The power supply to Jeffreys Bay, including Aston Bay and Paradise Beach, will be off for about two hours from midnight tonight. The Kouga Municipality’s electricity department will be finalising the installation of a new 66kv transformer.
The midnight shutdown was decided on to avoid causing inconvenience to businesses. Please treat all appliances as live during the time period mentioned.
The DA has filed court papers in the Port Elizabeth High Court against Kouga Municipality because of the unlawful and procedurally incorrect appointment of five new directors (Section 56 managers). These documents are public documents and all information is open to the public.
The DA calls for these appointments to be set aside and for the entire process to start all over again. In the DA’s founding affidavit which was lodged on 1 August 2012, the entire procedure of the appointments was questioned in terms of compliance with the various local government acts, regulations and circulars by the national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and the provincial Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs (DLGTA).
The DA served notices on the municipal manager, the ANC mayor, all councillors of the ANC mayoral committee, the remaining ANC councillors and the MEC for Local Government, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, as well as the five newly appointed directors.
In response Kouga Municipality agreed that:
· the mayor and his mayoral committee, in their eagerness to deploy their cadres, held a mayoral committee meeting on 11 June 2012 at which it was decided to appoint the five directors, thereby flaunting the law;
· phone calls were made to the applicants to confirm their appointments on the same day;
· followed by written confirmation signed by the mayor (not the municipal manager) the next day (12 June) appointing them for a fixed term of five years;
· the mayor and the mayoral committee have no such delegated powers; only a full council may sanction such appointments;
· a full council approved the unlawful appointments with a majority vote in spite of a four- hour debate in which the DA councillors pointed out the unlawfulness of their action;
· Kouga Municipality is now blaming MEC Qoboshiyane for failing in his duties to stop the unlawful appointments;
· no contracts have been signed with the new directors, who started work on 1 August 2012;
· these posts were advertised for a remuneration package of R780,000 per annum but within the first month the new directors received a salary increase to R830,700 p.a.
The fact remains that the appointments were unlawful when no procedures were followed from the start. The selection panel under the chairmanship of Cllr Vernon Stuurman, called meetings and cancelled them, notices of meetings were sent by sms on some occasions at the start of the meetings, CVs of candidates were not presented to the panel, candidates were not scored to determine who was the best candidate, the panel transgressed the municipality’s own recruitment policy, etc.
“MEC Qoboshiyane has been warned by the DA since 4 May 2012, when a Kouga DA caucus delegation met with him in Bhisho. Further letters followed from DA provincial leader Athol Trollip, DA Kouga caucus leader, Dr. Chimpie Cawood, and letters by me” said the DA leader in Kouga, Elza Van Lingen.
The MEC was called upon to intervene at an early stage to intervene and stop the irregular steps, but he failed in his duty and responsibility to oversee local government in Kouga and the province.
The MEC did however inform the councillors in Jeffreys Bay of the processes to be followed in the selection processes of the Section 56 managers on 16 April 2012.
In the DA affidavit and the replying statement (filed on Thursday 27 September 2012) it is clear from all the supporting documents that:
· the mayor, the mayoral committee and the other ANC councillors transgressed the law, deliberately as per the supporting documents;
· the ANC resorted to a council meeting to right their wrongs with a majority vote on 29 June for the usual ANC “rubber stamp” action;
· the ANC lied in council on 29 June 2012 when they denied that there was a mayoral meeting on 11 June and that they appointed the directors;
· the DA in the council debate highlighted the various transgressions, warning that according to the new Municipal Systems Act, as amended, a councillor may not vote for transgressions of the Systems Act, the Structures Act or the Constitution;
· the ANC councillors were also warned that they can, according to the Systems Act (as amended), be held personally and individually financially liable for the legal costs in such unlawful cases.
Booi Koerat, the mayor, has been bemoaning the extent of the legal costs of the municipality in the press this week, but if the ANC councillors stuck to the letter of the law, they would not have to spend so much of the ratepayers’ money on legal fees.
The DA is approaching the court to interdict the council from making unlawful decisions.
This is the beginning of the DA’s actions to make Kouga financially viable and governable again. Our voters did not vote for the DA for nothing!
The DA caucus decided to walk out of the Kouga Council meeting yesterday after agreeing that the meeting had not been properly advertised to the residents of the area.
According to the Kouga Council’s rules of order, all councillors must be advised of any council meeting at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.
Yet, the Council meeting that was supposed to be held yesterday, was only advertised on Wednesday to the public.
The DA felt that is was unreasonable for residents to be given such a short time period to go through the 300 odd pages in the meeting pack and not be accorded the same respect and time given to the councillors.
To top everything off, the meeting scheduled to start at 11 am, only began at 11.30 am.
The Kouga Democrat will in future also provide details of all council meetings where the public can participate, to ensure the residents of the Kouga stay informed about local government issues.
If elected to national government, the DA will change South Africa’s economy to create millions of new jobs over the next ten years, so that no one has to live in poverty, and every South African is able to live a better life.
Apartheid denied millions of black, coloured and Indian South Africans economic opportunity, creating a country where some were included and others excluded. 18 years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa remains a country of where some are included while others are excluded. The included have access to jobs, income, skills and assets, but the excluded live in poverty, without skills and without jobs.
That is why we are working for change, and working for jobs. If elected to national government, the DA’s plan will change the economy by making it easier to invest, to start a business, to grow a business, to hire more workers and to trade with other countries, especially in Africa.
The DA’s plan for change and jobs includes:
Education for jobs. The DA will implement the successful approach of the Western Cape government, which has the highest matric pass-rate in South Africa, by giving principals performance-contracts, setting academic targets for each school, testing every grade 3, 6 and 9 for literacy and numeracy, ensuring that every child has a text book in every subject and by building more schools and classrooms.
Helping people start their own businesses. The DA will set up a one-stop-shop for business registration to dramatically reduce the time and effort it takes to set up a business. We will put a cap on regulatory compliance costs, and review red tape across government to cut the cost of starting a business and hiring more workers. Businesses will be re-imbursed fully for any training they provide their workers and a nation-wide apprenticeship programme will be re-introduced.
Giving young job-seekers a Youth Wage Subsidy. The DA will roll-out the R5bn Youth Wage Subsidy programme which was announced by the President in 2010, but blocked by Cosatu. The Western Cape government has proven a Youth Wage Subsidy can work, so the DA will implement it nationally to benefit over 400 000 young South African jobseekers. We will also provide an Opportunity Voucher to eligible young people to help subsidise their education, fund a small business, or guarantee a loan.
Building infrastructure for growth. The DA will increase the amount spent on infrastructure like roads, rail and electricity across South Africa by getting the private sector to invest through public-private partnerships. We will broaden the base of shareholders of the state-owned enterprises by setting up targetted listings to empower ordinary South Africans with shares. We will implement the successful approach of the City of Cape Town that is connecting citizens across the city by increasing transport budgets and expanding broadband internet infrastructure.
Lowering taxes for greater investment. The DA will set up Export Processing Zones with large tax breaks and other strong incentives for companies to invest and create jobs in South Africa. We will also introduce specific tax breaks to assist small businesses and help ordinary South Africans get shares in the companies they work for. The cost of living in South Africa is increasing every week so we will work to reduce prices set by government such as electricity and water tariffs, tolls, property rates and transport and fuel costs.
Jacques Smalle the DA Limpopo Provincial Leader has laid criminal charges (Case Number CAS 15/8/2012) at Modjadjiskloof Police Station against the former Municipal Manager, Chief Financial Officer and the Technical Director of Greater Letaba Municipality for contravening provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
This is after these officials, at the very least recklessly, approved in 2011 a payment of R2, 5 million to former employee of Star Mill Developers, a company that was contracted to construct roads and storm water infrastructure in Modjadjiskloof. This payment was effected without proper checks, apparently when this employee had merely made a claim to the Municipality that the tender was theirs.
The main contractor had failed to carry out its responsibilities under the tender agreement. Rather than these municipal officials demanding full performance by the contractor or the return of money already paid, they went ahead to approve payments to this disgruntled employee.
The MFMA makes it clear that it is an offence under section 173 for any official to spend any money belonging to the Municipality, either negligently or in an unauthorised manner. The police must now probe how a person who never had any contractual tender agreement with the municipality ended up being paid millions of rands.
The fact that this transaction was approved by these officials when they still held these positions does not erase their previous wrong doings and they should still be held accountable now. This will serve as a deterrent for future for future officials who might want to do the same.
To this day Modjadjiskloof still has undeveloped road and storm water infrastructure and yet millions have already been paid.
Despite the numerous attempts by the Democratic Alliance at this Municipality to warn about the illegality of this transaction, the officials who were entrusted with the responsibility of doing due process with finance expenditures failed to do their job.
The law places very strict responsibilities on officials who are entrusted with public money. The DA will ensure that proper tender procedures are always followed and that officials are made to account for the manner in which they handle public’s money.
The Democratic Alliance has submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, to reveal the names of contractors whose inferior work will result in R50 billion being spent on the rectification of RDP housing projects.
The DA wants to know who the fly-by-night contractors are and whether they are still contracted to build houses. Contractors who build faulty houses should be blacklisted so that no more public money is wasted. It is time that Minister Sexwale took some tough action to match his tough talk.
This year alone, R 930 million was set aside for the rectification of just over 34 000 housing units across the country. The vicious cycle of spending, shoddy workmanship and rectification must be broken by blacklisting bad contractors and preventing them from future involvement in contracts for state-funded housing.
Minister Sexwale is trying to shift the blame for crumbling RDP houses by saying that it is service providers, and not his department, that are responsible for RDP construction. The Minister conveniently ignores the fact that service providers are contracted by his department and should be held accountable by it.
He also fails to mention the obvious failure by the National Home Builders Registration Council, an entity within his department, to protect housing consumers from unscrupulous contractors and to ensure that contractors who deliver sub-standard housing projects are blacklisted.
The Department of Human Settlements’ dogged defence of under-performing contractors was evidenced again in last week’s discussion in the portfolio committee for Human Settlements on the continuation of contracts to two sanitation service providers who have repeatedly failed to deliver on their commitments.
In 2010/2011, the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and Mvula Trust received contracts to the value of R32 million and R11 million, respectively. Despite their failure to meet their targets, their allocated contracts grew to R150 million and R120 million in the current financial year.
It is time for the Minister to prove to South Africans living in appalling conditions in state-funded housing and the millions of South African still awaiting access to housing opportunities that he wants to get rid of service providers who squander state resources.
South Africans deserve sustainable human settlements, where families can be raised, where dreams can be realised and where people are given access to the economic opportunities that arise from home ownership.
The proposed amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Labour Relations Act will increase the cost of doing business, reduce South Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination and, ultimately, destroy jobs.
This is why the DA cannot support the amendment bills in their current form.
The Department of Labour is not currently in a position to predict the impact of the amendments on the South African economy. A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) conducted in 2010 suggested that the jobs of 2.13 million temporarily employed South Africans would be jeopardised if the bills were implemented in their original form. Important changes have since been made to the bills, but the current drafts are yet to be subjected to a RIA.
We cannot gamble with the future of South African workers. The DA therefore calls for a new RIA to be completed to determine the effect of the current proposals on economic growth and job creation before any decision is taken on this draft legislation.
South Africa has the highest unemployment rate amongst developed and developing countries, with 3.2 million people between the ages of 15 and 34 currently unemployed.
According to the 2011 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Survey, South Africa currently ranks fourth to last in the world in terms of “flexibility in wage determination” and third last in “hiring and firing practices”.
This is not a co-incidence. More restrictive labour markets mean less investment in labour intensive industry and less incentive to employ more workers and, ultimately, fewer jobs.
Given our prevailing restrictive climate, businesses have begun to rely more heavily on temporary employment services (labour brokers) in an attempt to reduce costs and remain globally competitive.
Adcorp’s monthly employment numbers show that temporary workers now make up over 3.9 million or approximately 30% of the official sector labour force. Overall, permanent employment has increased just 2% since the 2009 recession, whilst total employment – comprising permanent and temporary workers – has increased 12.2%.
The current labour amendments introduce regulatory rigidity that will strangle temporary employment services. We are particularly opposed to the amendments in section 198, which limit contracted employment and workers hired through temporary employment services to six months. The Department of Labour has presented no compelling reason for these limits, which we believe will place onerous restrictions on business and ultimately lead to job losses.
The amendment bills do make improvements in a number of key areas which we will support when they are discussed in the labour portfolio committee next month. These include:
If passed in its current form, the labour amendment bills will exacerbate the unemployment crisis in South Africa. This legislation surely represents a step in the wrong direction in terms of sustainable economic development. We will use the deliberations in Parliament to push for significant changes to be made before this new labour regime is imposed on an already struggling South African economy.
The entire DA structure in Kouga, Baviaans and Kou Kamma will be meeting on Saturday in Joubertina.
Items on the agenda include the state of roads in the region as well as education. The DA held a march in Jeffreys Bay on 16 June to demand a better education for all.
Elza van Lingen, the DA’s parliamentarian will also address the meeting.
Support for the DA is continually growing in the region as voters are realizing that the infrastructure in the towns of Jeffreys Bay, Kareedouw, Joubertina, St Francis Bay and Patensie are all crumbling under ANC rule.
The Democratic Alliance tried in a Council meeting on Friday to stop the illegal process of unlawful appointments of the top five managers in the Kouga Council.
These appointments had already been made, and the council was expected to rubberstamp and legitimise the illegal actions of the municipal manager, the mayor and his mayoral committee.
The DA member of Parliament for the Kouga, Elza Van Lingen.
In response, the DA will approach the High Court to file for an urgent interdict to have the appointments set aside.
“The DA will hold the municipal manager, the mayor, the mayoral committee and every single councillor who voted for the approval in council personally liable for the legal expenses of this case” said Elza Van Lingen, the leader of the DA in Kouga.
The mayor, Booi Koerat and his mayoral committee unlawfully assumed “delegated powers” to appoint these managers, with Koerat even signing the letters of appointment, which he has no legal right to do.
The mayor and his committee held a secret meeting on 11 June 2012 and called the successful candidates to inform them that their letters of appointment will be forwarded the next day.
They then requested the successful candidates to take up their positions on 1 July 2012, without the required approval of the council or the MEC.
According to the law, a full council is required to approve such appointments.
In response to the crisis at the Kouga council, the DA has taken the following steps:
•All information at the DA’s disposal has been passed on to MEC Qoboshiyane.
•On 4 May, a DA delegation visited the MEC Qoboshiyane to inform him that the executive mayor and his mayoral committee flouted every possible legal obligation in making the controversial appointments.
• DA Eastern Cape Leader Athol Trollip has been in constant contact with the MEC regarding this matter since 19 June 2012.
• The National Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has also been informed of the crisis.
• DA Caucus Leader, Dr Chimpie Cawood wrote to the municipal manager to remind him of his duties and highlight his inaction in the process.
• DA Constituency Leader, Elza van Lingen wrote several letters to the MEC in this regard.
• The DA has submitted a lawyer’s letter reminding the municipal manager that the DA placed on record that the appointments were contrary to the Municipal Systems Act and therefore the appointments were unlawful.
The final outcome of the Council meeting was that the Kouga Council resolved not to redo these appointments in compliance with the Municipal Systems Act with the ANC using their majority to push the appointments through.
The DA will not accept the reckless and irresponsible defiance of the law by the ANC in Kouga and will fight the matter in court on behald of the citizens of Kouga.
