Category Archives: Mnikelo Ndabankulu

Abahali respond to allegations

6 June 2014

Dear Partners, Friends and Comrades,

Some of you have contacted us to ask what is happening in our movement after receiving emails from Bandile Mdlalose. It is unfortunate that the movement is under this type of attack from one of its former members. We wish to put the facts straight and to rest.

Repression & Living Politic

The first time that there was strain on the family feeling in our movement was after the repression in 2009. When people have been driven from their homes, have lost everything and are living under fear of death and all this is supported by the government it puts them under great strain. People can start to doubt each other and there can be conflict about how the movement decides on its priorities especially in terms of personal and collective security.

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Mom saves twins from raging shack fire

Mom saves twins from raging shack fire

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/mom-saves-twins-from-raging-shack-fire-1.1571464#.Uis9acbI2VI

Mom saves twins from raging shack fire

A mother has described how she made a desperate bid to free her twin daughters and herself from a raging fire at a Clare Estate informal settlement on Sunday morning.

One man died in the blaze that ripped through five shacks, including the one in which he had been asleep. He was identified as Zanekhahle Bugini, 25, who worked at the Early Morning Market carting boxes and fresh produce.

Domestic worker Noloyiso Daki, 31, told the Daily News that the heat from the fire had woken her from her sleep.

She said other residents had been screaming for her to come out with her eight-month-old twins because the shacks were on fire.

“I grabbed my babies, Slindile and Lindile, and frantically tried to unlock the door. Residents helped us out,” she said.

“When I looked back I saw my house collapse. It was traumatising to see my neighbour badly burnt. It was a horrific sight.” The residents of the Foreman Road informal settlement suspect that a candle that tipped over in one of the shacks could have sparked the fire.

Durban Fire and Emergency divisional commander Alfred Newman said Sydenham police had opened an inquest docket.

Mail & Guardian: Durban bleeds municipal funds

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http://mg.co.za/article/2011-02-04-durban-bleeds-municipal-funds/

Durban bleeds municipal funds

Gross irregular spending, the continued haemorrhaging of municipal funds by projects such as uShaka Marine World and an inability to provide a “quality living environment” for the eThekwini (Durban) municipality’s many shack-dwellers were just some of the auditor general’s findings on the metro’s recently released 2009-2010 finances.

Provincial auditor Herman van Zyl said the value of uShaka — built by the city for R700-million — had been “impaired” by R133,6-million over the financial year ending on June 30 2010.

It prompted Dean Macpherson, the Democratic Alliance spokesperson on economic affairs, to call for the theme park to be sold off “to avoid the annual loss of R36-million of ratepayers’ money”.

“The park has had about R450-million invested in it by eThekwini in bailouts over several years, with a blank cheque policy adopted last year to meet shortfalls. The lack of accountability is truly astounding.”

The audit found that, as of June 2009, uShaka had suffered a net loss of R44,5-million and had an accumulated deficit of R377,5-million. It also found that the previous year’s audit findings had not been “substantially addressed”. Irregular expenditure at uShaka amounted to R3,15-million.

Mnikelo Ndabankulu, speaking for shack-dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, said uShaka’s losses and the city’s continuous bailouts indicated “the municipality’s priority, which is the pleasure of the rich, rather than the lives of the poor”.

Irregular expenditure

The auditor found that the city, with an operating budget of close to R19-billion, incurred irregular expenditure of R532,5-million, mainly because of “awards to suppliers without proper tender procedures being followed”. Contraventions of supply chain management regulations included the award of contracts amounting to R85,7-million to relatives of municipal employees.

The city’s financial statements show that Section 36 contracts — awarded in exceptional circumstances, which do not undergo normal procurement procedures — had shot up from R680,7-million in 2009 to more than R1-billion in 2010.

The municipality was criticised for not implementing an “effective internal monitoring system”. It was recommended that the executive committee “give serious consideration to the appointment of external, independent and competent individuals” to tender-bid adjudication committees.

A total of 1 102 contracts and tenders worth more than R4-billion were awarded during the financial year. There are currently 25 general investigations relating to alleged procurement fraud and irregular spending.

The audit said the city’s integrated development plan contained “inadequate content”, especially about the integration of shack-dwellers. According to the city, 9 387 low cost houses were built last year but 6 007 had to be rebuilt or rectified.

The audit found that the city did not report back on nine performance indicators relating to the achievement of a quality living environment for residents and was unable to “include the percentage of households earning less than R1 100 per month with access to the basic level of water, sanitation, electricity [and] solid waste removal” in its report.

Municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe said steps were being taken to address the auditor’s concerns over internal controls.