Author: Ground Up
By Raymond Joseph Former National Lotteries Commission chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba personally recommended a R4.8-million grant, supposedly for a rural soccer tournament, to a company of which his wife was a director. R3-million of this money helped buy a luxury home for the NLC’s former board chairperson. Letwaba told investigators that neither he or his wife were aware of the funding application, according to a report by auditors SkX. Former National Lotteries Commission chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba recommended that a R4.8-million grant for a rural soccer tournament be given to a company in which both his wife and his…
By Zimbali Mncube The first two articles in this series focused on defining a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG) and explaining its impacts and the evolving debate about its implementation. One of the most contested issues in the debate is whether or not South Africa can afford it. That’s the topic we tackle in this last article in the series. Debates about the affordability of a UBIG tend to focus on the “gross” financing costs – the amount of money the government needs to set aside to pay the grants at the outset – and the fiscal trade-offs that would have to be made. These…
By Daniel Steyn and Mkhuseli Sizani In the rural Eastern Cape school dropout rates are extremely high. Primary school teaching is also often of a haphazard quality and there is a lack of focus on early childhood development. In the space of 20 years, one organisation has established four pre-schools, an extensive e-learning programme, an independent high school, and a job skills and entrepreneurship programme. Lihle Mbikwana grew up in Xhora Mouth in the rural Eastern Cape. As a child, his walk to school was more than an hour long, which in that area is considered short. The teachers had to drive three…
By Tariro Washinyira Trade union federations have rejected proposals by the National Treasury and the Presidency for alternative grants to replace the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. The proposals, dated July 2022 by the Presidency and August 2022 by the National Treasury, include a targeted job-seeker grant and a caregiver grant to replace the R350-a-month SRD grant. An untargeted grant, such as a universal Basic Income Grant, is rejected as being too expensive. In a statement, the South Africa Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) dismissed the proposals. The union said as many as 62% of current beneficiaries of the SRD grant would be excluded from the…
By Mosima Rafapa It has been a year since GroundUp visited train stations in Mamelodi Gardens, Pienaarspoort, Greenview and Denneboom. The stations were badly vandalised and unkept. PRASA, at the time, said these stations would be operating by March 2022 but it would appear that work only began in May this year. Many of the informal traders who relied on business from train commuters say they are battling to make ends meet. The deadline set by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) for when trains will be fully operational in Pretoria has come and gone. It’s been a year…
By Joseph Chirume Zimbabweans who have returned to their old country after working and studying for years in South Africa are battling to rebuild their lives. Most were forced to make the move because of the South African government’s announcement that after 12 years it is now scrapping the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP). Returnees we spoke to have good memories of life in South Africa, the friends and places they have left behind, and the plans they had for their children’s futures. “It is painful to leave a place you have heavily invested in, and to be forced back into a country…
By Alex Densmore South Africa faces a power generation crisis. Directly related to this crisis is a chronic need for clean and safe power in informal settlements. Approximately two million households live in communities without formal grid connections. As highlighted in GroundUp’s recent article on the Umbane project, sustaining affordable energy services in these off-grid settlements is extremely difficult, especially without any ongoing subsidy support from government. But it appears the article has generated misconceptions about our approach, and we therefore feel it important to draw attention to the broader situation and efforts to address it, while also contextualising our own challenges so…
By James Stent 1. Revenue from train fares has plummeted while the state subsidy has skyrocketed Nothing quite conveys the disastrous state of PRASA like graph 1 below. What it shows is this: In 2008, PRASA collected R1.2-billion in fares (blue line). Thirteen years later, in 2021, it collected R178-million. Yet over that period PRASA’s government funding (green line) mushroomed. Its operating subsidy ballooned from R2.6-billion to R8.8-billion. Its capital subsidy grew from R282-million to R2.9-billion (with a high of R4.3-billion in 2019/2020). In the graph, total revenue looks healthy. But PRASA includes the money that it receives from the government…
By Ashraf Hendricks As Metrorail’s service in Cape Town has deteriorated, one train has consistently run on time and safely for over 60 years: the Mini Blue Train in Mouille Point. On Wednesday, about 30 protesters from activist groups #UniteBehind held a protest at this train to highlight the breakdown of commuter rail. To date, there have been no major reports of corruption, theft or arson at the Mini Blue Train. At R35, the five-minute train ride is a little expensive — perhaps because there’s no government subsidy — and the circular track leaves you where you started, but that’s still…
By Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik Qandu Qandu informal settlement residents in Khayelitsha say they have feel duped by a project that pairs a solar energy company with the Umbane project led by professors at UCT and Exeter University. The participants say they cannot afford the monthly usage fees for solar power in addition to the installation fees. They also claim they were promised start-up funding for businesses and they are now stuck with solar appliances they bought and cannot afford to run. Shack dwellers in Qandu Qandu informal settlement in Khayelitsha are unhappy and disillusioned by an empowerment initiative, the Umbane project, which…
By Chris Gilili Several Gauteng learners from Soshanguve Technical High School have built a one-of-a-kind solar powered train. Considering the country’s energy crisis and rising fuel costs, they started working on the locomotive in 2020. The train is powered by a solar panel, has power sockets and a TV screen. It currently runs at 30 kilometres per hour. Hard work and sacrifice have paid off for several learners from Soshanguve Technical High School of automotive specialisation. They designed and built a one-of-a-kind solar powered train locomotive. Fondly named Modjadji, after the Rain Queen of the people of Limpopo, it is blue…
By Denise Rosemary Nicholson On 1 September 2022, the Copyright Amendment Bill was passed by the National Assembly with 163 votes for and 45 votes against the Bill. There were no abstentions. The Bill will now go to the National Council of Provinces. It is a progressive Bill that will afford South Africans rights similar to those enjoyed by people in many countries around the world, and yet four parties – the Democratic Alliance, the Freedom Front Plus, the African Christian Democratic Party, and the Economic Freedom Fighters – rejected the Bill. Originally published for public comment in 2015, it has undergone various…
By James Stent On Wednesday, the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) leaked discussion documents from the Presidency and the National Treasury. The IEJ criticised the documents for dismissing a Universal Basic Income Grant and for suggesting replacing the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant with conditional grant measures. The two documents – July’s Putting South Africa to Work from the Presidency and the National Treasury’s August response to this paper – suggest that the government wants to pursue a system that would make grants conditional on actively seeking employment or on being the primary caregiver, rather than a universal basic income grant (UBIG). These discussion documents…
By Steve Kretzmann Failing sewerage systems in Mpumalanga municipalities are pouring filthy water onto streets and into the Vaal River catchment system. In some municipalities not only sewage treatment plants but also water purification plants, where water is prepared for drinking, are failing. The catchment system supplies the Vaal Dam, which supplies water to Gauteng. Johan Lotter and his parents moved into neighbouring houses in Standerton 15 years ago, planning to spend the rest of their lives there. Located in a cul-de-sac on the banks of the Vaal River, the houses seemed ideal for Lotter, who had taken early retirement after…
By Vuyisiwe Mahafu The possibility that a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) could be introduced in South Africa has sparked a lot of debate over the last two years. Its advocates say this grant could address our extremely high rates of poverty and ensure that all people have an adequate standard of living. Its detractors say it would bankrupt the country. In this three-part series from the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), we cover the basics of a basic income grant. In our first article, we gave an overview of what a universal basic income guarantee is and what transformative potential it could have.…
By Tania Broughton The High Court has ruled that the exploration rights granted to Impact Africa and Shell along the Wild Coast were unlawful. The judges said there was “no meaningful consultation” with interested and affected parties prior to the award of the right. The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy had also failed to take into account factors such as community cultural rights and environmental harm. The Eastern Cape High Court has ruled that the exploration rights granted by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Affairs to Impact Africa and Shell were unlawful – putting an end to any…
By Carilee Osborne South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, with extremely high rates of poverty and unemployment. Large numbers of people are excluded from the economy without the means to ensure that their basic needs are met. Recently there has been a lot of debate about the introduction of a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) in South Africa and its potential to address poverty and ensure that all people have an adequate standard of living. But what the introduction of a basic income grant means and what it looks like is not always clear. In this three-part…
By Marecia Damons Delays with the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant payments are expected in August, says SASSA Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu gazetted new regulations raising the income threshold for the means test from R350 to R624 per month. The department had proposed that the “Covid” grant continues while legislative matters are ironed out for a basic income support. Beneficiaries of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant may face delays with their August payment after new regulations for the grant were implemented. Earlier this month, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu gazetted changes to the regulations of the R350 grant.…
By Raymond Joseph Embattled National Lotteries Commission chief operations officer Phillemon Letwaba has resigned with immediate effect, just weeks before he was due to appear before a disciplinary hearing to answer charges of abusing his position to enrich himself and his family. The board of the NLC is yet to accept Letwaba’s sudden resignation. “The National Lotteries Commission would like to place on the record that the Chief Operations Officer of the NLC, Mr. Phillemon Letwaba has expressed his wish to resign from the NLC with immediate effect. The matter is under the consideration of the board and the Acting Commissioner,”…
By James Stent and Nathan Geffen Between 11 and 13 August, the hashtag #KnowYourNationalLottery trended to the number one position on Twitter in South Africa. How? There was nothing in the news that suggested this hashtag should trend. When we looked at the tweets, many, perhaps most, appeared to be recycling very similar text, espousing the benefits to society of buying lottery tickets. These included, for example, that lottery money goes to good causes and that spaza shops receive commission for the sales they make and that this was a good way to spend R5. The tweets, while seldom precisely identical to each…
By Tania Broughton The Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Legal Practice Act that only allows South African citizens or permanent residents to be admitted as lawyers is constitutional. Foreign law graduates who have lived, studied and completed articles and pupilage in South Africa do not qualify. The court said non-citizens have no rights under Section 22 of the Constitution which entrenches the rights of citizens to choose their trade occupation and profession. In a blow to foreign law graduates who have lived, studied and completed articles and pupilage in South Africa, the Constitutional Court has ruled that…
By Neil Thomas Stacey South Africa has committed to setting up hydrogen technology to move away from fossil fuels like coal and oil. Depending on how it is produced, hydrogen can eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. But new research has found that leaked hydrogen produces indirect “greenhouse gas” effects on a scale far higher than previously thought. Hydrogen leakages are inevitable, and they become more likely as we use hydrogen in smaller applications. This means we should be very selective about how we make and use hydrogen. South Africa has announced sweeping plans to develop its hydrogen industry, positioning itself to become…
By Geoffrey Allsop The Equality Court has ordered a number of people to apologise to the Chinese community and to pay R50,000 to a Chinese old age home. Comments posted on the Facebook pages of Carte Blanche TV programme and the Karoo Donkey Sanctuary were found to be hate speech. The Chinese Association of Gauteng identified 12 people who had made discriminatory statements and brought the case to the Equality Court. On 28 June, the Gauteng High Court (sitting as the Equality Court) found that comments made about Chinese people on Facebook constitute hate speech in terms of the Promotion of…
National Lotteries Commission COO Phillemon Letwaba has gone to court to have a forensic report into Lottery corruption declared illegal. This is the second attempt to stop a probe into alleged Lottery corruption. Letwaba claims that Abel Dlamini, the executive chairman of SkX protiviti, is biased and has a conflict of interest. SkX was commissioned by the Lottery to probe internal corruption. In the court application, Letwaba said that the non-profit company in which Dlamini’s apparent relatives are listed as directors, received an almost R15-million grant from the Lottery soon after SkX was appointed. He is concerned that “the conspectus of…
By Tania Broughton Nhlanhla Christopher Makhoba was dismissed from Clover in 2017 after posting on EyeWitness News’s Facebook site: “Whites mz be all killed”. The Durban Labour Court and the CCMA have upheld the dismissal. The court and the CCMA found the defense that the post was done after hours and the employee was unaware of the company’s social media policy irrelevant. “That is no excuse for calling for people to be murdered,” the CCMA commissioner said. An employee at Clover has failed in his bid to be reinstated to his job after he was dismissed for a Facebook posting in…