Latest news with #DSW
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
Witness in Zandile Gumede trial prefers waste pile over irregular expenditure
Former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, with her supporters outside the Durban High Court. Image: Nomonde Zondi In the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud case involving former eThekwini municipality mayor Zandile Gumede, a State witness has told the Durban High Court that she would prefer not to have a pile of rubbish picked up than to deal with irregular expenses for not following due process. The witness, who cannot be named as per court order, is currently being cross-examined by advocate Jimmy Howse SC, who is counsel for Sandile Ngcobo, a fifth accused who was a deputy head of supply chain management (SCM) in eThekwini. Gumede, Ngcobo, and 20 others are facing numerous charges, including money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the tender. The witness told the court that waste collection is not an emergency, but a critical service. The court has heard that the Durban Solid Waste Unit had sought authority in December 2017 to get experienced service providers to collect waste from January 2018. This is because the contract of service providers was going to expire on December 31, 2017. In November 2017, the unit advertised a tender for waste collection, but they claimed that they received a lot of submissions and needed extra time to go through all of the proposals.. The witness during this time worked at the tenders and contracts unit. Part of her job included issuing letters of award to those who had won tenders. She said that after the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) gave the DSW the go-ahead to get service providers and approved the quotations, that decision needed to be reviewed by the Executive Acquisitions Committee (EAC), which was established by former city manager Sipho Nzuza to advice him. The BAC-approved quotations are subject to compliance checks, and then letters of appointment will be issued to the service providers. Howse asked her if it made sense that the EAC had to consider this on January 29, 2018, when the service providers should start collecting waste on January 1, 2018. The witness said that had she been instructed to do otherwise, she would have. "I was following due processes," she said. Howse asked her if she had approached any of her supervisors to tell them that there were not going to be waste management services in January, considering the email that was sent by a DSW contract administrator stating that this was an emergency. She said no and added that this was not the only contract she was dealing with. Additionally, Howse asked her if the SCM policy had any distinction between critical and emergency. She said it was her view that this was not an emergency and she continued to refer to SCM policies. She said the DSW Unit had a sole mandate to ensure contracts for waste management and illegal dumping. 'Failure to have those contracts does not result in an emergency. That is a failure to properly plan. In my view, Mr Howse, this was not an emergency,' she said. On December 28, 2018, the witness said Ngcobo had asked her to prepare the letters of award for the contractors, who were going to collect waste in January 2018. Howse said this was after his client received a call from the city manager enquiring about the letters of award.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
PU forms committee to draft constitution for student council
Chandigarh: Responding to a formal proposal by Panjab University Campus Students' Council (PUCSC) vice president, the university vice chancellor has ordered to set up a five member committee to draft a written constitution for the student body — the first such attempt in the council's history. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Student council vice president Archit Garg, in a letter dated May 27, urged the Vice Chancellor to constitute a drafting committee to address what he described as a "crisis of representation, accountability, and legitimacy." He pointed out that the Council operates without a defined legal or procedural framework, reducing it to a "ceremonial body: visible, but voiceless; elected, but toothless." Acting on this proposal, the university has formed a five-member committee chaired by Professor Nandita from the Department of Education. The other members include Professor Sukhbir Kaur, former DSW (Women) from the Department of Zoology; Professor Ashok Kumar, former associate DSW from the Hindi Department; Professor Jagtar Singh, former DSW from the Department of Biotechnology; and an Assistant Registrar from the DSW office. Professor Nandita has previously chaired high-level committees — examining the functioning of the DSW office, and that framed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for student activities and institutional coordination. The SOPs were in the news earlier this month following new proposals restricting star nights, PUCSC involvement in official events, and introducing clearer rules for student trips — moves that followed the death of student leader Aditya Thakur on campus in March. "The idea is to build clarity and safeguards through proper documentation. A constitution will help define structure without undermining student expression. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now We will consult widely before drafting," said Professor Nandita. The PUCSC was formed in the 1970s but has never had a written constitution. The newly formed committee is expected to hold initial consultations before submitting a draft. BOX- Call for student voices in process Welcoming the formation of the committee, Archit Garg said it was a step in the right direction but stressed that students must be given an active role in the drafting process. "Those who have been part of the council and understand its ground functioning must be roped in. Student representation on the committee is essential for legitimacy and accountability," he said. Students oppose proposal to rename PU A proposal to rename Panjab University as Punjab and Haryana University, supported by Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, has triggered strong opposition from many students. The suggestion was made in a letter from the Punjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) president Anurag Dalal to the Vice Chancellor, leading to widespread reaction across the campus and beyond. Several student groups and former student leaders took to social media to express their outrage. SATH, a student organisation, described the proposal as an attack on Punjab's heritage and identity, underlining Panjab University's origins in Lahore as central to its history. The group urged political parties in Punjab to come together to protect the university's name and its connection to Chandigarh. In addition to SATH, other student leaders including Saksham Sharma of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Kanwar Inder Pratap Singh of the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) also spoke out against the proposal. Former PUCSC member Karan Randhawa joined them in criticising the suggested name change on social media, calling it inappropriate and stressing the importance of preserving the university's identity. While the proposal has received political backing from Deepender Hooda, many students and members of the university community remain opposed, emphasising the cultural and historical significance of the university's current name. They argue that Panjab University's name reflects its legacy and strong ties to Punjab, which should not be altered. The debate over the proposed name change continues to spark discussion among students, political figures, and other stakeholders, with many calling for the preservation of the university's historic identity.
IOL News
5 days ago
- IOL News
Urgent tender processes revealed in Zandile Gumede's corruption trial
Former mayor of eThekwini Municipality Zandile Gumede and her sister in-law, Zano Maphumulo. Image: Nomonde Zondi The 14-day cooling-off period did not apply when the eThekwini Municipality awarded the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender in December 2017 due to a deviation from standard tender procedures, a State witness told the Durban High Court on Friday. This is because Section 36 of the Supply Chain Management policy had to be put into effect at this time, and the municipality needed to urgently get service providers to collect waste. The State witness, who cannot be named as per a court order, said this during her cross-examination with defence counsel, Advocate Credo Mlaba. Mlaba is counsel for former city manager Sipho Nzuza, who is the third accused in the matter. Nzuza and former mayor of eThekwini Municipality Zandile Gumede are charged with 20 others for money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the DSW R320 million tender. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Earlier this week, the witness who worked for the tenders and contracts unit within the municipality told the court that she was forced to issue letters of award to service providers to collect waste without allowing the 14-day cooling-off period. She said she was forced to break internal controls by issuing letters of appointment to companies that had been recommended to collect waste without Nzuza's signature. The court has heard that due to the urgency of the matter, the Solid Waste Unit had gone to the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) to ask for authority to source quotations from experienced service providers to collect waste in the city. This is because the contracts of the current service providers at the time were expiring on December 31, 2017. This came after the unit received a lot of bidders in November for this tender and realised that they were not going to finalise the process on time. Additionally, counsel for the fifth accused, Sandile Ngcobo, advocate Jimmy Howse SC, started his cross-examination and referred the witness to a transcript of a BAC meeting on December 19, 2017. The witness attended this meeting. He asked her if Ngcobo was referring to the Solid Waste Unit when he said the compliance checks for the service providers need to be thoroughly done. 'That is correct, Mr Howse. He instructed at the meeting,' she said. The witness also agreed with Howse that Ngcobo said the Solid Waste Unit could get any service provider as long as they were experienced. The court has heard that compliance checks were not done. Additionally, the matter had to be adjourned early as one of the accused, Bhekokwakhe Phewa, was sick. The matter was adjourned until Monday.
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Business Standard
28-05-2025
- General
- Business Standard
PPU has extended the online submission form deadline to Jun 8; details here
The online application deadline for Degree Part I courses at Patliputra University (PPU) has been extended for the 2025–2029 academic year. According to the PPU dean of students' welfare (DSW) Rajeev Ranjan, the deadline has been postponed to June 8, as per the direction of the state higher education department's director. Previously, the last date to fill out the form was May 24. The university has received a resounding response and has about 1.20 lakh seats spread throughout its constituent and associated colleges in the Patna and Nalanda regions. For admission to regular undergraduate courses in the arts, sciences, and commerce streams, more than 90 lakh applications have been submitted online. PPU extends deadline for form submission: Official statement Though there have been few students enrolled in classical languages like Bengali, Prakrit, Maghi, Maithli, and Bhojpuri this year, Ranjan stated that "history in arts and zoology in science have been the top choices for students this time." According to him, the majority of students from remote areas will be able to submit their online applications within the allotted time when the deadline is extended by a fortnight, which is expected to result in a spike in applications for the university. PPU University: How to fill out the application form? Visit the admission portal at admission@ Register an account by providing the necessary details. Enter the Application Form: Complete the form with accurate academic and personal information. Submit scanned copies of the essential documents. Make the payment through the online portal. Review the application and send it. About the PPU Counselling The DSW added, "The counselling and merit list announcements will follow soon after the application window closes on June 8". For new academic sessions and classes to start the first week of July, the institution is dedicated to finishing the admissions process by June 30. Patliputra University (PPU): Overview Patliputra University, situated in Bihar, India, is renowned for its dedication to high-quality education and a wide variety of academic programs. By offering equal opportunities to all, the institution hopes to attract students from a variety of backgrounds through its open admissions procedure.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
PPU extends last date of online form submission
1 2 Patna: Patliputra University (PPU) has extended the deadline for online submission of admission forms for Degree Part I courses for the 2025-29 academic session. The revised deadline is now June 8 following a directive from the director of the state higher education department, said PPU dean of students' welfare (DSW) Rajeev Ranjan. Earlier the last was May 24. The university, which has approximately 1.20 lakh seats available across its constituent and affiliated colleges located in Patna and Nalanda districts, has seen an overwhelming response. Over 90 lakh applications have been submitted online for admission to regular undergraduate courses in arts, science and commerce streams. "However, history in arts and zoology in science have been the top choices for students this time," Ranjan said, adding that there have been few takers for classical languages like Bengali, Prakrit, Maghi, Maithli and Bhojpuri this year. He said the university is likely to see a surge in applications following the extension of the deadline further for a fortnight enabling most of the students from rural areas to submit their online applications within the stipulated time. "The counselling and merit list announcements will follow soon after the application window closes on June 8," the DSW said, adding that the university is committed to completing the entire admission process by June 30 so that new academic sessions and classes could begin from the first week of July.
