Cash for talks as service delivery collapses
Organisers have been quick to label it as an 'investment', and a necessary step towards building a better South Africa.
But with deep social and economic challenges facing the country, many are questioning whether the money could have been better spent.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation was one of the organisations that initially called for a national dialogue, and has also raised concerns about the ballooning costs.
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The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
‘Dishonest' Judge Makhubele found guilty and faces impeachment
JSC upholds Tribunal ruling. Now Parliament will have to decide Makhubele's fate. Suspended Gauteng Judge Nana Makhubele is facing impeachment after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) found her guilty on two charges of gross misconduct. The complaints – instigated by #UniteBehind – were that she sat as a judge at the same time that she was chair of the Prasa interim board and, while there, she involved herself in state capture. The latter was in relation to matters involving the Siyaya Group of companies in that she authorised, in an alleged 'secret settlement deal', payments from Prasa to Siyaya of R56-million while sidelining the internal legal team. Judge Makhubele faces impeachment In a statement released on Friday, the small JSC (sitting without members of Parliament) said it had considered the report of the Tribunal established to probe the allegations. 'Prior to considering the matter, the commission called for written representations from Judge Makhubele and #UniteBehind. 'These were duly considered along with the report of the Tribunal, the record and the core bundle,' it said. The complaint in Part A was that Judge Makhubele served in a position which undermined the independence of the judiciary. In doing so, she breached the separation of powers, failing to sever professional ties on her appointment to the judiciary. And that she occupied an office for profit and requested special dispensation regarding her appointment. Judge Makhubele denied the allegations and alleged the (then) Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo had consented to her starting her appointment in April 2018 rather than 1 January 2018. ALSO READ: Judge Nana Makhubele found guilty of gross misconduct The Tribunal found that on 2 November 2017, Mlambo informed Makhubele that she had been appointed and would begin work on 1 January 2018. She had previously been informed by Mlambo that her name would be forwarded as one of the successful candidates. In November, she appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Transport and disclosed that she had been appointed as a judge and would assume her position in January. In December 2017, she emailed Mlambo with a request that she only start work on 1 April. His response was that the President had already made the appointment. At a meeting that month he informed her that it was too late to change her starting date. Mlambo's evidence was corroborated by his deputy, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba. Abrupt resignation The Tribunal, chaired by retired judge Achmat Jappie, said it was common cause that she had made no mention of her appointment at Prasa to Mlambo. She failed to commence her duties on 1 January. Her version, that Mlambo had agreed to her starting later, was 'most unlikely' and her evidence 'was deliberately misleading and unambiguously insufficient' to cast any doubt on the credible evidence of Mlambo. The JSC said these findings clearly supported the conclusion that Judge Makhubele was guilty of gross misconduct and that she had been dishonest. READ MORE: Suspended judge Makhubele explains how she landed Prasa job Regarding the complaint in Part B, #UniteBehind had alleged that her conduct during her tenure as chairperson of the Prasa board was dishonest, lacking integrity and unethical. The Tribunal said the facts were that she took up the position at the end of October 2017. Then she 'abruptly resigned' in March 2018. Prior to her appointment, there were four claims by different entities within the Siyaya Group that were vigorously defended by Prasa. Judge Makhubele's version problematic Judge Makhubele alleged that the board had taken a resolution to settle these claims but was unable to produce the proof of this. She personally conveyed the decision to Francois Botes, an advocate who was acting on behalf of the Siyaya entities. She gave Botes correspondence to assist him to obtain default judgment against Prasa. The Tribunal's evidence leader called four witnesses regarding these allegations. Judge Makhubele disputed their evidence but provided no counter evidence. 'The Tribunal concluded that on the evidence before it, the version of Judge Makhubele was intrinsically problematic, inconsistent and amounted to a bare denial in the face of vastly credible evidence to the contrary on crucial aspects of the matter,' the JSC said in its statement on Friday. READ MORE: Suspended judge denies fault in serving dual government role 'The Tribunal specifically noted the absence of a record indicating who had taken the decision to settle the Siyaya matters as well as her conduct in assisting Adv Botes to obtain default judgment against Prasa.' The JSC said the Tribunal had found her guilty of only misconduct in this regard. 'The allegations underpinning these charges relate to dishonest conduct which qualifies as gross misconduct,' it said. The JSC is expected to recommend to the National Assembly that Makhubele be impeached. This requires a two thirds majority vote. The President must then formally remove her from office. This article was republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Emfuleni crisis highlights local government debt as Treasury cracks the whip
The closure of the Emfuleni Local Municipality offices due to unpaid rent highlights the local government debt crisis, something Treasury hopes to fix by withholding grants from defaulting municipalities. Residents of Emfuleni were unable to make payments or lodge enquiries at the municipality's Vanderbijlpark offices this week after they were locked due to the failure to pay the monthly R6.4-million rent. According to the DA's Emfuleni caucus leader, Duncan Mthembu, this is a 'powerful symbol' of a nationwide crisis of municipal dysfunction and ballooning debt. Freedom Front Plus Councillor Hein van der Lith said the property owner had closed the building, which has more than 100 offices, twice previously this year and three times in 2024. He said the closure follows a recent recommendation from the Gauteng Legislature's Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to place the troubled municipality under administration. Emfuleni was recently identified by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana as one of 39 municipalities that have persistently failed to pay water boards and other parties such as pension funds, medical aids, SARS, the Auditor-General, and continues to adopt unfunded budgets. The minister said he would suspend all grants to the 39 municipalities for the rest of the financial year due to their ongoing failures. The DA's Mthembu said the closure of the Emfuleni offices meant 'residents have been left confused and stuck on how to proceed in getting assistance with payments and enquiries'. Emfuleni is located in Gauteng and comprises areas such as Vanderbijlpark. Mthembu said this was 'nothing more but an abject failure in governance, and something as simple as communication. The municipality could not even inform residents of their offices' closure.' Account attached Emfuleni's problems have been compounded by Rand Water's decision to attach the municipality's bank account due to its R1.7-billion unpaid debt. Emfuleni Municipality spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni denied that the municipality had failed to honour its payment agreement with Rand Water, describing it as 'arbitrary'. Emfuleni Finance MMC Hassan Mako said, 'The municipality is unable to access its bank account because Rand Water has attached the account, and this situation has persisted for two months.' He said the municipality had considered taking the matter to court, but the mayor refused. Mako said the municipality had formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Rand Water that would manage the water and sanitation services. 'However, Rand Water seems to be more focused on delaying the launch process by continuously attaching the municipality's accounts,' said Mako. 'The SPV project requires R1.3-billion, while Rand Water is owed R1.7-billion. Nevertheless, the municipality has committed to servicing the debt in tranches so that other service providers can be paid,' said Mako. Describing the impact of having its bank account attached, Mako said, 'There is no diesel to pick up refuse. Contractors that were assisting us with cleaning illegal dumps are not paid and have left the sites. When offices are closed, it means workers are paid salaries for doing nothing, and municipal infrastructure projects are suffering.' Emfuleni also owes Eskom R8.5-billion as at the end of June 2025. 'We believe the municipality is being held ransom by Rand Water, which negatively impacts service delivery. As a collective, we urge the mayor to lead by allowing this matter to be resolved in court in the best interest of service delivery,' Mako added. Emfuleni's municipal debt came under the spotlight in a letter from Godongwana to Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa on the ongoing crisis in municipalities. Gondongwana cracks whip on debt-ridden municipalities At the end of June, Godongwana informed Hlabisa that he would invoke Section 216(2) of the Constitution against the 39 most dysfunctional municipalities for 'persistent non-compliance'. This section allows the National Treasury to stop the transfer of funds to an organ of state if it commits a 'serious or persistent material breach' of measures designed to ensure transparency and expenditure control. According to Godongwana, Treasury has outlined a strict mechanism to force compliance: if any of the 18 defaulting municipalities fail to provide proof of full payment to their respective water boards within seven days of the 30 June letter, their Local Government Equitable Share (LGES) will be stopped. This withheld equitable share will only be released in portions, with stringent conditions. The first portion must be strictly used to pay current water board accounts, with proof of payment required, before a second amount is released for arrears owed under a valid repayment arrangement. According to the letter from Godongwana, if these conditions were not met, or if evidence of payments to institutions such as SARS, pension funds and other statutory third parties is not submitted, Treasury would approach Parliament to endorse the stopping of all LGES transfers for the rest of the 2025/26 municipal financial year. Municipal financial years run from 1 July to 30 June. Treasury also plans to withhold conditional infrastructure transfers. 'It is advisable that, parallel to the LGES withholding process, Rand Water, Vaal Central, Lepelle Northern, and Magalies Water enforce their credit control policies to also attach the bank accounts of the defaulting municipalities to enforce a change in behaviour of these municipalities. The same applies to all the water boards, in order to avoid a similar situation and prevent escalating debt across water boards,' said Godongwana. Earlier this year, Hlabisa told Daily Maverick the national government was sending a message to municipalities that 'it is time to pay'. During his 2025 departmental budget vote debate speech, the Cogta minister said: 'We have concurred with Treasury to compel the payments for water boards and Eskom, and pay pension and medical aid contributions to third parties. Notably, the same principle will have to apply to all government departments who owe municipalities, they must be compelled to pay what is due to municipalities.' Municipalities across the country owe Eskom almost R110-billion. Writing in Business Live, Municipal IQ managing director Kevin Allan said the local government debt crisis was caused by poor governance, a lack of oversight, and weak administrative capacity. 'The suspension of grants, therefore, represents the Treasury's move from carrot to stick. But this approach is not without risk. Service interruptions, project delays and cash flow constraints may follow in affected municipalities. Residents could bear the brunt of deteriorating services, and protest action may escalate,' said Allan. He described Treasury's decision as 'both bold and necessary'. 'The stakes are enormous. Without intervention, the escalating debt spiral could not only collapse local government, but destabilise national service delivery and weaken the country's fiscal standing,' Allan continued. 'Above all, municipalities must get back to basics. They must adopt funded budgets, bill accurately, collect revenue diligently and prioritise creditor payments. Professionalising financial management, insulating administration from politics and enforcing accountability are not optional – they are essential. DM
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
‘Apartheid inheritance' COJ moves to renegotiate R2 annual rent with prestigious Killarney Country Club
Since 1970, the prestigious Killarney Country Club (KCC) has been paying R2 a year in rent to the City of Johannesburg. The Johannesburg council has kicked off a process that will see it re-negotiate terms between it and the club or sell the land it built on altogether. Despite the low rent, the club said it has provided value for money to the city and the deal has been 'mutually beneficial' for both entities. Located in the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Houghton, the KCC is built on 111,6 hectares of land owned by the city. Its facilities include an 18-hole golf course, squash and tennis courts, bowling greens and a restaurant. History of Killarney Country Club The KCC was established in 1903 as the Transvaal Automobile Club. In 1929, it transitioned to a golf club with the introduction of a golf course. In 1970, the City of Council of Johannesburg (as it was formally known at the time) expropriated the land the course was on to build the M1 Highway. 'It was agreed that KCC would relocate to five nearby erven which the COJ purchased,' one court document reads. The club moved to Houghton, near the Highway where it would enter into a long-term lease with the city at R2 per annum in rental premiums. The initial 50-year lease was due to expire on the 31st of July 2020 however in 1992, it was extended to 2040 (this is currently subject to a court challenge), at the same rental rate of R2 per annum. In 2005, the name was officially changed to the Killarney Country Club. Joburg council KCC motion On Thursday, a motion was tabled before the Johannesburg council which seeks to open a public participation process on the future of the club. 'The said property (KCC) is a non-core capital asset, and it is therefore recommended that it be sold or leased on a long-term basis,' the motion reads. According to the document, the city estimates the property value to exceed R50-million meaning a public participation process must be conducted before any decision is made on it, in line with Section 34 and 35 of the Municipal Asset Transfer Regulations. It said the market value of the KCC will be determined by an independent valuator. Following the public participation process, the CEO of the Joburg Property Company (a municipal-owned entity which manages all the city's properties) will submit a report to council within 60 days. 'Advising whether the capital asset is needed to provide a minimum level of basic municipal services, as well as the fair market value of the asset,' council documents read. The CEO's report must also consider the economic and community value that will be received if the KCC is sold. 'Apartheid inheritance' Johannesburg Councillors chip in Then document presented to council on Thursday says in August 2011, the city of Johannesburg resolved to lease the property at R1000 a month for a period of about 10 years, with an 8% increase a year ( Note: The KCC told EWN it knows nothing about this and still pays a rental of R2 a year ). Nomoya Mnisi, MMC for Economic Development and ANC councillor, said the city will be guided by the outcomes from the public participation process on decide whether the land KCC is built on will be sold or the lease will be continued. 'There is a lease currently running in that property, it is ending in 2040 however it should be noted the lease is not market related. It means whatever amount the tenants (KCC) are paying there is not in accordance with the market value,' she said. Mnisi said the rental terms between the city and KCC are an 'inheritance of apartheid.' Matthew Cook from the Good Party was also in support of the public participation process. 'You cant even find a backroom in Soweto or Orange Farm for R2000 per month, how is the city currently leasing a 111-hectares of prime land, well located for under R2000 per year,' he said. Cook went further saying the land, where the country club currently resides, must be utilised for public use like low-cost housing, mixed use zones and sports centres. 'Things like that where the public in those communities can really benefit from it rather than the elite few who are able to play golf,' he said. 'I don't think there is a shortage of golf clubs in Johannesburg, Parkview (golf club) is just up the road (from KCC) and that one is not up for negotiation at the moment so within a five-minute drive you have got another golf course, there is plenty of space for golfers to go to.' The Democratic Alliance voted against the motion. As its councillor, Alex Christians rose up to speak, there was heckles of 'apartheid beneficiary' from some other councillors in the chamber. 'It is vague and does not provide sufficient information for us to make an informed decision,' said Christians. 'We are not against public participation but the process they want to follow in terms of how the public will then respond to what is in the details of that report. Also to note that 2011 was not during apartheid.' The motion was adopted by a majority of councillors. Killarney Country Club responds 'I think at face value if you see a club paying R2, you'll be like 'oh that's ridiculous how can that be' but ultimately the history of it (the land) was sold and leased back for the benefit of the city and its residents on a nominal basis because fulfilled the managing function which the city clearly can't fulfil themselves,' said Darryn Faulds, President of the KCC. Referring to that 1970 deal, Faulds said there was an agreement the land would be leased back to the country club and it would have to manage and maintain it at its own risk. He also denied accusations that KCC is an 'exclusive' club, saying all its facilities are open public. Like all country clubs, Faulds said the KCC offers a membership and services which they generate revenue from. However, he said the R2 annual rent has not spared it from financial difficulties facing most sports clubs across the country, with the club last recording a profit about 15-years ago. He said the land is difficult and expensive to maintain with most of the revenue being going back to covering overhead costs. 'It's a very, very tough place just to break-even nevermind make a little bit more,' he said. Faulds said the club has done a good job in maintaining the land, especially considering a large portion of it is a biodiverse wetland. '90% of that area in undevelopmental (sic) because it's just effectively a wetland that floods where you cannot have residential properties,' he said. Faulds said if the land were to be sold, the next best use of it would be a park which the city would have to maintain at its own cost and resources. 'We have all seen unfortunately how the parks get managed in the city,' he said. 'Any development on that property (KCC), upgrades or improvements or otherwise is for the benefit of the city because ultimately it's their asset that is going to have a value or not.' Faulds also argued the country club has indirectly contributed to the investments in Houghton and its surrounding areas. 'It's not overgrown there isn't a mass vagrants or mass camps on there or anything that we see with other areas where maintenance isn't upkept so there is a lot of commercial buildings and new residential buildings being built,' he said. In addition, the KCC also runs advertising boards on the land, the proceeds of which go to the Joburg Property Company (JPC). With council passing the motion for a public consultation, Faulds said he is hoping those that will participate have the entire picture and context of the KCC. He said the KCC is keeping an open mind throughout this process and has re-affirmed its long-standing position to renegotiate terms that will be suitable for both the club and the city. 'We happy to do another lease basis on terms that are more favourable to you (JPC) commercially and this could be a higher rental per-month,' he said. 'We could also work with the advertising companies to commission more sites and run that process for the JPC, giving them the profits of that.'
