Author: Ground Up
By Liezl Human Commuter activist organisation #UniteBehind says Parliament has ignored its complaints against six MPs, including transport minister Fikile Mbalula, implicated in state capture and corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The organisation first laid a formal complaint in August 2022 to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests, referring to article 10 of Parliament’s Code of Conduct. This lays out the process of investigating a complaint. #UniteBehind wants the Joint Committee to summon the six MPs to account for their involvement in PRASA’s “slide into almost total ruin”. The organisation wants the committee to take disciplinary action…
By Raymond Joseph GroundUp has learnt that Jodi Scholtz will take over as Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission early next year. Her current title is chief operating officer of the Department of Trade, Industry and Commerce. She has been lead administrator since February 2020 of the South African Bureau of Standards after it was placed under administration. Chief operating officer Jodi Scholtz of the Department of Trade, Industry and Commerce (DTIC) will take over as Commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission early next year. Her appointment is yet to be officially announced, but GroundUp has confirmed it with three different sources with…
Many residents and fishers of Saldanha Bay voiced their support for the Karpowership deal, saying it will ease the burden of load shedding and create jobs. Karpowership’s first application was refused by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) due to “gaps” in their environmental assessment and lack of proper public participation. Environmental NGO Green Connection, who oppose the deal, complained that Karpowership did not directly reach out to fishers. Karpowership told GroundUp it would supply hundreds of jobs and add 1,220MW of power to the country’s grid. At a public meeting held in Saldanha Bay as part…
By James Stent A PRASA investigation has uncovered a multi-million rand scam involving bogus insurance claims. The scam was uncovered because of the honesty of one of PRASA’s lowest-paid people. Zethembiso Dladla came forward after an additional R67,000 was deposited into her account. The payment was supposedly for an insurance claim in which Dladla was injured while using a train. But as she told PRASA, she hadn’t used the train, wasn’t injured and had never put in a claim. In its most recent annual report, for 2021/2022, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) reported a “flood of fictitious personal…
By Raymond Joseph The Special Investigating Unit raided the office of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) in East London on Wednesday morning. Documents and computers were seized in relation to an investigation into a corrupt scheme run by former board member Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who died earlier this year. The scheme allegedly worked by getting newly set up non-profit companies to obtain NLC funding, which was then channelled to a family member. Documents and computers were seized by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) during a raid on the East London offices of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) as part of an investigation…
By Anton van Zyl and Maanda Bele “Do you think it will last until December?” This is Edward’s* main concern. Two months ago he invested R500 in a new get-rich-quick scheme, Gollong Investment. It was all the money he had, but he was desperate to try something to make some extra cash. After just 40 days, Edward, from Thohoyandou in Limpopo, received a notification that his balance with Gollong was now R800, showing a welcome R300 profit. The investment generated a 60% return, not bad going for just over a month. Edward was so impressed with how his “investment” had performed, that instead…
By Ezekiel Kekana PRASA says 396 Shosholoza Meyl train carriages nationally will be scrapped and sold. 155 carriages have been parked for years in Pretoria’s Bosman Street station and are “obsolete.” A “retirement” strategy has been approved to dispose of all the obsolete assets of PRASA. Only two Shosholoza Meyl routes are currently operating. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says 396 Shosholoza Meyl carriages, most of its fleet, are “obsolete” and will soon be scrapped or sold. At Pretoria’s Bosman Street station alone, there are 155 carriages rusting on the sidings, some for over a decade according to…
By Tania Broughton The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs a bid by Siyangena Technologies Pty Ltd to overturn a finding by the Pretoria High Court that it was complicit in corruption when it scored contracts valued at about R5.5 billion from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) The SCA on Tuesday ruled that the company was not an “innocent party”, as it claimed, and that It would be “inconsistent with the notions of justice and equity” if it were allowed to profit from the unlawful procurement contracts. Read the judgment The court also affirmed that the high…
By Liezl Human The R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant is being extended for an additional year until March 2024, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced on Wednesday. Presenting his medium term budget policy statement to Parliament, Godongwana said: “The SRD grant was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable who were affected by lockdown measures. It has been extended several times since then. Discussions on the future of the grant are on-going and involve very difficult trade-offs and financing decisions.” But millions of people who used to get the grant…
By Chris Gilili Over 150 members of civil society groups and unemployed people picketed outside the National Treasury in Pretoria on Tuesday. They are calling for the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant to be extended and converted to a basic income grant. The group demanded a wealth tax to fund the grant as well as an increase in taxes on products like cigarettes, vaping, sugary drinks, alcohol and carbon. Over 150 members of civil society groups and unemployed people picketed at Church Square in Pretoria on Tuesday. They are calling for the National Treasury to continue paying the R350…