The Rep 16 February 2018.compressed

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12 Tel: (045) 839-4040 Emergency: (A/H) 083-272-0955 ° Editorial: sonjar@tisoblackstar.co.za - advertising: charodinev@tisoblackstar.co.za THE REPRESENTATIVE 16 Februar y 2018 Irate residents to force CHDM’s hand ANDISA BONANI HE Komani Civic and Ratepayers’ Association is set to serve Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) with a Tlegal letter to force them to be part of and participate in public meetings and to actively find ways to deal with water and sanitation issues. The meeting, which took place in the town hall in Cathcart Road in Komani on Tuesday was called to discuss issues pertaining to water meters and accounts, water and sanitation, public participation and communication, a crisis committee, electricity issues, potholes and street lights. Community members expressed their dissatisfaction with both CHDM and Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality’s (EMLM) lack of service delivery, which were resulting in sewage spillages and power and water outages. The Concerned Community Forum (CCF) advisor, Tokkie Deysel, who chaired the meeting, said the municipalities were failing their people and were not making an effort to engage communities. “We are often told that the municipalities do not have money. What we want is for them to engage us as members of society about the goings-on that affect us directly. It cannot be that we pay for services we do not get and when there are issues like last month’s electricity and water crisis no one will explain them to the communities.” He said it had been decided to take the legal route with CHDM as EMLM had agreed to engage with the body when meetings SUDOKU NUMBER 10 – Easy were requested. “As the Ratepayers’ Association we have already had meetings with EMLM municipal manager Ntsokolo Magwangqana and it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Border-Kei Chamber of Business chairwoman Adre Bartis, who co-chaired the meeting, said electricity, water and sanitation challenges were far from over and that it was just a matter of time before residents could expect another crisis. She attributed last month’s power and water outages which lasted five days due to ageing infrastructure, adding that some sub-stations were more than four decades old. The CCF had initially served CHDM last month with a legal letter calling for action to address water and sanitation problems. The letter listed a number of complaints including the incorrect reading of water meters and that the municipality were not checking if meters were in good condition to allow for accurate readings. The letter also stated that the manner in which the calculation of accounts was being done was not transparent and easy for consumers to understand, and that the estimation of debt was not in sync with services provided. Parkvale resident Enver Genade said at one point his water bill was R13 000 and he could not understand how the municipality arrived at that amount because there was hardly ever water in his area. He said he had paid the municipality and when he queried the amount, he was told it had been an estimated statement . Auditor issues EMLM disclaimer ANDISA BONANI ENOCH Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) has received a disclaimer of an opinion from the Auditor General (AG) for the 2016/17 financial year, due to insufficient documentation provided by the local authority to form a basis for an audit opinion. The audit report indicates that the financial statements submitted for auditing were not prepared in all material respects in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act. Material misstatements identified by the auditors in the submitted financial statements were not adequately corrected, and the supporting records could not be provided, which resulted in the financial statements receiving a disclaimer audit opinion. The municipality incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R3.3-million which has not been recovered, written off or condoned. The AG was unable to determine whether any adjustments to the employee benefits obligation of R128.5-million disclosed in the statement of financial position were necessary. EMLM spokesmanFundile Feketshane said the municipality had not tabled its audit report at council and when that was done, it would be the first audit for EMLM since the amalgamation of Nkwanca, Tsolwana and Lukhanji local municipalities, with the latter having received a disclaimer opinion in its last audit report. The AG stated that the municipality did not evaluate the balances from the pre-merger of the municipalities which formed the basis of the take-on balance for property, plant and equipment of R1.1-billion without supporting evidence for this balance. Border-Kei Chamber of Business chairwoman Adre Bartis queried how a municipality of this magnitude would not have documents providing proof of how revenue amounting to millions was spent. “The municipality must learn that the money it has should be used for certain planned items and there should be appropriate documentation proving such expenditure. If they do not know how to do this, they must employ people who can actually do the work.” Sick woman’s RDP house uninhabitable SIMTEMBILE MGIDI PURE JOY: Dordrecht children Jonathan and Christopher Bradfield play happily in the water following a cloudburst in the drought-stricken area Picture: SHARON SALMON ANSWER NR 9 SEND in a completed Soduko #10 for a ch a n c e to win one of five ‘t wo coffees with muffins’ f ro m Sasol at 2 Cathcart Road. Drop it off before 10am on Tuesday, February 20, at The Rep offices, 24 Prince Alfred Street in Komani, or scan a copy and send it to sonjar@timesmedia.co.za. Please include your contact number and full names. Please produce your ID when you collect your prize from The Rep offices. The winners last week were Berenice Levack, Gerrit Dekker and Mandletu Gxagxisa. Name: ..................................... Phone: .................................... A 76-YEAR-OLD woman who lives in one of the first RDP houses to have been built in 1999 in Unifound, said she has been battling with problems since the first day. Nomayina Dopholo said the contractors who worked on her house had not done a good job, and inadequate gutters had also been provided for the home. She has, as a result, not lived in the house full-time but in a nearby shack that she built in 1993. “I live with my two grandchildren, one is in Grade 10 and the other in Grade 12,” she said. “During these heavy rains the children called their parents to tell them how the house was leaking. “Their parents came from Sterkstroom and arrived in the afternoon to put a black canvas over the roof.” Dopholo said that she had tried to get help from the former Lukhanji municipality (LM) since 2010 to renovate her house as she was a pensioner who could not afford repairs. According to Dopholo, a former LM human settlement official told her that people should not expect government to do everything for them and should help themselves. “I do not have enough strength nor hope that this house will be fixed before I die,” she said, adding that she was suffering from cancer. “I have started with my chemotherapy, which leaves me very weak, and battling SOAKED: Nomayina Dopholo in her flooded Unifound RDP house Picture: SIMTEMBILE MGIDI to breathe and walk. “My bedroom in my shack is like a fridge. The water enters from underground.” Dopholo also showed The Rep reporter a stream of sewage flowing through her yard – something she said happened regularly. Dopholo has called on the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) to help her fix her house. Her son, Loyiso Dopholo said he was deeply saddened by his mothers living conditions. The family could not afford to fix the RDP house and his mother’s money was used to pay for her chemotheraphy. He said RDP houses were rectified in Ezibeleni and Sterkstroom and so should his mother’s home be repaired. “I thought our local politicians would have helped a sick old woman, but they have not.” EMLM indicated that they were looking into the matter.
THE REPRESENTATIVE 16 Februar y 2018 Tel: (045) 839-4040 Emergency: (A/H) 083-272-0955 ° Editorial: sonjar@tisoblackstar.co.za - advertising: charodinev@tisoblackstar.co.za 13 HEARTS OF GOLD: Stepping Stone Junior School pupils bought badges in support of the Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa (CHOC) on Childhood Cancer Day yesterday Gangsters, addicts blame unemployment THE ROAD AHEAD: Department of safety and liaison acting head Zukile Kani addresses former Whittlesea gangsters at Sada, Whittlesea on Tuesday Picture: ABONGILE SOLUNDWANA ABONGILE S O LU N D WA N A FORMER gangsters and drug addicts from Whittlesea blamed unemployment for their involvement in crime during a programme hosted by the department of safet y and liaison in Sada earlier this week. Some claimed that although they had left behind their previous lives in gangs, they were still being harassed by the police as suspects. Others said they were not willing to give up drugs. The department’s acting head Zukile Kani said he had made about four visits to Whittlesea with Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga after reports that gangsterism and substance abuse, which were rife in the area, were affecting schools. “We offered our assistance because we realise it is difficult for youths to get out of gangsterism, even once they realise how destructive it is. We also discovered that there were matriculants who were no longer in school as a result. These youths are the ones who have a negative influence on pupils.” Kani said the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) would be approached to assist to transfer skills to the youth. Safety and liaison portfolio committee chairman Michael Peter said stakeholder departments, such as social development, should assist the police with their campaign, Operation Fiela – especially in poverty-stricken areas where criminal activities such as gangsterism were r i fe . Peter said the police must arrest drug lords along with those selling on the streets. “Those who have committed serious crimes should be in St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth.” He said there were “fa r too few churches and schools” compared with taverns in areas frequented by gangsters. The drugs tik and n ay o p e were rife in Whittlesea, with drug users breaking in to steal goods for resale. “Community policing forums must be strengthened and street committees established to claim back the streets of Sada and Dongwe.” Ntshinga said patrols would be put in place at schools in the Sada area. “Previously we used to inform principals when we were coming, but from now on we will come unannounced.” Taverns were selling liquor to underaged youths and the police had been given instructions to visit taverns and ask for identity documents from patrons. “If we find an underage youth drinking at the premises we will arrest the owner and close down the tavern. All shebeens will be closed down because they are not lawful.” Ntshinga said if all this did not happen by June, community members should report back to her. Drug-testing kits had been given to principals at various schools. Xonxa nears completion ABONGILE S O LU N D WA N A THE Chris Hani Dist rict Municipalit y (CHDM) has confirmed that the completion date for the multimillion-rand Xonxa Dam project has been set for the end of April. Mqamelo said the completion date for the Xonxa project was moved to April after the previously scheduled completion date was not met in December 2017. “The delay of the project was caused by a contractual dispute with a subcontractor in 2017. The matter was resolved by appointing a new contractor and work is continuing normally and April remains a feasible date for completion,” she added in response to queries from The Rep this week. She said the six-phase Xonxa project was on phase five which includes the supply of water to Komani. “The last phase will be the provision of bulk water infrastructure and water supply to Ilinge and Machibini.” The Rep reported last year (“Xonxa pipeline in July”, April 21) that the Picture: SUPPLIED pipeline was expected to be completed but the hand-over and subsequent supply did not materialise. The level of the Xonxa Dam was at 115% this week, compared with 101% at the same time last year, according to the department of wat e r a f fa i r s . The Waterdown Dam level was at 67.9% full, compared with 70.2% at the same time last year. Buco donates water tank ANDISA BONANI BUCO Hardware Store handed over a 5000-lit re water tank to Louis Rex Primary School last Thursday as part of their corporate social i n v e st m e n t . Buco store manager Morne van Staden said this was a way of ploughing back into the community and that the school was one of the struggling ones that needed any form of a s s i st a n c e . “This is not the only school we work with, but we chose this particular one because of the state that it is in. We know water is a scarce commodity, hence we decided to sponsor them a STILL EMPTY: The level of the Bonkolo Dam in Komani remains extremely low Picture: SUPPLIED WATER, GLORIOUS WATER: Louis Rex Primary School principal Bevan Christoffels and Buco Hardware Store manager Morne van Staden after finding the perfect spot for the water tank Picture: ANDISA BONANI water tank. “We will provide fittings for the tank and plan to connect the tank to the municipal water supply so it goes straight into the tank. The school has an asbestos roof, so rainwater would be u n h e a l t h y. ” Principal Bevan Christoffels said last month’s five-day water outage disrupted the school’s programme because they did not have a tank. “We are grateful to Buco for their continuous suppor t.”
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