Free State Targets Surgical Backlogs
The three-day Cataract Marathon, held over the weekend at Boitumelo Regional Hospital in Kroonstad, was a great success, with over 100 patients receiving treatment.
Screening was conducted last week Friday with cataract operations scheduled for Saturday and Su...
On Thursday, the group appeared in the Lenasia Magistrates Court, where ten of the accused were granted bail ranging between R10,000 to R30,000.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng believes it has a strong case against the 11 suspects accused in a multi-million-rand South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) fraud and theft case.
On Thursday, the group appeared in the Lenasia Magistrates Court, where ten of the accused were granted bail ranging between R10,000 to R30,000.
They are alleged to have orchestrated a sophisticated scheme involving the creation of fake SASSA profiles.
They are accused of fraudulently depositing and later withdrawing more than R4-million at various SASSA pay points across the country.
The matter was postponed to 2 September for further investigation.
“As the NPA, we accept the ruling of the Lanesia Magistrates Court to grant bail to the 10 accused in the SASSA fraud case, as it marks only a stage in the legal process and is by no means the end of the case,” said NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwana.
*This article was first published by Eye Witness News
The appointment of a city manager has brought a measure of stability to the municipality.
The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality states that it continues to face ongoing challenges related to governance and the delivery of basic services, but emphasizes that efforts are actively underway to address these issues.
On Wednesday, municipal officials appeared before parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations to brief MPs on the city’s progress.
Mangaung was placed under administration in 2020 after the Free State and National Government invoked Section 139 of the Constitution.
This intervention followed the metropolitan municipality’s ongoing dysfunction and repeated failures to implement a financial recovery plan (FRP).
Mangaung Metro Municipality mayor details challenges
Mangaung Mayor Gregory Nthatisi told the committee that political instability and internal conflict within the municipality prompted the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and Cabinet to intervene.
However, Nthatisi said that the two task teams deployed to Mangaung were hindered by the same political turbulence they were meant to resolve.
“The political infighting also engulfed them as a result. They could just not impact on what they were sent to do,” he said.
He pointed out that some officials on the teams lacked the necessary experience to handle the responsibilities assigned to them.
“Others were quite junior than the responsibility that they were given as HoDs [Heads of Department] and that led to even exacerbating the crisis of Mangaung in a number of spaces, but the best thing that they left us with was a financial recovery plan document, which is guiding us today,” Nthatisi said.
According to Nthatisi, the appointment of a municipal manager has brought a measure of stability to the municipality.
“There’s also relative stability when it comes to political structures because people are now performing their tasks, work is being done [and] council is sitting properly. We are now addressing challenges that have to do with administration.”
Financial recovery plan
Mangaung City Manager Sello More told the committee that the FRP is still in its rescue phase, with the implementation progress currently at 53.82%.
More said, the next phase – stabilisation – involves 100 activities.
He noted that the municipality has been receiving qualified audit opinions from the Auditor-General over the past year.
Mangaung has since created an action plan aimed at strengthening internal systems and addressing financial management weaknesses in response.
his plan also seeks to address overspending after the Auditor-General reported that the municipality spent 111% of its budget in the 2023/2024 financial year.
“Areas of overspending have been identified as employees’ costs and contracted services. So the city must contain employee costs expenditure, especially overtime and acting allowances,” More said.
He revealed that the municipality has introduced a shift system to curb excessive overtime.
Critical positions are now being filled to manage acting allowances, according to the city manager.
“There has been a seriously high number of people in acting posts.”
The action plan further outlined reviewing staffing levels and costs associated with supporting political offices, as a means of reducing overspending.
More conceded that the municipality relies heavily on contractors for both routine and emergency maintenance due to limited internal capacity.
“We are now moving towards building our own teams and infrastructure required for routine maintenance, especially unblocking of sewer systems.”
Mangaung Municipality’s liquidity and revenue challenges
Regarding Mangaung’s financial health, More said liquidity challenges are driven by a low revenue collection rate and persistent overspending.
“The collection rate is not picking up from the average of 75%, which was one of the reasons the city was placed under provincial and later Cabinet intervention.
“The previous amalgamations into the city exacerbated the situation, bringing more indigents, billing issues and incomplete records.”
He highlighted an ongoing trend where even reliable ratepayers, both businesses and households, have begun to default, largely due to slow economic growth and underperforming industries.
Additional liquidity pressures stem from costly contracts, such as security and waste management tenders.
More explained that these contracts are often outsourced because in-house services are viewed as more expensive due to salary levels and benefits.
“Our recovery is not matching what we are supposed to be paying.”
He said the reliance on contractors for essential operations, such as service connections, has further strained the municipality’s budget due to high costs.
More added that Mangaung is implementing several strategies such as realistic cash projections, tighter cash flow monitoring, and improved revenue management.
This includes restructuring, reviewing credit control procedures, enhancing debt collection, and resolving metering problems.
Supply chain corruption
More stated that no corruption cases within Mangaung’s supply chain management had been identified internally by the municipality.
However, some arrests have been made by police based on tips from whistleblowers.
“Our [contract] awards have not been subjected to any court orders. It is safe to say that there is one bid where SAPS arrested a successful bidder, two months after the award and start of the contract.”
The arrested bidder was released on bail.
More also indicated an ongoing police investigation into a 2019 security tender.
The municipality has begun rotating staff involved in bid committees to combat corruption.
It has also approved a whistleblower protection policy and established a dedicated hotline for fraud and corruption reporting.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile is set to face tough questions in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party plans to ask him for his views on the outcome of a police disciplinary process that cleared eight members of the South African Police Service VIP Unit of assaulting a man.
The incident happened on the N1 highway near Sandton in Johannesburg in June 2023.
Other MPs have questions on interventions in fighting escalating gang violence and progress on addressing water problems in the country.
There is also a question on the impact of the United States’ withdrawal of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it has attained an order from the Special Tribunal to seize a portion of the Farm Zandrivierspoort, outside Louis Trichardt, Limpopo.
Portion 15 of the farm was allegedly bought with funds obtained fraudulently from the National Lotteries Commission.
The SIU found that three non-profit organisations fraudulently received over R 66 million from the commission.
SIU’s spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says the funds intended for the construction of old age homes were diverted to private entities and individuals.
“The SIU’s probe into NLC-funded projects uncovered a sophisticated scheme involving the hijacking of legitimate Non-Profit Organisations, falsified grant applications, and the diversion of funds to private entities and individuals. The investigation focused on three NPOs, Matieni Community Centre, Lethabong Old Age Home, and War Against Rape and Abuse (WAR RNA), which together received more than R66 million under false pretenses.”
The SIU’s investigation revealed that Matieni Community Centre, a defunct NPO, was fraudulently revived to apply for NLC funding. The original members were unaware of the application, and the individuals listed on the NLC application were not legitimate members.”
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, said according to the police 49 people died across the province due to the inclement weather conditions over the past two days.
This figure included the school children who were swept away on a 22-seater bus on Tuesday.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday after visiting the hardest-hit areas around Mthatha, Mabuyane said the grim death toll was from the OR Tambo district alone.
He also noted that there were 13 people on board a scholar transport vehicle that was swept away by flood waters.
Three learners were rescued alive on Tuesday while clinging to a tree, while four learners and two adults were confirmed deceased.
“Four learners are still missing. The rest of the deceased people are citizens of different ages,” the Premier said.
He said search and recovery operations are continuing across all affected areas, particularly within the OR Tambo District Municipality.
“We reiterate our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and call on residents to remain vigilant and to follow guidance from local disaster management teams,” he said.
Mabuyane said infrastructure technical teams have been activated to carry out assessment to ascertain the extent of the damage as well as interventions that are required across the province.
“At this stage 20 health facilities have suffered damages to varying levels,” he said.
The Premier said engineers were also on the ground assessing the impact and extent of the damage to the province’s road network including rural roads.
