DA slams revival of Nasi ispani jobs scheme
KLIPTOWN - The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has slammed Premier Panyaza Lesufi for reviving the Nasi Ispani jobs programme.
It aims to create fourty-thousand new positions. The party is criticising the move over the abrupt collapse of the programme in March due to budget constraints.
It's demanding answers from Social Development MEC Faith Mazibuko about the programme's financing.
According to Gauteng Government spokeswoman Vuyo Mhaga, potholes, broken traffic lights, and all road infrastructure and buildings in need of painting are the problems that Johannesburg residents face.
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The South African
19 hours ago
- The South African
Lesufi to launch Gauteng's tamper-proof number plate system
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the MEC for Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela will pilot launch the province's highly anticipated tamper-proof number plate system on Thursday, 5 June. The launch is set to take place at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg. The South African previously reported that in December 2022, Lesufi announced the province would roll out new vehicle number plates in 2023 to help combat crime, corruption, vandalism, and lawlessness. He further emphasised this during his State of the Province Address in February 2023. During the launch of the registration process for manufacturers of vehicle number plates in July 2023, Diale-Tlabela said they understand the importance of ensuring that manufacturers and embossers of number plates operate within the bounds of the law. 'Over the years, we have witnessed numerous challenges arising from non-compliant number plates, such as compromised safety, an increase in vehicle-related crime, and a lack of accountability from manufacturers,' she said. On Tuesday, 3 June, Lesufi took to X (previously Twitter) to share the details about the launch. He said fraudulent number plates and cars without proper documentation are at the centre of crime in Gauteng, especially kidnappings, robberies, and murder, as criminals use undocumented cars to commit crimes. 'We are now ready to launch tamper-proof new number plates. A safer GP,' he posted. One of the forensic reports, which the Department of Transport commissioned in 2022, dealt with alleged fraud and maladministration at Gauteng Drivers' Licencing Testing Centres (DLTC). The findings were as follows: Fraudulent optometrist certificates Fee dumping (Fee dumping is the practice of applicants with arrears who apply for vehicle license renewal being allowed to proceed and what they owe in arrears is dumped to other accounts, including the accounts of deceased persons). Collusion between examiners, applicants and driving schools Lifestyle audits – assets not commensurate with salaries Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Children's homes, rehabs and shelters face closure once again as Gauteng govt fails to pay
Two months into the financial year, which started in April, hundreds of non-profit organisations in Gauteng have not yet received their subsidies from the provincial Department of Social Development. 'These organisations include domestic violence shelters, child and youth care centres, inpatient substance abuse treatment facilities, and residential facilities for persons with disabilities,' the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee said in a statement on Friday. Organisations GroundUp spoke to say they only have enough reserve funds to last them two or three months before they will have to shut down. This echoes similar chaos last year, when organisations funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development went unfunded for months. Many had to go into debt, from which they have not yet recovered. Premier Panyaza Lesufi intervened last year and a new MEC, Faith Mazibuko, has since taken the helm. But despite promises to restore the department's relationship with the organisations, problems with service agreements and late payments have not been curbed. At least 40 of the crisis committee's 114 member organisations have not been paid and 14 are still waiting for service level agreements (SLAs). According to a statement by the department on Monday, of the 1,640 SLAs issued to organisations, 1,424 have been signed and 818 payments have been made. That leaves more than 600 payments outstanding. And this excludes organisations who have not yet received SLAs, says committee chair Lisa Vetten. Department spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa told GroundUp that late payments were due to challenges with the payment system. He also said some organisations had not signed the SLAs in time, and others were 'non-compliant' with municipalities and in some cases with the Children's Act. CHILDREN'S HOMES FACE CLOSURE Jacaranda Kinderhuis and Louis Botha Children's Home are two of the largest Child and Youth Care Centres in Gauteng and house more than 250 children. Neither centre has received an SLA for the new financial year, says Charlene Grobbelaar, CEO for both Louis Botha and Jacaranda. The subsidies received from the department usually cover 40% of their expenses. The SLA delays are apparently because the department said it requires a J738 form from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to show that no staff members are on the sex offender registry. The department initially accepted proof that the centres had applied for the form from the DOJ on 13 March. But since the start of May, they have received no update from the department. Without funding from the department, both homes are now running on reserve funds, which are quickly running dry. If the funding does not come through soon, the homes can only keep going for 'maximum a month', says Grobbelaar. Operations at both centres have been pared down, reserving the little funds available for food and salaries. Field trips and extracurricular activities have been cancelled. The centres have recently taken in children from small nearby centres that have closed their doors due to funding cuts. 'It's ridiculous, these are children's lives,' said Grobbelaar. Paul Kruger Kinderhuis in Gauteng with room for 63 children, which the department has funded for decades, received verbal indication from the adjudication panel that it would be funded but has not received anything in writing, despite repeated follow-ups. Manager Kobus Vorster said they have enough funds for another two months. Mothaolwa told GroundUp that all funded youth centres that have not received SLAs 'have been appraised on the reasons for the delays'. 'We would also like to bring to your attention that all the [organisations] that have worked with [the department] know our teams at regional offices … We are not sure why they asking us through the media, where we wont even give out information about them, because we respect the working relationship we have with them.' PAST UNDERSPENDING GroundUp previously reported that last year's funding crisis led several organisations to take the department to court over non-payments. Some have still not been paid despite having signed SLAs for the 2024/25 financial year and are still busy fighting for their money in court. The department has said that the reason it could not pay all NPOs was that it had run out of money and overcommitted its budget. GroundUp previously reported that organisations were dissatisfied with this answer. And on Monday, News24 reported that the department will have to return R102-million to the national treasury due to underspending in the 2024/25 financial year. Mothaolwa has previously said that underspending is mainly due to 'compliance' issues. This article first appeared on GroundUp. Read the original article here.
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Some opposition parties in Gauteng Legislature remain critical of Maile's revised budget
JOHANNESBURG - Some opposition parties in the Gauteng Legislature remain critical of Finance MEC Lebogang Maile's revised provincial budget, even after adjustments were made. Maile retabled the budget on Wednesday to accommodate key changes in the province's projected revenue. An additional R886 million has been added, bringing the total projected revenue to R172 billion for the current financial year. ALSO READ: • Gauteng govt discloses that only 4 of 11 municipalities tabled funded budgets • Gauteng govt increases total projected revenue to R172bn in revised budget Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga said Maile's budget doesn't reflect the true state of the province. "I think the priorities on the budget are skewed on the basis that you have R1.2 billion that is allocated for the provincial legislature and political parties while you still have about R240 million allocated towards housing. A sound decision would have been to allocate R1.2 billion to the housing and the R200 million to the political parties." The Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Ruhan Robinson said that budget allocation could have been better. "All in all, many of our concerns stay exactly the same as with the previous budget. It's the enormous allocation of almost R5 billion to pay for the e-toll debt, which we still believe is not for the province to pay. We shouldn't be paying that money."
