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IOL News
13-05-2025
- General
- IOL News
Gauteng officials urge national disaster declaration for Centurion's sinkhole crisis
Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, visited a newly formed sinkhole in Centurion, accompanied by City of Tshwane MMCs Sarah Mabotsa and Kholofelo Morodi. Image: Supplied The Gauteng Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department is collaborating with the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure and Development (GDID) and the City of Tshwane to address the growing sinkhole crisis in Centurion by seeking national assistance to rehabilitate affected areas. Cogta MEC Jacob Mamabolo announced on X after visiting a newly formed sinkhole in Lyttelton Manor, Centurion, that the three parties are in the process of compiling a detailed report on the Centurion sinkhole situation. He said the objective for putting together a comprehensive report was to secure resources from the national government to rehabilitate the affected areas. He explained that the work of the technical and professional teams from GDID is crucial in assessing the full extent of sinkhole damage in the area. 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 ✕ 'Over the past few years, 63 sinkholes have formed in this area alone, posing serious risks to infrastructure, safety, and development. Accurate assessments are the first step toward meaningful intervention,' he said. Tshwane MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kholofelo Morodi, who was with Mamabolo, confirmed 63 sinkholes in the area. However, she noted it was challenging to provide a timeline for addressing the issue due to various factors. 'At this stage, we have tried to ensure that the communities are aware. We tried to make their lives a little bit comfortable by making sure we cordon off the sinkhole (in Lyttelton Manor) and making the arrangements for them to have access to water and electricity,' she said. She reiterated that the city has made a call for the sinkhole issue to be declared a national disaster, which would unlock financial assistance from the national government. 'When we had 55 sinkholes, we estimated that we needed about R250 million. So, that cost has gone up now because we are on sinkhole number 63,' she said. She also said the area is an old town with deteriorated infrastructure, and that water leaks are significantly exacerbating the problem. 'I think in the past, Tshwane was not investing in infrastructure. We were spending 2% of the budget, and that is against the Treasury recommendation. So, there is a need for us to invest in the infrastructure,' she said. Earlier this year, Morodi reported that the municipality faced a budget shortfall of over R180 million, despite allocating R14.7 million to address the sinkhole crisis in Centurion. Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo previously said the city had formally asked the National Disaster Management Centre to declare the sinkhole issue in Tshwane a national disaster. The national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson, Legadima Leso, has not responded to questions about whether the National Disaster Management Centre will declare the Tshwane sinkhole issue a national disaster.
IOL News
29-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Is Gauteng's R34 million rental bill justifiable? Premier Lesufi seeks answers
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has hired an independent forensic firm to investigate the provincial government's expenditure on lease agreements after it emerged that R34 million is being paid out monthly for rentals. Last week, DA Gauteng spokesperson for infrastructure development, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane issued a statement, saying the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) wastes over R34 million monthly on office rentals, while 41 provincial government buildings stand empty and abandoned. 'Instead of wasting taxpayers' money on renting office space, GDID must fix the buildings that are not in use due to non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards,' Rasilingwane said at the time. On Tuesday, Panyaza's spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the ongoing investigation seeks to ascertain if the huge rentals bill is wasteful expenditure for the province. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'I think it (the probe) is to ascertain whether there is wasteful expenditure by our government and what are other options. Other options have been toyed around, part of it being to go through private-public partnership, which we think is a very viable option to bring back some of government buildings which are dilapidated,' he said. Mhaga said it is anticipated that the investigators would not take much time in the probe. Additionally, Mhaga said the Gauteng government has an ongoing mega project to revitalise the Joburg central business district, which has been abandoned by the majority of private sector businesses who moved to areas like Sandton and Rosebank.
