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Stuff from Johannesburg

Merafong Mayor appoints niece as Acting Municipal Manager, councillors claim

Dear Johannesburg

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has learnt that the Mayor of Merafong, Maphefo Mogale-Letsie has now appointed her niece, Lerato Peu as the acting Municipal Manager (MM).

Allegations of irregular appointment practices and nepotism are rife amongst staff and councillors as the Acting MM is apparently unknown in governance circles

The appointment, if verified, suggests that the Mayor is in dire need of loyal cadres and is prepared to ignore any regulated appointment practices in order to protect her own interests and patronage networks.

This is just another defiant move by the Mayor, who has asked by the ANC to step down in August for her involvement in the illegal investment of R50 million with VBS. This money that was illegally invested with VBS under her watch will probably never be recovered.

In order to verify and substantiate the serious concerns of Merafong staff and residents, I will be submitting written questions to the MEC to get details of the relationship between the Mayor and the acting MM, exactly what transpired during the selection procedure and if any rules were circumvented, and if Ms Peu possesses the legislated qualifications required to perform the tasks of an MM.

Regards

Ina Cilliers MPL
DA Gauteng Constituency Head- Merafong

Category:

Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.