South Africa Government Faults on Service Deliveries

South Africa Government Faults on Service Deliveries

Water is precious, and when people do not receive this fundamental life-sustaining essential, it reveals a fault by the Government of South Africa who fails miserably on service deliveries. The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has launched investigations into several municipalities who have violated fundamental human rights by not delivering essential services to their communities throughout South Africa.

The Madibeng Local Municipality located in the North West province of South Africa has experienced water problems since 1994 and some areas do not have any water at all. Service delivery protests have rocked the area and authorities continue to fail the people. Complaints brought to municipal workers fail on deaf ears. Informal settlements around South Africa are the hardest hit with no water and dependent on tankers to deliver this fundamental necessity.

Madibeng is not the only municipality that experiences nondelivery of primary service deliveries and a report issued characterizes high levels of wasteful and irregular expenditure. Billions of rands are lost in tender fraud processes and incompetence. The government fails to punish or remove counselors who have failed in its constitutional obligations to provide basic services such as water.

South Africa Government faults on Service Delivery and protests happen all the time; people are frustrated with municipality officials who do not attend to grievances. A protest in Jerico and Letlhabile of the Madibeng district during March this year over water issues was the cause of municipal and tribal offices set alight. A water tanker was burned, burning tires lined the streets, and other counselor properties were destroyed by fire. The officials called for calm and said that violent protests were not a solution, as further damage to infrastructure caused problems to escalate. Residents have exhausted every avenue to get the officials to attend to the urgency of supplying water.

The suspension of the premier in 2009 was short lived and he was back in the top seat controlling the Madibeng municipality. A fearful person likened to the mafia where people are afraid to speak up against the kingpin of Madibeng. Kickbacks are rolling in, and people live in fear of saying anything against the premier who is a controlling person. The premier takes responsibility for placing people in positions within the council, and no doubt nepotism is strong. The premier was accused of corruption and denies any wrongdoing. The luxurious homes and string of expensive cars the premier owns is apparently from wealth accumulated personally.

Water trucks costing over ZAR15 million a year to deliver water is not a safe way of carrying water. Residents have to pay a fortune for water and with no running water in homes and people are forced to get water from tankers. Money is paid to contractors to perform certain duties, but the work does not get done. There are no investigations into corrupt contracts thereby allowing the corruption to continue in this community and the rest of South Africa.

The management of Madibeng has deteriorated into a severe crisis. Evil councilors are still receiving kickbacks for tender fraud, favors, and falsifying invoices for personal gain. Six years ago the Madibeng district was bankrupt and placed under administration. There is no money to get the water infrastructure working, and clean water costs a fortune for residents who are forced to buy from tankers. The missing millions of Madibeng would require extensive investigations. Money missing that should have trickled down to the people and service deliveries.
Residents cannot drink the water as raw sewage, abattoir contents, the blood of dead animals flood into the Crocodile River that fills dams reserved for drinking water. Tests revealed that chrome arsenic, selenium, and aluminum are present in the water. Lethal chemicals that will kill both young and old.
Residents of Jerico began rebuilding a borehole system from scraps gathered around the town. ...................READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE PUBLISHED TODAY ON GUARDIAN LV
Opinion by Laura Oneale

Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2015/06/south-africa-government-faults-on-service-deliveries/#tyr8RI6yo9zFehiT.99

ANC STATEMENT ON HIGH COURT ORDER ON PRESIDENT AL-BASHIR

ANC STATEMENT ON HIGH COURT ORDER ON PRESIDENT AL-BASHIR

What do South Africans say about this statement?

• If President Omar Al Bashir is indeed arrested in RSA , it will be a sad day in history of AU and a set back that will dent image of South Africa as a sovereign state as well as AU and it's credibility, UN instructed Bush, Blair and Obama not to invade countries that led to a crime against humanity on those countries they however went ahead with invasion , but ICC has never acted against Bush, Obama and Blair , were their crimes no prosecutable as opposed to African leaders.
• Bullshit! they should have arrestded George W Bush during Mandela memorial, i encourage AU to withdraw from ICC, Bashir is accused by the West, not AU.
•  Furthermore, this interim court order confirms that South African Judiciary Authority is representing West interests not those of South Africa and African Continent first. We are South Africans, we are Africans and we are citizens of the world. I commend ANC for this statement. 
• The ANC is now really losing its plot as a political party, this is no political matter butt rather a matter of serious urgency Bashir must be arrested that's it, The fact that we are a signatory to the Rome Statute Of the ICC, we are obliged to arrest Him. This whole justifying business of the ANC is not on, That's why its easy for them to shield criminal acts of Officials, one of which is the Nkandla Saga.
• Bush senior and junior, Tony Blair, Obama, Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth must be arrested then we will send our leaders. What about crime against humanity and genocide caused in the middle East, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, in Africa Libya and many Arab world and the Caribbean Islands...
• They must start with George Bush and Tony Blair and Fw de klerk. Icc was designed for Blacks leaders not for white leaders and i believe da ANC govt must act against da icc minority system of da whites to rule majority of Blacks in Africa.

There are many more comments regarding this statement released today and Nkandla is somehow twisted into the fold and do not forget racism!

The African National Congress (ANC) has noted the interim order granted by the High Court in Pretoria preventing the President of Sudan, His Excellency Omar al-Bashir from leaving South Africa pending the hearing of an urgent application brought by the Southern African Litigation Centre to compel South African authorities to arrest him on the strength of two warrants of arrest from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. President al-Bashir is in South Africa to attend the African Union (AU) Summit underway at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. Government gazetted the meeting of the AU for Immunity for all participants as part of the international norms for countries hosting such gathering of the AU or even the United Nations.The ANC welcomes the government's compliance with this requirement and further notes that this Gazette which provided immunity for all persons attending the AU Summit was not contested by any party. It is on this basis, amongst others, that the ANC calls upon government to challenge the order now being brought to compel the South African government to detain President al-Bashir.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress holds a view that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is no longer useful for the purposes for which it was intended - being a court of last resort for the prosecution of crimes against humanity. The fact that compliance with the prescripts of the International Criminal Court is voluntary and countries can choose whether to be a signatory or not, means that gross human violations committed by non-signatory countries go unpunished. Countries, mainly in Africa and Eastern Europe, who due to their unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and universal justice, have elected to be signatories to the ICC continue to unjustifiably bear the brunt of the decisions of the ICC with Sudan being the latest example. The African National Congress calls for a review of the statutes of the ICC to compel all member states of the United Nations to be signatories to the Rome Statute to ensure that the ICC is able to act in accordance with the function for which it was intended - a fair and independent court for universal and equitable justice.

The matter before the High Court in Pretoria relating to the President of Sudan has once again brought to the fore the fundamental flaws of the workings of the ICC and the urgent need for the amendment of the Rome Statute to ensure that justice knows no geographic boundaries or geo-political dynamics.

For more on this story, follow this link -

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/govt-gazetted-albashirs-immunity--anc?sn=Marketingweb%20detail

Just another crime in Johannesburg South Africa

It is just another crime in Johannesburg, South Africa, it is not really news, it happens all the time. However, this crime proved that the South African Police services are incompetent.  

A black man, probably drunk, roaming the streets of Rosettenville, Johannesburg, died early on today. His head was covered in blood and whether he was attacked or not it is unknown. Passersby phoned an emergency number and waited for the police to arrive.  There were no witnesses at the time of the man's death, so the cause is known.

The police arrived in good time, about 40 minutes after receiving the phone call, however so did the fire department. I am wondering what assistance the fire department would contribute. Several photos were taken by a witness and after about an hour the police and fire department departed, leaving the dead man uncovered. The police probably phoned the government mortuary and told them to collect the body. The body of the dead man was visible to all pedestrians, and it took more than two hours for the mortuary to collect the body.  It is shameful to think that there is no compassion even in death.

Rosettenville is home to the Nigerian drug lords, who run a lucrative drug dealing business. Pimps, prostitutes and drug addicts roam the streets. There is always a visible police presence in the area but never any arrests. It would seem the police give protection to the wrong people thus allowing the drug dealings to spiral out of control.

 As you will see in the photos, the emergency services was present and the ambulance did not remove the body. Crime scene or not, it is disgraceful to leave a dead body in the street. Only in South Africa.

South Africa the Great Corruption Cover-Up

South Africa the Great Corruption Cover-Up

Is there a great cover-up to the corruption in South Africa and especially over the last 20 years. Corruption has been associated with political parties, government departments, tender fraud, justice systems and the police. It is a fact that South Africans are divided and the division drifts further as diverse ethnic groups keep on blaming apartheid for the disaster today. Corruption scandals are rampant and the most last FIFA scandal places the country once again into the spotlight.

Corruption stems from the abuse of public resources, bribery, nepotism, and government tender fraud. Notable cases of corruption since 1994 were the South African Arms Deal, Schabir Shaik trial, the travel gate scandal where members of parliament illegally used travel vouchers for personal use. The Goodwood police station, implicating station commander Siphiwu Hewana for tampering with evidence for convicted fraudster Tony Yengini and former police commissioner Jackie Selebi and the Nkandla homestead costs.

At the end of apartheid, the young democratic African National Congress (ANC) government were aware of some investigations and prosecutions instigated by the old regime relating to some human rights abuses and government scandals. Many of these accusations never came to light during the truth and reconciliation enquiry and an investigating unit Thabo-Kubu began to explore corruption of the past, including money laundering. The special unit included Dirk Coetzee, a hit-man and whistle-blower and ANC intelligence operatives. However, the Thabo Kubu unit made headlines after members became embroiled in corruption charges, although no prosecutions took place. The irregularities were too many and the Auditor General shut down the unit, with no substantial evidence of prior-1994 corruption.

During 1997, under the presidency of Nelson Mandela, a UK based company called Ciex secured a contract to investigate the crime of the apartheid regime.After two years, a secret report was presented to the ANC government and an amount of ZAR26 billion was identified as part of illegal offshore transactions, arms dealers and bankers. The Director of Ciex offered to recover the missing money in exchange for a handsome fee, the South African government terminated the contract and no further investigation continued.

Surprisingly during 2010 the Ciex report was leaked and although most of the accusations remained unproven, several banks were implicated, The leaked document received no official response from the state. The South African public protector initiated an investigation into the Ciex report and this is still ongoing. The track record of the Public Protectors departing into probing matters does not inspire optimism.

It is estimated that ZAR400 billion was looted by the Apartheid government, including the Van Merwes, Viljoens, Bothas and De Klerks. A hefty sum was plundered before democracy was born. It is worth mentioning that although a vast amount of money was missing from state coffers, wealthy countries and banks handed Nelson Mandela ZAR330 billion in he form of a loan, to cover the cost of the money looted under the apartheid regime. Of course, the money had to be paid back by the South African Taxpayers.

During 2012, a report indicated that between 1994 and 2008 South Africa lost ZAR185 billion due to corruption within the public sector. A further ZAR70 billion was lost in 2009 and another ZAR100 billion in 2011. There are investigations of another four cases of fraud totaling R171 billion. Up until 2012 an amount of over ZAR550 billion has been plundered by the new ANC government meaning that almost 20 percent of the GDP is stolen annually. Is the ANC smarter than the apartheid regime when it comes to corruption?

It might be a considered strange that both Mandela and Thabo Mbeki did not .........(read the entire article on the Guardian LV - published today)

Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2015/06/south-africa-the-great-corruption-cover-up/#FYwolYVpyiwrCjdK.99

Could not resist sharing this photo -

Cornelia De Wet Intimidation Before Trial

Cornelia De Wet Intimidation Before Trial

The Guardian LV had the opportunity to interview Cornelia De Wet as the approaching trial is set to start in the Regional Court on July 10 on charges of unlawful possession of explosives and ammunition more than three years ago. There has been intimidation, threats, and suspicious statements popping up that might cause a furor during the trial. The trial set to start after a waiting period of more than three years and over 40 court appearances will hopefully come to an end.

The last three years have been challenging and devastating for the accused and the family, especially the children who have been the subject of scorn. There has been a loss of income based on the fact that De Wet has been unable to work, thereby placing the family welfare at risk. A trying time indeed as the trial date nears so do the threats aimed at the family.

A question that must be answered is whether the South African police are intimidating people to give statements. De Wet obtained a statement written by an inmate of Middelburg Correctional Services. The statement declares that De Wet killed seven people and six police officers, twenty years ago and that the killers were shot by police. It is obvious that the statement is a falsified lie by officers and a plan to use as a strategy during the court proceedings. In the same declaration, the inmate mentioned Leeuwag as the perpetrators behind the cause of problems. It is all a lie as Leeuwag was not an official company when the statement was presented. Are the police falsifying statements and intimidated inmates to sign?

Three groups, Leeuwag, Panzer Protection and BBF are behind the debacle that caused De Wet to end up in prison for two years. These groups have not stopped the harassment and creating a possibility of an unfair trial. Death threats, abduction, and scorn are among the many fears the family has had to endure over the last few years.

It is a case of framing an innocent person, and the Leeuwag are doing a good job of ensuring the accused will take the fall for all the wrongs of the past. The group is known for the police involvement and informants of the police. There were many unethical operations carried out by the group who disclosed information about the underhanded manners to De Wet, before the downfall. Frik Steenberg among others was frequent visitors to the farm where the De Wet family lived, and the entire group structure was to create awareness of safety for the Boer people of South Africa. Perhaps intimidating farmers into believing this protection group could save lives was a mistake, especially when it was the very same group that instigated attacks on farmers. The whole culture of intimidation from the beginning has not stopped. When things went horribly wrong for the group, panic set in and in an attempt to cover the mistakes, De Wet was the sacrificial lamb.

The entire account is all about the South African Police, coupled with protection groups who have no respect for the law or innocent people. The justice system does not offer protection to the people of South and the high corruption, bribery and fraud within this department do not provide answers for victims. Unfortunately, De Wet is a victim of a well developed devious plan that could not continue to cover up the evils of people who act above the law.

It is perhaps a reassuring thought that the statements presented during the trial could well prove how corrupt the police have been during the investigation. It might well end up as a case of unsubstantiated evidence and the case thrown out of court however De Wet does not seem to think this will happen. It might well be that the corrupt justice system will use intimidation before the trial in an attempt cover up the transgressions and prove De Wet guilty for the sake of saving face.

By Laura Oneale

To learn more, or for more information on Cornelia De Wet – Link
Sources

Personal Interview with Cornelia De Wet, from Middleburg, South Africa.

Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2015/06/cornelia-de-wet-intimidation-before-trial/#WVJfH6M6C6DKA8D2.99