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The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Water projects worth R50bn to be constructed in Limpopo while progress on older projects stalls
Although construction of some of the bulk water projects began years ago, most are yet to get off the ground. The Limpopo provincial government is working with the department of water and sanitation (DWS) to construct new bulk water projects worth more than R50 billion, while many of the province's other water projects are either stalled or progressing at a snail's pace. Outlining some of the long-term bulk water projects at The Ranch Hotel, near Polokwane last weekend, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo said he was worried that the completion of Limpopo's water projects had been delayed for extended periods. 'The DWS does not have the capacity to implement water services projects directly. We are not provided with funding to establish this capacity because water services are a municipal function and not a DWS function,' he said. ALSO READ: R213m down the drain as Limpopo residents still have no water Mahlobo said progress meetings with all the water services authorities are held every month. 'But despite these measures, projects are still often delayed, primarily due to poor performance by contractors and payment service providers.' Limpopo's water projects delayed The Citizen understands that although construction of some of these long-term bulk water projects began many years ago, most are yet to get off the ground. For example, the Giyani water treatment works is still appointing an implementing agent and construction is only expected to start in July 2025. The Giyani bulk water project began in 2014 with a budget of R900 million. It was meant to be completed in August 2017, but the project is still not complete. It has so far cost the government more than R4.5 billion. The Mooihoek/Tubatse bulk water supply project is almost complete, with the contractor currently addressing a snag list to finalise the project. The Nebo bulk water supply is still in the scoping phase. Offtake to Schoonoord (Phase 3C) and Marulaneng (Phase 3B) is complete, but functionality depends on the completion of Malekana to the Jane-Furse pipeline. The R129 Mametja/Sekororo bulk water supply Phase 1 is delayed due to Eskom power connections, while RM04 experienced the same electricity problems for the water treatment works and boreholes. ALSO READ: Multi-billion Limpopo mega-project has ground to a halt Addressing a South African Local Government Association (Salga) lekgotla in Polokwane last week, Mahlobo said many water and sanitation projects in Limpopo have been subjected to lengthy delays. Mahlobo blamed corruption in the DWS and implementing agents, poor planning, poor performance of contractors, weak project and contract management by implementing agents, vandalism and theft, and illegal connections. Investigations into the Giyani water project by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) are ongoing. The former CEO and CFO of Lepelle Northern Water (LNW), a state-owned water utility responsible for bulk water provision in Limpopo, resigned. One LNW manager has been charged and dismissed. The SIU is also filing criminal and civil litigation to recover funds. New water projects Some of the long-term bulk water projects to begin between 2025 and 2030 are the N'wamitwa Dam, with an estimated budget of R6 billion, the Beitbridge/Musina intergrated water supply scheme, with an estimated R2 billion budget and the 10-year R25 billion Olifants management model water project. This massive project is meant to supply water to three municipalities, Jane Furse, Mogalakwena and Polokwane. Phase 1 of the project began last year. When complete, it is expected to provide water to 39 000 households. Phase 1 of the Olifants/Ebenezer bulk water scheme began last year with an estimated cost of R18 billion. The project is scheduled to start pumping 114 megalitres of water per day in 2027 and ultimately 270 megalitres of water per day in 2029. NOW READ: R3bn allocated to fix Limpopo's roads and build new ones
Eyewitness News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Judge in Mapisa-Nqakula's corruption matter unhappy with progress of case
JOHANNESBURG - The judge presiding over the corruption case of former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is unhappy with the progress of the case, following yet another appeared at the Pretoria High Court on Friday, where she faces 12 counts of corruption and one of money alleged that as defence minister, she solicited and received kickbacks, amounting to R4.5 million from a defence April, Judge Mokhine Mosopa made a ruling that Mapisa-Nqakula's lawyers should be given access to a Dequar Military Police docket. ALSO READ: Court denies corruption-accused Mapisa-Nqakula access to investigation diary This is the docket of the State's star witness, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, where she is charged with corruption in a separate case was eventually struck off the court roll due to persistent delays, leading to Mapisa-Nqakula's lawyers suspecting she may have made a quid pro quo deal with the State. READ: High Court says State isn't infringing on Mapisa-Nqakula's right to a fair trial Prosecutor Paul Louw said that since the docket was from another court, he could not disclose it."I only received confirmation from my colleagues in the SCCU (Specialised Commercial Crimes Court), where the military matter was being held yesterday afternoon, that the docket is available to me as a member of the investigating director. I cannot disclose it, it must formally happen via the office of the national director of public prosecutions." Judge Mosopa adjourned the matter to 18 August for a progress report on the disclosure process.
Eyewitness News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Mapisa-Nqakula seeks state witnesses' bank records in corruption case
JOHANNESBURG - Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is seeking the bank records of the state's star witness in her corruption case. She announced this through her lawyers during her brief appearance at the Pretoria High Court on Friday. Mapisa-Nqakula is facing several counts of corruption and money laundering after being accused of soliciting and receiving bribes amounting to R4.5 million from a defence contractor. READ: Judge in Mapisa-Nqakula's corruption matter unhappy with progress of case In the charge sheet, the state alleges that businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu paid the ex-minister millions of rands in cash bribes. This was in exchange for Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula assisting her in scoring defence tenders. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu is now a state witness and is set to testify against her former co-conspirator. Makhi Nogaga, who is representing the minister, says they will be requesting further particulars from the state. 'If I can make an example of the items that we require, we do not have the full bank details of the complainant, which is relevant to the matter.' The matter has been adjourned to the 18th of August.
Eyewitness News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Corruption-accused Mapisa-Nqakula changes lawyers; case postponed to June
JOHANNESBURG - Disgraced former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has changed lawyers in her corruption matter before the Pretoria High Court. She made a brief appearance in the dock on Friday, where she faces 12 counts of fraud and money laundering. The former Speaker allegedly received R4.5 million in kickbacks from a contractor when she was defence minister. She's maintained her innocence, claiming the charges were politically motivated. Mapisa-Nqakula returned to the dock on Friday morning, taking a seat right at the centre and keeping her head down until her matter was called. Her lawyer, Advocate Graham Kerr-Philips, told the court that they would no longer be on the case. "We appear to inform your lordship that our attorney's mandate has been withdrawn, so we are here to withdraw with your lordship's consent and to hand over to those who will take over from us." After Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed the changes, her new lawyer, Advocate Cronje Kriel, came on record. "We have been briefed, we have been in contact with our learned colleagues." At the same time, the court is yet to receive the outcome of representations made by Mapisa-Nqakula's lawyers to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi. The matter has been postponed to June.
IOL News
26-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Harnessing South Africa's AI investments for a skills revolution
By Professor Colin Thakur On 15 April 2025, history quietly turned a corner in Cape Town. Premier Alan Winde convened the first-ever Premier's Council on Skills (PCS) at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Skills Centre. This wasn't just another roundtable - it was a full-fledged strategic intervention. The Premier, his entire cabinet, academic leaders, and tech giants gathered with one goal in mind: to understand and respond to the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on work and skills development. UNISA was a proud partner in this groundbreaking event. Senior academic voices included Prof. Mamba, Executive Dean of UNISA; the Principals of West Coast College Lungisa Mbulawa, Boland College Charles Goodwin, and False Bay College Shalen Matthews; as well as Prof. Eugene Cloete, CEO of the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC). Industry was represented by major players, including AWS and Microsoft. The exceptional Melissa Parker orchestrated the day's flow, and the formidable Naz Ebrahim - named one of the Top 100 Brilliant Women in AI - chaired the opening session with characteristic brilliance. As part of the programme, I had the privilege of delivering a 15-minute presentation that addressed a looming but largely unspoken opportunity. I highlighted the AI hat-trick no one seems to be talking about. In the span of a single month, three exponential technology investments were announced in South Africa: 1. Microsoft's R4.5 billion expansion of high-performance data centres in Johannesburg; 2. Google's R2.5 bn cloud infrastructure build; and 3. The establishment of Africa's first AI Factory by NVIDIA and Cassava Technologies. Each of these investments is transformative on its own, but viewed collectively, they represent an unprecedented alignment of infrastructure, computational power, and opportunity. For the first time, South African academics and innovators will have access to world-class computational resources. But here's the rub: no one is treating these three investments as a singular, strategic national opportunity. UNISA must help shift this narrative. The real disruption is already here. We often speak of AI as something just over the horizon. It's not. It's already reshaping the world of work. Previous industrial revolutions disrupted manual labour. This one - the Fourth Industrial Revolution - is disrupting white-collar professions. An estimated 800 million jobs are at risk. But this shift isn't just about job losses; it's about how the tasks within those jobs are being transformed. Every occupation is essentially a bundle of tasks, varying in complexity, duration, and repetition. In the past, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) could handle simple, rule-based work. Now, AI agents are automating complex tasks of up to two hours long - with 50% accuracy. Every seven months, the length of tasks that AI can automate is doubling. And both task length and accuracy are improving exponentially. As AI becomes better at handling longer and more complex tasks, the implications for workers, educators, and policy makers become profound. Here's the paradox: to train future researchers, data scientists, and cybersecurity experts, we need high-performance computing and vast data storage. Historically, South Africa has been constrained by a lack of computational power. That constraint has now been lifted. These three major tech investments lay the foundation for a very different future. But infrastructure alone is not enough. We must align our education systems, skills programmes, and policy responses to keep pace with technological change. Prof. Mamba was characteristically erudite when he offered a pointed, powerful remark: 'An exponential response is non-negotiable. If we fail to leverage these investment opportunities to upskill our nation, then we fail South Africa.' Premier Winde echoed this sense of urgency in his keynote address: 'There is no denying AI is here to stay… We must strike a balance - utilising AI's benefits while remaining vigilant about its risks. But we cannot wait for the future - we must create it.' AWS's Dr. Shivagami Gugan captured it succinctly in just three words: 'Fail forward, quickly.' And Naz Ebrahim left us with this lasting insight: 'We need purposeful reskilling. Skilling on its own just won't do it.' We cannot afford to let this moment pass us by. We must integrate, elevate, and innovate. These exponential tech investments are not just about infrastructure - they're about building capacity and advancing research. South Africa now has the tools. The real question is - do we have the collective will? UNISA is committed to supporting an elevated response in partnership with the Western Cape. Together, we will build agile curricula, forge public-private-academic alliances, and ensure the exponential future is inclusive. We don't just want to witness the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We want to shape it. *Thakur is a Distinguished Professor in 4IR and Digitalisation at UNISA. He writes in his personal capacity.
