KwaZulu-Natal Govt Officials Illegally Occupy State Houses, Rack Up Water Bill
The KwaZulu-Natal government allowed more than 580 government-owned houses in Ulundi to be illegally occupied by invaders and government officials, reports News24. The water bill from that invasion, which has allegedly gone unaccounted for in 20 years, is R3.3 million. Taxpayers have spent R4.1 million on property rates for buildings no longer exclusively used by the state. Government officials have described the situation as "unsafe and life-threatening". Some houses were illegally occupied by government officials who didn't return the keys. The report showed mismanagement, unpaid bills, and dilapidation. Opposition party Democratic Alliance accused the African National Congress of allowing "cadres" to live freely in the houses while millions of people struggle to make ends meet.
Driving Licence Card Machine Back in Action
Transport Department has confirmed that South Africa's only driving licence card production machine is now operational again after a three-week repair period, reports eNCA. The machine had been out of operation for the past three weeks due to repairs. As a result, a backlog of 350,000 license cards has accumulated. However, the government has assured drivers that they have implemented a plan to tackle the backlog and anticipate clearing it by the end of August.
Planned Water Outage in Johannesburg Postponed, Residents Relieved
Residents of Johannesburg can breathe a sigh of relief as planned maintenance by Rand Water, which would have resulted in a two-day water outage, has been postponed, reports News24. The maintenance was initially scheduled to take place from Tuesday, June 20th, at 19:00 until Thursday, June 22nd, at 15:00. Johannesburg Water had warned that some customers would experience low water pressure or no water during this period. The maintenance involved drop-testing to measure potential leakage rates, pipeline tie-ins, installation of isolation valves, and system upgrades at Rand Water's Eikenhof pump station. However, Rand Water has now confirmed that the maintenance has been postponed until further notice.
