriorated drastically. 

The association released its second report card on infrastructure yesterday. The first was in 2006. Infrastructure received a grading of C, up from a D in 2006. 

This year's report says: "The quality and reliability of basic infrastructure serving the majority of our citizens is poor and, in many places, getting worse. Urgent attention is required to stabilise and improve these." 

The report shows that the ability of the Department of Water Affairs - and by extension municipalities - to deliver clean water to both urban and rural areas has deteriorated dramatically. 

"Users do not pay anywhere near the real costs of water treatment and supply, electricity supply or waste-management services, and this encourages high levels of wastage and civic disrespect for and neglect of infrastructure," the engineers' report reads. 

"Effectively, it encourages squandering of natural resources and burdens future generations with the costs of our currently subsidised services." 

Water infrastructure was getting "harder, if not impossible to repair".
The report highlights the fact that badly maintained bulk infrastructure leads to high levels of pollution, especially in dams and uncontrolled decanting of acid mine drainage. 

"Acid mine drainage north of the Witwatersrand is indicative of the pollution factor, and the long anticipated decant from the western and central Witwatersrand basins is also imminent," the report says.
"The long delay in investigating and providing appropriate infrastructure has revealed serious management shortfalls." 

Over the past three months The Times has written a series of reports highlighting national water problems, including pollution, water theft by farmers, the unsustainability of low water tariffs and that the country will run out of water in a decade. 

The civil engineers say water infrastructure is about 39 years old, with a replacement value of about R139-billion, and that municipalities owe water boards a whopping R1.7-billion. 

They report "serious problems with management of many sewage treatment works. Waste-water leakage and spillage, especially into major rivers, is still too high." 

The report also shows that infrastructure in the health sector has deteriorated

"Serious and systematic capacity failures at hospitals and clinics" are a result of "typical and poor financial and procurement management with little dedicated maintenance resources". 

Maintenance of schools has been limited, resulting in deterioration in all provinces. Unsurprisingly, schools most neglected are in rural areas. 

"Degradation over time means that many schools now need urgent maintenance to ensure environments are suitable for teaching and learning, and to avoid expensive unplanned repairs," the report says. 

Notwithstanding the serious backlogs, significant progress has been made in schools, the report says.
"Schools with overcrowding halved (50% to 24%), schools with electricity doubled (11174 to 20713), water was provided to almost 6000 schools and on-site toilets to almost 2000." 

But the quality of tarred provincial roads, says the report, has declined significantly over time.
"Shortages of skilled personnel in provincial departments, inadequate funding and outdated systems, and the lack of routine and periodic maintenance have contributed to the current condition." 

Paved metropolitan and district and municipal roads are classified as "satisfactory" and "fair", respectively. 

Maintenance of gravel roads in provinces, metros and municipalities is described as poor.
The SA National Roads Agency and the Airports Company of South Africa and Ports have performed exceptionally well, according to the report.
Eskom's generation and long-distance transmission infrastructure performed "better than average". 

But local distribution by municipalities is described as "below standard and poor"

Full Blown Strike

Pikitup workers to embark on full-blown strike

Apr 6, 2011 

Johannesburg's rubbish collectors will go on a full-blown strike from Thursday, following numerous disputes with management, waste management agency Pikitup said on Wednesday. 

 

 

"... We are asking residents who do not have their waste collected, to please keep it inside their yard and be patient," Pikitup spokeswoman Pansy Oyedele said.
She said Pikitup received notice of the planned strike earlier this week, after go slows at certain depots.
"We are trying everything in our power [to reach an agreement] between the company and the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu)."
Samwu spokesman Tahir Sema said about 2000 workers were expected to halt services.

The union accused Pikitup, which is owned by the municipality, of being "riddled with corruption", and of refusing to address workers' legitimate concerns.
"We have tried all at our disposal to get through to management," Samwu spokesman Tahir Sema said.
"Workers are concerned about the department and would want for Pikitup to be free from corruption and nepotism."
He said Samwu had in its possession documentation detailing alleged corruption and nepotism, including irregular tenders amounting to hundreds of millions of rand. 
"Should management not agree to meet with us... we will be forced to make available to the public all [this] documentation.... We strongly advise Pikitup to come sober-minded to the negotiating table and address workers' concerns," said Sema.
Other disputes were around wage disparities and the intimidation of union members.
Sema said most Pikitup employees were union members.




"We urge residents to bear with us in our efforts to ensure that Pikitup works better for us all," he said.
Pikitup's garden sites will remain open during the strike, but only for garden waste and not general domestic refuse.
People with the capacity could take general waste to the four landfill sites which would also remain open, Oyedele said.
These sites were: Goudkoppies, in Houthammer Road, Devland; Marie Louise, in Dobsonville Road, Roodepoort; Robinson Deep in Turffontein Road, Turffontein; and Ennerdale, in Old Lawley Road, Lawley.
Oyedele could not detail contingency plans in the event of an extended strike.

 http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article1006166.ece/Pikitup-workers-to-embark-on-full-blown-strike

http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/pikitup-workers-to-strike-1.1053019