Latest news with #SODA
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- The Citizen
Two years later: Sedibeng's missing mayoral chain still a mystery
Nearly two years after the disappearance of a lavish R465,000 mayoral chain from the Sedibeng District Municipality, key questions about its ownership, loss, and recovery remain unanswered. Despite formal inquiries and political pressure, neither Sedibeng District Municipality, nor the Emfuleni Local Municipality has provided clarity — and the chain itself is still missing. What first appeared to be a simple case of theft has since become a bizarre story of what appears to be municipal mismanagement, blurred lines of responsibility, and official silence. A golden symbol vanishes The gold mayoral chain — a ceremonial symbol of office — was last seen on June 23, 2023, following Sedibeng's State of the District Address (SODA). According to a February 2024 press statement by DA Emfuleni North Constituency Head, Kingsol Chabalala MPL, a criminal case of theft was only opened on November 12, 2023, prompting concerns about the delayed response. The Democratic Alliance questioned why the chain's disappearance was not immediately reported to police, raising suspicions of negligence or possible cover-up. They also noted that Mayor Lerato Maloka had previously been linked to another incident involving sabotage of her municipal vehicle. The twist: The chain belongs to Emfuleni In March 2025, Sedibeng councillor Lynda Parsonson revealed a startling twist: the missing chain may never have belonged to Sedibeng at all. According to her, a former Sedibeng mayor — Simon Mofokeng — allegedly swapped Sedibeng's original chain for Emfuleni's during his time in office. 'After official engagements, it was generally handed over to security officials to be secured in the municipal safe,' Parsonson wrote. 'However, after one event, the mayor decided to retain the chain and instead lock it in a cupboard in her office. The chain has not been seen since.' Even more striking, Parsonson stated that councillors were not informed of the disappearance until much later and that council is still waiting for a police report. Municipal Silence To verify this complex situation, Vaalweekblad sent formal queries to Sedibeng Communications Coordinator Reggie Moiloa and Spokesperson for the Emfuleni Local Municipality Makhosonke Sangweni on March 25, requesting responses to 12 specific questions regarding: *The chain's ownership, *Whether the asset exchange was documented or authorised, *The timing and nature of the theft report, *Cooperation with police, *Insurance claims, and *Possible consequences for the municipality. Initially, neither municipality responded. However, in a brief reply to a follow-up enquiry, Sangweni stated: 'The matter belongs to Sedibeng District Municipality and all we know is that the matter is before courts and shall await for the final outcome.' No further details were provided, and Sedibeng has remained silent. This limited response comes despite The Citizen reporting in February 2024 that the chain belonged to Emfuleni — and despite ongoing public calls for accountability. No resolution, no accountability To date no arrests have been made, no offical explanation has been provided for the delayed theft report and neither municipality has confirmed responsibility or insurance coverage. The chain remains unaccounted for What should have been a straightforward investigation has devolved into a bureaucratic mystery. The public, meanwhile, is left in the dark about how a R465,000 asset could vanish — apparently without consequence. A Symbol of Dysfunction Beyond the missing gold, the case seems to reveal deeper issues: poor asset management, confusion over municipal property, and a worrying lack of transparency. If the chain was never Sedibeng's to begin with, why did they use it? Why did they report it stolen under their name? And why, nearly two years later, are basic questions still being ignored? Unless authorities speak out, the chain will remain not only missing — but a symbol of dysfunction in Sedibeng's leadership. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
City of Kent to establish ‘SODA Zones'
The City Council in Kent will vote next Tuesday on an ordinance to create 'Stay Out of Drug Areas' in three locations across the community. Chief Rafael Padilla, whose department advocated for the change, says it's to address a gap in enforcement as the municipality faces an increase in drug cases and overdoses in the last several years. 'I think we are looking at this ordinance as a great opportunity to engage someone who is suffering from substance use disorder and give them a chance to choose to get treatment or go through the criminal justice system,' he said. The three areas are around West Meeker Avenue, the downtown corridor, and several blocks surrounding 104th Ave SE & SE 240th Avenue. In a presentation to the city council, Kent police showed a map of drug-related charges, cases, and overdoses. If passed, the ordinance would allow a judge to prohibit a person charged or convicted of drug-related charges from entering those areas. Failure to do so would be punishable by up to a year in jail and/or up to a $5,000 fine. Shay DeFrance, owner of Shay's Hair Lounge, supports the ordinance. She has witnessed drug-dealing and drug use at the park near her business. Her security cameras caught people attempting to break into her store, breaking into cars, and even caught a five-hour raid of the business next door in the middle of the night. 'Coming into work and there's blood in front of the store, on the sidewalk, on my business. There's drug paraphernalia out in front, and I'm expected to clean it up,' DeFrance said. DeFrance has changed hours, installed a more secure door, and has had potential hires refuse a job because of what happens in front of her store. 'I don't see people walking around here just window shopping. That used to be a thing that we did all the time,' she recalls. Skeptics like Sarah Andrews, operations director at Peer Kent — an organization aiming to connect people with mental health and addiction services — worry that, combined with open-drug use ordinances, Kent is creating an enforcement-first approach. 'They're creating [laws] without having the social services on the other side to actually help people recover. It's just going to cause people to end up back in the system,' Andrews said. Padilla contends that enforcement will give people chances to connect with people. He points to community court, where charges are dropped to a lower level or completely when someone completes drug-treatment programs or similar recovery processes, which will help move the needle in the opposite direction it's been headed over the last few years. 'There have been positive outcomes with drug court and holistic courts like that. That's not the trajectory for everyone that is successful,' Andrews said. 'We're not saying that SODA is going to solve the drug problem. What we're saying is — it's going to help us at least start to keep people from coming back and plaguing certain areas of the city,' he added. Padilla says that similar ordinances creating restrictions around prostitution and street racing have had 'an immediate impact.' 'You start to see the issues, and the presence of those crimes, decrease. Now, that's not to say they don't go to other locations,' he said. Padilla says his department will monitor trends in other areas of Kent. While he admits he does not have the data, Padilla says it seems like more drug-related crimes have occurred in Kent after neighboring Auburn passed a similar SODA ordinance in October. 'We are mindful of that. People will go where, I think, they feel most comfortable. People will go where they see there's the least path of resistance,' Padilla said. Drug cases reported by Kent Police increased from 236 in 2023 to 445 in 2024. Understanding that not all of those people will accept treatment options, Padilla says he's concerned about jail capacity if the ordinance goes into effect. 'That's why, in all sincerity, we are hoping we can get voluntary compliance, right? There are different ways to measure success in this. I think the most obvious is when we help people get well; that's the huge thing,' said Padilla.
CBC
07-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Affordable housing projects moving forward to Saskatoon city council
Social Sharing Three locations in Saskatoon — a downtown gravel parking lot, a portion of land next to the Lakewood Civic Centre and an empty lot at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Ruth Street — are on track to become affordable housing hubs. On Wednesday, Saskatoon's standing policy committee on planning, development and community services recommended city council approve three affordable housing projects, totalling 256 units, and the associated incentives to build them. In June 2024, council authorized city administration to start accepting proposals to build housing on city-owned land, with priority given to applications from non-profits, housing co-operatives and Indigenous organizations. With $15 million from the federal government's housing accelerator fund — which is meant to increase housing across the country — the city offered incentives of $50,000 per unit and five years of incremental tax abatements. As a part of the deal, the projects had to meet certain criteria, including meeting housing accelerator fund timelines, making sure units remain affordable for at least 20 years and renting all affordable units to low-income households. 3 projects recommended The largest application comes from Camponi Housing Corporation, a Métis housing organization looking to build 120 units on a portion of 1635 McKercher Drive, adjacent to the Lakewood Civic Centre. Camponi's proposal includes wraparound supports, a community garden, training space, common room, daycare, confectionary and more. Angela Bishop, chair of trustees for Camponi, said their waiting list for affordable housing grows daily. "Currently for our entire portfolio, we have over 800 individuals and families that are on our waiting list for any affordable housing that we have," Bishop said at Wednesday's committee meeting. While the organization is getting $5.6 million in capital grants and almost $1 million through the incentive, Bishop said the deal doesn't come without a cost for Camponi, which still has to cough up around $3.5 million for the land alone. Another project, slightly smaller at 112 affordable units, is being proposed by the Saskatoon Open Door Society (SODA), which has its own unique vision for what is currently a parking lot at the corner of 23rd Street East and Third Avenue North. "SODA is embarking on a transformative initiative to create Welcome Place Affordable Housing Community, a purpose-built, centralized facility that integrates affordable housing with comprehensive community services," said Ahmad Majid, the fund development and communications manager at SODA. Majid said the downtown hub would also offer wrap-around supports like settlement and integration services, social and emotional support, children and youth services, food security programs, classrooms, an ethnic grocery store and a daycare. "Between October 2022 and October 2023, Saskatoon's population grew by 14,400 individuals, the largest year-over-year increase in the post-war era, with 85 per cent of that growth attributed to newcomers," said Majid, while highlighting the critical need for affordable housing options. The report from city administration lists $5.6 million in grants and about $850,000 in tax abatements for SODA. The smallest affordable housing project in the report is a for-profit build by a private business. It would be located at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Ruth Street, with 24 affordable units. It's getting $1.2 million in grants and around $100,000 in tax abatements. City administration noted in the committee meeting that even if the building is sold, the next owner would have to maintain the agreement with the city, including keeping the rent affordable for at least 20 years. Housing better than parking lots: expert Ehab Diab, an assistant professor in the department of geography and planning at the University of Saskatchewan, supports the projects. "I think this is very promising to add this affordable housing in a different area of the city and I'm very excited particularly with the one that is going to be in the downtown.… I think downtown needs more residents," said Diab. Diab said building more housing in the downtown will help improve public transit ridership, while also providing low-income people with more accessibility to transit. "When we get more people living in downtown, we'll get more activity going on like economic activities … maybe a grocery store hopefully, so we need this," he added. Compared to someone using a parking lot, Diab said, it's a benefit to everyone to have more people permanently living in downtown.
