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The Citizen
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Clarity sought on alleged R700m cost of National Dialogue
The Presidency's plan to hold a major National Dialogue in August is being criticised for its potential cost, lack of oversight, and uncertain agenda. The proposed National Dialogue has the potential to be another watershed moment for South Africa, as the Convention for a Democratic SA was in the early '90s. Picture: Gallo Images/Die Burger There are concerns about the lack of transparency around President Cyril Ramaphosa's proposed National Dialogue that is meant to take place in a few weeks. Ramaphosa said the country will hold the first leg on 15 August, with the second leg expected to take place next year. Local talks will be held before then. The purpose of this convention is to discuss South Africa's problems and find solutions to them. However, it has been met with anger following an announcement that it could cost more than R700 million. Unions and political parties call for accountability The government has stated that there is no definite figure yet. Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) spokesperson Matthew Parks said he is concerned about the abuse of state funds used for the National Dialogue. 'We can talk about figures like R10 million or R20 million, but R700 million is just ridiculous. 'Government can find ways of ensuring this is done in a manner that is more affordable. We just objected to a VAT hike, it would not make sense for us to agree to this,' he said. Conflicting statements over the proposed budget Parks said Cosatu had engaged with the Presidency and was reassured there is no final figure for how much the dialogue will cost. The amount of R700 million was first estimated by Nkosinathi Biko, executive trustee of the Steve Biko Foundation. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa announces 'Eminent Persons Group' to guide national dialogue – These are the people appointed 'Nothing has been tabled to parliament and Cabinet, so this is random ramblings from some officials and people from foundations,' said Parks. Questions about coordination and purpose Rise Mzansi spokesperson Mabine Seabe said: 'The touted R700 million price tag appears excessive, which is why Rise Mzansi will be engaging with President Cyril Ramaphosa on this matter and timelines both in the buildup to and after the National Dialogue. 'We will use our parliamentary oversight authority to ensure that every rand and cent is accounted for.' ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said parliamentarians have not been given intricate details of how the National Dialogue will be coordinated. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told SAfm this week: 'There isn't a budget, there isn't a number or a cost that the government has committed to. 'All we have is what has been communicated as a proposal that the foundations have put forward. 'Government is going to be the fiscal custodian of the process and it has not yet engaged in formulating a budget. So the debate about R700 million is completely misplaced and unnecessary.' Dialogue 'must be ambitious' Dr Philani Mthembu from the Institute for Global Dialogue said the dialogue, if done correctly, can be an important tool in addressing problematic legislation and policies. ALSO READ: 'Bring all to dialogue': Experts insist national dialogue must be people-driven 'If this dialogue is compared to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, then it needs to be ambitious in what it is trying to achieve. 'For instance, we must ask if this will open up the debate on reviewing the constitution, what elements of the constitution are working and which need to be revised. 'This dialogue could discuss issues such as electoral reform and whether we are ready for new systems that will hold those in power to account. 'It has to be ambitious, otherwise if we just discuss issues such as national cohesion and service delivery, we already know these challenges. Discussing the deep issues will have more impact.' A noble idea? Advocate Sipho Mantula, a researcher at Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs, said the idea of a national convention is a noble one. 'Conventions are normally called when there is a national crisis or key issues that affect the country, from governance to the rule of law to the socio-cultural and economic conditions.' Mantula said all state organs and institutions should assist in ensuring the success of the National Dialogue and no-one should be left behind. 'It should begin with local conventions and then provincial conventions that ultimately lead to the National Dialogue,' he said. NOW READ: 'A meaningless publicity stunt by a limping president': EFF slams Ramaphosa's national dialogue call
The Citizen
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Here's how much it cost to repair SA driver's licence card printing machine over three years
The machine was out of service for nearly 130 days. Over the past three and a half years, R12 million has been spent to repair and maintain South Africa's only driver's licence card printing machine, which has suffered frequent breakdowns. This information was disclosed by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy in a written parliamentary reply. Songezo Zibi, leader of Rise Mzansi, quizzed the minister regarding the 26-year-old machine, which had been out of operation for much of this year, resulting in a significant backlog of driver's licence cards. Zibi asked how many times the machine had broken down over the past three financial years, including the current 2025/2026 financial year, and the total cost of those repairs. He also sought details on how much overtime pay had been made to employees due to printing delays, as well as the number of staff required to operate the machine effectively. The machine, which produces around 300 000 cards per month, resumed production in early May. Driver's licence card printing machine repair costs In her response, Creecy revealed that the machine was non-operational for 26 working days during the 2022/2023 financial year, with repair and maintenance costs amounting to R9 267 862.33. In the 2023/2024 financial year, it was down for 48 days, incurring costs of R1 651 772.57. The following year, the machine was out of commission for 17 days, with R544 747.64 spent on repairs. The machine has been out of operation for 38 days in the current financial year, with R624 988.10 spent on repairs and maintenance. ALSO READ: The driver's licence machine is fixed, but another problem remains Over the entire period, the machine was offline for a total of 129 days, with total maintenance costs adding up to R12 089 370.57. Creecy also said overtime payments over the three years amounted to R4.4 million. The overtime breakdown was R1 435 376.79 in 2022/2023, R1 608 102.52 in 2023/2024, and R1 351 473.78 in 2024/2025. No overtime payments have been made so far in the current financial year. She added that four operators are needed to operate the printing machine effectively. As of 15 May, the backlog in driver's licence cards stood at 733 000. Red flags over new machine tender In response to a question about the acquisition of a new machine, Creecy said: 'The minister has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, in order to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs.' In March, Creecy instructed the Department of Transport to seek a High Court declaratory order regarding the tender. This decision followed findings by the Auditor-General that the procurement process for the R898 million contract awarded to the South African subsidiary of French multinational technology company, Idemia, in August 2024 was irregular. The bidding process began in April and concluded in May 2023. According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), the Driving Licence Card Account had budgeted just over R486 million for the new machine, while Idemia's bid was reportedly either R762 million or R898 million. Other companies that submitted bids included Ren-Form Corporate Print Media, Nec Xon Systems, Muehlbauer ID Services, and Gemalto Altron Fintech Southern Africa. NOW READ: Why has the questionable driving licence card tender not been overturned?
IOL News
09-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Concerns over government spending on outdated driving licence printing machine
Government continues to spend millions repairing and maintaining its only driving licence card printing machine. Image: SUPPLIED The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it is concerned at how the government continues to spend millions of Rands maintaining its only driving licence card printing machine and the costs to catch up with backlogs. The organisation said this is concerning because the government has been talking obtaining about a new licence card machine for the past 10 years. This was after Transport Minister, Barbara Creecy, revealed that the machine had been out of service for 38 days since April 1, resulting in a backlog of 733,000 licence cards. Creecy disclosed this in response to a written parliamentary question from Rise Mzansi leader, Songezo Zibi. Zibi asked how many times the machine had broken down in the past three financial years, including since the start of the 2025/26 financial year. He also wanted to know how much had been spent on repairs during this period and how much overtime had been paid to employees due to lost printing time as a result of the breakdowns. Creecy revealed that the machine was broken for 26 days in the 2022/23 financial year. In 2023/24 it was broken for 48 days. It was also broken for 17 days in 2024/25. The department paid R9,267,862 for the repair and maintenance in 2022/23. It paid R1,651,772 in 2023/24, R544,747 in 2024/25, and R624,988 so far, totaling R12,089,370,64. The department also had to fork out R4.4 million for overtime payments between the 2022/23 and 2024/25 financial years. Creecy said it takes four people to operate the machine. She said she has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, in order to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs. In March, Creecy announced that she had instructed her department to lodge a High Court application for a declaratory order regarding the licence machine tender -awarded to Idemia and Security South Africa. Her decision was influenced by the findings from the Auditor-General (AG) report, which identified instances of non-compliance with the required procurement procedures. Outa's chief executive officer, Wayne Duvenage, said the organisation was also concerned by the length of time it takes for the department to get the court to nullify the contract - riddled with irregularities and potential corruption. 'Why does it take so long to get this process done?' he asked. 'Lots of money spent on maintaining and overtime costs to catch up with backlogs. This is very concerning. The government has been talking about a new driving licence card machine for about 10 years now, with multiple tenders awarded and cancelled for the past 5 years and still, we are nowhere near resolving this issue. Incompetence and political interference at its best,' Duvenage said. Department of Transport spokesperson, Collen Msibi did not respond to a request for comment.
The Citizen
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Mandisi Dyantyis misses nine-hour mark target as Kabelo Mabalane bags his 13th Comrades medal
Rise Mzansi's Chief Organiser, Makashule Gana, recorded impressive numbers at this year's Comrades. Despite his desire to beat his time from last year, musician Mandisi Dyantyis didn't meet his nine-hour target in his participation in this year's Comrades Marathon. 'Honestly, runners who are running in my sort of ability are constantly trying to get to the nine-hour mark,' Dyantyis told The Citizen earlier this week, just days before the race. Spotted Mandisi Dyantyis as well. — Ree (@Moanerleaser) June 8, 2025 'So anything in the nine-hour mark, that's sort of our holy grail, as it were. So it's not going to be different for me this year, I'll try and be around that nine-hour mark.' Dyantyis' finishing time this year was 10:44:17 at an average pace of 7:10. ALSO READ: Mandisi Dyantyis running for the Methodist Church at this year's Comrades Marathon Mandisi Dyantyis' slight drop This represents a drop from last year's numbers, which were 9:33:58 at an average pace of 6:41 min/km. This meant he crossed the finish line just after 3 pm, making Dyantyis one of the 1,313 athletes who ran and finished the race before the 12-hour cut-off time. According to the Comrades website, the Molweni singer went over the finish line at 4:29 pm. Dyantyis' participation in this year's Comrades, which was his third, was also about raising awareness and funds for the Methodist Church. 'The Methodist church has a bursary fund that helps underprivileged kids with registration, books and with things in the university. It's been going on forever, but its funds have depleted, so we're just doing whatever we can,' Dyantyis told The Citizen. ALSO READ: Jazz muso Mandisi Dyantyis clocks-in impressive time at Comrades Marathon Kabelo Mabalane and others Kwaito artist and now preacher, Kabelo Mabalane, participated in his 13th Comrades and finished the race in just under 10 hours. Crossing the finish line just after 3:30 pm, the media personality recorded these numbers: 9:53:00 at an average pace of 6:36 min/km. Attention all South Africans 🇿🇦🚨 Kabelo Mabalane has some advice for you 😏💪 📺 Stream #Comrades2025 on DStv: June 8, 2025 His wife, actress Gail Mabalane, was cheering her husband on. In one of Gail's Instagram stories, the Unseen actress said she was part of the Comrades' wives' supporters club. Rise Mzansi's Chief Organiser and Member of Parliament, Makashule Gana, recorded impressive numbers at this year's Comrades. I dedicate this Comrades to my good friend Khethamabala Sithole of @IFP_Indlovu , Jobe, who was laid to rest today. June 8, 2025 'Runner 6812 has finished Comrades with a time of 09h17. This is 2nd best time. My training delivered,' wrote the politician on his X account. Gana finished the race just two minutes after 3 pm, running at an average pace of 06:12 min/km. He was on the road for nine hours, 17 minutes and nine seconds. Other popular faces at this year's Comrades are influencers Gloria Nokwazi Ngcobo and FitMasi. NOW READ: 'It changes me': Emotional Gerda Steyn delighted with fourth Comrades win
IOL News
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Driving licence printing machine fixed but huge backlogs remain
The Department of Transport has repaired the driving licence card printing machine after months of downtime, but a significant backlog of unprinted cards remains. Image: File Millions have been spent on repairing and maintaining the driving licence card printing machine. The Department of Transport announced earlier last month that the driving licence printing machine was fixed and operations have resumed. The machine had been inoperative since February 5, resulting in a backlog of 747,748 unprinted cards. To reduce the backlog, the Department of Transport's Driving Licence Card Agency extended the working hours of its staff members. In light of this, in a parliamentary question and reply, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi asked Transport Minister Barbara Creecy about the number of times the machine broke down and how much it cost to repair it. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Zibi then asked how many employees it takes to operate the machine and how much overtime pay has been paid to employees due to lost printing time because of machine breakdowns. Zibi also asked Creecy if there was progress in acquiring a new card machine. Creecy said the backlog of driving licences as of May 15 was estimated at 733,000 cards. Creecy revealed the machine's major breakdowns in the past financial year are as follows: 2022/23 - 26 working days 2023/24 - 48 working days 2024/25 - 17 working days 2025/26 - 38 working days Over the same period, repairs and maintenance costs: 2022/23 - R9,267,862,33 2023/24 - R1,651,772,57 2024/25 - R544,747,64 2025/26 - R624,988,10 (to date) Overtime payment, over the last few financial years, has been: 2022/23 - R1,435,376,79 2023/24 - R1,608,102,52 2024/25 - R1,351,473,78 2025/26 - R0,00 Creecy said it takes four people to operate the machine. About progress made with the process to acquire a new driving licence card printing machine, Creecy said: 'The Minister has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, in order to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs.'
