Latest news with #R42
eNCA
5 days ago
- Climate
- eNCA
Kings Park swimming pool gets R42m renovation after storm damage
DURBAN - The bad weather and storms that have battered KwaZulu-Natal in recent years have also taken a toll on the province's recreational facilities. READ | UK records sunniest spring in over a century The Kings Park Swimming Pool was damaged by strong winds last year. But there's some good news renovations worth R42 million are now under way to restore the pool to international standard. eNCA reporter Siphokazi Malinga filed this report.
The South African
5 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Kings Park pool R42 million upgrades on track
The iconic Kings Park Swimming Pool in Durban is undergoing a long-awaited R42 million upgrade and is set to reopen to the public by June 2026, eThekwini Municipality officials confirmed this week. The 100-year-old pool, which has been closed since November 2024, is receiving a full revamp in two stages. Project lead Zakhi Mkhize from the municipality says Phase One – focused on emergency repairs following storm damage earlier this year – will conclude by the end of July. 'Phase Two starts now and will run for a full year, until June [2026]. This includes not only structural work but a facelift to enhance the architectural and aesthetic appeal,' said Mkhize. She added that upgrades would also address compliance and safety issues, including projection and water level regulations, to ensure the facility meets modern standards. Kings Park Pool is located in a vital sport tourism hub, adjacent to landmarks such as Moses Mabhida Stadium and Durban Country Club. The area is known as Durban's 'sports precinct', hosting both international and local sporting events. 'This facility is one of a kind. Its revival will complement the city's sports infrastructure and help draw tourism, while providing a high-quality public space for recreation and training,' Mkhize said. Municipal officials have committed to strict maintenance planning once the upgrade is completed, aiming to prevent further costly refurbishments in the future. Locals and athletes alike are eagerly awaiting the reopening of the revamped pool, which has long been a favourite venue for competitive swimming and community recreation in the city. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
CoGTA flags dire audit findings as Umzinyathi racks up over R1bn in irregular spending
CoGTA flags dire audit findings as Umzinyathi racks up over R1bn in irregular spending The embattled Umzinyathi District Municipality has come under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed that the institution has incurred more than R1 billion in irregular expenditure, alongside R323 million in unauthorised spending and R42 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The revelations came during an oversight visit by the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature's Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Portfolio Committee, which placed Umzinyathi firmly in the spotlight. Residents in the district have repeatedly raised concerns over the unreliable water supply, with some areas—including Sibongile, Wasbank, and Glencoe—experiencing days without access to water. Committee chairperson Marlaine Nair, speaking to the Courier after the meeting, described the situation as 'deeply concerning,' saying the municipality's persistent failures undermine both public trust and service delivery. 'We are extremely concerned that Umzinyathi continues to receive adverse audit opinions from the Auditor-General, despite being under administration since 2016,' said Nair. She confirmed that this marks the third consecutive year the municipality has received an adverse opinion, signalling that its financial statements are unreliable and that there is ongoing non-compliance with legislation. The municipality has also presented unfunded budgets for three consecutive years and is facing a severe cash flow crisis, which puts basic services—including water provision—at risk. Despite spending over R1 billion on water infrastructure, major backlogs remain, with many projects stalled and infrastructure in disrepair. The municipal manager was suspended earlier this year, while Mayor Ngubane resigned, adding to the instability. 'We've requested detailed reports within two weeks, including updates on Section 106 investigations into alleged corruption. We do, however, welcome the co-operation received from leadership and confirmation that the 2025/2026 budget is finally funded,' Nair concluded. HAVE YOUR SAY: Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram or email us at [email protected]. Add us on WhatsApp 071 277 1394.
The Citizen
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Here is what's causing delays at Home Affairs offices
Home Affairs officials were in parliament on Tuesday where they detailed their challenges with fellow government entity Sita. Long queues and slow processing times at Home Affairs offices are due to the shortcomings of the State Information Technology Agency (Sita), a parliamentary portfolio committee has heard. On Tuesday, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) detailed the logistical issues it regularly encounters. The department warned that cost, time and efficiency challenges would persist unless it was given the freedom to procure its own service providers. Sita inefficiencies A presentation given by DHA's Chief Information Officer Leon Du Preez stressed that despite Sita's mandate to streamline government communications, this was not the current reality. 'Sita has become a bottleneck to service delivery and has a strategic misalignment with the digital transformation needs of home affairs,' stated Du Preez. Sita inefficiencies have delayed modernisation targets such as office upgrades, live data capture deployments, and integrated border management. These have cybersecurity ripple effects such as a lack of real-time monitoring, virtual private network vulnerabilities and inadequate security information and incident management. Du Preez highlighted a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) diagnostic report showing that the department required an urgent system refresh as it was plagued by old and ageing infrastructure. The CSIR report found critical faults in home affairs' isolated networks and biometric systems as well as a lack of redundancy — the system's ability to have rapid, available backup network pathways. Procurement issues This is a list of 12 specific service delivery and procurement issues, most notably a two-year delay in upgrading office connectivity and R42 million wasted on obsolete anti-malware software. Du Preez noted with concern how during a lengthy infrastructure failure, the department was the first to identify the problem. 'We engaged with both [the service provider] and Sita at the time, and it was unfortunate that neither was aware of the downtime that caused the issue. 'We also noted that the redundant links were not in different trenches. In other words, they had dual links but in the same trench,' said Du Preez. Additionally, three projects involving local area network cabling, the procurement of routers and switches and the connection of medical facilities are two years over deadline. The inefficiencies have led to at least one service provider's contract being terminated after failures to meet remedial action implemented since late 2024. Plan to rely on banks Processing identity and passport documentation is one of Home Affairs' primary functions, and Du Preez elaborated on the department's plans to use the private sector to assist. 'We should not be expanding, buying, or constructing additional new physical offices. We would rather leverage the banks' infrastructure, not only in branch but also on digital platforms,' he said. He added that banks have made a commitment to DHA that their networks are available to the department. This would allow banks and Home Affairs to 'deep link' across their respective networks when South African citizens apply for IDs and passports. Du Preez said the engagement process began in 2015, but only 30 branches have been linked so far. 'We know that is chipping away at the problem too slowly and therefore set ourselves an ambitious target of 100 branches,' said Du Preez. The portfolio committee's agenda ran over time, with the chair postponing questions and comments on the presentation to a later date. NOW READ: 'Challenges around salaries': Auditor-General says Sita can't afford ICT staff
The South African
15-06-2025
- Business
- The South African
The yearly salaries of South Africa's State-owned enterprise CEOs
Several Parliamentary Q&A sessions have revealed just how much public officials and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of some of South Africa's top State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are earning annually. According to BusinessTech , the yearly salary of some are up to R15.5 million a year, which equates to a eyebrow-raising R42 400 every day. This yearly salary, earned by the CEO of the Development Bank of South Africa, also tops the list of highest salaries for public officials in SA. Next on the list of highly-paid Chief Executive Officers is Transnet's CEO, who earns R8.5 million a year. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) pays its CEO R7.8 million per year, with the CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) coming in next, earning R7.1 million annually. Take a look at the top 10 SOEs as well as how much their CEOs are paid below: State-owned enterprise CEO pay per year CEO pay per month CEO pay per day Development Bank of South Africa R15.5 million R1.29 million R42 465 Transnet R8.5 million R708 333 R23 287 Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) R7.8 million R650 000 R21 370 Road Accident Fund (RAF) R7.1 million R591 666 R19 452 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) R6.92 million R576 667 R18 959 Central Energy Fund R6.15 million R512 500 R16 849 Air Traffic Navigation Services R6.14 million R511 667 R16 822 South African Airways (SAA) R6.0 million R500 000 R16 438 PetroSA R5.8 million R483 333 R15 890 Rand Water R5.4 million R450 000 R14 795 Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
