Latest news with #JacobMamabolo
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Gauteng department accused of bias as CFO faces prosecution while DDG stays at work
Gauteng MEC Jacob Mamabolo has downplayed accusations that there is bias in his office. Image: Bongani Shilubane / Independent Newspapers The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure and Development faces renewed scrutiny, accused of bias for spending over R5 million to prosecute a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who has been suspended with pay for more than a year. Meanwhile, a deputy director-general (DDG) facing more serious charges remains at work without suspension. The CFO, whose name is known to the publication, is undergoing a disciplinary process for insubordination, dereliction of duty, and absenteeism. Meanwhile, the DDG, whose name is known to the publication, remains at work despite facing more severe charges. These charges include gross misconduct, maladministration, and financial misconduct related to the controversial Mayibuye Primary School project in Tembisa. The project had been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and corruption allegations. According to a leaked charge sheet, the DDG is accused of causing the improper construction of the school without conducting a wetland study, leading to undue delays and cost overruns. The department allegedly incurred costs of R10,060,519.73 due to the contractor's standing time from December 2018 to March 2020. The DDG is also accused of irregularly appointing a contractor without going through a separate tender process for the construction of a smart school. The charge sheet states that the DDG's conduct was unwarranted, unacceptable, and prejudicial to the administration, discipline, and efficiency of the employer. However, his disciplinary hearing comes with additional controversy, with some DID employees saying he is attending the hearing while he is still at work. The publication has previously reported that the department's CFO had been charged in a different matter but was suspended from attending work, while the DDG is treated differently. A source in a senior position within the department, who spoke on condition of anonymity in case of reprisals, said officials within the department were questioning why this was the case. 'It's politics of favouritism that borders on near corruption at play here because how come a person (CFO) has to stay so long outside of work while another (DDG) is charged with even bigger charges but comes to the office as if nothing is happening?... It shows that it's selective... and it's a matter that is spoken about in the corridors every day,' the source said. Department spokesperson Theo Nkonki did not respond to questions sent to him; however, he referred them to department MEC Jacob Mamabolo, who played down the accusations. 'As far as I know, the department is handling the situation of the DDG, and investigations that will be reported to me afterwards are ongoing. The matter is being dealt with and there is no crisis… we should leave the matter to be investigated so we can move on from there,' Mamabolo said. Responding to the matter of the CFO and whether the DDG was going to be suspended, Mamabolo said that the case was also ongoing, and it was the prerogative of the employer to suspend the DDG if they felt that he would interfere with the investigation. Although it was not clear what the status of the CFO's case was, sources confirmed that it was ongoing and had already cost taxpayers R5 million. The charges against the DDG come after a report by the Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, found irregularities and maladministration in the construction of the school. The report found the school was built on a wetland, endangering the lives of learners and staff members. Build One South Africa (Bosa) at the time welcomed the report and is calling for the recovery of the R82 million spent on the project. Bosa leader Mmusi Maimane had lodged a complaint with the Public Protector in 2020, highlighting the irregularities and corruption surrounding the project. Bosa member of the Gauteng provincial legislature, Ayanda Allie, had written to the office of Premier Panyaza Lesufi, requesting that he delegate a task force team to recover the squandered funds. Allie said that Lesufi's task force will aid in recovering missing funds and holding officials accountable for scrupulous conduct. 'We are of the view that the remedial action is flimsy and deficient and illustrates how far this matter is away from being settled. All effort must be made to recover the funds spent otherwise, shady contractors and compromised government employees get away scot-free,' Allie said. [email protected]
IOL News
16-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Gauteng MEC warns municipalities to improve financial health and service delivery
Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance, Jacob Mamabolo, has warned municipalities to improve their finances and service delivery to residents. Image: File Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance, Jacob Mamabolo, has warned municipalities to improve their finances and service delivery to residents. This comes as reports of infrastructure and service delivery have reportedly collapsed in some Gauteng municipalities. Mamabolo stated that while the provincial government does not wish to adopt a confrontational stance towards non-performing municipalities, it will not tolerate refusal to comply with the country's laws Mamabolo spoke during a post-budget press briefing at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on Wednesday. "We promote good relations with our municipalities, and we do not believe in confrontation. This is the approach we are following. However, this does not mean we cannot enforce the laws of the country. All our municipalities must comply with them as non-compliance will not be tolerated or accepted." 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 ✕ Regarding the turnaround strategy adopted by the provincial government, Mamabolo indicated that they will not impose this strategy on affected municipalities but will allow them the space to prioritise their immediate challenges. Early this year, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, presided over the implementation of the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy targeting distressed municipalities as well as the introduction of policy and legislative support measures to strengthen local government, while Mamabolo also introduced the new municipal performance management system. "Our budget is to make sure we turn around these municipalities. We are now in a better position to implement and roll out our turnaround strategy. Municipalities have gone to IDPS, and of those, each municipality must say which priorities they are tackling in the next three years. But we are not going to impose our turnaround strategy, they must decide themselves which issues they want to resolve," he added. Gauteng MEC for health and wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, who delivered hers on Tuesday, also briefed the media alongside MEC for human settlements, Tasneem Motara on key budget-related issues within the health department. On health infrastructure delivery, Nkomo-Ralehoko announced that her department has allocated R1.7 billion (Health Facility Revitalisation Grant and Equitable Share) for maintenance and new capital projects, with R100 million having been ring-fenced to support the department's recapitalisation programme specifically for laundry services and theatres. "Already, theatre refurbishments are advanced at Carletonville and Bheki Mlangeni hospitals. We are moving forward with key projects such as the Daveyton new hospital, Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital with 287 new mental health beds, and the upgrading of Johan Heyns Community Health Centre into a district hospital to meet the needs of the community," she said.
The Citizen
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Rus-Ter-Vaal secondary nears completion
VEREENIGING – There is a positive spirit and excitement among Rus-Ter-Vaal residents as the long awaited Rus-Ter-Vaal Secondary School project nears completion. Despite the multiple challenges faced during the course of the project, residents say that they are happy about the progress that has been made. Giving a progress report recently, the Department of Infrastructure Development said the project registered significant progress. 'This development follows the recent appointment of a new completion contractor after the Department of Infrastructure Development terminated the previous contractor for performance reasons. 'The timely completion of infrastructure projects is a top priority for government and the message has been communicated to all project teams by MEC Jacob Mamabolo. The project pipeline of the department has also gained traction following the launch of the Infrastructure Delivery Platform, an integrated project management dashboard that enables more effective monitoring and intervention in the case of challenges.' DID said that the Head of Department, Masabata Mutlaneng has been making unannounced visits to various project sites across the province, ensuring that contractors adhere to the service level agreements to enable speedy community access to public facilities. DID stated that the contractor has since taken to site and proceeded with implementation of the completion works including the construction of the school hall and other ancillary facilities. 'The project scope involves the construction of a new brick-and-mortar education facility replacing an old asbestos school, and will entail facilities such as laboratories, sporting amenities, administration blocks, staff facilities, and others.' The facility is set to be a fully integrated smart facility that forms part of a technology rollout by the Gauteng Department of Education. The new school will accommodate 1,000 learners. Community member Rowan Lewaak says, 'The culmination of this project represents a significant achievement, particularly considering the various challenges encountered. Our children will finally have access to a state-of-the-art educational facility. The community is pleased that the school project has made significant progress and is nearing completion.'. 'We will remain thankful to the Premier of Gauteng, Mr. Panyaza Lesufi, for upholding his commitment to the community.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
News24
30-06-2025
- Politics
- News24
City of Ekurhuleni returns R9.5m in unspent grants to Treasury
The information was revealed by Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo. President Ramaphosa has slammed failures to spend funds as tantamount to treason against citizens. The failure to spend the funds has been blamed on incompetence and mismanagement. The City of Ekurhuleni has returned R9 542 843 in unspent grant funding from the previous financial year, money that was earmarked for crucial infrastructure projects, library resources, equipment and maintenance to improve residents' quality of life. This was revealed in a reply to a DA question in the Gauteng Legislature by the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Jacob Mamabolo. He revealed that the five grants returned to Treasury were: R6 109 609 for the Human Settlements Development Plan; R1 308 918.50 for the Urban Settlement Development Grant; R777 476.88 for the Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant (NDPG); R525 944.82 for the HIV/Aids Grant; and R820 893.95 for the Libraries Plan. This revelation comes in the backdrop of President Cyril Ramaphosa castigating municipalities failing to spend allocated funds, saying this was 'an affront to the people' and 'tantamount to treason' against citizens. Michael Waters, DA member of the Gauteng provincial legislature, said it was unacceptable that the metro failed to spend on its allocated grant while struggling to deliver services to its residents. This is putting service delivery at risk due to incompetence, poor planning and mismanagement of funds. Michael Waters Waters said the implementation of infrastructure projects that promote equitable, integrated, productive, inclusive and sustainable urban development was not done. Investment targeted to attract and sustain third-party capital investments aimed at spatial transformation, improving the quality of life and access to opportunities for residents of townships and rural towns, was impacted due to failure to spend the grant. Waters He said HIV/Aids programmes were also affected, putting lives at risk and that the failure to use the grants for libraries means residents are denied access to a critical resource for learning and acquiring skills. Waters added that it was high time that Mamabolo intervened by engaging all municipalities on the importance of spending allocated grants by implementing stringent measures to curb under-expenditure. The City of Ekurhuleni says it returned grant funds mainly due to minimal balances, failed tenders and redirection refusals. Acting city manager Kagiso Lerutla said the Urban Settlement Development Grant funds were too small to allocate and a request to redirect them was denied by Treasury. The NDPG balance came from projects in Thokoza and Daveyton that couldn't be reallocated. HIV/Aids grant funds remained unused due to failed, centralised tender processes. Lerutla said. 'An attempt to use an existing tender took too long, and the financial year lapsed. [On] the Human Settlements Development Grant, [these] were residual funds from various projects that could not be repurposed despite a request to apply them.' He added that the library services grant went unspent due to supply issues for ordered materials, a contractor facing cash flow problems and community disruptions during library maintenance work.
The Citizen
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Residents welcome ‘Phakama Vaal' clean-up operation
A major joint clean-up campaign dubbed 'Phakama Vaal' kicked off at various illegal dumping hotspots in the Sedibeng District last week. The initiative led by Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Jacob Mamabolo and the Executive Mayor of Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) Sipho Radebe is part of the Executive Mayor's 'Clean My City' campaign, which aims to restore dignity, health, and pride to communities. For the past few years, the Vaal Triangle has been riddled with mushrooming illegal dumping sites as a result of a lack of household refuse collection by ELM. Previously, DA Shadow MMC for Public Works Dady Mollo, raised concerns about the suffering residents had to endure due to a lack of services. 'Residents continue to endure unsanitary conditions, with waste accumulating in the streets. This is a clear failure by the municipality to provide basic services to its people. The people of Emfuleni deserve better, they deserve a clean, healthy, and safe environment.' Mollo demanded immediate action from the municipality to restore waste collection services across all areas. In a statement, ELM said the eight-day intensive operation is already showing visible and meaningful results. 'Over the past two days, we have seen substantial progress across multiple wards, with streets being cleared, illegal dumping sites removed, and public spaces revived. Even more heartening has been the overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents, who are not only welcoming the clean-up but are starting to take ownership of their environment.' The ELM called on community members to play their part in keeping the environment clean. 'We cannot clean the same spaces repeatedly if we don't change our habits. Illegal dumping is not just an eyesore, it is a threat to our health, our safety, and the future of our children.' In response to these utterances by ELM, residents said that the initiative would only be effective if the municipality also worked hard to ensure the consistent collection of household refuse, stating that if this does not happen, illegal dumping would be a continued crisis in ELM. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
