Latest news with #Pressure
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Midweek - starvation in Gaza, announcements, polling on a whim
Pressure goes on The Platform over a tweet from its founder, gaza starvation hits home for media, announcements of an announcement and a polling company chief puts out a question on a whim - with interesting results. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Minister initiates lifestyle audits to tackle corruption within Public Works
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson briefs the media on the outcomes of the final forensic investigation conducted by PwC into the over R800 million Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant tender awarded by the Independent Development Trust (IDT). Image: Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers Banele Ginidza Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, has announced a comprehensive lifestyle audit for 400 high-risk individuals—approximately 10% of the workforce within his department. This unprecedented initiative comes in the wake of a detailed forensic investigation by PwC into the award of a controversial tender, valued at over R800 million, for the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant by the Independent Development Trust (IDT). Highlighting the anomalies within the department, Macpherson on Tuesday pointed out that many who engaged in multi-million-rand construction projects had been found driving luxury cars, including R3 million Porsche models, without clear financial justification. "That is a red flag. It's not targeting anyone, it's ensuring that we have people that put the country first as opposed to own bank accounts first. So we introduced two things: the first one is about ghost employee audits," Macpherson said. "We required every single employee of the department to arrive at work and identify themselves or do so through a virtual platform. They had to put camera on and have their ID next to their face. We then said who are the high risk individuals. "We have 400 high risk individuals, that's roughly 10% of our workforce [that] is classified as high risk and we do nothing about it. We had to act with speed, of course these things take time. The ghost audit will be released in the next three months." 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 ✕ Ad Loading Director-General Sifiso Mdakane shared that the first layer of high-risk individuals has been identified, which includes deputy director-generals and chief directors. "The next level of high risk are those people who work in Supply Chain Management (SCM ) which is quite the people that interact with suppliers, people in ICT and many other areas of SCM related governance as well as legal because they interact with contracts," Mdakane said. "These are part of our reforms that we are trying to implement around SCM particularly though this is about IDT, I have said in another platform that we are really pushing this e-programming system as Public Works to eliminate the issue of human contact so that the processes are seamless." Supporting the audit's implementation, Deputy Director General for Governance, Risk and Compliance, Lwazi Mahlangu, articulated the structured process of the investigation. He said it started with a lifestyle reviews, which looked at assets and lifestyle disclosures and was escalated to lifestyle investigations if there were issues raised and grew further into a full-blown lifestyle audits if the investigation also brought up issues. "Now that's different because the reviews and investigations are okay because there are processes that are built into our systems that can be done internally, but with an audit it becomes a different approach because now we have to look at external parties that can assist, in this case the SIU," Mahlangu said. He said the department had also assisted the IDT to start discussions with the SIU and had also helped to develop the terms of reference for that lifestyle audit. "Then you need an Ethics Officer, that's a discussion we are having with the IDT to deal with the issues of Ethics Officer in line with the Department of Public Service and Administration regulations." Meanwhile, Macpherson revealed that financial transfers for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) have been temporarily suspended pending an investigation into potential misappropriations. He said the investigation started from a tip-off that high-ranking officials pocketed funds from the EPWP programme under the pretext of paying workers. "We are conducting an investigation. It will not be long, a week or two maximum. And then once we have isolated the full suite of people that are involved, we will resume those transfers. I am not convinced its just those individuals identified. There may be more," he said. BUSINESS REPORT
eNCA
18 hours ago
- Business
- eNCA
Public Works Minister releases corruption report
JOHANNESBURG - Forensic investigation by Accounting PwC found that there was no relations between contractors and IDT officials. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson, revealed the outcomes of a forensic investigation into the Pressure Swing Adsorption Oxygen Plant tender. PricewaterhouseCoopers investigated the over R800-million deal.
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
R800 Million Oxygen Plant Tender Scandal: Macpherson to reveal PwC investigation results
Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson says he will hold officials and politicians to account for corruption and mismanagement. Forensic investigation into R800 million PSA oxygen plant tender to be disclosed by Minister Macpherson Image: Picture: File The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, is expected to brief the media on Tuesday afternoon to disclose the final results of a forensic investigation into the controversial R800 million Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant tender awarded by the Independent Development Trust (IDT). The investigation was conducted by global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), following months of scrutiny and allegations of procurement irregularities by the entity's officials. The department announced Monday that the briefing would detail the investigation's findings and outline the subsequent actions to ensure accountability within the IDT, he agency responsible for implementing the oxygen plant rollout in partnership with the Department of Health. Minister Macpherson stated his government's commitment to rooting out corruption and restoring integrity in public procurement processes. 'The Minister will outline the findings of the investigation and the steps that will be taken to ensure accountability within the IDT,' the department stated in a press release. The controversy centers around awarding tenders to Bulkeng (Pty) Ltd, Maziya General Trading, and On Site Gas Systems International, companies accused of lacking the necessary South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) licenses to operate. These companies were selected to install complex PSA oxygen plants at various state hospitals nationwide, a critical infrastructure project amid ongoing health sector needs. Reports suggest that the tender process may have been compromised, and questions have been raised about the transparency and fairness of the selection. Critics argued that due diligence may have been overlooked, raising concerns over potential corruption and misappropriation of public funds. According to his department, Minister Macpherson engaged directly with the IDT in response to these allegations, requesting supporting documentation and scrutinising the tender process. However, efforts to have the IDT conduct its internal investigation were resisted. The Minister cited a lack of quorum on its board, claiming it could not investigate itself, and thus, the Minister took decisive action. 'I have launched a full independent investigation into the IDT and its governance practices to prevent any possible abuses and ensure transparency moving forward,' Macpherson stated. The briefing is expected to reveal whether procurement laws were breached and whether individuals or entities will face disciplinary or legal action. [email protected],za IOL Politics
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites
If you're watching 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes," the HBO Max documentary about the performer's career, now there's a music playlist to serve as accompaniment. It's seven hours long. Need a new playlist for weekend listening or an upcoming road trip? Billy Joel has got you covered. Just hours after the second half of documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" hit HBO Max on July 25, streaming services made available a massive playlist of Joel's music from the movie. The 155-track "musical companion" the documentary can be found on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and other music streaming services. The playlist includes 115 songs that span his five-decade career, ranging from his early bands The Lost Souls and The Hassles to a 2024 performance of "New York State of Mind" from his 100th concert during his Madison Square Garden residency. In addition to the 115 songs, there are also audio clips from the documentary featuring Joel, his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and others, which serve as introductions to the musical tracks. The version on YouTube also includes official music videos for several songs including "Big Shot," "Pressure" and "The River of Dreams," and live performance videos of songs such as "The Stranger" and "Just the Way You Are." Billy Joel: His 75 best songs, definitively ranked The playlist is produced by creative director Steve Cohen, engineer Bradshaw Leigh and Joel archivist John Jackson and there may be more music coming out of the vault, Cohen told the Ultimate Classic Rock website. Coming to Joel's YouTube channel on Monday, July 28 is a performance of "Piano Man" recorded in 1975 on the U.K. TV show "The Old Grey Whistle Test," Cohen told Ultimate Classic Rock. Among the unreleased live recordings and demo versions included on the playlist, Rolling Stone notes, is the first-ever live performance of 'Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,' recorded May 6, 1977 at Long Island's C.W. Post College. Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
