Politics.za: Category Correctional Services

Gauteng Housing MEC To Drop Contracts With Ex-employees

Farrel — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:13:00 -0500

Gauteng MEC for Housing Nomvula Mokonyane is planning to blacklist any company that employees a senior department official. I guess she’s decided to accelerate the proposed cooling off period for civil servants entering private enterprise.

The MEC however still has a lot of explaining to do for the housing backlog in Gauteng and can’t place all the blame on departing staff. Perhaps she’d like to explain how a R58 million contract to build low cost housing granted in 2004 has yet to actually produce a house.

Update: And now the Department of Correctional Services is coming under fire for the same problem

Correctional Services came under fire on Tuesday as parliament demanded to know why the very same high-level officials who awarded contracts for the construction of new prisons later became directors of the same companies that won the lucrative tenders.

Tony Yengeni: Champion Of The Poor

Farrel — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:19:00 -0600

I’ve noticed recently that once one of our politicians is caught or accused of doing something illegal they suddenly become a righteous crusader for social justice. Jacob Zuma became a staunch critic of government AIDS policy after his rape trial (despite himself being partly responsible for it) and it would seem Tony Yengeni is going to take up the mantle of the poor following his release from prison:

The problem in this country is not me, the problem is not Zuma, the problem is not Mbeki, the problem we are facing is poverty. Ninety-nine percent of the economy is in five percent of the population’s hands.

With that kind of talk you’d think he went to jail for leading some massive protest against poverty instead of taking a discount on a Mercedes Benz ML320.

Tony Yengeni To Get Out Soon?

Farrel — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:16:00 -0600

The press is reporting that Tony Yengeni could be getting out of jail around January thanks to President Mbeki’s amnesty for prisoners serving less than 20 months for non-violent offences.