Latest news with #eThekwiniMunicipality
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
How a man impersonated an eThekwini employee in a R78,000-a-day fuel theft scheme
A man impersonating an eThekwini Municipality employee was caught fraudulently filling diesel. Image: Supplied A man posing as an eThekwini Municipality employee has been arrested in connection with a large-scale diesel theft operation that is believed to have cost Durban hundreds of thousands of rands. The arrest followed a tip-off about suspicious fuel activity involving Municipal vehicles, which prompted an internal investigation. According to the eThekwini Municipality, forensic investigators from the City Integrity and Investigations Directorate uncovered the scam after receiving reports from the City Fleet Directorate about Municipal vehicles filling diesel more than 10 times a day at petrol stations used by the City's official fleet. The suspect was found using a fuel master card assigned to a Water and Sanitation vehicle that had long been out of service and marked for disposal. Investigators discovered that privately owned vehicles were fraudulently using the card to siphon diesel. In a bid to avoid detection, the suspect duplicated number plates and branded the doors of his vehicles to resemble authentic Municipal fleet cars. These vehicles were used to stockpile diesel, which was later resold. 'The culprit had four vehicles fitted with a 750-litre fuel tank at the base of each single cab van. The diesel was stored in these tanks and resold. Each vehicle generated about R78 000 a day,' said Jimmy Ngcobo, Director of the City Integrity and Investigations Directorate. Ngcobo stated that it was an organised crime and must be treated as such. He further stated that the municipality has suffered serious financial losses. 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 ✕ The suspect, who admitted he does not work for the Municipality, was dressed in an eThekwini uniform at the time of his arrest. He claimed to be employed by a private individual and received R2,000 per day for his role. His daily routine included visiting over 15 petrol stations across Durban to fill up the tanks. He was caught red-handed with assistance from Metro Police and Reaction Unit South Africa. The man has since appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption. The matter has been remanded until August. IOL NEWS
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Toyota Files $361 Million South Africa Flood Damage Lawsuit: BD
Toyota Motors Corp. has brought a lawsuit for 6.5 billion rand ($361 million) in a South African court for 2022 flood damages that shuttered its plant near Durban, Business Day reported. The claim against Transnet SOC Ltd., the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and eThekwini Municipality has been brought in the high court in Durban by Toyota South Africa Motors' insurer, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance.
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
What's holding back South Africa's economy? Key insights from experts
Infrastructure failure and bottlenecks at ports, are among factors costing the economy billions of Rands. Image: eThekwini Municipality Failing infrastructure, systemic corruption, collapsed rule of law, state incapacity in public service and state-owned entities, erosion of local government, and high crime rates are among the key factors causing a decline in South Africa's economic growth, according to experts. This is despite the positive growth from the agricultural sector, where the Gross Value Added (GVA) expanded by 15.8% in the first quarter of 2025. Agriculture became the main driver of South Africa's overall GDP growth in Q1 2025, contributing 0.4 percentage points to the national GDP expansion of 0.1%. However, experts say that agriculture, although it has driven the country's economic growth, is volatile and dependent on factors such as weather, electricity supply, and transportation, among others. Professor William Gumede, from the Wits School of Governance, said the country's political culture has made corruption, incompetence, and misbehaviour acceptable if it is done by those who share a similar colour, party, and ideology, which has contributed to the economic decline. 'Property rights are vulnerable. The rule of law in many parts has collapsed, the lower courts are inefficient, and policing is ineffective. Corruption is systemic. State capacity in many parts of the public services, among state-owned entities, and local government has been eroded. Crime is out of control. The state cannot efficiently enforce laws, rules, or policies. Infrastructure has collapsed in many areas. Many sectors of the economy, such as public transport, mining, and construction, have become informalised. The country has been deindustrialising,' Gumede said. He added that state infrastructure development plans and forums, including the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and initiatives such as Operation Vulindlela, have become virtual talk shops, and structures set up to play an oversight and coordination role, and provide governance over infrastructure, have not been able to do so. 'The breakdown of infrastructure drives up inflation, just as state, SOE, and policy failures do, as they drive up prices, the cost of living, cost of business, and erode savings and deter future investment. The Reserve Bank has warned that the breakdown in infrastructure threatens the stability of the financial system. 'Loadshedding, for example, has caused not only the loss of lives, but also of businesses, capital, skills, employment, and investment. It has contributed to South Africa's low-growth path, possibly taking away up to 3% of possible growth. South Africa needs around R150 billion per year just to replace the destroyed infrastructure, let alone build new infrastructure,' Gumede said. 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 ✕ Ad loading He added that water provision has also plunged, with many of the water infrastructure SOEs, municipal entities, and boards having fallen into disarray. The provision of water in many of South Africa's cities and towns has deteriorated to such an extent that many citizens are without water for long periods during water outages. 'Transnet, the state-owned logistics giant responsible for South Africa's ports, rail, and pipelines, is, like Eskom, a major contributor to the country's low-growth path. Transnet has a debt burden of R136 billion. Its inefficiencies are causing bottlenecks at ports and limiting rail freight, undermining trade. It costs the economy over R1 billion per day," Gumede said. Transnet estimates it needs to invest R200 billion to restore the railways to capacity, however, Gumede said it will be a waste of money to invest in Transnet without bringing in merit-based management, cleaning up procurement by exempting the organisation from preferential procurement rules, and discarding ideological objections to having the organisation fully partner with the private sector in delivering infrastructure services. According to the Department of Public Enterprises, between 2012 and 2023, the debt levels of the largest 10 SOEs rose by R313.6 billion. The government had to bail out these SOEs with R318.1 billion during that period. In its latest Financial Stability Review, the Reserve Bank said while electricity availability appears to be gradually returning to historical trends, other critical infrastructure, such as the supply and quality of water and transport infrastructure, especially rail, port, and road networks, continues to degrade. Gumede said an external economic shock, such as a prolonged fallout with the US Donald Trump administration, will have a disproportionately debilitating impact on the South African economy. Political actors and groups who reckon South Africa can quickly pivot from the US market to alternatives, such as BRICS, have a case of wishful thinking, as a loss of the US market cannot be immediately replaced. A transition to new markets cannot be achieved overnight. Worse, SA's state trade negotiation capacity is currently possibly at its weakest, most over-ideological, least agile, and opportunity-minded, since the end of apartheid. State capacity has been eroded in state trade structures, as in other parts of the state, through cadre deployment, exclusion of minorities, and informalisation, he said. China may be South Africa's largest trading partner by volume, but it mostly takes South Africa's raw material, not manufactured products – it has trade barriers, but sends manufactured products to South Africa, which displaces local jobs. US companies manufacture in South Africa, meaning they have larger multiplier impacts, Gumede said. The International Monetary Fund ranks South Africa as the most difficult place to do business globally among 49 countries in the IMF's ease of doing business index. It argues that halving SA's restrictive business regulations relative to its emerging market peers could increase medium-run output by 9% and boost employment, Gumede said. He added that policymakers underestimate the impact of state failure, corruption, incompetence, and anti-growth policies on the economy, which reduces revenue and undermines business confidence. In the 1990s, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange had around 850 listed companies. By 2024, this had dropped to under 300, including some companies that have dual listings. He highlighted the lack of inclusive compromises on key policies, the NHI, the Expropriation Law, apparent refusal to renegotiate aspects of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill to make it more inclusive, and perceived anti-American foreign policies have caused investment, capital, and skills flight as some of the factors. 'Many ANC politicians do not genuinely think growth should be at the centre of economic policy, arguing wrongly that to do so will be promoting 'neo-liberalism'. Policies that undermine growth will have to be jettisoned,' Gumede said. He said state debt levels need to be brought down, and key catalytic growth sectors will have to be prioritised. 'Manufacturing remains important; its declining trend needs to be reversed. Agriculture is critical. It is important that land reform is not populist, emotional, ideological and revenge-driven, but rather, that it focuses on securing food; fostering an agricultural, manufacturing, processing, and technology industrial hub; and fostering related artisan, technical, and research skills. This would mean partnering with the private sector to bring back artisan programmes, agricultural technical institutions – especially in the rural areas – and fostering agriculture technology,' he said. Dawie Roodt, a chief economist at the Efficient Group, said the biggest challenge in South Africa is a government that is destructive, inefficient, and is quite often corrupt. 'The government policies are broadly wrong. The Expropriation Bill, for example, is one of those policy choices that is wrong for economic growth because you must protect private property rights. There's also the inefficiency of the state. 'All good things go together in the economy. If per capita GDP goes up, then life expectancy, quality of life, and education follow suit,' Roodt said.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Toyota files R6. 5 billion lawsuit against KZN government for flood damages
Toyota's Prospecton plant was flooded in the April 2022 floods. | Supplied by Motor Industry Staff Association. Image: Supplied Toyota South Africa Motors has initiated a R6.5 billion lawsuit against the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, Transnet, and the eThekwini Municipality, claiming damages from the April 2022 floods that severely impacted its Prospecton plant. In summons filed in the Durban High Court, Toyota South Africa Motors Pty Ltd said it had suffered damages to the tune of R6.5 billion. This included costs in excess of R4 billion for repairs and reinstatement work at the storm-impacted plant and R2 billion for business interruption. Transnet, the KZN Department of Transport, and the eThekwini Municipality have been cited as the defendants. Craig Woolley, a director at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc, which is acting for Toyota, said all three defendants had 'entered an appearance to defend.' In the court papers, Toyota said that the three organisations had failed in their duty to maintain infrastructure and should have known that neglecting such responsibilities could lead to flooding. During the April floods, the structural integrity of the Umlaas Canal and the diversion berm were compromised, leading to stormwater flowing into the Prospecton Industrial Area, where the Toyota plant is situated, causing extensive flooding and damage, read the court papers. It stated that Transnet owned the Umlaas Canal and was responsible for its management and maintenance, as well as the flood risk associated with it. The concrete-lined canal is intended to channel and divert the uMlazi River around the Prospecton Industrial Area. Together with the diversion berm, it forms an integral part of the flood control and prevention mechanism for the Prospecton Industrial Area, it further stated. It said the Department of Transport was responsible for the management and maintenance of the diversion berm, while the municipality owned, managed, and was responsible for the maintenance and control of the stormwater management system for the Prospecton Industrial Area. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ The Umlaas Canal, south of Durban, pictured yesterday. The canal was compromised during the April 2022 storm leading to extensive flooding of the Prospection Industrial Area, according to Toyota's court papers. Image: Doctor Ngcobo Independent Newspapers Detailing its court action against each of the defendants, Toyota said Transnet should have known that in the event of the Umlaas Canal and the diversion berm failing to manage this stormwater, the Prospecton Industrial Area was likely to be flooded, resulting in damage to the company's premises and property. It said the defendants failed to ensure that these structures were functioning as required to prevent flooding in the Prospecton Industrial Area. Additionally, it had neglected to carry out regular maintenance on the Umlaas Canal, resulting in structural weaknesses, and failed to repair previous flood damage. It said it fell on the Department of Transport to ensure that the diversion berm and canal were functioning properly and it had failed to do so. It added that the municipality should have known that in the event of the stormwater management system not functioning as required, the area where the plaintiff's business was situated was likely to be flooded. 'As a result of these failures, Toyota was compelled to engage various contractors to repair the damage caused by the flooding and hired specialist engineers to repair the structural damage to the premises, as well as damage to electrical installations, plumbing, air conditioning, and assembly systems.' The company suffered 'damages to fixtures and fittings, office contents, and electronic equipment, and experienced losses due to vehicles being flooded and damaged.' Furthermore, they were unable to conduct business activities during the repair period, leading to additional business interruption losses. 'As a result of the aforementioned issues, Toyota claims to have suffered damages amounting to R6 540 980 194.00, which includes R4 488 642 693.00 for the fair and reasonable costs incurred in the repair and reinstatement of the plaintiff's premises and property and R2 052 337 501.00 for business interruption.' 'The defendants are jointly and severally liable to compensate the plaintiff for the aforementioned amounts, along with interest thereon,' stated the court papers. Ndabe Sibiya, the spokesperson for the KZN Department of Transport, said that MEC Siboniso Duma regarded Toyota as an important stakeholder in the province. 'Respectfully, he does not believe that it will be appropriate at this stage to engage on this matter through the media,' said Sibiya. 'We can only indicate that the cut-off low-pressure system continues to leave a trail of destruction across the province. It has triggered floods, mudslides, and a rise in the water table. Bridges, road infrastructure, and houses have been damaged, costing both the KZN Transport and Human Settlements Departments billions of rands. For instance, in 2022 alone, we needed more than R6 billion to repair roads, and we could only reprioritise R2 billion from our budget,' Sibiya said. eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the municipality was aware of Toyota's action and had filed a notice to defend. Transnet did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. THE MERCURY
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
KZN Cogta MEC demands clarity from eThekwini Municipality on R30 million matter and legal costs
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. Image: KZN Cogta / Facebook The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has written to the eThekwini Municipality, demanding a full breakdown of the costs related to the legal matter between the eThekwini Municipality and company, Daily Double Trading. In the letter, MEC Buthelezi stated that the expenditure, especially on litigation regarding this matter, was reckless. The eThekwini Municipality and Daily Double Trading have been involved in a protracted legal battle that was finally resolved by the Constitutional Court about a week ago which dismissed the City's appeal against an earlier ruling. At the centre of the dispute was a settlement agreement entered into between the company and officials of the municipality. Daily Double Trading had been one of the service providers for the municipality. However the municipality terminated the contracts it had with the company. The company challenged this decision in court, and an out of court settlement was then agreed upon between the officials of the municipality and the representatives of Daily Double Trading. The settlement was worth about R30 million. Later, the municipality attempted to disown the settlement agreement, arguing that the officials who authorised it had no power to do so. However the company challenged this in court and the court found in the company's favour. The municipality fought the matter all the way to the Constitutional Court, which dismissed the City's application for leave to appeal the judgment that had found in favour of the company. This ruling means that the City is now liable to pay approximately R30 million of the original amount and R23 million in interest. 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 ✕ Ad Loading In his letter, MEC Buthelezi said, "A report is requested within 7 days, providing the total contractual losses suffered and the total legal costs incurred by the City in defending this matter, which proceeded to the Constitutional Court and was dismissed with costs." "Such a report should also clearly indicate what disciplinary action is being taken by the City. Furthermore, it must outline the oversight taken by the council in embarking on this reckless and costly litigation," said the letter. The MEC's letter comes after the City held a media briefing last week to discuss the court case and other legal matters. At the meeting, senior City officials said an employee who issued an illegal instruction to offer the settlement will be dealt with. THE MERCURY
