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Former MP Amongst 7 Arrested

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Former MP Amongst 7 Arrested:

AUTENG – Seven suspects including high ranking officials, company directors and a former member of Parliament handed themselves over to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in Gauteng this morning and they are expected to appear at the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court after they’ve been processed.

Their arrest follows a forensic report by the Specialised Investigating Unit (SIU) which discovered that in October 2016 the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued a tender requesting proposals to integrate and formalise waste operatives and waste into the mainstream waste management economy. A tender of around R27 million was then awarded to Enviro-Mobi in March 2017.

The contract agreement between the Department and Enviro- Mobi stipulated that the Department may consider to pay on condition that 50% of the work has been completed and no upfront payments may be made to the service provider.

During investigation it was established that the Chief Director and Chief Financial Officer processed and paid over R25 million to Enviro-Mobi for 200 motorised three wheelers, though all goods were still in the possession of the service provider.

It was also discovered that the service provider later issued a letter of demand to the Department demanding a further payment of over R9 million for safe keeping, storage and ancillary services relating to the fleet. Also that the company failed to disclose in its bid proposal, its affiliation to the politician who was a member of Parliament (MP) and misrepresented to the Department that it had supplied the fleet as well as fleet related services.

A case was registered at the Johannesburg Central police station in October 2020 which prompted investigation by the Hawks.

The suspects will be charged with fraud, theft, contravention of PFMA and Prevention of Organized Crime Act (POCA).

– MyZA

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The Wilds: Rebirth

The “rebirth” of The Wilds is one of the most heartening community success stories in modern Johannesburg history. It was spearheaded by local artist James Delaney and a dedicated group of volunteers starting around 2013. Delaney began by simply clearing dead wood and trimming overgrown paths on his own, but the project soon evolved into a massive public-private partnership. The most iconic addition to the park during this revival was the installation of over 100 laser-cut steel sculptures of animals. These brightly colored owls, giraffes, antelopes, and monkeys are perched in the trees and tucked behind rocks, turning a walk through the reserve into a scavenger hunt for “industrial wildlife.”

Today, The Wilds is a thriving, safe, and dog-friendly space that hosts yoga classes, art exhibitions, and thousands of visitors every weekend. It has become a symbol of “active citizenship”—the idea that the residents of Johannesburg don’t have to wait for the government to fix their city; they can take ownership of their own neighborhoods. The park is also a critical ecological corridor; in a city that is increasingly paved over, The Wilds provides a habitat for indigenous birdlife and insects that would otherwise struggle to survive in the “concrete jungle.”