Pietermaritzburgâs sad state of decay
By Bongani Hans
Bongani Hans
Durban â THE MSUNDUZI Municipality has admitted it had spent less on infrastructure maintenance, which has led to the decay of the Pietermaritzburg central business district (CBD), driving South African-owned businesses out of the city.
This as business owners and ratepayers raised concerns about the state the city is in and placed the blame on the Msunduzi Municipality council for neglecting its oversight role.
DA councillor Bill Lambert, who once ran a clothing shop in the CBD, said this was an embodiment of the Cityâs service delivery collapse.
He said things were fine under the first post-democracy mayor, Omar Latif, as well as his predecessors Siphiwe Gwala and Hloni Zondi, but the rot started under Zanele Hlatshwayo, who was sacked following allegations of gross mismanagement, maladministration and corruption.
Scopa to grill struggling SOEs over grim audit outcomes Eskom, Transnet, the SABC all got qualified audit opinions. Even worse, disclaimers were issued for Denel and Prasa. FILE: Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa. Picture: @MkhulekoHlengwa/Twitter
46 days ago
CAPE TOWN - Parliament’s finance watchdog said that it would be calling a number of state-owned entities to appear before it to explain their dismal audit outcomes.
Also in the firing line are state arms-maker Denel and the SABC.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) was briefed on Wednesday by the Office of the Auditor-General on the SOE’s audit outcomes for the last financial year.
MONEYWEB
app instead?
Parliamentary watchdog neutered by unresponsive executive body
‘It is shameful that ministers and their accounting officers cannot deal with corruption’ â former Scopa chair Themba Godi. 00:01
Looks good from the outside, but parliament is dominated by one party and âfacts do not sway many comrades in portfolio committeesâ. Image: Kopano Tlape, GCIS
On Monday (February 1), the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into allegations of state capture heard evidence on parliamentary oversight from two former members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) â Themba Godi and Natasha Mazzone.
Themba Godi
Themba Godi is a former chair of Scopa and was a member of parliament on behalf of the African Peopleâs Convention from 2005 to 2019. He explained the functions of Scopa, stating that it considers the financial statements of all government bodies, including state-owned entities (SOEs), any audit reports, any report issued
2 February 2021, 8:00 AM | Lulama Matya | @SABCNews
Image: SABC News Parliamentary committees that conducted on onsite inspection of the fence last year concluded that it was not fit for purpose and was therefore deemed as wasteful expenditure.
The Public Works Department will on Tuesday brief the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on developments in investigations relating to the procurement and construction of the Beitbridge border fence.
Parliamentary committees that conducted on onsite inspection of the fence last year concluded that it was not fit for purpose and was therefore deemed as wasteful expenditure.
They added that a 37-year-old fence that was decommissioned in 1994 is still in a better physical condition compared to the newly built one.