Latest news with #ObakengRamabodu
IOL News
5 days ago
- General
- IOL News
Take action this World Environment Day: Stop littering at Mabopane Taxi Station
City of Tshwane's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, and taxi rank officials inspect an illegal dumping site adjacent to Mabopane Taxi Rank during a World Environment Day commemoration event. Image: Rapula Moatshe As part of the commemoration of World Environment Day, City of Tshwane's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, issued a stern warning to smokers to stop discarding cigarette butts indiscriminately, particularly at taxi ranks. "We want to encourage them to start taking care of the environment," Ramabodu said during the event held at Mabopane Taxi Station on Thursday. The event aimed to promote a culture of maintaining a clean environment and to encourage the public to refrain from littering and disposing of waste indiscriminately. Ramabodu's call comes as the taxi station faces environmental challenges, such as a lack of skip bins for hawkers to dispose of their rubbish. Vuyisile Jaxa, secretary of the Soshanguve Taxi Owners Association, emphasised the importance of having waste bins available to encourage people to dispose of their waste properly. However, he noted that the problems at the taxi station go beyond litter, adding that commuters and taxi drivers are also grappling with an infestation of oversized rodents, describing them as "rats that are as big as cats". "And can you imagine that these rats are being fed by our people when they throw litter around at the back of their stalls," he said. The taxi association has teamed up with Botshilu Private Hospital and other stakeholders under the banner 'Keeping Soshanguve Clean Campaign' to address these issues. "We want to roll out this thing quarterly to make sure the whole of Soshanguve is clean. It is very important to have skip bins and small dustbins next to the stalls and next to our taxis. People come with food, especially when taking long-distance taxis. If there are dustbins nearby, we can encourage them to throw leftovers inside them," Jaxa said. In response, Ramabodu acknowledged the problems at the station and pledged to prioritise the provision of waste bins and to formalise dumping sites in the area. "We are going to direct all dumping to a specific area so that the municipality can collect it consistently. What is important is that we have identified the issue of the waste bins around the station and we are going to prioritise that," he said. Despite the challenges, Ramabodu commended the taxi station for being relatively clean compared to other stations in Gauteng. "We want to encourage them to continue doing the good work," he said. [email protected]
IOL News
06-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Outcry over City of Tshwane's proposed cleansing levy
AfriForum has slammed the City of Tshwane's proposed cleansing levy, calling it unlawful and an added burden on residents. Image: Helenus Kruger / City of Tshwane Civil rights group AfriForum has rejected the City of Tshwane's proposed cleansing levy, calling it unlawful due to double taxation and arguing it would unfairly burden the city's already overtaxed residents. The proposal is part of a draft budget for the 2025/2026 financial year set to take effect on July 1. The proposal targets gated communities and shopping malls without existing city waste accounts but using private waste collection services, with a proposed monthly tariff of R194. Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, recently explained that some shopping malls are being targeted because they often have multiple bins but only pay for one. He cited that areas like Wonderpark Estate and malls such as Menlyn Mall are among those targeted, as they use private waste collection services that dispose of waste at city landfills. 'They use our landfills, (which) we maintain (at a cost). They don't maintain them and that is why we are calling for this cleansing levy,' he said. The DA in Tshwane has opposed the proposed levy, describing it as another tax burden on the city's already overtaxed residents. AfriForum has joined the criticism, calling the levy unlawful due to double taxation and arguing it unfairly targets the city's already overburdened residents. The organisation demands that the levy be scrapped, advocating instead for internal reforms and better resource management within the city. AfriForum stated that the proposed levy would target vacant land over 150,000m² and properties valued above R250,000 that do not use the city's refuse removal services. The organisation argues that the proposed levy violates Section 74(2) of the Municipal Systems Act, which requires that municipal service charges be proportional to usage. Deidré Steffens, advisor for local government affairs at AfriForum, said: 'A levy on properties, regardless of the use of a certain service, as planned here, is therefore contrary to this section of the law. This levy is a clear attempt by the Metro to boost its revenue at the expense of overburdened residents.'
The Citizen
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
EFF accused of hypocrisy after Kleinfontein march
The Freedom Front Plus said the EFF's march to Kleinfontein 'was nothing but political theatrics'. Supporters of the EFF march to Kleinfontein, a Afrikaner-only settlement near Pretoria, 2 May 2025, to demonstrate its disapproval of what it described as a racist 'whites only enclave' in a democratic state. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen The EFF marched to the Afrikaner-only settlement in Kleinfontein on Friday demanding that its 'segregation' policies be abolished. EFF Gauteng chairperson Nkululeko Dunga said the party was against an area only wanting one race to live there. 'We can never allow an area to be a white-only area, where black people are only subjected to sweat and slavery but cannot reside in that area. There is no single area in South Africa or even the City of Tshwane that is a black-only area,' he said. 'Kleinfontein must fall, it must cease to exist,' he said. ALSO READ: Kleinfontein: EFF says police 'protecting insecurities of white people' (VIDEOS) WATCH: EFF marches to Kleinfontein EFF accused of political theatrics However, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) on Saturday said the EFF's march to Kleinfontein 'was nothing but political theatrics'. It accused the EFF of trying to turn attention away from the poor performance of the Tshwane government. The EFF is in a coalition with the ANC and ActionSA in Tshwane. Other parties in the coalition government are the ACDP, AIC, DOP, PA, PAC, ATM and GOOD. FF+ also accused the EFF of having a 'dangerously inflammatory and destructive culture'. It said a video of the EFF's MMC for Environmental Affairs in Tshwane, Obakeng Ramabodu, vandalising an AfriForum sign at Kleinfontein demonstrates this. [WATCH] Obakeng Ramabodu, the Environment MMC in Tshwane and EFF regional leader, attempts to destroy an Afriforum board in Kleinfontein – a Whites Only Community. Ramabodu is told to mind that he's a city official and 'ground forces' will be sent to take it down. @JusstAlpha — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 2, 2025 EFF hypocrisy over Kleinfontein? The FF+ further said it was hypocritical of the red berets to accuse Kleinfontein residents of illegally occupying the land. 'The EFF, as a governing coalition partner in the Tshwane Metro, deliberately chose to target Kleinfontein, an Afrikaner cultural community, but tolerates over 500 illegal informal settlements in the metro and approximately 20 illegal developments functioning within the metro that do not meet formalisation requirements or pay taxes,' said Jaco Mulder, the party's provincial leader in Gauteng. 'In addition, the metro does not provide any services to the Kleinfontein community.' NOW READ: PICTURES: EFF march to Kleinfontein
IOL News
01-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How Tshwane plans to boost security by insourcing guards in the next financial years
Security guards gathered at Church Square in Pretoria CBD on Workers' Day, were told about the City of Tshwane's plans to insource more than 200 security guards in 2025, aiming for 1 500 in future. Image: Rapula Moatshe / Independent Newspapers The City of Tshwane has plans in the pipeline to insource over 200 security guards in the 2025/2026 financial year, with potential expansion to hire at least 1 500 guards in 2026/2027. The promises were made by Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) from the EFF and ActionSA during a Workers' Day gathering of security guards at Church Square in Pretoria's CBD on Thursday. Tshwane MMC for Environmental Affairs and Agriculture, Obakeng Ramabodu, also an EFF councillor, said: 'We chose this day, which is Workers' Day, to celebrate the pride of workers but what is important is to make sure we give proper update to the workers who have been waiting for insourcing.' He was referring to the insourcing process initiated under former mayor Solly Msimanga, which resulted in the municipality hiring over 1 200 security guards. The city's initial plan for the first phase was to insource 1 500 security guards, following a council resolution to scrap private security contracts and employ 4 000 guards in-house under the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD). Ramabodu said the first phase was incomplete, falling short of the 1 500 target by over 200 security guards. 'We are completing that phase, but we are also looking into another phase that will be implemented after the 2025/2026 financial year.' He said the first phase would involve training security guards who were previously hired without adequate training, as well as equipping them with the necessary tools. 'We are saying Phase Two is going to happen in the next financial year (2026/2027) and not the financial year starting in July this year. What we are going to do now is to equip them with the necessary tools of trade. 'They were left there with jeans and a T-shirt on site without knowing what to do. That is why our infrastructure is under attack. That is why our substations are burning every week. That is why electricity is affected because the people that we have deployed to secure our infrastructure are not trained and don't have the necessary equipment,' he said. 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 Next Stay Close ✕ According to him, all political parties in the coalition government agree on implementing insourcing. 'We are pleased that the security personnel have decided to collaborate with this government. We are hopeful to bring on board another batch of 1 500 in the 2026/2027 financial year. We have only two financial years remaining before the elections. If we are lying, it means we will be held accountable at the election, and workers would have the right to punish us at the polls," Ramabodu said. Hannes Coetzee, Community Safety MMC, also an ActionSA councillor, explained that the current administration inherited 1 287 security guards, 'but the challenge that we are sitting with there is that they are not trained'.
