Latest news with #R1.8
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Jona Vaughan's closure rumours denied despite hardships
AFTER rumours that the Jona Vaughan Home for the Handicapped in Amanzimtoti might be closed down and its residents transferred to other facilities, the home's parents' association said it fears another Life Esidimeni tragedy might unfold if that is allowed to happen. Also read: Grim festive season for Jona Vaughan staff The Life Esidimeni tragedy involved the deaths of 144 patients at psychiatric facilities in Gauteng from causes including starvation and neglect. The patients died after they were removed from Life Esidimeni, a private healthcare provider, in 2016, and relocated to cheaper care centres. The Jona Vaughan Home for the Handicapped is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing care and residency to 69 handicapped persons, 40% of whom are abandoned or orphaned. The centre is administered by Durban and Coastal Mental Health (DCMH), which in turn is funded by the Department of Health and the Department of Social Development. The treasurer of the parents' association, Charmaine Lombard, said she heard from two sources that the Department of Health may consider withdrawing all funding from the end of June. 'There is no other facility like Jona Vaughan to cater for such profound disabilities. If Jona Vaughan were to close its doors, the residents would be moved to facilities outside of Durban. This would be detrimental to our residents as the Jona Vaughan Home is the only home that many of the residents know,' said Lombard. The funding that the facility receives from DCMH is never enough to cover all its day-to-day operating costs, which has led the parents' association to spearhead several fundraising initiatives. Lombard said the staff, whom many of the centre's residents regard as their parents, have not been paid in full since April. The water and electricity bill stands at R1.8 million, and the municipality has issued a notice to disconnect the supply on June 2. 'We feel that these issues are serious and critical and require a long-standing resolution, as we are the voices of the very people who deserve to be treated with care, dignity, kindness and respect. Just because the residents are mentally and physically challenged does not exclude them from the basic human rights they are entitled to,' she said. DCMH's CEO, Mbonisi Sibisi, stated that there have been no discussions regarding the closure of Jona Vaughn; however, an agreement between DCMH and DOH is set to expire in March 2026. 'DCMH has consistent meetings with DOH where we discuss the performance of the centre and other related issues. Our organisation is an NPO and largely depends on subsidies and donations. The subsidy only covers a fraction of the centre's costs,' said Sibisi. He also urged the public to keep supporting Jona Vaughan. How to help: A Back-a-buddy campaign to raise funds for Jona Vaughan Home for the Handicapped has been started. Go to to donate. The home is also hosting a work party on June 7, from 08:00, open to the public who may wish to assist. For more South Coast Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox. Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Tiger Brands announces special dividend and strong interim results
Tiger Brands shareholders benefited from a share buyback program started in the first half, and as at March 31, 2025, R500 million was used to repurchase 1.8 million shares. The share buybacks would continue as the opportunities arose, the company said. Image: IOL file Tiger Brands' share price gained 5.7% on Wednesday, continuing a year-long rally in the price after the food producer declared a whopping 1 216.00 cents per share special dividend for the six months to March 31, on top of the ordinary dividend. The share price was trading at R340.67 on the JSE on Wednesday around midday, a price that had risen steadily by 77.4% over 12 months. The ordinary interim dividend came to 415 cents a share, up 19% compared with the interim period in 2024. The total amount to be paid out to shareholders via the special dividend is R1.8 billion. Shareholders would also benefit from a share buyback program started in the first half, and as at March 31, 2025, R500 million had been deployed to repurchase 1.8 million shares. The share buybacks continued after the end of the interim period, and by May 9, 2025, 4.5 million shares had been repurchased for a cumulative R1.2bn. 'We paid out the special dividend from two main considerations. The first was cash from our portfolio disposals, and the second was our overall significant improvement in operating cash flows arising also from our better performance,' chief financial officer Thrushen Govender said in an interview. Improved working capital contributed a cash inflow of R1bn in the first half, compared to an outflow of R4bn last year. Consequently, net cash from operations increased to R3.4bn from R0.8bn at the same time last year. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This, combined with proceeds from the disposal of non-core operations, resulted in the net cash position improving by R8.6bn to R5.9bn, which was well up from a net debt of R2.7bn at the same time last year. Govender said the share buybacks would continue if opportunities arose, and further special dividends might also be considered given the business units identified as non-core that might be disposed of, although nothing was cast in stone yet, as the non-core business units "are certainly not fire-sales.' The three companies were the chocolate business within the Snacks Treats and Beverages segment, the King Foods sorghum business, and the Chococam subsidiary in Cameroon Categories. The strong results arose from a focus on driving value for consumers, executing strategy, improved logistics optimisation, value engineering, and factory efficiencies. The result was despite the constrained consumer environment. Overall revenue was ahead of the prior year by 2% at R18.5bn, driven by 2.1% price inflation and relatively flat volume. Govender said the volume growth followed years of volume decline and was cause for celebration. He said they were on track for continued growth in the second half. 'Our revised strategy and operating model, which places the consumer at the centre of everything we do, ensures that we drive affordability consistently across the portfolio,' Tjaart Kruger, the CEO of Tiger Brands, said in a statement. The volume growth was driven by Tiger Brands' Culinary Business Unit, through deliberate volume recovery initiatives, as well as notable recovery in Milling and Baking, and Snacks, Treats and Beverages. The sale of Baby Wellbeing generated a R455m non-operational taxed profit, while the after-tax profit on the disposal of associate Empresas Carozzi. in the first half amounted to R304m. The total proceeds from these transactions was R4.4bn, with the remaining R0.6bn received in April 2025. In May 2025, Tiger Brands entered into an agreement to dispose of Langeberg & Ashton Foods. As part of the sale, the group would invest R150m towards a Community Trust that will benefit the Langeberg community through socio-economic development initiatives, and which will hold a 10% stake in the new company owning Langeberg. Tiger Brands has also made progress on the sale of its Randfontein Maize Milling operations. The maize category was identified as non-core due to the evolution of the local maize market competitiveness and the increasing establishment of regional millers. The disposal of the wheat mill would also facilitate a simpler and expedited transaction as they were located on the same manufacturing site. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Concerns raised over R1. 8 million payment for incomplete stadium project in Durban
Zainul Dawood | Published 1 day ago The management of the eThekwini municipality came under scrutiny for an allocation of R1.8 million for the rehabilitation of the Rotary Stadium in KwaMashu despite non-performance issues by the service provider. Councillors approved the urgent reprioritisation of a budget to cater for the stadium rehabilitation. According to the municipality, the R1.8 million is sourced from various projects including R585,000 from a library project. In a report before eThekwini council on Monday, the Parks Recreation and Culture (PRC) Unit stated that the mandate is to build new and to rehabilitate existing facilities. In 2024 and 2025, the PRC unit was allocated R185 million for capital projects to build new facilities and develop the existing facilities within the city. There were no figures provided on how much was already spent on the stadium. The municipality stated that the cancellation was due to circumstances beyond their control and that the project was halted due to non-performance issues by the service provider. The municipality stated that the final account for closing this project has been concluded and the invoice has been received for the payment. The municipality stated that the project line item currently has a budget shortfall, and the unit has identified savings within the unit's capital budget to be reprioritised for the payment of the final account for the project. Following an in-depth consideration of the item, the DA and Truly Alliance (TA) expressed reservations regarding the approval of this item and proposed that an oversight visit be conducted prior to the approval, as they were of the view that they needed to have all information regarding the work done and the work still outstanding. This submission therefore seeks authority to pay for part of work already undertaken under this project, with attention drawn to the urgency of the matter in view of threats being levelled against the municipal officials as a result of non-payment. Daniel Mea, DA Councillor, said the project had come before council again, this time not for progress, but for payment to a contractor who failed to complete the job. Mea said the DA will not endorse rewarding failure and because the facts placed before the council remain deeply concerning and unresolved. 'We were told that the contractor ran out of money and could not complete the contract. This raises critical red flags. Was there a proper project cash flow monitoring and did this not have a fixed scope or fixed budget contract? How did the contractor reach a point where the budget was exhausted but the work remained incomplete? And perhaps most alarmingly despite this failure the municipality now proposes to pay him more," Mea said. Mea said this sets a dangerous precedent and 'one cannot and must not create a culture where underperformance is rewarded and failure is f ollowed by financial rescue'. 'To date, council has not been provided with a comprehensive audit of the actual work delivered, nor the timeline of expenditure. If the council continues to rubber stamp such proposals then it is complicit in the erosion of accountability. Oversight committees must not be passive observers,' Mea said. Councillor Musa Khubeka, of ActionSA, expressed serious reservations, stating that one could not approve millions of rands when the report showed that other parties' views, concerns and suggestions of doing oversight were not addressed during a committee meeting. 'We demand transparency and accountability is very important, oversight must be done,' Khubeka said. [email protected]
The South African
4 days ago
- Business
- The South African
How rich are South Africa's 7 richest men?
It's comparatively 'easy' to make money – when you have money. Compound interest really is the eighth wonder of the world! As they say, the rich get richer, while the poor stay, well, poor. Money makes money – and these seven South Africans have made a lot of it over the years. And by a lot, we mean a LOT ! According to Forbes' real-time tracking of billionaires, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest in South Africa, with a net worth of $14.6 billion. The Ruperts are followed by diamond magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, who boasts a net worth of $10.5 billion. They are followed by Koos Bekker, Patrice Motsepe, Michiel Le Roux, Jannie Mouton and Christo Wiese. South Africa's seven dollar billionaires all made their money in different ways – from luxury goods, diamonds, mining, media, banking and retail. In the last week alone, Oppenheimer, Motsepe and Mouton all added $100 million (R1.8 billion) to their net worths. Cumulatively, South Africa's seven dollar billionaires are worth $37.7 billion (R674 billion). Meanwhile, in terms of the overall world list, South Africa-born Elon Musk remains the world's richest person with a reported $418.7 billion. Below, the list of the top seven richest South Africans in the world as of 27 May 2025. Rank Name Last week This week Source 163 Johann Rupert & family $14.6bn $14.6bn Luxury goods 267 Nicky Oppenheimer & family $10.4bn $10.5bn Diamonds 1 074 Koos Bekker $3.5bn $3.5bn Media, investments 1 184 Patrice Motsepe $3.1bn $3.2bn Mining 1 501 Michiel Le Roux $2.5bn $2.5bn Banking 2 038 Jannie Mouton & family $1.7bn $1.8bn Retail 2 152 Christo Wiese $1.6bn $1.6bn Financial services TOTAL $37.4bn $37.7bn Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Concerns raised over R1. 8 million payment for incomplete stadium project in Durban
eThekwini Management came under scrutiny surrounding R1.8 million for the rehabilitation of the Rotary Stadium in KwaMashu following non-performance issues by the service provider. Image: File The management of the eThekwini municipality came under scrutiny for an allocation of R1.8 million for the rehabilitation of the Rotary Stadium in KwaMashu despite non-performance issues by the service provider. Councillors approved the urgent reprioritisation of a budget to cater for the stadium rehabilitation. According to the municipality, the R1.8 million is sourced from various projects including R585,000 from a library project. In a report before eThekwini council on Monday, the Parks Recreation and Culture (PRC) Unit stated that the mandate is to build new and to rehabilitate existing facilities. In 2024 and 2025, the PRC unit was allocated R185 million for capital projects to build new facilities and develop the existing facilities within the city. There were no figures provided on how much was already spent on the stadium. The municipality stated that the cancellation was due to circumstances beyond their control and that the project was halted due to non-performance issues by the service provider. The municipality stated that the final account for closing this project has been concluded and the invoice has been received for the payment. The municipality stated that the project line item currently has a budget shortfall, and the unit has identified savings within the unit's capital budget to be reprioritised for the payment of the final account for the project. Following an in-depth consideration of the item, the DA and Truly Alliance (TA) expressed reservations regarding the approval of this item and proposed that an oversight visit be conducted prior to the approval, as they were of the view that they needed to have all information regarding the work done and the work still outstanding. 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 ✕ This submission therefore seeks authority to pay for part of work already undertaken under this project, with attention drawn to the urgency of the matter in view of threats being levelled against the municipal officials as a result of non-payment. Daniel Mea, DA Councillor, said the project had come before council again, this time not for progress, but for payment to a contractor who failed to complete the job. Mea said the DA will not endorse rewarding failure and because the facts placed before the council remain deeply concerning and unresolved. 'We were told that the contractor ran out of money and could not complete the contract. This raises critical red flags. Was there a proper project cash flow monitoring and did this not have a fixed scope or fixed budget contract? How did the contractor reach a point where the budget was exhausted but the work remained incomplete? And perhaps most alarmingly despite this failure the municipality now proposes to pay him more," Mea said. Mea said this sets a dangerous precedent and 'one cannot and must not create a culture where underperformance is rewarded and failure is followed by financial rescue'. 'To date, council has not been provided with a comprehensive audit of the actual work delivered, nor the timeline of expenditure. If the council continues to rubber stamp such proposals then it is complicit in the erosion of accountability. Oversight committees must not be passive observers,' Mea said. Councillor Musa Khubeka, of ActionSA, expressed serious reservations, stating that one could not approve millions of rands when the report showed that other parties' views, concerns and suggestions of doing oversight were not addressed during a committee meeting.
