Author name: Scott Balson

A new campus for the Rivoni School of the Blind was supposed to be completed in 2024, but the massive project, now budgeted at R198-million, stands unused and incomplete. The contractor has been placed in business rescue, stalling the project. A new sub-contractor was appointed in May, with an additional R29-million allocated to complete construction, […]

With an annual budget of R3.27-billion, it will take the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure two decades to eliminate the maintenance backlog on 56,000 government-owned properties, according to public works minister Dean Macpherson. The government has about 81,000 properties in total, but only 56,000 have had assessments done to estimate maintenance costs. The current

Delays in building a R28-billion water project, now scheduled for completion 14 years after the original deadline, have left families in Tafelkop, west of Durban, without water. Residents claim that their taps, installed in the early 2000s, have been dry for over 15 years. The Upper uMkhomazi Water Scheme, intended to bring water to Durban

Inkosi Mhlabunzima Maphumulo House: Since Friday, a total of 52 motorists have been arrested for drunk driving in Pietermaritzburg and Kokstad. Apart from earning yourself a criminal record of up to ten years, drunk motorists, if arrested over a weekend, can be detained a maximum time of 72hours in the holding cells with hardcore criminals.

Inkosi Mhlabunzima Maphumulo House: Around 16h19 this afternoon, we were informed by the Traffic Ambassador Ayanda Msweli about a horrific accident involving a truck in OPhongolo, N2. We send our deepest condolences to the families of the three victims who perished when the truck collided with a light motor vehicle. Two other people were seriously

The Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, has called for a renewed focus on ethical leadership as the foundation for turning around the decline in municipalities across South Africa. Speaking at the Local Government Indaba in Gauteng, the MEC said that without ethical leadership, no number of new

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has delivered a stark warning on the state of local government, saying while progress has been made in many areas, a number of municipalities still battle poor financial management and eroding public trust. Speaking at the Local Government Indaba in Midrand on Thursday, Hlabisa said too many

With Cape Town now ranked the ninth most congested city in the world, Western Cape MEC for Mobility Isaac Sileku has warned that traffic gridlock is more than an inconvenience – it is undermining livelihoods, businesses, and the environment. Launching Mobility Month on Wednesday with a panel discussion in Cape Town, Sileku brought together major

The Gauteng Department of Social Development has reverted to accepting email applications from non-profit organisations after its new funding platform flopped. The platform has been problematic since its launch, with organisations unable to log in or save their applications. Now, two weeks before the deadline, the department has sent organisations a new application form to

A new magistrates’ court has been under construction in Mamelodi, Tshwane, since 2014. But work has been halted intermittently and the site was abandoned in 2023. The Department of Public Works says the “construction mafia” is partly responsible for delays. R164-million has been spent so far. A new contractor was to have been appointed last