Coronationville Hall was packed on Monday evening. Residents came to get answers from officials about the water supply in their areas. Photos: Silver Sibiya

People from Westbury, Westdene, Claremont, and Hursthill want a permanent solution to their water woes

By Silver Sibiya this post was first published on GroundUp

• Frustrated residents from Westbury, Westdene, Claremont, and Hursthill met with officials from Johannesburg Water and City of Johannesburg on Monday evening.
• They complained about water troubles in their neighbourhoods while several officials from Johannesburg Water and City listened.
• Some people from Claremont said their taps have been dry for four months.
• Johannesburg Water confirmed that the City will be investing in building infrastructure to mitigate some water problems.

About 200 frustrated residents from Westbury, Westdene, Clairmont, and Hursthill filled the Coronationville Hall on Monday evening to voice their unhappiness that they have not had consistent running water for years.

One-by-one residents stood up and complained about water troubles in their communities while several officials from Johannesburg Water and City listened.

Anistine Watson from Claremont said her 60-unit block of flats has not had reliable water supply for two years, but for the past four months their taps have been completely dry.

Community leader, Bianca Olivier, questioned why officials had even come to the meeting if no one had answers for when their water would be switched on again. “They are only telling us of water trucks and Jojo tanks. But the water trucks don’t come to the community every single day,” she said.

She warned that they would “take to the streets” again should their taps remain dry.

Two weeks ago GroundUp reported on a protest by residents from these communities where they shut down a few busy roads and caused disruptions to Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals. At the time City of Johannesburg manager Floyd Brink admitted that there had been problems and promised that water would be restored in three days. But this never happened, says residents.

As Johannesburg Water’s managing director, Ntshavheni Mukwevho started speaking at the meeting, he was repeatedly interrupted by residents shouting insults and some walking to the stage to try and confront him.

Mukwevho told residents that the Hursthill reservoirs supplied water to areas in the west of Johannesburg, including Coronationville and Westbury. For these reservoirs to get water, the reservoirs in Meredale, which remains almost empty, must be at least 20% full or ideally above 40%, he said.

He said the City is investing in infrastructure to mitigate some of these issues. “The City is going to build a new pump station and bulk pipeline from the reservoir to this area to make sure the bulk infrastructure is sufficient.

“When the systems were healthy across Joburg it was fine, but now to get it to 40% plus is very difficult because the demand surpasses supply,” he said.

Responding to residents’ complaints that the neighbouring Slovo Park community had an uninterrupted water supply, Mukwevho explained that it was not part of Hursthill reservoir 1 or 2. “The areas are supplied by Brixton Tower and Crosby Reservoir.”

Every day Joburg Water shuts down about 25 reservoirs at scheduled times for “the system to recover”. He said they will know in January whether they can drill boreholes at the Hursthill reservoirs to supplement water supply.

Council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu said officials met last week to discuss ways to improve the water woes across the metro. At this meeting it was decided that they would start a massive project to repair and build proper water infrastructure next year. “We received a petition from this community about the water issues. We then realised that the [information] we get for some reason isn’t shared with the community,” she said.

At the end of the meeting, residents agreed to select representatives from each area to sit on a committee tasked with engaging officials regularly on water issues in their communities.

The post Angry residents confront Johannesburg Water officials appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Proposed Health Professions Act Amendment a double-edged sword appeared first on Spotlight.

The Democratic Alliance intends to propose legislation that would allow healthcare professionals to do community service and internships in private hospitals. Such a legislative change risks exacerbating some of South Africa’s healthcare inequalities, argues Bulela Vava.

The unemployment crisis in South Africa has become increasingly untenable. It not only effects young people in general, but also graduates. This problem of graduate unemployment is sending a message that even education is no longer the safety net it used to be.

Among the casualties, unemployed healthcare workers are not spared. Time and time again, hundreds of early career healthcare workers find themselves helpless, either struggling to secure community service or internship placements or to join the healthcare workforce after they complete compulsory community service.

This has led to a crisis with far-ranging impacts, in particular for rural and township economies that often have the highest burden of healthcare needs but with a disproportionately low allocation of the required human resources.

Wrong solution

In a move to address this problem, Michéle Clark, DA member of parliament who also sits on the portfolio committee for health, intends to introduce an Amendment Bill to the Health Professions Act.

At its core, the draft bill aims to introduce measures allowing the private sector to employ community service and intern health professionals, a move aimed at tackling the rising unemployment rates among healthcare graduates. While this initiative appears progressive on the surface, a deeper dive into its implications reveals a complex scenario that may not yield the intended benefits, particularly for marginalised communities in rural and township areas.

Concerns with the draft bill

The draft bill deserves reserved support, but also raises some real concerns.

On the one hand, the idea of harnessing the private sector’s resources to create employment opportunities for community service and intern healthcare workers is commendable. The public health system, already burdened by budget constraints, would benefit from the additional workforce without bearing the full financial responsibility. Moreover, unemployed healthcare workers – many of whom are left disillusioned after years of rigorous training—would finally have a chance to gain much-needed experience and earn a livelihood.

On the other hand, the proposed bill’s implementation without a careful appreciation of both the context and complexity of the problem it seeks to solve raises some red flags.

The most pressing concern lies in its potential impact on healthcare equity. By allowing the private sector to employ these young professionals, there is a risk that the focus will skew towards profit-driven goals, leaving rural and under-resourced communities underserved. A significant majority of people living in rural and township communities cannot afford the often-exorbitant costs associated with accessing private healthcare, and this makes for a bad business investment case for the private sector.

Historically, the private healthcare sector in South Africa has been concentrated in urban and affluent areas where patient populations can afford care. The rural and township communities, where healthcare access is already severely limited, may continue to see little to no substantial investment from private entities. This geographical maldistribution of healthcare services only serves to widen the gap in health outcomes between the rich and the poor.

Moreover, the introduction of private employment for internship and community service professionals could lead to a two-tier system where the private sector attracts the best talent due to better working conditions and remuneration, leaving the public sector with fewer resources. This would widen the disparity between public and private healthcare services, which is already a major barrier to achieving equitable health outcomes in the country.

The way forward

Government is not without blame in this unfolding crisis, and its role cannot be overlooked. For years, there has been a failure to adequately plan and invest in the healthcare workforce, resulting in many newly qualified healthcare professionals being unemployed. The public sector’s inability to absorb these graduates has created a bottleneck that leaves many young professionals idle despite the country’s dire need for healthcare services. With its inability or lack of urgency to resolve the problem, the passing of this proposed amendment by the government could appear to be a move to outsource its responsibility to the private sector, a move that might provide short-term relief but does little to resolve the underlying problems.

To truly address the unemployment of healthcare workers and the access to healthcare crisis in South Africa, a more comprehensive approach is needed. One that looks beyond mere employment and instead focuses on equitable distribution of healthcare services. The amendment bill should include clear provisions and incentives for the private sector to deploy community service and intern professionals in underserved areas. It should also enforce legally binding accountability measures to ensure that private sector involvement does not come at the expense of the greater public good.

Related Posts

• Competition law has again worked to fight a bad drug patent, but we need other solutions
• SA has the third highest suicide rate in Africa – there are steps we can take to tackle it
• Susan Cleary | Let’s be pragmatic – the NHI has constructive and contentious aspects

Additionally, government must prioritise leadership and governance reforms in the public health sector in the interest of the public, focus on addressing push factors such as dilapidated infrastructure and poor working conditions and build on decentralised training for improved healthcare coverage. While this proposed amendment may not readily address this, a review of the current community service policy is needed, facilitated by an inclusive and comprehensive consultative process.

Ultimately, strengthening the public healthcare system is crucial to counterbalancing the influence of a profit-driven private sector and ensuring that marginalised communities receive the quality care they deserve.

*Vava is an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa and President of the Public Oral Health Forum, a network of oral health professionals committed to improving oral health outcomes in South Africa through strategic advocacy, education, research, and collaboration.

Note: Spotlight aims to deepen public understanding of important health issues by publishing a variety of views on its opinion pages. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily shared by the Spotlight editors.

The post Proposed Health Professions Act Amendment a double-edged sword appeared first on Vuka News.

by Palmira Velasco

The motto “Rise for Freedom!” (Stand Up for Freedom) brought together around a hundred African women in the virtual meeting held at the opening of the 16 days of activism campaign against violence against women and girls. The meeting organized by One Billion Rising Africa (OBR) had the subtheme: “The struggle of African women at the crossroads of fascism and patriarchy in Africa”.

Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day and founder of OBR, better known and affectionately known as Mama-V, during the opening of the meeting said that in general, violence against women and girls is growing every day, all over the world.

“It is our turn to do our best for a better world where women will also participate and live in a better world.”

Lomcebo Dlamini, feminist and lawyer in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) pointed out cases of violence, oppression and killings of people that contradict African political regimes. He mentioned the militarization of most African countries that, instead of working to improve the economy and the well-being of the people, prefer to buy more sophisticated weapons to kill and silence everyone who goes against the policies, thus, killing women and children.

“These countries create artificial differences in societies and these are tools that politicians use to abuse the people. At the same time, they use the Media to advertise” said Lomcebo.

She also said that the concentration of power of leaders makes them benefit from goods and resources that should benefit the entire people. In most countries with mineral resources, women are subjected to gender-based violence and sexual abuse that create trauma. In his analysis he mentioned that in Africa, the largest number of parliamentary and political seats are held by women and this should mean something to the people. The use of culture and religion continues to support the idea that women are weak.

Faced with this situation, jurist Lomcebo Dlamini suggests that a sustainable campaign be carried out to continue building solidarity among feminist women. Another measure would be to continue to challenge patriarchy (norms and agendas), but with inter-generational engagement, that is, to guarantee the involvement of young women in this great struggle. Lucinda Ndlovukazi, coordinator of OBR in South Africa, began her approach by criticizing that there is no longer respect for women. A woman who is a mother and gave birth to men. But because of patriarchy, women are used to vote for men during election campaigns and then they are abused and blocked. Patriarchy starts with the brotherhood system in which power is shared between men and continues to use the same system because it has the resources to do so. To respond to this challenge, Lucinda says that women’s education is very important, as it must be the only weapon to fight against patriarchy. At one point, she spoke of the crisis in which Mozambique finds itself immersed, in this post-electoral moment. It points out the devastation of the Mozambican economy in the face of South Africa’s silence.

“I don’t understand how children of leaders buy mansions in South Africa and this country accepts this and doesn’t react”, regrets Lucinda Ndlovukazi.

Social media plays a fundamental role in teaching as well. It should be explained to women so they can better understand the concepts of fascism and patriarchy. Women must also be taught the methods of self-sustainability so that they are free and empowered. “We women are the majority of the population and we are powerful”, concluded Lucinda Ndlovukazi.

Meanwhile, Maureen Tresha, coordinator of OBR Zambia said that solidarity is the common cause that women have to know what patriarchy and fascism are and how they affect many women. Did you question whether the laws of African countries favor women? Maureen believes that some laws are good, but their implementation does not match reality.

“The advantage of OBR is that we can share it with our sisters in other countries and if our voice is unique, it will be easy for us to be heard by the world and by politicians at national, regional and international levels”, concludes Mareen Tresha.

In turn, Monique Wilson, General Director of the OBR, at the end of the meeting, appealed to social feminists, activists, emigrants, academics, social justice, human rights and others not to accept leaders and politicians violating human rights.

“Let us not accept the legalization and normalization of discrimination against women”, concluded Monique Wilson.

Domestic Violence in Mozambique

Mozambique is no exception. Cases of domestic violence are growing just like in other countries, but women in Mozambique, in particular, are now going through difficult times. Women and girls in the Province of Cabo Delgado suffer violence of different types and, at this moment, all women suffer violence in one form or another. Women, mothers and girls, in this time of post-electoral crisis, suffer double violence, namely domestic and political violence.

Women also lose their husbands and children anytime and anywhere when police shoot to kill. It’s dramatic when police enter neighborhoods and houses and shoot at defenseless people in the name of law and order, and women watch, unable to do anything. Recently, women from different organizations gathered and marched to protest the death of a woman who was deliberately run over by an armored military vehicle, in Maputo, on Avenida Eduardo Mondlane, where a group of protesters were demanding electoral justice.

The celebration and activities of the 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls in Mozambique are full of pain for Mozambican women.

The post Women, Stand Up for Freedom appeared first on Vuka News.

A Judicial Conduct Tribunal probing a complaint of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape High Court Judge President Selby Mbenenge will sit early next year. Photo: Oupa Nkosi for Judges Matter (used with permission)

A Judicial Conduct Tribunal probing allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape High Court Judge President Selby Mbenenge will start early next year.
But some evidence, including WhatsApp messages and photographs he allegedly sent to secretary Andiswa Mengo, will not be heard in public.
Tribunal chair Bernard Ngoepe has ruled that it would not be in the interests of the judiciary for all evidence to be publicly heard or broadcast live.

A Judicial Conduct Tribunal probing a complaint of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape High Court Judge President Selby Mbenenge, the first such case in South Africa against a sitting judge, will commence early next year.

The complaint against Mbenenge, which could result in his impeachment, was laid by Andiswa Mengo, a secretary who works for another judge in the Eastern Cape. The hearing has been set down for 13 to 24 January.

But some of the evidence will be led behind closed doors.

The tribunal president, retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, has ruled that the proceedings will be held partly in camera “in the interests of the judiciary”.

Mengo and the SABC had made submissions to the tribunal that the hearing should be open to the public and broadcast live, while Judge Mbenenge argued that the entire hearing should be held in camera.

Judge Ngoepe, in his ruling, said that the Judicial Service Commission Act provided for an “in camera” default position but gave him, as the tribunal president, discretion to open the hearing if it were in the public interest for the purposes of transparency.

He said both Mengo and the SABC had largely based their arguments on the importance of a public hearing and that the matter was in the public interest.

Mengo, he said, had raised the “scourge of abuse and sexual harassment of women at work”. But she had not given any explanation how the fight against this would be undermined by an in camera hearing.

This, he said, was venturing into the realm of conjecture.

“The purpose of these proceedings is not to fight other battles. They are tailored to deal with complaints, specifically against judges.

“We must be careful not to weaponise these proceedings to fight other battles,” he said in his ruling dated 9 December 2024.

Judge Ngoepe said Judge Mbenenge had argued that the allegations had the “potential to cause untold, irreparable reputational damage, were they not to be sustained in the final analysis and the proceedings end up being accessed by the public and the media”.

Judge Ngoepe said looking at the nature of the allegations, there was merit to his concerns.

“While he concentrated on the reputational damage to himself, I will concentrate on possible damage to the judiciary because he is not just a member thereof, but one of its leaders.”

He said that while the purpose of the prosecution of complaints against judges was to protect the image of the judiciary, the Act sought to ensure that while that was being done “we do not unwittingly cause irreparable damage to the very image sought to be protected”.

He said this could happen where damaging allegations, aired in public, were later found not to be true.

“By merely holding these proceedings, a strong and unequivocal message has already been sent out there that it does not matter how junior you are in the workplace, your sexual harassment complaint would be diligently investigated and appropriate steps taken against the accused person irrespective of their seniority. I do not see how this message can be nullified by an in camera hearing.”

He said the fact that Judge Mbenenge had been placed on special leave was another “clear message”.

Judge Ngoepe said any acquittal would not repair any possible damage to the judiciary; there would not be a “public cleansing ceremony” during which the damaging allegations could be erased or retracted.

Damaging the judiciary could not be in the public interest, he said.

He ruled that the proceedings will be held partly in public and partly in camera. Evidence relating to the WhatsApp messages, which Judge Mbenenge did not deny the contents of or that they came from him, would be heard in public and could be broadcast live.

But evidence relating to messages and pictures which he denied came from him or his cellular phone, and messages and pictures relating to some indecent incidents alleged to have occurred in his chambers, would be held in camera.

Judge Mbenenge has been the Judge President of the Eastern Cape since November 2017.

The allegations by Mengo relate to alleged unwanted interactions in 2021 and 2022 which Judge Mbenenge claimed were consensual. She first filed the complaint in January 2023.

In September 2023, a Judicial Conduct Committee ruled there was a prima facie (on the face of it) case of gross judicial misconduct against him which, if confirmed, could lead to his impeachment. The Judicial Service Commission then appointed the tribunal to hear the matter.

Judges Matter has reported that this is the first major case of sexual harassment to reach the formal stage of the complaints process. However, it criticised the fact that Judge Mbenenge was allowed to go on special leave, instead of being subjected to the usual automatic suspension.

The post Sexual harassment complaint against Eastern Cape Judge President set for January appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Report | Public Participation and Municipal Planning in South Africa: A consolidated technical findings report on action research at 12 local municipalities first appeared on PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute.

The COMPACT project aims to enhance public participation and planning in 12 partner municipalities in South Africa. This report consolidates and synthesises the research findings from across the 12 municipalities and outlines the institutional environment and limitations around effective public participation, including the functioning of ward committees. The report also investigates the alignment of the municipality’s integrated development plan (IDP) and internal planning and performance management processes.

COMPACT is a collaborative project between PARI, SALGA and Integrity Action, with funding from the European Union. See more here: https://pari.org.za/compact/

DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE

The post Report | Public Participation and Municipal Planning in South Africa: A consolidated technical findings report on action research at 12 local municipalities appeared first on Vuka News.

A shepherd lets sheep out to graze in the early morning. The commonage in Upington is hot and dry. There is very little for livestock to graze.

Small-scale livestock farmers in Upington using municipal owned common land face severe water and grazing shortages.
The farmers pay fees but say they receive minimal support as they struggle with water scarcity and frequent livestock theft.
A 2022 draft policy to empower emerging farmers and manage the common land has never been implemented.

Small livestock farmers on common land in Upington are desperate for water. The farmers’ kraals and grazing areas are on municipal commonage in this hot and arid town south of the Kalahari desert.

The Hondejag commonage lies between the townships of Rosedale and Paballelo. It is owned by the Dawid Kruiper Municipality, and according to draft municipal policy, which dates from 2022, it is to be used for the “empowerment of emerging farmers within the municipal area” and the “alleviation of poverty by making land available to poor residents”. This policy has yet to be applied.

Little grows on the sandy plains. And most of the 80 or so farmers on the commonage do not have access to water at their kraals for sheep, goats and cattle. There are communal water tanks supplied by the municipality, but the farmers say there is little water in the tanks.

Andre van Wyk, who farms on the Rosedale side of the commonage, said that the pressure in the water tanks is very bad and water only dribbles out, if at all. It is worst on hot days, he said.

“We are dependent on the vegetation,” said Van Wyk.

Andre van Wyk fills his tank with water that he had to fetch from home. He said that water pressure is very low.

Farmers have resorted to fetching water from their homes and carting it daily with their trucks to their thirsty livestock.

Rosedale farmers are also battling frequent livestock theft. There is no fencing.

Carl Stevens say she lost about 64 of his livestock in January.

They were either stolen or just lost, said Stevens. “My heart is sore.”

Farmer Frankie Koopman wondered how the municipality expected them to farm enough to export and make a livelihood.

“It is any person’s desire to make your farming successful, so it can provide for you. No one wants to farm just for the sake of it,” he said.

Carl Stevens said that over 60 of his livestock were either stolen or lost in January.

On the Paballelo side, farmers’ kraals are lined up next to one another and they are cramped. When the farmers were moved here they were told it was only temporary. That was in 2013.

“Look at how many people are here. There is no grazing here anymore. It is very cramped. There is nothing here anymore,” said farmer Paulina September.

Overgrazing and lack of water makes it difficult for the emerging farmers to feed their livestock. Yet they pay a fee to the municipality for each animal for use of the commonage.

“For eight months I haven’t had water here. There is no water,” said farmer Mangaliso Mashiyi. “Can they not take us somewhere where there is wetter ground?”

Mashiyi said the day they have access to water, they will have no trouble paying their bills.

Maria Lankalebalela has to transport bales of feed as there isnt enough food for the animals to graze on. She says that she is also struggling with access to water.

Aaron Ranayeke, a representative of the small-scale farmers at the Trust for Community Outreach and Education, said the draft commonage policy from 2022 would give the farmers more power to make decisions about the land. But the municipality had delayed implementing it.

“The municipality is running away from that power,” said Ranayeke.

The draft policy sets out a framework for the management of the commonage through a “Commonage Committee”. It is to consist of commonage users, representatives of the municipality and the departments of agriculture, water and SAPS. This committee will make recommendations to the municipal council.

Every commonage is also to have a management committee with emerging farmers as members. The management committee would be responsible for managing the commonage and reporting to the Commonage Committee.

There isn’t always water available for the animals when they return from grazing in the field.

The acting district manager of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture’s directorate for Agricultural Producer Support and Development, Andres Majaja, said that the management of the commonage is the “sole responsibility” of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality .

Majaja said the last commonage committee meeting for Dawid Kruiper Municipality was held on 14 February 2014. A meeting to revive the Commonage Committee was held on the 19 September 2024, but only two farmers attended the meeting, and “the meeting didn’t reach a desired outcome”.

He said the reason the meeting was badly attended was because the municipality had postponed meetings with the farmers so many times.

Another meeting, where farmers were due to address the council, was cancelled. The farmers were told this when they arrived at the municipal buildings.

Majaja said the fees farmers are paying to the municipality are for the use of grazing. The funds should be applied to maintain fences and stock water systems on commonage farms.

“On municipal grazing land, there are no sustainable agricultural management practices followed, and these grazing areas tend to be the first to show signs of drought when conditions are unfavourable,” he said.

Dawid Kruiper municipality spokesperson Patrick Williams promised to respond to GroundUp’s questions but had not done so at the time of publication, despite numerous follow-ups.

About 80 small-scale farmers live on commonage land in Upington. The area is hot with very little rain.

The post Upington farmers are desperate for water appeared first on Vuka News.

Signed appointment letters and related documents reveal that the National Department of Health’s (NDoH) top official and his counterpart at the Independent Development Trust (IDT) played key roles in an allegedly unlawful project to install oxygen plants at state hospitals.

The NDoH has since written to the IDT to withdraw from the project, according to a statement issued by the IDT’s board of trustees. The board has directed the IDT’s management to accept the NDoH’s instruction. According to the statement, the IDT’s management maintained that “procurement processes were followed”.

The project, bankrolled by the Global Fund, one of the world’s largest health financiers, was initially set to cost R216-million, but the figure later ballooned to R836-million. The main contractor, Bulkeng, failed to adhere to several of the project’s original requisites yet somehow managed to secure a R428-million portion of the roll-out.

In this latest instalment in Daily Maverick and amaBhungane’s joint investigation we unpack seemingly irregular tender processes associated with the project. The IDT, a government infrastructure implementing agency, appointed Bulkeng to install pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants at 45 government hospitals.

A joint venture (JV) between Maziya General Trading and On Site Gas Systems International clinched a R152-million contract to install plants at a further ten hospitals.

Our investigation shows that the IDT seemingly expanded the project’s scope after it took over as the NDoH’s implementing agent. By altering the quantities and the sizes of the required plants at many of the hospitals, the IDT paved the way for far costlier contracts.

An implementation plan for the project, adopted by the NDoH and the IDT in August 2022, set the budget at R216-million. This boils down to an average spend of roughly R3.61-million per hospital. The following year, however, the IDT altered the bill of quantities and the contractors were eventually appointed at an average cost of R10.5-million per site. The IDT and the NDoH have been at pains to explain how the project’s budget ballooned by nearly 300%.

We’ve established that Dr. Sandile Buthelezi, the health department’s beleaguered director-general, and the IDT’s CEO, Tebogo Malaka, played key roles in getting the contentious contracts over the finish line, despite concerns about the cost overruns.

Buthelezi reportedly already faces an investigation for allegedly soliciting a R500 000 bribe from an unrelated contractor in another IDT project. He was also suspended in 2021 over his role in the Digital Vibes scandal but later returned to work after an internal disciplinary hearing cleared him of wrongdoing.

Dr. Sandile Buthelezi, the National Department of Health’s director-general. (Photo: sourced)

We can also reveal that the IDT, ostensibly with Buthelezi’s consent, ran afoul of the 2022 implementation plan by omitting or circumventing key requirements, including those related to the bidders’ South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAPHRA) registration status and their gradings from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

We will also detail how the IDT apparently allowed Bulkeng to slip key documents into its bid bundle more than a year after the tender had closed.

Finally, we will highlight some of the statements the IDT and the NDoH made in relation to the project, illustrating how the IDT in particular has apparently been disseminating patently false or misleading claims.

We sent the IDT and the NDoH detailed queries regarding each matter unpacked in this piece. Both organisations vowed to respond but failed to do so before our deadline.

Instead, the IDT’s board of trustees on Monday afternoon issued its statement. The board said it “noted with serious concern” the allegations regarding the project.

“…anything that smells of malfeasance should be nipped in the bud and those found to be responsible of such, shall face consequences management”, the board’s chairperson, Adv. Kwazi Mshengu, was quoted as saying.

Vital bid requirement dropped

Documents in our possession, including Bulkeng’s company records and the IDT’s request for quotations (RFQ), point to a flawed procurement process, one that allegedly saw Bulkeng appointed at an inflated cost despite the fact that it wasn’t qualified for the project.

The procurement process, a two-pronged affair, was concluded in 2023.

First, the IDT advertised a tender to appoint contractors to a panel of would-be suppliers. More than sixty entities submitted bids, and in June last year the IDT appointed eight companies to the panel.

Next, in July 2023, the IDT issued RFQs to the panel members and eventually picked Bulkeng and the Maziya/On Site Gas JV for the roll-out.

Much of the controversy around Bulkeng’s appointment stems from its SAHPRA certification – or rather lack thereof.

In our previous reports, we detailed that Bulkeng had never been registered with SAHPRA, and that it had submitted another entity’s certificate to the IDT.

The IDT has since repeatedly claimed that a SAHPRA certificate was never a mandatory requirement for bidders, but we can now illustrate why this statement is disingenuous.

An infrastructure programme implementation plan, or IPIP, signed in August 2022 by various NDoH and IDT officials, forms the basis for the oxygen plants project.

The IPIP document very clearly states that SAHPRA certification needed to be factored into the IDT’s procurement process.

When the IDT issued its tender and RFQs, the SAHPRA requirement was somehow omitted, which would have opened the door to unqualified companies like Bulkeng.

A PSA oxygen plant (Image: Sourced)

Construction Industry Development Board

The 2022 implementation plan also called on the IDT to manage the procurement process in line with the CIDB’s requirements.

Unlike the SAHPRA specification, the CIDB requirement did make it into the IDT’s tender, although the threshold was quite low.

Companies with a mechanical engineering (ME) grading of five and higher were allowed to submit bids.

A grading of five limits companies to a project value of R10-million or less. Considering the project’s initial budget of R216-million, the grading requirement seems to have been far too generous.

Bulkeng has an ME grading of eight, so it easily cleared this minor hurdle. However, the company’s grading still only qualifies it to work on projects with a maximum value of R200-million.

It is therefore unclear how the IDT managed to appoint the company for a R428-million contract.

Bulkeng was appointed to install oxygen plants at the St. Andrews Hospital in Harding, KZN, at a cost of nearly400% the original budget. (Photo: sourced)

The IDT’s uneven application of the CIDB requirement raises another red flag.

According to a submission by the IDT’s Management Bid Adjudication Committee (MBAC) dated October 2023, at least one of Bulkeng’s rival bidders was disqualified from the bid because the contract value would have exceeded its CIDB limit. It is unclear why the IDT did not apply the same standard to Bulkeng.

Enter the DG and the CEO

In July 2023, Bulkeng, the Maziya/On Site Gas JV and three other companies submitted their quotations to the IDT. The bids were staggeringly high, with the lowest among the lot coming in at more than double the R216-million budget.

The Maziya/On Site Gas JV’s quote came to R862.6-million, while Bulkeng said it would do the job for an eye-watering R1.18-billion.

Word soon spread among NDoH and IDT officials that the project’s budget would be raised to accommodate the sky-high bids.

Naturally, the development sparked concern over the potential legal and auditing implications. The project already had a set budget. Any attempt to pour additional funds into the roll-out risked triggering an irregular expenditure finding.

The matter came to a head in early August 2023, at a meeting held by the project’s steering committee, a seven-person body that consisted of officials from the NDoH and the IDT, plus an external auditor.

The committee, in a formal resolution, decided that it would be best to restart the procurement process, citing the escalating budget and the SAHPRA requirement’s omission from the RFQ as the main reason for doing so. They also referenced the CIDB issue.

The committee sent a letter to the IDT’s CEO, Malaka, requesting that the process be restarted.

But Malaka never responded to the committee. Instead, it seems she chose to directly consult with Buthelezi, the health department’s DG. We know this because later that month, Buthelezi allegedly told the committee that he’d spoken to the IDT’s CEO. He allegedly told the committee’s members that he was happy for the IDT to continue with the bid process.

Tebogo Malaka, the IDT’s CEO. (Photo: sourced)

By all appearances, Malaka and Buthelezi had effectively brushed aside the committee’s concerns.

Their apparent disregard for the cost considerations is seemingly manifested in a “concurrence approval”, signed by both officials in October 2023. The document sought to raise the program’s budget to R987.4-million, a jaw-dropping R771-million more than the IPIP budget from the previous year.

According to our sources, this was a bridge too far for the Global Fund, which apparently instructed the IDT and the NDoH to formulate a more realistic figure.

A second “concurrence approval”, signed by Buthelezi in February 2024, introduced a budget of R580-million. Malaka’s signature also appears on this document, but it is not clear when she signed it.

The R580-million figure is exactly enough to cover the contracts awarded to the two winning bidders, but this was not the final project budget. The IDT and the NDoH have both confirmed that the budget had been set at R836-million. This means they had somehow released an additional R256-million. It is not clear when this figure was adopted by the two state bodies and whether it had been cleared by the Global Fund. It is also not clear which contractors, if any, were going to benefit from the additional spend, although the NDoH previously indicated that the R836-million budget included “professional fees, management fees and maintenance costs” for the oxygen plants.

The appointment of Bulkeng and the Maziya/On Site Gas JV, meanwhile, was finally concluded in June 2024. Malaka signed the letters of intent that reflect the “final allocation” of the two bidders’ respective sites.

After the fact 

The Bulkeng contract that Malaka and Buthelezi green-lighted seems dubious for yet another reason.

The RFQ called on bidders to submit letters of support from whichever Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) they’d chosen to work with. Where relevant, the bidders also had to furnish the IDT with signed JV agreements.

Our assessment of Bulkeng’s bid documents strongly points to a flawed and possibly unlawful bid process. All indications are that Bulkeng failed to comply with key mandatory requirements and that the IDT nevertheless allowed the company to clinch the lion’s share of the project’s roll-out.

As far as we could establish, Bulkeng’s original bid submission did not include a letter from its chosen OEM, nor one from Brutes Air Solutions, the company we previously identified as Bulkeng’s partner in the bid.

What we did discover, however, is a letter from Brutes Air’s CEO, Christo Bruwer, addressed to the IDT. According to the heading, the letter serves as “Official Confirmation of Collaborative Partnership with Bulkeng for PSA Oxygen Plants”. But the letter is dated 25 July 2024, so we have strong reason to suspect that the IDT entertained this crucial document a full year after the RFQ had closed.

Christo Bruwer, CEO of Brutes Air Solutions. (Photo: sourced)

Bruwer claimed there had been “a few versions” of the letter, including one that had been submitted in time for the 2023 RFQ. We asked him for a copy of the earlier version, but he said he couldn’t share it with us without the IDT and Bulkeng’s consent. Bruwer wouldn’t say why it had been necessary for him to draft a 2024 version.

Bulkeng’s letter from its OEM, or lack thereof, should also raise eyebrows.

The company’s bid included a letter that explained its relationship with Brutes Air and its OEM, Atlas Copco, dated 17 July 2023.

However, Atlas Copco only submitted a letter to the IDT on 10 October 2024, more than a year after the RFQ had closed.

What’s more, the letter doesn’t do much for Bulkeng’s cause as a bidder. It merely states that Brutes Air is an “authorised partner” of Atlas Copco. Bulkeng therefore failed to submit a letter that affirmed its own agreement with an OEM.

Under normal circumstances, Bulkeng’s failure to adhere to these bid requirements should have disqualified the company from the process.

Soaring costs 

The IDT has made several dubious claims regarding the oxygen project’s ballooning costs.

Following our first reports on the issue, the organisation went as far as claiming that the original R216-million budget was for fifteen hospitals, not sixty.

The IDT’s spokesperson, Phasha Makgalane, claimed in a live interview with Newzroom Africa that the R216-million budget was compiled as far back as 2017.

Elsewhere, the IDT has claimed that the budget was formulated in 2019 and therefore had to be adjusted to account for inflation. It has also claimed that the lower figure excluded VAT and maintenance costs, claims the NDoH has also repeated.

None of this is true.

The August 2022 IPIP clearly shows that the R216-million figure was less than a year old when the RFQ went out. What’s more, the budget covered the roll-out of oxygen plants at sixty hospitals, including VAT, installation costs and maintenance.

We compared the IPIP to the bill of quantities the IDT later issued with the RFQ. This exercise explained why the costs had risen so dramatically.

The Tshepong Hospital in North West, for instance, required only one small (10Nm³/h or 15Nm³/h) PSA plant at a cost of roughly R2.84-million, according to the 2022 IPIP. However, the IDT altered the bill of quantities so that bidders were required to submit quotes for two large (40Nm³/h) plants. This meant the eventual costs would be far higher.

The IDT appointed the Maziya/On Site Gas JV to install the plants at this hospital, which the JV would have done at a cost of R24.4-million – a hefty 757% increase from the original IPIP budget.

Bulkeng, meanwhile, was appointed to install a large plant at the St. Andrews Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. It would have done so at a cost of R13.9-million. The 2022 budget, meanwhile, called for a small plant at a cost of only R2.84-million. A large plant, according to the IPIP, should in any case only have incurred a cost of roughly R8.5-million – still far less than what Bulkeng would have gotten.

At the Jubilee District Hospital in Gauteng, where one large plant would have sufficed, Bulkeng was set to install two large plants at a cost of nearly R28-million, a far cry from the R8.5-million budget envisioned in the implementation plan.

We looked at all 45 sites assigned to Bulkeng. Nearly every hospital that required only a small plant, as per the 2022 IPIP, was upgraded to a medium or a large one. The sites awarded to the Maziya/On Site Gas JV were given the same treatment.

Maziya’s CEO, Chris Delport, strongly denied that his company was trying to fleece the IDT through excessive pricing.

Chris Delport, CEO of Maziya General Services. (Photo: sourced)

He emphasised that the bidders had no say in the drafting of the bill of quantities, and that Maziya and its JV partner merely submitted their quotes in accordance with the RFQ.

Delport said there were several factors that contributed to the quoted fees, including the cost of installing and maintaining the plants. He said his company had factored in a mark-up of no more than fifteen percent.

“Some of the sites are in rural, far-flung places, so it costs more to go out there and install the plants. And none of these machines are manufactured in South Africa, remember, so there are import costs to consider too,” explained Delport.

We showed the project’s figures to an industry expert who told us that the numbers for the IDT project were “pure madness”.

This person, who has been involved in several PSA installations across the continent, reckoned that the roll-out could be done at a total cost of around R350-million.

The post Health DG, IDT CEO paved way for dodgy R836m oxygen plant contracts appeared first on amaBhungane.

The post Health DG, IDT CEO paved way for dodgy R836m oxygen plant contracts appeared first on Vuka News.

Protesters gathered in Cape Town on Monday to mark the UN International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide. Photos: Matthew Hirsch

About 50 people gathered outside the Samson Centre in Cape Town on Monday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Samson Centre, which houses offices of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and other organisations, is opposite the Holocaust and Genocide Centre.
The protest was to mark the UN International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it stood in solidarity “with Palestinians and all other victims of genocide, both past and present”.
Daniel Bloch, Executive Director, Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies said he rejected “with utter contempt” the “baseless allegations of genocide” against Israel.

About 50 people picketed outside the Samson Centre in Cape Town on Monday to mark the UN International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide.

During the protest, two women wearing white were covered in red paint to symbolise genocides. Many protesters held up flags in solidarity with African countries including Congo, Rwanda and Namibia.

Protesters also read out the names of scores of people killed in Gaza over the last 14 months. The group called for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the illegal occupation, and the recognition of the Palestinian people’s rights.

The centre houses offices of several organisations including the South African Zionist Federation – Cape Council, Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies, UJC Cape Town, CSO, Bnoth Zion WIZO Cape Town, Staffwise, Israel Centre, Cape Jewish Chronicle and Habonim Dror Southern Africa.

The Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre is across the road.

This protest comes days after Amnesty International found “sufficient basis” to conclude that “Israel committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip”.

In a statement, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said: “We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all other victims of genocide, both past and present, including Indigenous Americans, Indigenous Australians, Congolese, Sudanese, Rwandans, Namibians, Irish, Bosnians, Poles, Jews, Roma, Czechs, Armenians, and Slavs.

“We hold Israel, with its US backing, accountable for its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel’s continued forced expulsions in the West Bank and Gaza, along with its occupation and violence, represent a clear violation of international human rights, including the prohibition of genocide.”

Usuf Chikte, PSC Coordinator, told GroundUp: “The genocide in Gaza is being live-streamed. Nobody in this world can say that they didn’t know.

“In South Africa, we have a special obligation both morally and legally to ensure that apartheid never happens again.”

“We are reading the names of those who have been killed because they won’t be forgotten. We want to say that we are all equal in life and in death,” he said.

Earlier in the day, health workers held a press conference in District Six, demanding urgent action against Israel. This coincided with similar events by health workers in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, Turkey, Malaysia, and Namibia.

They called for an end to the targeting of healthcare workers, ambulance staff, aid workers in the field and journalists.

In a statement, Daniel Bloch, executive director of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said he rejected “with utter contempt” the “baseless allegations of genocide”.

“A war which was started by Hamas on 7 October 2023, when they invaded Israel, is taking place in the Middle East, not a genocide. However, we continue to deplore the loss of all life, we call for the release of all hostages and an end to the war.”

“The International Court of Justice, the primary judicial body of the United Nations, has made no ruling with regards to accusations of genocide, therefore any claims made by other organisations to the contrary, are misplaced.”

Bloch said “lies and mistruths” spread by anti-Israel movements “only enflame the hatred and intolerance towards the Jewish community, our supporters and friends and could well have led to the disgusting act of terror which occurred this past Friday 6 December, at our community building.” He said an explosive device had been thrown into the complex “with the purpose of causing damage and creating fear and intimidation” .

“This investigation was concluded Monday morning by the bomb disposal unit. The case docket has now been assigned to the Directorate for Priority Investigation [Hawks] for further investigation. Despite this attack, our community remains resilient, united and strong and we will not be intimidated by these haters.”

News24 quoted police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut saying that the police had found a possible explosive device which had not detonated and had removed it from the scene. He confirmed that the docket had been assigned to the Hawks.

According to Al Jazeera, more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed since October last year.

At least 2,000 people have also been killed in Lebanon. About 1,100 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

Protesters held up flags in solidarity with African countries including Congo, Rwanda and Namibia.

The post Protest opposite Holocaust and Genocide Centre in Cape Town: call for ceasefire in Gaza appeared first on Vuka News.

December 11th saw the launch of a newly created participatory digital counter-map of the region of Xolobeni. The event at the Jack Heath Gallery at the University of KwaZulu-Natal was the culmination of a 2-year project funded by the National Research Foundation. It is a collaborative project between the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), the coastal villages and academics from the University of Johannesburg and UKZN.

Counter-mapping has been used worldwide by marginalised, often indigenous populations to contest top-down, extractive-oriented development plans and to showcase grassroots/community-led alternatives.

In Xolobeni, coastal communities have an extensive and proud history of resistance to incorporation into colonial and apartheid economies. Here, the ancestral roots of mutual protection and connection to the land run deep and long. Memories of the Mpondo Revolt, for example, are still very much alive and a part of community identity.

These days, community resistance is focused on a raft of government-led proposals, including plans for open cast mining, the construction of a “smart city”, and a coastal road through ecologically sensitive and biodiverse lands. The N2 Wild Coast Road project (N2WCR) poses a major looming threat to many communities in coastal Xolobeni and its local economy based on ecotourism and agro-ecology. The prospect of its arrival has also spurred an increase in land grabs, with tracts of land being enclosed in breach of environmental law and built on without the permission of communities as stipulated under local customary law.

In opposing mining and the coastal highway, demanding it to be moved to the centre of Amadiba, the ACC is increasingly painted by proponents as ‘anti-development’. This is an assertion that its members reject. As Nonhle Mbuthuma, ACC Spokesperson and 2024 co-awardee of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, asserts, “We are not anti-development. We are pro-development. But development for us means the kind of development that we want – a development that benefits us as a community and supports our sustainable rural livelihoods.”

To prove this point, the ACC has worked closely with geographers from the University of Johannesburg and the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal on a project called “Maps Are Now Our Spears” to design a set of static and interactive online maps. These maps show unequivocally that the lands and seas of Xolobeni are home to a vibrant and viable caring economy – steeped in history and deeply connected to the land – that sustains local inhabitants and others in surrounding communities. 

The maps highlights the area’s rich cultural heritage, along with important eco-tourism sites, scenic attractions, ecologically sensitive and biodiverse wetlands, highly productive agricultural land using agro-ecological practices, and infrastructure, including local roads, churches, schools and thriving local businesses. 

The maps also depict a variety of community-proposed developments, including the ACC’s alternative N2 route, that, if supported, would achieve SANRAL’s goal of shortening the distance from Durban to East London while adding significant value to local livelihoods and overall socio-economic well-being.

The ACC welcomes these maps of the past, present and future of Xolobeni. as an important strategic resource, but also as a source of inspiration. As Mbuthuma summed up, “This map is an important tool for our struggle because it shows our bottom-up plan. But it can also show other communities in South Africa that they must take a lead in their own development. If communities are not actively involved in their own development planning, this is not democracy. What we are doing today, this is democracy.” 

To access the static printable maps, click here, and watch out for the interactive online version, coming soon.

For more information contact:

Dr. Hali Healy at hhealy@uj.ac.za

Nonhle Mbuthuma at nonhlembuthuma@gmail.com 

The post Maps Are Now Our Spears: Launch of New Participatory Digital Counter-Maps of Xolobeni appeared first on AIDC | Alternative Information & Development Centre.

The post Maps Are Now Our Spears: Launch of New Participatory Digital Counter-Maps of Xolobeni appeared first on Vuka News.

Tyla’s rise as a global pop star highlights the complexities of race, identity, and cultural representation, challenging how Blackness is perceived across the diaspora.

Tyla on Late Night, 2024. Credit Rob Corder via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0.

In 2023, I noticed a young, racially ambiguous woman in cornrows frequently appear on my “For You Page.” I learned that her name was Tyla, and I also learned that she is from my hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa. In that same year, she emerged as one of South Africa’s most promising cultural exports, blending a kind of Amapiano rhythm with the global pop sensibilities of an international star. Yet, for me, Tyla represents something much more interesting. She has transcended the “pop star” label and has inadvertently become a symbol of racial anthropology; a figure caught in the complex crossfires of identity, representation, and global Blackness. Her career trajectory has challenged her to connect with a wide enough Black American audience and to navigate the divisive loyalty of her South African fan base, offering a captivating perspective that examines the diasporic politics of race and culture.

As a Black South African, I view Coloured identity as an unremarkable, normal part of our societal fabric. I grew up with the understanding, like most South Africans, that “Colouredness” was a legitimate identity and experience that was rooted in a mixed ancestry. But for those unfamiliar, the term, “Coloured” originates as a technology of racial classification during Apartheid South Africa. This tool was imposed to separate people of mixed ancestry from Black and white populations and became codified legislation under the Population Registration Act and Group Areas Act of 1950. However, as authors Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel discuss in COLOURED: How Classification Became Culture, Coloured identity evolved beyond its colonial and Apartheid roots and, like Blackness, became a legitimate racial identity that is neither monolithic nor simple.

Coloured identity holds a multitude of cultures, spanning the Khoi and San people, enslaved Black South Africans, and settler-colonial European ancestry. Becoming more than racial ambiguity, it represents a legacy of survival and adaptation. Yet, when filtered through global eyes, Coloured identity is flattened into a perception of ambiguity that frustrates binary racial categorization. And while mixed-race identities are not unique to the world, the packaging of a mixed-racial heritage within an explicitly African context feels relatively novel to a global audience. While Tyla has yet to explicitly address her defined relationship to Coloured identity publically, I see it all over her appearance, accent, and artistry. This has complicated her reception on the world stage, where the Black and white binary dominates racial discourse.

To Black American audiences, Tyla’s identity may appear as a racial rejection that triggers distrust and disinterest. Black audiences often seek cultural figures who mirror their experiences, and Tyla’s colouredness presents a version of Blackness that may feel alien or irrelevant to those accustomed to interpreting Blackness through an American lens. The divergence is historical and aesthetic; where African-American music sensations such as Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar cultivate narratives steeped in Black-American culture. Whereas Tyla’s artistry reflects the sonic and visual language of Amapiano, a genre rooted in Black South African culture. For audiences unfamiliar with the cultural weight of Amapiano, its presentation through a racially ambiguous Coloured woman can feel suspicious.

Adding fuel to this complexity is the fervent defense Tyla receives from her South African fans online. South Africa’s social media spaces are notoriously combative, particularly when it comes to defending their contemporary cultural icon—Tyla. Much of this defense is rooted in pride over Amapiano’s global ascent and the validation of South African cultural exports like Tyla. However, it’s worth noting that part of this fervent support of her from her South African fans, also appears to be rooted in a kind of colorism. Tyla’s racial ambiguity may contribute to her perceived palatability for global acceptance and thus adamant defense of her—an observation that merits its own exploration in a separate article. Tyla’s rise has also been accompanied by waves of online vitriol directed at anyone who dares to question her identity and artistry.

And here lies the crux of Tyla’s struggle: the protective cocoon her team has wrapped her in, while well-intentioned, a strategic mistake. Shielding her from critique, particularly about her identity and how it is received, isolates her from the very discourse that could propel her career forward. This missed opportunity was evident when Tyla refused to address her identity directly in her Breakfast Club interview when the host, Charlamagne tha God, asked her explicitly about her ethnicity and heritage. By refusing to answer, she ceded control of the narrative surrounding her identity. That moment could have served as the avenue to which she could have proudly introduced her background to a global audience rather than leaving it open to interpretation or speculation. The history of Coloured identity in South Africa offers rich terrain for Tyla to offer a new layer to global Black identity. For Tyla, leaning into her different racial identities could offer a compelling counterpoint to the simplicity with which global audiences often approach race and identity.

Ultimately, it’s worth stepping back and acknowledging that much of this discourse—Tyla’s positioning in the so-called “diaspora wars,” debates over her identity, and the defensiveness of her fan base—is symptomatic of something deeper: the invention of race itself. Race, as we understand it, is not an inherent truth but a constructed imposition by colonial powers to divide, categorize, and control. It’s a legacy designed to fracture solidarity and redirect our energies inward rather than upward. Perhaps the real question isn’t whether Tyla is “Black enough” or whether Black Americans are justified in their skepticism. Instead, we might ask who benefits from these divisions and what they distract us from.

Tyla is undeniably beautiful and talented, and some may find it unfortunate that she has been transformed into an anthropological figure in the ongoing discourse on race and Blackness. But I believe this makes her artistry even more compelling. My hope for Tyla is that this conversation doesn’t break her, but instead empowers her to channel these tensions into something truly profound and groundbreaking in her artistry. This is fertile ground and it is all hers.

The post Tyla and the politics of ambiguity appeared first on Vuka News.

Syed Mohiudeen outside the Gqeberha High Court. Archive photo: Thamsanqa Mbovane

Former Metrorail provincial manager and acting PRASA CEO Mthuthuzeli Swartz and businessman Syed Nadir Mohiudeen are accused of stealing a Transnet railway line in the Eastern Cape.
The alleged theft happened in 2012, a case opened in early 2013, and the pair were arrested and charged in 2019.
In 2022, Mohiudeen filed an application for further particulars of the charges against him, which was dismissed.
He appealed the decision, which took 18 months before it was first heard by the High Court.

After a two-year delay, the criminal case involving the theft of 42km of railway line by a former top PRASA official will continue now that the Gqeberha High Court has dismissed a review application filed by his co-accused in May 2022.

The High Court review application was brought by Cape Town-based businessman Syed Nadir Mohiudeen, who sought further and better particulars of the case brought against him in the Gqeberha Commercial Crimes Court.

In the criminal case, Mohiudeen is charged with acting in concert with former PRASA acting CEO Mthuthuzeli Swartz to steal the Transnet-owned railway line between Sterkstroom and Maclear in the Eastern Cape.

At the time that the line was uplifted in late 2012 for the value of the steel, Swartz was the regional manager for Metrorail in the Western Cape. The state alleges Swartz and Mohidueen committed fraud or theft by selling off the right to uplift the line to Akisisa, a company owned by cousins Cedric and Adrian Samuels.

Swartz and Mohiudeen allegedly sought a R5-million payment from Akisisa for the right to uplift the rail, and received a R1.5-million deposit. The alleged fraud against Transnet, which owned the line, amounts to R59-million, which is the cost of its replacement.

Slow wheels of justice

The case of theft of the railway line was opened at the Elliot police station in February 2013 after Transnet security stopped Akisisa from uplifting more of the line.

Swartz and Mohiudeen were only arrested and charged six years later, in January and February 2019 respectively.

Three years later, after numerous delays and postponements, Mohiudeen filed a request for further and better particulars of the case against him.

His review filed on 23 May 2022 centred on:

the state failed to provide sufficient details on the nature of the agreement between him and Swartz;
the Eastern Cape court had no jurisdiction to hear the case because the agreement between himself and Swartz had originated in the Western Cape;
there was no document showing that he and Swartz misrepresented themselves to Cedric and Adrian Samuels;
the state needed to identify exactly who had made which representations to the Samuels cousins;
and the state needed to provide the details of R59-million loss suffered by Transnet.

More than seven months later, on 8 December 2022, Magistrate Nolitha Bara dismissed the request for further particulars. Following the December break, Mohiudeen filed for leave to appeal Bara’s ruling, and lodged his appeal with the Gqeberha High Court on 23 February 2023.

It took a year and six months before the matter was first heard by the High Court on 8 August, where Mohiudeen appeared without a lawyer, and asked the court for a postponement in order to get a lawyer.

When the High Court sat again on 28 November, he again had no lawyer and asked for a further postponement in order to obtain representation from the Legal Aid Board.

But acting High Court judges Tarryn Rossi and Albert Beyleveld noted his request to Legal Aid had already been turned down on the basis that his case had little prospect of success. Although this decision was subject to appeal, there was no guarantee legal assistance would be given to him.

Advocate for the Director of Public Prosecutions Bongo Mvinjelwa argued against a further postponement.

The court had previously warned against “Stalingrad” tactics, and with Mohiudeen having had his application and heads of argument prepared by lawyers, the judges decided to consider the case based on what Mohiudeen had set before the court.

In Rossi and Beyleveld’s subsequent judgment delivered on 5 December, they held that legal representation would not help his case further, nor would he be “unduly prejudiced in the presentation of his argument”.

High Court judgment

Judges Rossi and Beyleveld stated that a “crucial enquiry in review proceedings” was whether the judge or magistrate whose decision is being reviewed, prevented a fair trial “on the issues”. The complaint needed to be based on the methods or conduct or the proceedings, not the results. Additionally, the judge’s or magistrate’s reasons “must not” be confused with the conduct of the proceedings.

The judges noted that the superior court should “be slow to interfere” in proceedings and should generally confine its powers to “rare cases where grave injustice might otherwise result”.

Courts should also guard against the abuse of the section in the Criminal Procedures Act allowing an accused to request further particulars related to the charge “when the accused’s aim is not to advance the administration of justice but rather to obfuscate the issues”.

The judges stated that while Mohiudeen sought to argue a “grave irregularity and misdirection” of justice, he presented no factual basis for his argument.

Mohiudeen failed to state what grave injustice would result if the court were not to intervene or how he was “materially prejudiced” in a way which could not be corrected on review or appeal of the criminal case.

The judges also stated there was no mention in his arguments of how magistrate Nolitha Bara prevented him from having a fair trial of the issues.

Mohiudeen’s application was dismissed, with each party ordered to pay the costs of their application.

The criminal case in which Swartz and Mohiudeen are co-accused is set down in the Gqeberha Commercial Crimes Court for 10 to 14 March 2025.

The post Twelve years and counting: Rail theft case to continue after court victory for state appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Public procurement needs a lot of reform, says thorough new report appeared first on Corruption Watch.

The post Public procurement needs a lot of reform, says thorough new report appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Youth anti-corruption contribution acknowledged on IACD 2024 appeared first on Corruption Watch.

The post Youth anti-corruption contribution acknowledged on IACD 2024 appeared first on Vuka News.

The post How healthcare workers are being trained to meet the needs of rural communities appeared first on Spotlight.

The post How healthcare workers are being trained to meet the needs of rural communities appeared first on Vuka News.

It is taking years to bring relatively simple matters to a close in our courts. The Constitutional Court is not setting a good example when it comes to delivering judgments on time. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

South Africa’s justice system is almost paralysed. It is taking years to bring even simple matters to a close. This is a crisis that undermines the rule of law.

Here are a few examples that GroundUp has reported:

The case against former acting PRASA CEO Mthuthuzeli Swartz, who is charged with stealing 42km of railway line, has been dragging on for six years. He first appeared in the Gqeberha Commercial Crimes Court in January 2019. And that came six years after he was charged in 2013. There is still no end in sight to this saga.
We began reporting in August 2023 on a lawyer charged with slashing his neighbour’s tyre in 2020. We expected this straightforward case in the Cape Town Magistrates Court to be concluded quickly but it’s still ongoing.
The trial of 17 police officers for the death in custody of Regan Naidoo in 2018 was meant to start in October 2022. After umpteen postponements, during which time one of the accused died, the trial has now at last been set down for 30 June 2025. The accused face charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture and defeating the ends of justice. They were arrested in 2021 and have been out on bail ever since, much to the distress of the Naidoo family and Regan’s widow. You can see a list of the postponements here.
Last week GroundUp received two summonses for defamation from affiliates of the dodgy online trading platform Banxso. We have been advised that because of the backlog at the high court in Johannesburg, it’s unlikely the case will be in a courtroom before 2029.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is the case of a man who spent nine years in jail before charges against him were dropped. Even if he had been found guilty of the crime with which he was charged, he would have been unlikely to sit in prison this long.

We could list many more examples including ones that show the feeble pace of disciplinary processes at the Judicial Service Commission and Legal Practice Council.

If you get caught up in the justice system in South Africa expect to struggle for years and to spend a lot of money – with no guarantee of a satisfactory outcome.

Crippling issues

What are the reasons for this sorry situation? And what can be done to fix it? I asked a few lawyers and judges.

There is an acute shortage of judges. According to the latest annual report of the judiciary for 2022/23, there are 248 judges. This is a mere 2% more than in 2011/12, despite the population having grown by nearly 20% since then. Judges in the Cape and Gauteng high courts, the busiest ones in the country, are especially overworked.

One sitting judge told me it’s hard to get simple things done. Judges are frustrated that they still do not have autonomy over their administration. Their admin staff are employed by the Department of Public Service and Administration instead of directly by the Judiciary itself. This may seem a bureaucratic nuance, but it is a fundamental problem because staff are not accountable to the judges but to the government. There is consequently not a harmonious work relationship, at least in some courts.

One lawyer I spoke to says poor investigations by SAPS result in criminal cases being delayed, especially in magistrates’ courts where most of these cases are heard. Poor coordination of witnesses, lawyers and court staff leads to matters being postponed when people are not available.

This is compounded by overworked and inexperienced prosecutors and magistrates. In a recent case in which GroundUp was the applicant, a magistrate could only deliver her order to us several days after she wrote it because the court’s email and printers were not working. Her order is a mess. Even though it seems to be in our favour, it’s poorly written and missing something crucial, so we have decided to appeal a case we won; it is Kafkaesque. This magistrate, working in a dysfunctional court, is insufficiently trained to do her job.

Then there is the legacy of Dali Mpofu. He has perfected the use of Stalingrad tactics to delay justice for his clients, like Jacob Zuma. He has sought postponements on spurious grounds, initiated unlikely-to-succeed trials within trials, filed unnecessarily voluminous papers and cross-examined witnesses for absurdly long times. Other dodgy lawyers with dodgy clients are emulating him.

This kind of behaviour can only be stopped if judges become harsher on time-wasting tactics, refuse frivolous postponement requests, and insist advocates who abuse the system be disciplined, even disbarred.

There are too many judges who take too long to deliver judgments, often because they are overworked.

Even the Constitutional Court has not set a good example: judges are supposed to hand down judgments within three months but 32 of the 39 judgments the Constitutional Court reserved and handed down in the 2022/23 reporting year took longer than that. At the time of writing the court has five judgments that have been reserved longer than six months.

Lawyers I spoke to gave various reasons for why this might be. One suggestion strikes me as compelling: the court should more frequently order punitive costs against frivolous applications, of which there are far too many.

The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) is supposed to report regularly on late judgments. But its last report was published in May and only goes to the end of 2023. If even the OCJ is late, and with a report on late judgments at that, what hope is there that the rest of the creaking justice system can be fixed?

The author is the editor of GroundUp.

The post Our justice system is grinding to a halt appeared first on Vuka News.

Photo: AI-generated image (Dall-E) representing fentanyl on a map of South Africa. Image edited using Photoshop by GroundUp staff.

Recent drug tests have found people at South African clinics testing positive for fentanyl. This is a highly potent opioid drug which has caused tens of thousands of deaths in the US.
It is the first direct evidence that South Africa could be headed for a fentanyl crisis of its own, though more data is needed.
Researchers say that to address the problem, naloxone will need to be distributed widely. This is a medication which can reverse opioid overdose.

People in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have tested positive for fentanyl, a lab-made painkiller that has been at the centre of the opioid crisis in the United States (US). In the US, fentanyl has caused tens of thousands of deaths each year, often among people in their 20s and 30s. While the drug can be prescribed as a legal pharmaceutical, the US crisis is primarily driven by illegally-made fentanyl, distributed by drug cartels.

Up until recently, South Africa appeared to be insulated from the illicit fentanyl crisis. But preliminary research suggests the drug has made its way onto our streets. The study is still ongoing, but lead researcher Dr Alanna Bergman provided GroundUp with information about the findings so far.

Bergman is an American nursing scientist who received funding from Johns Hopkins University to import highly precise urine drug tests. In February, she began using them to test people at clinics in East London, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

The patients who were tested were people who had drug-resistant TB, and were being monitored as part of a separate study. Nurses suspected that many people in the group may have been using substances.

There are a few possible reasons that this may have been the case. One is that HIV rates are high among South Africans who inject drugs, due to the sharing of needles. In turn, HIV can compromise the immune system, making active TB more likely.

Bergman was asked to step in to conduct voluntary drug testing at the clinics. In line with the expectations of nurses, Bergman’s tests found that 60 out of 100 patients tested positive for illicit drugs of some kind and 32 tested positive for fentanyl specifically.

Medical records suggest that none of these patients had been prescribed legal fentanyl. Surprised by the findings, Bergman imported more tests, which she has been rolling out since October.

“I believe we now have 320 people that we’ve tested,” says Bergman, “The fentanyl rate remains high. Each day, a few more people are added to the sample. When I check in on it, it’s anywhere between 25 and 33 percent who are positive for fentanyl at any given time”.

Bergman’s research is some of the first direct testing showing fentanyl use in South Africa. But there have already been signs of a brewing problem. One is a largely overlooked 2021 study, which tested wastewater at several treatment plants in Gauteng. It found biological markers for fentanyl in the sewage at each plant.

A second is a recent string of police reports related to fentanyl (which Daily Maverick summarised here).

What is fentanyl?

Fentanyl is an opioid medication (in the same category as codeine and heroin). It was developed as a strong painkiller, and can be taken as a pill, patch, lozenge or via injection.

In South Africa, it is sometimes used for medical procedures, for instance, as an epidural during childbirth. It can also be prescribed for chronic pain that hasn’t been cured by weaker medications. This is similar to how it’s used elsewhere.

People can also use the drug to get high; it produces a feeling of euphoria and relaxation. Like other opioids, people who use it for long enough can become physically dependent. At 30 to 50 times the potency of heroin, it can be deadly. There is a fairly narrow difference between a dose that can get you high, and an amount that could kill you.

In the US, the crisis is primarily driven by illegally made fentanyl, which the US Drug Enforcement Agency alleges is made in China. These include pills (often referred to as Blues) as well as powders, which are snorted or injected. Canada has also faced an illicit fentanyl crisis.

People using fentanyl by mistake?

In North America, people who use drugs sometimes end up taking fentanyl unintentionally. In a study conducted in Canada, roughly three-quarters of people who tested positive for fentanyl were unaware that they had ever taken the drug. This is because fentanyl is often added to other substances, like heroin. One study says that this is presumably to “reduce the amount of heroin needed for each dose” (since fentanyl is so much more potent).

Researchers suspect that something similar may have happened in South Africa, though the extent is unclear.

Shaun Shelly, a South African drug policy researcher, told GroundUp: “I don’t think anyone in South Africa is going out to get fentanyl intentionally; who here knows what that is?” Instead, it is more likely that people who tested positive for fentanyl had been buying what they thought was heroin, says Shelly.

Bergman noted that some people who tested positive for fentanyl also had morphine in their system (heroin turns into morphine in the body). But she says that “most are positive for fentanyl only”. Bergman says that this could mean that in some cases, fentanyl has replaced the heroin supply, rather than being used as an adulterant. She emphasizes that more data will be needed to confirm this.

If fentanyl adulteration or replacement is taking place, it could be difficult to reverse. “Fentanyl is a subjectively different experience to heroin,” says Shelly. “People get used to fentanyl, and then that’s all that can get them to the state they want.”

Shelly says that when fentanyl is cut into heroin it often “clumps”, meaning that it isn’t evenly distributed across a batch. As a result, “somebody can take a dose of one supply and they’re ok with it, but the next dose could potentially kill them, because the fentanyl is much more concentrated in that second dose.”

Government needs to act fast

To prevent widespread overdosing, the government will need to act fast, according to researchers. Bergman says one basic step would be to distribute naloxone more widely. This is a drug which is used to reverse opioid overdose. It has no potential for abuse.

The World Health Organisation recommends distributing naloxone to anyone who is likely to witness an opioid overdose. This includes emergency workers as well as close family members or peers of people who use drugs.

“There’s also going to need to be a lot of public health safety education,” says Bergman. For example: “Don’t use [substances] alone. You need to use with a partner so that someone can reverse an overdose.”

“These are the most basic low hanging fruit,” she says.

The post Fentanyl is here: South Africans test positive for potent opioid appeared first on Vuka News.

It has been five years since Advocate Shamila Batohi was appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

South Africans want to see the masterminds of state capture in orange overalls and the NDPP is central to achieving this, but Batohi is running out of time, as is the country.

Batohi says she’s “not hiding away as a national director from very critical and honest assessments of where we are in dealing with state capture”.

Critics, however, say the NDPP’s state capture failures represent a deeper crisis. Batohi’s former deputy, Hermione Cronje, could no longer stay silent on this matter.

Her concern is shared by amaBhungane, who believe that we have to fix state accountability systems if we are to get off the path towards a failed state.

With this in mind, we sat down with Cronje and others who watch and worry over the NPA; we sourced some candid footage from internal NPA meetings; and we confronted Batohi with some hard questions.

The NPA needs skills and resources, but does it also need new leadership? Join us as we take a deep dive into these urgent issues.

The post “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories” – amaBhungane’s first documentary appeared first on amaBhungane.

The post “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories” – amaBhungane’s first documentary appeared first on Vuka News.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) emphatically rejects the government’s plan to implement early retirement initiatives for public servants, which was announced during the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). This cost-cutting measure, aimed at reducing the public sector wage bill, threatens service delivery and jeopardises the livelihoods of thousands of working-class families.

The National Treasury has allocated R11 billion to fund the programme over the next two fiscal years, targeting approximately 30,000 employees for early retirement. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has attempted to justify this initiative by stating it will safeguard critical skills and avoid being a “free-for-all.”

SAFTU rejects this programme for the following reasons: The public service is already having a massive vacancy rate. The Home Affairs Department alone has only 37% of what it requires to make the country’s immigration policy functional. The Department of Health has 40,000 vacancies. The South African police service has up to 60,000 vacancies. As a result of these vacancies, South Africa’s ratios of public sector per to the population continue to deteriorate. For example:

a) South Africa’s police-to-population ratio is approximately 1:413, meaning there is one police officer for every 413 citizens (based on recent SAPS statistics). The UN recommends a police-to-population ratio of 1:450 as a general guideline.

b) As of 2019, South Africa’s doctor-to-population ratio was approximately 0.79 per 1,000 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 1 doctor per 1,000 people.

c) South Africa has 1.52 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least ten psychiatrists per 100,000. The situation is even more severe in rural areas, where the ratio drops to as low as 0.03 per 100,000.

d) In South Africa, the ratio of correctional services staff to inmates is estimated at 1:25 in some facilities. Some of our correctional services facilities have up to 148.5% overcrowding. Prison Studies Penal Reform InternationalThe United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) recommends ratios closer to 1:3 or 1:5 to effectively manage rehabilitation programs, maintain security, and uphold prisoner rights . Penal Reform International.

e) South Africa’s pupil-to-teacher ratio in public schools is approximately 29.8 learners per teacher by 2021. The global average pupil-to-teacher ratio in primary education is around 23. Reducing the public sector by 30,000 will make this situation worse. This proposition can only be made by a government that has lost touch with reality. It is a statement made by an uncaring state that has long abandoned the working class’s interests. Lastly, it’s a statement made by people who long contracted out of the public service who and their families receive better services in the private sector health, who have bodyguards and private security in their homes and whose children received education in the private sector.

SAFTU disputes the lie repeatedly told to the country that the public servants are earning too much. It is the higher echelons at the level of the Director Generals and the politicians who are earning way above their counterparts, including when compared to the first world leaders. This situation has worsened because of the so-called Government of National Unity, which has 32 Cabinet Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers. With a much larger population, Germany has 16 federal ministries, and the United Kingdom typically maintains around 20 prominent cabinet positions.

SAFTU warns that the plan to cut 30,000 public servants will result in the loss of experienced professionals, the erosion of institutional knowledge, and further strain on already overstretched government services.

Public servants are the backbone of critical sectors, including healthcare, education, and social welfare. Encouraging early retirements will likely worsen the capacity crisis in government departments, particularly in rural and under-resourced areas, leaving vulnerable communities to suffer the consequences.

SAFTU Strongly disputes the narrative that austerity measures targeting workers can rejuvenate the public service. True revitalisation requires investment in:

● Improved working conditions,

● Filling critical vacancies to meet the growing needs of the population,

● Addressing corruption and wasteful expenditure,

● Investing in skills development and youth employment initiatives without displacing existing workers and

● Strengthening public sector capacity to ensure quality service delivery for all South Africans. The Federation asserts that the root causes of the ballooning wage bill are not the salaries of hardworking public servants but the systemic mismanagement of public funds, corruption and prioritisation of elite interest over the needs of the majority.

The post SAFTU REJECTS GOVERNMENT’S EARLY RETIREMENT PLAN FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS appeared first on Vuka News.

The May 2024 elections have ushered in a grand multi-party coalition led by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), with additional support from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and Patriotic Alliance (PA). For purposes of manufacturing public consent, it has been mischievously named a ‘government of national unity’ (GNU). Quickly enough, radicals correctly coined it the government of neo-liberal unity.

For working-class South Africans and marginalised rural communities, this development represents a political consolidation that is deeply concerning. It signals not just the failure of the ANC to transform society and manage the state but also the ascendancy of conservative, liberal, and market-oriented forces into significant positions of power and influence. This neo-liberal coalition realignment prioritises the interests of elites over those of the working class and marginalised communities. The political terrain in South Africa is becoming increasingly hostile to transformative policies aimed at addressing inequality, land reform, and rural democracy.

The ANC’s failures and the rise of conservatives

The ANC’s long-standing inability to transform South African society and its failure to effectively manage the state paved the way for this political crisis. Over the past three decades, the ANC has not delivered on key promises of land redistribution, job creation, and improved public services. Its neo-liberal policies, epitomised by enabling financialisation of the economy, austerity measures and corporatisation of the state, have deepened inequality and alienated its traditional base of support.

The electoral losses suffered by the ANC in May 2024 left it unable to govern alone, forcing it into an alliance with parties that represent the antithesis of progressive and democratic values. The DA, with its liberal economic agenda and resistance to structural change, now holds key ministries, including agriculture, led by John Steenhuisen. The IFP has also gained a foothold, securing the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department. The inclusion of the FF+ and PA further cements a government intent on consolidating the status quo and resisting transformation.

Minister of Agriculture and leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen and his wife posing for pictures during the opening of the GNU parliament. Photo by Chris Gilili

IFP, chiefs, and the erosion of rural democracy

One of the most alarming developments under the GNU is the enhanced power of traditional chiefs, bolstered by the IFP’s control of Cogta, whose minister, an IFP leader, has already begun championing the role of traditional leaders in municipal governance, development, and land administration. Chiefs are now included in government imbizos, further entrenching their influence and public profile. The Zulu king is accorded unprecedented public prestige and power, already preceded by the erasure of the apartheid collaborationist and violent history and role of Gatsha Buthelezi.

This consolidation of power is a direct threat to rural democracy, particularly in the former homelands where vulnerable groups depend on equitable land rights and democratic governance. Chiefs have historically been complicit in undermining the security of tenure of women and other marginalised groups. Under the GNU, the chiefs are emboldened, with significant state resources being directed toward their institutions. These include subsidies for traditional councils, stipends for traditional leaders, and funding for tribal courts.

The IFP-led Cogta ministry is poised to resist efforts to secure rural democracy, particularly reforms that challenge the power of chiefs over rural governance, land administration and tribal courts. Vulnerable rural communities, particularly women, will bear the brunt of this consolidation of power, as chiefs deepen their control over resources and governance structures.

Resistance to Land Reform

The GNU is a coalition united not by a vision for transformation but by a commitment to preserving the status quo. Nowhere is this clearer than in the domain of land reform. The DA, through John Steenhuisen’s Department of Agriculture, has already signaled its opposition to radical land reform. The DA’s policy prioritises market-based solutions that have historically failed to address the dispossession of black South Africans.

A recent leaflet by the Women on Farms Project, issued in June 2024, criticises the DA’s policies for undermining farmworkers’ rights and promoting the interests of commercial farmers. This Stellenbosch-based feminist NGO, which has been advocating for farmworkers’ rights since 1996, has criticised policies and leadership approaches they perceive as neglecting the fundamental rights and needs of these communities. One primary concern highlighted by WFP is the DA’s historical resistance to progressive labour reforms, such as the national minimum wage. WFP has accused the DA of being “anti-worker,” pointing to their support for agribusiness interests over the rights of labourers. This tension surfaced prominently during a 2024 protest where farmworkers called for a ban on hazardous pesticides and expressed dismay at Steenhuisen’s appointment as agriculture minister in the government of national unity. Protesters argued that his policies fail to adequately address the long-term health and environmental effects of pesticide use and do not prioritise farmworkers’ safety.​

Women on Farms are calling for the German government to play a leadership role within Europe to ensure there is a Europe-wide, legislated ban on the production and export of prohibited pesticides. Photo by Vincent Lali

WFP’s critiques extend to broader DA policy frameworks, which they argue focus disproportionately on business interests while overlooking the socio-economic realities of vulnerable groups like women farmworkers. These critiques suggest a deepening divide between farmworker advocacy groups like WFP and the DA’s leadership, reflecting ongoing debates about whose interests South Africa’s policies and governance structures should prioritise. This is part of a broader challenge in addressing inequality in sectors reliant on marginalised labor.

The inclusion of the FF+ in the GNU further entrenches resistance to land reform. The party represents the interests of white commercial farmers who remain opposed to meaningful agrarian transformation. The result is a government that is actively hostile to addressing the historical injustices of land dispossession.

Neoliberalism in Action

The GNU represents a convergence of ANC and DA neo-liberalism, now formalised in working streams involving the private sector. These working streams focus on sectors like logistics, energy, and transport, where private capital is increasingly dictating government priorities. Under the guise of ‘cleaning up’ inefficiencies, these initiatives prioritise privatisation and outsourcing, further marginalising the working class.

The Cost to Working-Class Communities

For working-class communities, the GNU represents a direct assault on their interests. The consolidation of conservative and neoliberal forces within government will exacerbate inequality and entrench poverty. The DA’s approach to public works, for instance, emphasises outsourcing and privatisation, sidelining public sector unions and eroding job security.

The resistance to rural democracy under the IFP-led COGTA will deepen the marginalisation of rural communities, particularly women, who remain disproportionately affected by patriarchal land governance systems. The lack of commitment to radical land and agrarian reform will ensure that the economic exclusion of the rural poor continues unabated.

Building a Counterforce

Despite this bleak political landscape, there is a growing need to build a counterforce that challenges the GNU’s conservative agenda. Rural people’s struggles in Xolobeni, Mtubatuba, Marikana, Limpopo, Ludtzville and elsewhere show that rural people are not folding hands. They are standing up and resisting. Social movements, unions, and progressive NGOs must build from this resistance. They must come together to resist the consolidation of neoliberal and traditionalist power. Campaigns for land reform, rural democracy, and public sector accountability must be intensified. The working class cannot afford to wait for the GNU to fail; it must actively organise to create alternatives.

The rise of conservative and liberal forces in South Africa’s government mirrors global trends, but it also provides an opportunity for progressive forces to articulate a bold vision for the future. This vision must centre on the principles of putting people before profits, meeting basic needs, redistribution, equality, democracy, and social justice – principles that the GNU will find hard to abide by, and that the majority yearn for.

The working class must rise to the challenge of defending its rights and rolling back the rise of liberal and conservative forces who are hegemonising the GNU and our politics. If not, the GNU’s agenda will deepen inequality, entrench elite power, and erode the democratic gains of the past three decades.

The post GNU, a setback for the working class and rural democracy appeared first on Vuka News.

As Ghana heads to the polls, its democratic promise fades amid economic turmoil, corruption, and disillusionment, leaving voters to choose between two flawed options.

The monument of independence in Accra. © Truba7113 / Shutterstock.

On December 7, 2024, Ghanaians will go to the polls to exercise what would have been their power if their nation’s democracy had accountability and good governance. In the absence of those key elements, citizens are set to empower a president and 275 parliamentarians who will likely continue the race to the bottom—a trend that has been noted in recent Afrobarometer surveys and good governance indices emphasizing Ghana’s declining democratic fortunes.

Saturday’s election will be the ninth uninterrupted time Ghanaians go to the polls since the return to multiparty democracy and the introduction of the current constitution in 1992. The two main political parties in this election—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)—have each won four of the previous eight contests.

The NDC began the eight-year cycle in 1992, when its founder and charismatic military ruler, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, hung his uniform and put on civilian attire to campaign for the people’s mandate—after having seized power in a coup in December 1981 and held on to it till 1992. Following his electoral victory that year, Rawlings was reelected in 1996 and stepped down after the two four-year mandates allowable by the constitution.

Following this, the NPP, led by John Agyekum Kufuor, won the 2000 election, occasioning the first power transfer from one elected president to another since Ghana gained independence from Britain in 1957. Kufuor won his second term in 2004, and when his term ended in 2008, Ghanaians felt the need to switch.

Then came Professor John Evans Atta Mills, who led the NDC to win the 2008 election. Atta Mills campaigned for a second term in the December 2012 election but died four months before the polls opened. His vice president, John Dramani Mahama, succeeded him as the NDC’s candidate. Mahama won the 2012 election, becoming the fourth substantive president of Ghana’s Fourth Republic and the fourth successive “John” to occupy that office.

The dynasty of the Johns ended in 2016 when Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the NPP’s candidate, who had lost the 2008 and 2012 elections, upstaged John Mahama’s attempt at a second term and the NDC’s desire to break the eight-year cycle of the two dominant parties. Nana Akufo-Addo won a second term in 2020 and will hand over leadership to the winner of Saturday’s election after a rather disappointing show.

The NPP has its umbilical cord attached to the political tradition that opposed Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and his socialist-inclined ideology. The party describes itself as a “center-right and liberal conservative party.” The NDC, on the other hand, was formed by Rawlings and co-opted a great number of the pro-Nkrumah loyalists following the fragmentation of Nkrumah’s political base that followed the long ban on the independence leader’s party by various military regimes. The NDC professes social democratic ideals.

That said, the ideological differences between the two parties exist largely on paper—in practice, they are indistinguishable. They compete with promises of social interventions and populist policies with immediate gratification that can translate into votes. They also enjoy an almost unbreakable duopoly because the two biggest ethnic groups in Ghana are two parties’ core support: the NPP commands a massive following from the Asante and Twi-speaking ethnic groups, while the Ewe ethnic group backs the NDC.

Credible predictions point to a victory for the NDC in the 2024 election, and there might be more to this than the usual tendency of Ghanaians to oscillate between the two barely tolerable alternatives every eight years. All indicators of good governance point to a bleak performance of the NPP under Akufo-Addo, and Ghanaians may be seeking respite from the suffocation they have endured, especially in Akufo-Addo’s second term.

Ghana’s economy has suffered the worst crisis in living memory, with inflation jumping to 54.1 percent in December 2022. Some Ghanaians believed the reality was worse than the government statistician’s estimate. When Akufo-Addo became president in January 2017, Ghanaians needed four cedis to purchase one US dollar. Now they need 16 cedis to get a dollar. In an economy that depends heavily on imports, traders must constantly cough up more cedis to get foreign currencies for their imports. And since they’re not running charities, the consumer bears the brunt of the depreciation of the local currency.

For the first time, Ghana defaulted on its internal and external debt repayment and was compelled to make another unholy pilgrimage to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for policy credibility and economic stability. That ritual journey to the IMF, the eighteenth since independence, was accompanied by domestic and foreign debt restructuring, which scarred many investors in securities and government bonds. Pensioners picketed at the Ministry of Finance for weeks because they could not access their savings. While the country reeled in debt, the president’s cousin who headed the finance ministry, Ken Ofori-Atta, was laughing to the bank—with his company providing financial services to the government and quietly cashing out with each subsequent loan.

Unfortunately for Ghana’s economy, it doesn’t seem the next president will provide an immediate remedy. The current vice president and presidential candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, was touted as an economic whiz kid before the NPP took over in 2017. Tellingly, he has fled from his area of expertise in this election and is instead focusing his campaign on touting his initiatives related to digitalization. That is a tacit admission of the NPP’s failure on the economy, giving the NDC an unchallenged playing field to woo Ghanaians with its policies. The NDC, on the other hand, is campaigning with the vague policy of introducing a 24-hour economy. If that means anything, the party struggles to explain it to voters.

Apart from the economy, whoever wins Saturday’s election would face the daunting task of restoring sanity to Ghana’s battered democratic institutions. The Akufo-Addo administration instituted an aggravated assault on the already shaky pillars of Ghana’s democracy. Even though Akufo-Addo won his election on the promise to fight corruption, his predecessor’s worst performance in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index was his best. Under him, Ghana’s press freedom ranking, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, fell from 30th in 2021 to 62nd in 2023.

Ghana’s judicial impartiality score was 94.1 points in Mo Ibrahim’s Index of African Governance when Akufo-Addo became president in 2017. In 2024, that score fell to 68.3.

In June 2024, the World Bank downgraded the performance of Ghana’s Audit Service from “C” to “D,” citing deficiencies in its independence compared to international standards. It did not surprise Ghanaians, because President Akufo-Addo hounded Ghana’s auditor-general from office in 2020, a move the Supreme Court would later declare unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court waited for three years to decide on the matter, when the auditor-general had already reached his mandatory retirement age. That case, per the Supreme Court’s examples in recent pro-NPP cases, could have been decided in three weeks. The delay further deepened concerns that the courts, packed with Akufo-Addo loyalists, do not dispense justice impartially.

Ghanaians are generally losing faith in their nation’s democratic institutions, according to recent findings by Afrobarometer. Afrobarometer’s 2024 report notes that 82 percent of Ghanaians surveyed said the nation was headed in the wrong direction.

In light of this, one might expect John Mahama to campaign on the message that Ghana needs a complete “reset.” The record of his one-term presidency, however, does not inspire hope that the country’s direction would change under his watch. High levels of corruption characterized his presidency and partly accounted for his defeat. His administration presided over the worst power crisis in recent times. During his presidency, Ghana turned to the IMF for economic salvation.

Though the Mahama era was more tolerant of dissent, and the media and civil society operated without fear, many Ghanaians think a reset requires more than that. Ghana’s vibrant media and civil society appear fatigued. And some Ghanaians believe the country probably needs another military regime to reset the country.

Ghana is often considered a gold-standard democracy among African countries, and its decline does not portend well for the general stability of the West African sub-region, which is already rocked by a wave of military regimes that appear to enjoy widespread support from the masses. Unlike citizens of the coup-ravaged Francophone countries who see the coup makers as heroes standing up to neocolonial powers, Ghanaians see their predicaments as the failure of leadership. They are losing hope in democracy.

The voices of the people do not appear to matter. For the past eight years, the media, civil society, and other groups have sustained a campaign against illegal mining, which has polluted major rivers and destroyed forest reserves and cocoa farms, but the destruction persists because politicians are involved.

Protests do not yield much either. They are met with stiffer punishments from the state. Recently, authorities arrested and detained protesters against illegal mining,  which human rights activists have condemned as arbitrary. Mahama and Bawumia are known for tolerance, but even in the best of times, Ghanaians believe their politicians will always have their way, even if the people say otherwise.

These developments have attracted keen attention from the international community, especially as Ghanaians prepare for another acrimonious contest. For instance, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a policy in October this year to “restrict US visas for any individual responsible for undermining democracy in Ghana.” The presidential candidates have signed a peace pact ahead of Saturday’s polls, but the fear of violence remains a major concern for watchers of Ghana’s democracy.

The 2024 election, however, presents intriguing firsts in Ghana’s history. Dr. Bawumia is the first Muslim to lead a major political party in the Christian-dominated Ghana. He is also the first “outsider” to lead the NPP, which is dominated by the Akan ethnic group.

The two leading candidates in this election are from economically disadvantaged northern Ghana, another first. In the advent of the Fourth Republic, the two main political parties looked to the north for vice presidential candidates to balance the national equations. Mahama broke the jinx in 2012 when President Mills died, and he stepped into his shoes. Dr. Bawumia came later when he won his party’s primaries in 2023.

Mahama’s father and Bawumia’s father were the first and second ministers of Ghana’s northern region in the First Republic under Kwame Nkrumah. That their sons are making history on the national stage should have generated excitement, but the gloom, hardship, and hopelessness of the nation have extinguished the fervor that should have greeted this election.

Former President Mahama has only one term to serve if he wins Saturday’s election. Without the need to look toward the next election, a second Mahama presidency could allow him to implement tough policies. He could also be less accountable than in his first term, since he will not need to win the people’s mandate again.

Dr. Bawumia, who has been Akufo-Addo’s vice president, is tainted with the sins of the regime from which Ghanaians need respite. He could be his own man and do things differently, but some Ghanaians fear his victory will shield elements of Akufo-Addo’s administration from accountability.

Whichever way Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections go, the prospects are bleak. As I said in my 2019 book, The Fourth John: Reign, Rejection and Rebound, Ghanaians are presented with either death by firing squad or death by hanging as they once again vote in a democracy that is growing but not maturing.

The post Growing but not maturing appeared first on Vuka News.