Category Archives: Sihle Manda

The Mercury: Murderer councillors still get R35K a month

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/murderer-councillors-still-get-r35k-a-month-2032925

Sihle Manda and Kamini Padayachee

Durban – Two ANC eThekwini councillors continue to draw R35 000 monthly salaries from beleaguered ratepayers despite being in prison for murder.

To add insult to injury, Mduduzi Ngcobo and Velile Lutsheku have not performed their duties ince February last year, when they were arrested for the September 2014 murder of community activist Thulisile Ndlovu in her Thokoza home near Pinetown.

Mduduzi Ngcobo and Velile Lutsheku are serving their sentences at Westville Prison after their bids to apply for leave to appeal against their convictions and sentences were dismissed on the day they were sentenced. Credit: INDEPENDENT MEDIA

Continue reading

The Mercury: R31m ‘insult’ has residents fuming

Sihle Manda, The Mercury

Durban – Large families crammed into a controversial temporary housing project in Durban have reacted with disbelief that their tiny 2m x 2m shacks cost R35 000 each, describing living conditions there as “inhumane”.

Speaking to The Mercury at the weekend, several residents at the Kennedy Road informal settlement said the price tag on their homes was “a lie” and an insult.

The city built the transit camp last year after hundreds of shacks were gutted in a fire that left thousands homeless. Continue reading

Mercury: Durban’s R35 000 shack shame

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/durban-s-r35-000-shack-shame-1.1955561#.VmViEXYrLDd

Sihle Manda, The Mercury

Durban – A damning forensic investigation has found that city officials fraudulently colluded with bidders who eventually spent about R35 000 per shoddy 2m x 2m room in a 700-unit temporary housing project.

The price of the unit is roughly R10 000 less than what it would have cost the city to build a fully fledged low-cost house. It would have cost the city about R7 000 to buy a similar-sized wendy house and from R4 000 to R6 000 to buy a corrugated iron zozo hut. Continue reading

The Mercury: Speaker refuses to suspend councillors

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/speaker-refuses-to-suspend-councillors-1.1879390#.VZksEBuqqkp

July 2 2015
By Sihle Manda

Durban – Two ANC eThekwini councillors continue to perform public duties despite facing possible jail time for the alleged murder of a civil rights activist.

Council Speaker Logie Naidoo is standing by his comrades, vowing not to suspend the two.

His stance appears to be at odds with that of the ruling party, which said it had suspended the two.

Naidoo’s position on the matter has sparked the wrath of opposition parties, who have urged him to immediately suspend the two until the matter has been finalised in the Durban High Court. Continue reading

The Mercury: Protest causes Durban gridlock

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/protest-causes-durban-gridlock-1.1839938#.VSUqLvmUdyU

buring tyres feb 21I

Durban – Traffic came to a grinding halt on one of Durban busiest routes on Tuesday morning when Kenville informal settlement residents blocked off roads in the north of the city and demanded “promised” free houses.

Businesses in the vicinity were also affected with employees arriving late for work. Some businesses had to cancel their operations for the day.

The metro police and SAPS battled to contain the flames of burning tyres, and to remove rocks and debris “strategically” placed in Queen Nandi Drive and North Coast Road.

The pandemonium, said to have started at about 2am, caused morning peak traffic to back up for several hours.

Metro police spokesman Eugene Msomi said it took more than five hours to clear the debris.

The shack dwellers’ movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, said it was not responsible for the chaos, but the organisation was “encouraged” by the tactic used, saying it grabbed the attention of the authorities. Continue reading