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What American Restaurants Looked Like 50 Years Ago
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By Julia Dunn/June 7, 2022 8:43 pm EST
Yeah, baby! The 1970s was one of the most iconic and parodied decades of the 20th century. Described, maybe not affectionately, but iconically, as good times with bad taste, the '70s has long been the butt of many jokes and was even once described in The Seattle Times as the decade of choice for comedy. Sure, the jumpsuits, fondue, and viral ham and bananas hollandaise recipes have long been the subjects of both comedy and horror, but there might be something that we can't hear over the laughter.
The '70s offered a distinct step into the modern era, and many historical events and movements in style, art, and culture that define the world we live in happened at this time. This decade was all at once a time of great peace, conflict, financial instability, and globalization. The tumult was met with creativity, imagination, and a little bit of funk. It's certainly worth checking out and chewing on. All of these changes were represented in the kitchen and served on the table, especially at the restaurant. Now, a half-century removed from this important decade, you may be surprised at how much has changed and how much has stayed the same in the restaurants Americans frequent.
Contemporary restaurant cuisine began to change
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While often gleefully dunked on online, the '70s offered a paradigm shift in the American diet. An increasing amount of different influences began to push the nation's dinner plate into what can be recognized as contemporary cuisine. This shift, of course, was reflected in restaurants. But what defined cuisine in the '70s and how did it really differ from that which was served before it?
An excerpt of the book "American Cuisine and How it Got This Way" in The Daily Beast argues that cooks in the '70s started rediscovering lost, or at least forgotten, cooking traditions. The '50s and '60s saw the rise of the modern consumer market and the homogenization of American restaurants. Some forward-thinking chefs in the '70s hit the brakes and rejected homogeneity in favor of regional cuisine and the beginning of the locavore movement. NY Foodstory also makes the observation that the liberalization of immigration laws led to an influx of new people to the United States in the second half of the 20th century. As more people immigrated from all around the world, they began to open small businesses, including many restaurants. This resulted in what the article described as a marked shift for people who loved food. The restaurant industry was changing in just about in every way and going in every direction.
The French influence on American cuisine
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French food has long been romanticized and seen as a major foray into the indulgent, luxurious, and refined. When thinking about French cuisine, chef Julia Child is probably among the first to come to mind with both her books and TV show. She, in short, demystified French cooking according to one food historian.
This of course had a ripple effect on the professional dining room. While it wasn't the end for the high-end French restaurant, the 1970s saw a reinvention of French cuisine in the States (via Fine Dining Lovers). This is reflected in the bistro burst of the '70s, as observed by The Washingtonian, a time when easy-going and laid-back French eateries began entering the mid-level dining scene. This can also be seen in the proliferation of The Magic Pan Crêperie, which first opened in the 1960s but became more widespread in the '70s (via The New York Times). While French cooking had long been en vogue, it had taken a new form by the '70s.
Fast food began to pick up steam
The '50s and '60s saw the fast food chain start to take root and push into a major boom during which many chains that we know today were first founded (via the Smithsonian Magazine). By the '70s, fast food had turned into a multi-billion dollar industry that was only growing, as reported by CQ Press. The same innovation that characterized the decade left no stone unturned. This is the era when, for example, Wendy's opened the first modern drive-thru (via CTM Design). One no longer needed to even stop in to eat, a true novelty. This decade also saw the first McDonald's PlayPlace and Happy Meal (via CBS News).
The fast food restaurants that cropped up all over America were spots for teenagers to kill time, even ones with a countercultural attitude. The L.A. Times listed Taco Bell as a go-to hangout spot for teen hippies in the '70s.
The restaurant scene saw a global shift
Fast food chains at this point began to diversify their offerings. One study from the '80s notes that by the '70s, fast food was cemented as an All-American experience around the world. However, at the same time, the offerings of American fast food restaurants became more globally inspired. As the study observes, the '70s saw expansion beyond the classic burger and fries to tacos, quiche, and pizza.
This expansion into different cultural reference points wasn't limited to fast food, of course. The Vietnam War resulted in two massive waves of displaced persons who brought their cuisine with them to the U.S. (via KCET). As NY Foodstory notes, '70s era legislation enabled large-scale non-European immigration to the U.S. for the first time in decades. Although some global dishes have now been around for a half-century and seem commonplace, such as sushi, one can stop and appreciate the trends of yesteryear that surely contributed to the bold and vibrant food scene of today.
Restaurant accessibility became the scene for Disability Rights Movement
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The 1970s saw the aftermath of the wars in Korea and Vietnam. There were not only many veterans, but specifically, veterans with disabilities, as outlined by National Geographic. The diverse and ever-more visible community of Americans with disabilities found themselves in a politically active atmosphere of the 1970s that encouraged the rapid, yet long overdue, development of the Disability Rights Movement (via the Denver Public Library).
While the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) didn't pass until the 1990s, the mid-'70s saw a growing awareness of those with disabilities and the importance of accessible buildings. In fact, by 1973 a law had already been passed ensuring that all entities that received federal funds needed to make their buildings accessible (via Human Center Design). According to the Denver Public Library, restaurants became one of the venues for protests advocating for more accessible designs and accommodation. Those early protests laid the foundation for the protections enshrined in the ADA.
The era of the smoking section
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A senior editor at The American Conservative describes the '70s as a smokey era when the smell of tobacco was inescapable. This of course included restaurants. Most states did not move to start banning indoor smoking until around the late '90s into the mid-'00s (via Eater). Before that, restaurants had non-smoking sections, but they often didn't do much to get you away from smokers, as one journalist at The Chatham Daily News remembers.
This may be one of the starkest and most obvious difference between dining then and now; smoking was so normalized at restaurants that it was simply a part of the experience. It wasn't until the late '70s —1977, to be specific — that Berkeley became the first American city to limit indoor smoking at restaurants (via the American Cancer Society). While the 1990s and 2000s ushered in the end of the public cigarette, the '70s remain bygone days when dining was a smokier experience.
Food could function as a means of social change
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There was a philosophy surrounding food at this time, but it wasn't just the nouvelle cuisine or how to best prepare it. Though food has always had an abstract function, there was a turn towards active expression through food in this iconic era. An honors thesis with Colby College referred to this as "edible activism." The 1970s was the home for several flourishing movements centered around identity and identity expression, such as the youth-based counterculture movement, the Civil Rights and Black Power movement, and the ecology movement.
In these movements, food was seen as part of the program. Food could come to symbolize community values, the spirit of revolution, and even environmental ideals. If food could be a reflection of identity and change, then restaurants could with this line of thinking be the vehicle, or at least gathering place, to foster this. To a certain extent, this is what happened with the groups who had the means to do so.
A Gastro Obscura piece remembers what it describes as the forgotten feminist restaurants of the time. There were 400 or so feminist restaurants that opened between the 1970s and 1990s, most of which have disappeared by now. They served as spaces for women to engage in the joys of food revolution.
The restaurant scene shifted out west in the 1970s
Fittingly, as health-conscious and eco-conscious food trends began taking hold of Americans, the food center shifted in a direction it hadn't quite been before: California. The decades following the World Wars saw an idealization of California as a destination with great weather and opportunity, which resulted in a multi-decade period of migration to California, according to the Manhattan Institute. But California wasn't only a destination — it was a lifestyle.
One of the developments that changed the California diet was the revolutionary founding of Chez Panisse, which first opened in Berkeley in 1976. The tenetts of Chez Panisse might sound familiar: local, organic, seasonal, and artisanal (via the Smithsonian Magazine). However, back in the restaurant's early days, these ideas were still new. By the late '70s, Chez Panisse developed a distinctly "New American" or "Californian" identity, shedding the old-fashioned French-influenced cuisine that dominated the American fine dining scene in earlier eras.
The restaurant scene shifted in the 1970s to unexpected places
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The restaurant scene wasn't only expanding out West. As more and more people moved to the suburbs between the 1950s and 1960s, the culinary scene also moved with them. Around 37% of Americans came to live in the 'burbs by the 1970s (via the L.A. Times). This made for a unique culinary scene, as the once cosmopolitan cities began to fall into decline. County planners, such as those in Bethesda described by the Washington Post, tweaked zoning laws to allow for restaurant development. Ironically, this process gave certain areas a more urban aesthetic. As noted by Mental Floss, the mall and shopping centers came to centralize the suburban experience and provide dining opportunities that emphasized comfort, convenience, and quickness.
One profile from Vice detailed the survival of one '70s restaurant through the decades. While mom-and-pop restaurants like the Toucan Taco in the Vice piece were once suburban fixtures, as time went on, suburbia became more dominated by chain restaurants.
Fast food moved to the city
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As the suburban market became saturated with franchises and restaurants, fast food sought to gain footing in the inner city (via The Washington Post). In the wake of political unrest, the administration under President Lyndon B. Johnson encouraged entrepreneurs in the inner city to open fast food franchises. This began an ongoing U.S. government effort to promote urban fast food entrepreneurs, particularly in the black community, according to the Pacific Standard. The government offered loans that were primarily intended to go toward opening franchises of fast food chains, which were perceived to be easy to open and guaranteed to bring profit. Partners in this program included Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, and KFC, among others.
What unfolded because of this was what the Washington Post describes as a courtship of the black community. Fast food giants made targeted ads directed at black Americans. A combination of government dollars and corporate strategy made fast food restaurants ubiquitous in the inner city, which some food historians would link to the rise of food deserts in the same areas.
This also led to the rise of party-oriented and creative '70s era bars
Many cities, but New York specifically, were left empty and cheap by the '70s, a phenomenon that gave rise to a bar and club scene that was at the time known for its creative ingenuity, and now is simply known as legendary (via Vice). Artists who flocked to cheap downtown and inner-city areas took to bars and clubs. As everything from clothing to accessories to vibes were turned into art, the 1970s New York bar scene encouraged the famous and non-famous alike, the artists and non-artists to come together under one roof.
Dazed Digital describes one '70s New York club, Max's Kansas City, as a place where celebrities and underground artists alike ate, watched music, and partied. In short, the bar and club scene that still defines hip cities today has its roots in the much wilder scene of the 1970s. On the other coast, the early 1970s spelled the beginning of the distinct Californian drinking scene: the Calfornia winery (via The Washington Post). Ultimately, the '70s were a defining point for bicoastal American drinking habits.
The revival of the American diner
While diners might most be closely associated with the '50s, the '70s saw a return to the American diner. Though the classic eateries had long been staples of the American dining scene, they faced stiff competition from the rise of the fast food chain. Despite all odds, there was a resurgence of these beauties in the '70s. Many new diners styled to look like the classic chrome midcentury ones were built during this decade (via Paste Magazine). These new diners were no longer just somewhere to go to eat; going to them now marked a sense of nostalgia.
The '70s diner revival can be understood in the context of the larger revival of '50s culture that happened in the '70s, which was noticeable in movies, music, and TV (via Rebeat Mag). "Happy Days," perhaps the most successful '50s nostalgia TV shows from the '70s, prominently featured a diner (via The New York Times).
The design that defined an era
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Pale browns and stomach-churning oranges might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the era, but as Design High Society argues, the decade's design was unfairly maligned. Haute Living made the case that loosening of post-war austerity and a general revolutionary spirit let the '70s soar into vulgarity and brashness.
The '70s were the age of disco, funk, and glam rock. Atlanta Magazine notes that radical experimentation defined the decade's design sense. On the one hand, some '70s designs relied on wood and earth tones for a natural look. On the other hand, '70s maximalist designs screamed: "more is more." Heavy velvets, disco balls, geometric patterns, and bold color-blocking were all welcome company for a particular design eye.
MeTV notes that this riotous design sense went beyond restaurant interiors. Uniforms, specifically at chain restaurants, were far out in the '70s. Bold, colorful, and playful were preferred, possibly to underline the laid-back, family-oriented nature of fast-food chains. Restaurant spaces, as they began to become more casual also began to become just as much a visual experience as a digestive one.
A comeback in the making?
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Fast Company says that '70s design is back. The publication theorizes that years of life indoors and the general stress of living in pandemic conditions have made people want the natural leanings of '70s design. After being inside for two years, it's hard not feel drawn to the natural elements that this area of design relies on.
Of course, as noted by both Fast Company and the Atlanta Magazine article, it's hard to ignore the parallels that run between now and then. Some design teams, like Rohe Creative in Philadelphia, are doing nostalgic design with a modern take. The interior design team approaches restaurant spaces with the plan to cultivate "Retro Nouveau," an aesthetic that capitalizes on '70s design elements like bright colors, open bars, and banquet seating with varied influences like European Baroque design, pop culture, and eclecticism.
Though restaurants in the '70s may have been smoky and lacked accessibility, they were also innovative hubs of community and culture. Creativity and ingenuity defined the decade. Perhaps there is a silver lining in this '70s comeback.


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Home / Work / Healthy Families NZ Workforce Development
Building community capability to prevent chronic diseases
Healthy Families NZ Workforce Development
With Ministry of Health and Healthy Families NZ providers across Aotearoa New Zealand, Aotearoa New Zealand
Since 2015, Innovate Change has supported the Ministry of Health-funded Healthy Families NZ initiative, which takes a complex systems approach to preventing chronic disease. We provide intensive innovation capability building to enable the Healthy Families NZ workforce to create meaningful systems change in ten locations across Aotearoa New Zealand.
most obese nation in the OECD.
of the population in Aotearoa New Zealand are obese. An increase of 4% since 2006.
Aotearoa New Zealand children are obese or overweight, and more than a third are inactive.
The rising tide of preventable chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers has adverse health, social and economic effects on families, communities and the health system.
The causes are complex and there is no single solution. A growing body of evidence indicates that a comprehensive coordinated and sustained approach to prevention is required.
Healthy Families NZ is a whole of community approach that makes changes to the systems that influence the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities – systems like workplaces, the education system, and community spaces.
The aim is to change these systems so that they support families and communities to eat well, be physically active, be smoke-free and remain free from alcohol-related harm.
workforce and community leaders involved in the Healthy Families NZ initiative across the country to co-create a competency framework for locally driven systems change.
major companies in South Auckland with high numbers of Maori and Pacific shift workers are implementing co-designed solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of shift workers and their families through the Shift Work Challenge.
community and whānau dinners were held to test specific ideas to improve the Kaikohe food system in the Kaikohe Food System Innovation project.
Aotearoa New Zealanders could improve their health and wellbeing through Healthy Families NZ as an initiative.
We have provided training and coaching to ten Healthy Families NZ teams to assist them in engaging deeply with their communities and develop insights to inform the development of system-level interventions.
We have worked intensively with Healthy Families Far North, Healthy Families Manukau, Manurewa-Papakura, Healthy Families Waitakere and have recently worked at a national level to co-create a competency framework for systems change with the entire Healthy Families NZ workforce across Aotearoa New Zealand.
More from this project:
The Shiftwork Challenge
Kitchen Table Talk
Simon Harger-Forde Senior Associate
Merger with NZ social change agency Innovate Change
On 1 July 2018, Innovate Change will merge with Innovation Unit, a not-for-profit social enterprise that creates new solutions for thriving societies.
Innovating around the world: extending our impact to New Zealand
Innovation Unit Australia has formed an exciting new union with New Zealand's Innovate Change, as the two organisations signed an official partnership agreement today.
Innovation Unit Australia are collaborating with AISNSW to co-design a cross sectoral program that responds to the needs of learners, and create responsive teaching strategies that ignite their individual passions and optimise their strengths.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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If you could choose to be a member of a band, what band would it be?
Training with all the legends that go to Laceys.
Sparring with Jamie in preparation for his fight against Denis Hogan.
If you could challenge a legend to a boxing fight who would it be? Why? Floyd Mayweather Jr, If I lost I would still get a great payout!


The original "desert rat" Harry Oliver was a twice Oscar-nominated Hollywood director (one of the first ever nominated for an Academy Award), a designer, showman, newspaper columnist, self-publisher, and all-around character. He lived part-time in Borrego Springs, California, in the 1920s and 1930s, then moved to nearby Thousand Palms around 1940.
In 1946, he launched his Desert Rat Scrap Book, "a publication that has sent shivers and laughs down the spine of newspaper editors across the country because of the spelling and punctuation. Harry made his own illustrations from woodblock cuts and designed his own alphabet using cactus to form the letters. But it was the stories and humor that he so lovingly injected into his Scrap Book that won his following.
Image: Desert Rat Scrapbook cover, Harry Oliver, Fall 1946.


Please join us in Portland, Oregon on November 1 at 7pm at First Unitarian Church as Creation Spirituality founder Matthew Fox speaks "On the Day of the Dead: Tuning into Ancestral Wisdom". And, on November 17th, I will be offering a ceremony "Honoring Our Ancestors" in Woodland, Washington. Click HERE for more information on these offerings.
In Mexico, on the Day of the Dead, families gather and remember their ancestors by telling stories about them and cooking their favorite foods. Gravesites and family altars are profusely decorated with flowers—especially large, bright flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums—and adorned with religious amulets and offerings of food. Family members enjoy picnics at the cemetery with other family and community members who are there to spruce up their loved ones' gravesites. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous, usually featuring meat dishes in spicy sauces, chocolate beverages, cookies, sugary confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes, and a special egg-batter bread (called pan de muerto, or bread of the dead). For those who celebrate the Day of the Dead, it is both an important social ritual and a way of recognizing the universal cycle of life and death.
Today in America, family stories rarely get transmitted to the younger "plugged in" generation. Many young people today don't even know their grandparents, who can be separated from their grandchildren by distance, culture or both. Without the stories, young people grown up not knowing where they come from or who they are. The Day of the Dead is a focused time to honor our ancestors and tell their stories.
When I realized that my own nieces and nephews didn't know their histories, I decided to adapt The Day of the Dead and create a ceremony that my own family could celebrate and practice. My extended family is no different than any other when it comes to limited family time and the demands of school and work. We are a diverse bunch spiritually, racially, and educationally. We're a large group—I have four siblings and nineteen neices and nephews. However, members of my generation have a strong sense of history and connection to many dynamic and creative ancestors, so I was excited at the prospect of passing the stories and history on to the next generation. I knew it wouldn't be easy.
The ceremony required some modification to be palatable to most of my Christian relatives. First, the word "dead" had to go -- my mother doesn't like it. So our ceremony became Honoring our Ancestors—a name that preserved the intention of the ceremony and encourages participants to reflect upon their lives, their heritage, their ancestors and the meaning and purpose of their existence.
Outside of changing the name and the location of the ceremony (in a home rather than a gravesite), we kept many of the same customs and rituals. Each participant "sponsored" an ancestor of his/her choice, which involved learning as much as possible about that ancestor, and bringing a photo and his/her favorite food to the ceremony.
The core of the ceremony was when each sponsoring family member gave a presentation about his or her ancestor to the assembled group. I learned a lot about my uncle when he talked about his life with his schizophrenic mother. When my half-sister shared her love for her father (my stepfather), I felt old feelings of jealousy rise up, and then subside again. When my cousins shared about their mother, the family saint, everyone cried and a wave of sadness passed over all of us. My brother and I talked about our father, our mother's first husband. I was worried that my mother would be somewhat uncomfortable having us discuss our relationship with him, and she later admitted that it had been difficult for her, but everyone shared in an atmosphere of love and respect. It was fun! The children present listened and watched the adult tears and laughter. For some of them, it was the first time they had seen their parents, aunts, and uncles cry.
Not all families could do this ceremony without conflict, especially when talking about the recently dead. There are some families in which unresolved issues can be sparked by discussions of the past. If this is the case in your family, I suggest sponsoring only ancestors who have been dead for over fifty years. This reduces the intensity of participants' unresolved feelings, while maintaining the intention and focus of the ceremony.
This version of Honor Our Ancestors has been performed with other families and with groups of unrelated individuals. It is effective either way. It is non-denominational, inclusive, and provides a vehicle for passing on a family's culture and wisdom to the new generations—directly addressing the destruction of "family values" that political and religious leaders are so concerned with. We will do the ceremony again on November 17th (see box above) and I welcome your participation. If you can't make it, then try it by yourself. There's more information and guidance available in my book, The Power of Ceremony.
Feel free to respond below and let the readers know what YOU have done to honor your ancestors and/or celebrate the Day of the Dead. We can learn from each other.


We spend a lot on Petrol. Just filling up once a week sets you back some serious cash when you add it all up.
And for those of us who rely on Uber and Lyft as our only car transportation, we're not immune, either. Last summer, faced with rising petrol prices, drivers from both ride-share programs signed a petition addressed to both companies asking for relief. Ultimately, these costs fall on us as consumers, too.
According to GasBuddy, on average, Monday morning is the best time to fill up, when service stations are usually at their quietest, and accordingly, prices are at their lowest (followed shortly by Tuesdays). Later in the week, you're more likely to encounter higher and more volatile pricing, with some service stations at their busiest on Fridays around 5 PM and Wednesday mornings around 9 AM.
This does depend on where you live though. As a whole, weekends are generally a bad time to fill up, as some states' petrol stations peak in pricing during that time. It's always a good idea to check out sites like Fuel Check, which will help direct you to the cheapest fuel in your area. If you are outside of NSW, try MotorMouth or Petrol Spy.
The biggest day to look at currently will be next Thursday, the day before Good Friday, on which petrol prices are set to soar. Most people will be looking to take advantage of the extra long weekend and school holidays to go out on trips, with many filling up the night before in preparation.
Make sure you have all the petrol you need this coming Easter holidays well beforehand, as the last thing you want is to be caught out queueing up with all the holiday goers and high prices.
And while you're waiting for your car to gas up, why not check out the station's convenience store?
I'm often amazed by the queues outside our local servos on Monday evenings. I've not done the maths but sat queueing for >15mins for a relatively small saving can't be worth it for a lot of people.
Also, given the choice of heading home and spending time with the kids or sitting in a car on a damp, dark forecourt waiting for someone to wash their window, browse the shop, reorganise their handbag, adjust their seat, battle with a seatbelt etc I'll just be heading home.


Tea Bungalow has 10 large en-suite rooms each named after a port involved in spice and tea trading from lands around the Indian Ocean.
Tea Bungalow is an art connoisseur's delight. Take a look at the doors of the Cochin suite. The ornate carving is the perfect foil for the simple elegance of the room. There are exquisite paintings on the walls and suddenly the delighted guest comes across an absolute gem like the miniature ancient sailing ship with three furled sails, not riding the waves but perched on a stool pointing at the admiral on the wall. It looks like the Captain is just waiting for his order to hoist the main sail and set off on a new adventure.
The beautifully designed bathrooms have hot and cold showers and world-class fixtures. Specially handcrafted sandalwood soap provided, is made exclusively for Dempo Resorts.
There are wide verandahs with broad comfortable armchairs and teapoys, to do that most pleasurable of all activities - nothing. They allow you to just let the Tea Bungalow Experience flow over you, gently, softly until it is time to face the real world again.
24 Hours Front Desk & House Keeping.


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Citizens of Belgian city urged to return stolen money that rained over town
May 2, 2013: A car passes along where robbers lost their cool and threw the vault they had stolen nearby out the car right onto the street causing a 'rainstorm of money', in Zedelgem, western Belgium. (AP)
On a Saturday evening two weeks ago in Zedelgem, townsfolk were disturbed by the wail of a siren and the shriek of tires, the din of a high-speed car chase that broke the tranquility of their sleepy city.
Suddenly, cash was flying through the air like confetti at carnival.
Dozens of people rushed out of homes or cars to grab a share of the accidental bounty: about 1 million euros ($1.3 million) in all. The small fortune had flown from a safe that cracked open when the fleeing robbers panicked and threw it out the window.
"It was," recalled Mayor Patrick Arnou, `'a rainstorm of money." Everyone from kids to the elderly ran out to take part in the free-for-all.
Now, the cops want the money back, and the townspeople face a thorny dilemma: Play things badly, and you could face two years in jail. Keep a poker face, and the money could be yours to keep.
A veil of suspicion has fallen over the town: Neighbors watch neighbors as police go door to door, questioning townsfolk about what they did -- and what they saw others do.
`'People talk about nothing else any more in this town," said Arnou. `'In the street itself, there is an atmosphere of bitterness."
Some Zedelgem inhabitants who missed the windfall said they understood the actions of their fellow townsfolk, but insisted the size of the cash pile should have made them think twice. "If it were a 20 euro note," said 77-year-old pensioner Hector Clarysse, "I'd pick it up, too, and join in."
But he added: `'If you pick up so much money, you know it's not normal."
It all started when the robbers broke into a home in a neighboring town, and made off with the safe. The getaway car was soon identified; by chance a motorcycle police officer spotted it and gave chase.
When the cop and robbers hit Zedelgem's Ruddervoordsestraat, a street lined by simple red-brick row houses, the thieves tried to shake off the officer by throwing the safe in his way. As it careened down the asphalt, the box shot open: A cloud of bills -- some worth as much as 500 euros -- swirled through the air and drifted down.
Dozens of wide-eyed people flooded the street, grabbing handfuls of cash. Drivers got out of their cars, snatched money and sped away. One lady even came out of her house with a broom, Arnou said, and swept the money inside.
Police quickly returned and literally plucked cash from the hands of people who were too slow in stashing it away.
Arnou says authorities have secured nearly half of the million euros that were originally in the safe. But the rest of the cash has disappeared into the hands of those who happened to be on that street in Zedelgem. As for the robbers, they have still not been caught -- as police attention was diverted by trying to retrieve the money.
A disheartened Arnou says his citizens should have known better. After all, he points out, the money belongs to innocent people who are now out of 1 million euros.
"What we have seen is beyond decency," said the mayor.
Once the adrenaline rush subsided, some people reached the same conclusion and handed back what they found. Late Wednesday, a couple drove from Antwerp, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) away, to hand over 16,200 euros they had picked up driving through town.
Arnou designated the mailbox outside city hall as a spot for people to hand over money -- no questions asked. One contrite individual wrapped a big wad of money in an envelope and deposited it there.
Not a good idea.
Once word got out, thieves tried to unhinge the heavy stone letterbox over the weekend and make off with its contents. It didn't work and, the postbox stood there half-cracked for days -- a sad testament to human greed. On Thursday, Arnou watched as workmen repaired the postbox and encased it deeper in concrete.
The case has triggered a passionate debate in Zedelgem.
`'There is a major discussion between people who think it should be given back and those who say `keep what you got,"' Arnou said. "We are talking about sharp debates and opinions are very divided."
But for local prosecutor Jean-Marie Berkvens, things could not be clearer: `'Fraudulent concealment," he said, "carries a maximum jail penalty of two years."
At the Cartouche bar, across the street from the city hall postbox, bar owner Emely Derous has been moderating between people on both sides of the divide.
She says picking up the money is just human nature.
"Jokingly they say: I would have done it this way or that way to keep as much as possible," Derous said. `'And yes, I might have done the same thing myself. I think everybody thinks that way."
Police wants them to change their minds.
In a letter sent around to townsfolk, police again asked for a return of the money and added: `'If you have additional information regarding people who picked up money, pass it along to our services."
In those magical minutes that Saturday, it remains unclear whether anyone took out a camera or a mobile phone to capture the moment. And there's no CCTV on the street.
The lack of evidence only adds to the suspense for mayor Arnou. But the consequences promise to be serious.
`'For now, police are still trying benign ways," he said. "Once everyone has had the chance to talk and it turns out they still have money, then the legal cases will come."


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Discussion in 'Welcome to FishLore' started by Nikita, Jan 7, 2013.
My name is Nikita (Yes I'm a guy haha). I'm gay, Young, Athletic, and not new to fish keeping, I've keep fish some years now.
I currently don't have any fish tanks whatsoever. I got rid of all of them a couple years back due to complicated reasons. I don't plan on getting any fish or fish tanks anytime soon, but hopefully one day I'll be back up and running.
I used to have so much knowledge on fish, but now it has sorta left my mind. I still know most of what I did, but I will have to stay on here and learn once again!
Welcome! May I suggest that you buy a five gallon betta tank? LOL you will find that we are a group of enablers here.
I may consider one, but I'd rather wait until I move to get a fish tank.
Thank you! I'm not sure. I hope I move. I'd love to get a 55 gallon tank.
Haha I highly recommend not getting any tanks before moving! That was a horrible horrible experience, and I only was moving 2 blocks! But here's to hoping you move if that's what you desire and then you can jump back into the best hobby around.
I don't plan on getting a tank here. I've moved with a tank once and it was very difficult, I agree. I'm ready to jump back in it.
Hi Nikita, Welcome to Fishlore.
i can almost garantee that you will end up setting up a small 5 gallon betta tank (at least). no matter how hard you fight you will set one up, lol.
WELCOME TO THE FORUM Nikita!!!!!!!!!


text:
Tammy Ann Gaskins, Advisor of CWS Pakistan in USA, aims at freedom of Christian children Bonded Labour in Pakistan. PCP. Exclusive Report.
Georgetown, Sc. May 12, 2003. Tammy Ann Gaskins, a human rights activist and Advisor of Christian welfare society Pakistan in USA, talking to PCP team said " My major aim is to eliminate Bonded Child labour in Pakistan". She stressed that I can never
12-news-01.jpg
She said " precious sacrifice of Iqbal Masih is cashed by the opportunist labour leadership and killers of Christian children have been set free by the deal among government of Pakistan and Carpet Industry owners' She said that Christian children are in thousands, as Bonded Labour in Brick Kline and Carpet industry in Pakistan and claims of the Government of Pakistan to end child labour in Pakistan seems only media play. She said that during her future visit to Pakistan, she should tour the bonded child labour locations in Pakistan in company of local and international press to surface the facts. Miss Tammy Ann Gaskins said the children working in Brick Kline and carpet industry are provided with only one meal a day. She said that she have information's that on many locations of the said industries, the full family is working as Bonded labour and treated as slaves when they are chained at nights. She added " the rapes of the young mothers and women by the owners of Brick Industry and carpet industry owners before the eyes of children and husbands is normal act and police never registers cases against these influential Muslim". She said, " CWS Pakistan is very small group with limited resources ". She told the PCP team that she accepted to be in Advisory Board of CWS Pakistan to high light the Christian issues in Pakistan" "I cry at nights when read about the Christian persecution in Pakistan, I care for the children and woman" They have been deprived of their basic human rights. Miss Tammy Ann Gaskins presented the Mission Report of CWS Pakistan to the PCP team. She said although the objectives of CWS Pakistan are very limited due to lack of Funds but she shall present her report to the international community and invite the immediate attention to come forward and save the Christian children and woman from the slavery in Pakistan. Commenting on the Mission Report of CWS Pakistan she added " Christian Welfare Society Pakistan is a Christ centered organization, dedicated to the purpose of helping the poor, suffering, and underprivileged to obtain a better life. CWS reaches out Christian and Non-Christians alike. Although CWS is a Christian organization, we will lend a helping hand when and wherever we see a need, regardless of race or religion". Talking about the general conditions of Christians in Pakistan, She said." Among the many great needs addressed by CWS are hunger, thirst, poverty, homelessness, sicknesses medical conditions, severe pain, lack of clothing, and lack of education. There is also a great civil unrest between Muslim and Christian. This is a great factor against the better employment of the Christian people. CWS does what it can do to stop and change these conditions whenever possible. We hope to reach out to the Islamic nation with a helping hand, to try to change the atmosphere to a peaceful one between our two religions". On future of CWS Pakistan Miss Gaskins said "CWS has developed several programs and activities to meet these areas of need in a practical and strategic manner. We strive to build up the poor community to a place where they can rise above their current situation, forced upon them by persecution and discrimination. CWS is not a welfare system to feed poverty; our goal is to provide care for the poverty stricken and hurting, and to help them to obtain a better life. CWS sincerely believes can be accomplished by providing the poor with the tools essential to build a better tomorrow". Miss Tammy said she would meet the all non-government organizations, Pakistani Press and government officials during her upcoming tour of Pakistan. She stressed upon government of Pakistan to repeal the Blasphemy laws in Pakistan and immediate release of Rev. Pervaiz Masih who is in jail on blasphemy laws and other Christians behind bars under section 295 B & C PPC. She demanded end to bonded child labour in Pakistan.


Mary Morris January 25, 2016 on 4:22 pm Reply Messages won't Cleared all cache and hsitory from beginning of time from all my browsers and still can't access. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't read them!
it just loads forever with a blank screen. Wenn du auf unsere Webseite klickst oder hier navigierst, stimmst du der Erfassung von Informationen durch Cookies auf und außerhalb von Facebook zu. All rights reserved. Now you should be able to see "Clear browsing data" button.
Lejla August 8, 2012 on 1:24 am Reply I tried this.
Helpful +14 Report Buuya Feb 18, 2009 08:59PM yes deleting temporary files worked for me. I had this same exact problem for almost a month but when I did my research, I found the solution. Cheers!
jane October 21, 2013 on 1:36 pm Reply My friend told me tht all the pics I downloaded were appearing on her fb about 50 times and she asked I was frustrated for 2 days and wasn't even able to sleep!
mozilla Ask a question Sign In English Search Home Support Forum Firefox cannot open facebook - have had this ... iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1 Posted on Apr 3, 2014 9:15 AM I have this question too Close Q: Why can't I open facebook videos on my ipad and iphone? regards and thanks Vicki Helpful (0) Reply options Link to this post by sebag75, sebag75 Dec 14, 2014 8:46 PM in response to Champagne_femme Level 1 (0 points) Dec 14, 2014 Uso o Firefox, nunca tive problemas, não acredito ser ele, o Internet Explorer é que me deu dor de cabeça.
A new tab will open. Report ros- Oct 17, 2015 08:16PM confirmation code?? Everytime I click on 'message' I get a blank screen and I get redirected to this: http://www.facebook.com/ajax/metacomposer/attachment/timeline/status.php?targetid=100000938022479&xhpc=composerTourStart Sent Facebook the problem twice and all I get is an email stating they I tried clearing cache, cookies, and everything else repeatedly, and it still doesn't work.
Helpful (0) Reply options Link to this post by fmaratz, fmaratz Jul 1, 2014 5:50 PM in response to aashton Level 1 (0 points) Jul 1, 2014 5:50 PM in response Being a member gives you additional options. Reset your device: hold down the home button along with the sleep/wake button until the screen goes black and you see the Apple, then let go. (No data loss) Helpful (1) Now it just comes up with a message 'unable to play video.Check your internet connection and try again' There is nothing wrong with my internet connection.
J. Clearly there is still something that isn't getting cleared. I can use facebook fine on my own computer if I use any other internet connection in cafe, work etc but my home mobile 3 internet wont let me access facebook Hvis du vil ha mer informasjon, går du til QuickTime-webstedet.
Close Tags desktop Firefox 12.0 Mac Nothing changed.It started all of a sudden and other browsers work just fine. This is happening on both ipad and iphone.
Report chris- Apr 30, 2010 03:09AM thanks dudes it works saved me fom having nervous breakdown Report Ambucias 32488Posts Monday February 1, 2010Registration date ModeratorStatus October 11, 2016 Last seen - Content available under a Creative Commons license. Like they said. It is probably the same with Silverlight http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/release-notes-flash-player-11.html Read this answer in context 6 Question tools Get email updates when anybody replies.
karki ganga November 28, 2015 on 1:08 am Reply why couldn't upload Facebook messenger in my mobile,please resolve it? It worked.


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text:
Public Works and Infrastructure
DPWI audit outcomes: AGSA briefing; DPWI, PMTE & Entities 2019/20 Annual Report; with Minister
Chairperson: Ms N Ntobongwana (ANC)
2019/20 Annual Reports
The Portfolio Committee was briefed by the Minister and senior officials of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) in a virtual meeting on the Annual Report of Department and the four entities under its purview for the 2019/2020 financial year.
The Department had again received a qualified audit, with the Auditor-General's (AG's) office noting that if drastic measures were not taken, it might regress even further, given the increased areas of qualification this year. Its report indicated that leadership should enhance oversight and adopt a zero tolerance approach when it came to non-compliance with legislation. The starting point for this would be to address the repeated non-compliance with laws and prescripts reported in prior years.
The four entities under the Department's purview, Agrément South Africa, the Council for the Built Environment, the Construction Industry Development Board and the Independent Development Trust, also presented their Annual Reports. The Council for the Built Environment was the only entity that had received a clean audit.
Members lamented the incidence of wasteful, irregular and fruitless expenditure that continued to plague the Department, and strongly called on the Minister and senior officials to ensure that measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence.
AGSA: DPWI portfolio audit outcomes
Ms Tintswalo Masia, Senior Audit Manager: Public Works portfolio, Office of the Auditor-General (AG), commended the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) on maintaining a clean audit. The Department of Public Works, Agrément SA (SA) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) remained stagnant, with unqualified audit outcomes with findings on other areas.
The Property Management and Trading Entity (PMTE) also remained stagnant, with a qualified audit outcome. She reported that if drastic measures were not taken, given the increased areas of qualification this year, the entity might regress in the following year.
Unauthorised expenditure in the portfolio remained the same as the previous financial year – R261 million. R83 million was due to overspending of the vote or a main division within a vote not approved by National Treasury. R178 million was due to expenditure not in accordance with the purpose.
There was a marked decrease in fruitless and wasteful expenditure compared to the previous financial year. The majority of F&W expenditure was caused by a motor vehicle accident claim that was repudiated, amounting to R60 736.
There was a marked increase in irregular expenditure compared to the previous financial year - in 2019/20 it stood at R423 million compared to R18 million in 2018/19. R23.6 million relates to Beitbridge border project where the emergency delegation was invoked and the investigation found the reasons to utilise the emergency delegation was not justifiable. R23.3 million relates to irregular appointment of officials during 2017-18 as identified by Public Service Commission investigation. The irregular expenditure represents the salary of these officials for 2018-19 and 2019-20
It had been noted that leadership should enhance oversight and adopt a zero-tolerance approach when it came to non-compliance with legislation. The starting point for this would be to address the repeated non-compliance with laws and prescripts reported in prior years.
[See presentation attached for further detail]
DPWI 2019/20 Annual Performance Report
Mr Imtiaz Fazel, Acting Director-General, and Mr Lwazi Mahlangu, Acting Deputy Director-General: Governance, Risk and Compliance, Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), briefed the Committee on the Department's 2019-2020 annual performance.
The Committee was informed that the DPWI had obtained a 61.8 % performance rate for the year under review, and that it had again received an adverse audit finding from the AG.
On the audited outcomes for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) it was reported that enough appropriate audit evidence could not be provided in some instances while in other cases, the supporting evidence provided did not agree with the reported achievements in the Annual Report.
On the compensation of employees (CoE), it was reported that this was underspent due to a delay in filling vacant positions and positions that became vacant during the financial year.
Public Entities' Annual Reports
Mr Molatelo Mohwasa, Acting DDG: Inter-Governmental Coordination, DPWI, briefed the Committee on the annual reports for the entities under the purview of the DPWI. These entities are:
Agrément South Africa (ASA), listed as a Schedule 3A public entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Council for the Built Environment (CBE), listed as a Schedule 3A public entity in terms of the PFMA;
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) listed as a Schedule 3A entity in terms of the PFMA;
Independent Development Trust (IDT), listed as a Schedule 2 major public entity in terms of the PFMA
The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) had 19 annual targets, with 12 annual targets achieved and seven targets not achieved. This constituted a 63% achievement of the annual targets.
The CBE obtained a clean audit in 2018/19, 2017/18 and 2016/17.
The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) received an unqualified opinion, with findings in other areas. The main challenge that hindered the entity from obtaining a clean audit was the quality of the annual financial statements and the annual performance report received for auditing purposes. 33 findings had been raised, with 10 being resolved.
Ms A Siwisa (EFF) expressed her worry in relation to the challenges at the entities of the DPWI. She cited several instances of these challenges, and noted that it seemed as if the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) was regressing as well.
She recalled the adverse opinion that had been received as a result of the month-to-month leases undertaken by the DPWI. She expressed her concern with the month to month leases, as it had been shown that there had been an overpayment of almost 10%. The AG had told the Committee about the month-to-month basis of the leases since 2014. This was a bit of a concern, with the extra 10% in money being paid. She also recalled slide 17 of the DPWI's presentation that dealt with the latter's operating liabilities. According to the DPWI, guidelines had been introduced to deal with the month-to-month lease issue. She wanted to ascertain whether these guidelines included the recommendations of the AG. She cited irregularities such as overpayments as just one example. She requested the DPWI to indicate what had been to done in this matter and whether any officials had been held to account. She also referred to the quarantine sites fiasco.
She said there had been an increase in fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure, and expressed her concern with this development as well. She once again recalled that the AG had mentioned that this money had to be paid back. She wondered who would assume responsibility, especially in relation to the Beitbridge border fence. She asked whether the implicated contractor had any intention of repaying the state.
On the irregular expenditure related to the construction of schools, she requested the DPWI to provide a list of the regions/municipalities where these schools were located. She wanted to establish whether these schools had in fact been built. She recalled many instances where money had been budgeted and spent on projects where no work had commenced. She commented that Minister De Lille had said that these incidents would not happen again, and yet they were still happening. She called on the Committee to conduct oversight visits to the Eastern Cape, North West and Kwazulu-Natal to ascertain whether these projects had been finalised. She once again recalled the issues raised by the AG.
She decried the fact that the Committee still had not been furnished with the list of all the quarantine sites. This failure had been set against the background of double payments. She also cited the challenges experienced with the immovable asset register. She asked whether the asset register had consistently been updated. She also wanted to know what the status had been on title deeds. How sure was the DPWI that it would not include property that belonged to other people?
Ms M Hicklin (DA) referred to the Covid-19 quarantine sites, and said that these sites had not been available to people who had entered South Africa from March to September. She asked that this matter be investigated when the double payments were reviewed.
She thanked the presenters for the comprehensive reports, and mentioned that she would have liked to have had more time to peruse all the documentation. There had been considerable problems with the entities under DPWI's banner, and the AG had once again concluded that there had been wholesale disregard for prescripts, such as the incidence of misstatements. This was a serious indictment on the DPWI.
She also referred to slide 36 of the presentation and took issue with the continued irregular expenditure commenting that whilst the figure might have been brought down, Members should not be distracted, as the figures from the 2018-20 financial year were still astronomical.
Ms Hicklin decried the lack of oversight over payments. In the case of the PMTE, payments had been made well in advance of the actual work being delivered. This was the easiest way for money to be siphoned from the government's purse. She said that the DPWI bled money like a sieve.
On goods and services, she wanted to ascertain where the supply chain and procurement unit considered variables such as equity and value for money. She referred specifically to the Beitbridge border fence that had proved to be a colossal and expensive exercise in futility.
In the case of the PMTE, she recalled that the entity had an overdraft of R2.6 billion, with liabilities that exceeded R9 billion. In addition to this, the overdraft facility for the PMTE had been increased, yet projects had been delayed. She echoed Ms Siwisa's concerns that the PMTE was going down the same path as the other entities.
She also decried the lack of consequence management for those officials implicated in the abuse of supply chain management (SCM) processes.
In programme 1 (Administration) of the DPWI, she failed to understand why the vacant posts had still not been filled. There seemed to be an inability to fail vacant posts, and this was against the country's high unemployment rate. She also asked whether there had been a lack of will to attract more youths and disabled people to the Department. She took issue with the continued scapegoating of others, and the lack of accountability by the DPWI.
She also wanted to know what was being done to address poor compliance by contractors, as this impacted on South Africa's economic recovery.
In programme 3, she cited poor information management and the month-to-month leases as a major problem. She was not happy with the inaccurate and incomplete information and the lack of reconciliation of statements. This meant that the real situation could not be determined.
In programme 6, she expressed her displeasure with the incomplete immovable asset register. Between 2011-2013, detailed verification of all immovable assets had been done, and again between 2014-2016, but since then nothing concrete had been done to update the register. Instead, Members had been told that this was as a result of the migration to a new system. Since she had been a Member of Parliament until the present, there had been no progress on the immovable asset register. She noted that without this register, it would be impossible to draw up new leases, conduct maintenance or even plan new projects, as no one knew what the State owned.
Referring to state funerals, she said that irregular expenditure continued to be a problem, but this had not yet been addressed. These porous SCM practices enabled malpractice that could have been avoided.
She hailed the excellent work done by Agrément South Africa (ASA), and decried the lack of public awareness of the entity. She referred to several innovative hubs under the ASA that no one knew about, yet these hubs contained revolutionising technology.
Ms L Shabalala (ANC) said that the DPWI had a history of disclaimers, yet it seemed as if it was on the right path now. The Department should not disappoint, as they had come a long way in addressing their challenges. There had been a common trend with financial misstatements, and she hoped that the information and recommendations given by the AG would point the way forward. She admitted that she did not have enough information about the bidding process, but she had heard that all bids should be awarded within 56 days. She wanted to ascertain whether this was an ideal timeframe.
On the EPWP, she took issue with the targets achieved and hoped that there would be a marked increase in future.
On the Ocean Economy, she expressed her concern at the omission of coastal provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal not being earmarked for an upgrade of their small harbours. The Eastern Cape was the poorest province in South Africa and could thus do with investments and upgrading of their harbours as "national harbours." She failed to understand why the Western Cape was the only targeted province to have their small harbours upgraded to "national harbours." In Kwazulu-Natal, no harbours had been proclaimed as "national harbours", despite the province having invested heavily in this sector. She wanted to know why this province had also received nothing of the R600 million earmarked for this process. These interventions could lead to employment that could off-set or mitigate inflation.
She said the DPWI had to assist the government in job creation. She could see that the Department's figures had not been aligned to fighting inflation.
She asked the DPWI to explain what expectations it had of Members regarding the condonation of funds.
Mr P van Staden (FF+) wanted to ascertain how many vacant posts still had to be filled, and by when this would be done. He also wanted a breakdown of the millions of Rands spent on state funerals. In a veiled swipe, he commented that he assumed that these funerals had taken place before the lockdown.
He expressed his exasperation at Parliament being petitioned to authorise the condonement of unauthorised expenditure of R61 million. He chastised the DPWI for running to Parliament to condone unauthorised expenditure.
He also lamented the inability of the DPWI to fully establish the worth of the property portfolio. This was a major concern. He wanted to know how this anomaly would be fixed, and by when. He recalled that he had sent a letter to Minister De Lille in October 2019 to ascertain whether the asset register had been updated. The Minister had subsequently replied that the asset register had on a regular basis been updated, in line with the guidelines, yet Members had heard a totally different story during the presentation.
He wanted to know how much had been spent on leases for the 2019-2020 financial year, and whether the much-vaunted cap on state funeral costs had been implemented. In the cases where it had not been implemented, he asked to be furnished with reasons as to why this had not been done.
He echoed the comments of his colleagues who had questioned the rationale of paying for goods and services before the actual work had been delivered. These companies had to meet their contractual obligations first before they could be paid. He also referred to the countless cases making their way through criminal justice system, where contractors had absconded with government funds. In most cases, the government had to wait for the conclusion of these cases before any money could be returned, while in the meantime these dodgy contractors would simply form new companies and bid for new projects. What had been done thus far to ensure that these companies/contractors were blacklisted?
He called on Minister De Lille to take accountability for the Beitbridge border fence fiasco, and wanted to ascertain what had been done to recoup taxpayers' money. He was adamant that the millions wasted on this project should be recouped.
He asserted that the Disaster Management Act had been implemented haphazardly and abused. He referred to the lack of responsibility and accountability for what had transpired with the quarantine sites, and mentioned that the government had to be taken to court for these sites to be closed. He seemed to recall that Minister De Lille had indicated that she would launch an investigation into the double payments for these sites. He insisted that there should be further investigations launched to get to the bottom of this, as the matter could not just be swept aside.
With all these challenges within the DPWI, he failed to fathom why the DPWI still wanted to spend money on a new entity, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA). He cautioned the DPWI against the inception of this new entity. The DPWI and its entities faced serious problems, and something had to be done to stop the madness. People had to be held to account, including Minister De Lille as the political head. The corruption and other acts of malfeasance had to be stemmed.
He called on the DPWI to stop blaming Covid for everything, and said people should take responsibility for their actions.
Ms S van Schalkwyk (ANC) indicated that most of her concerns had been raised by other Members. She was, however, concerned about the RGS system, as Members had been promised an update on the finalisation of this system. She also wanted to know what impact the underspending on the compensation of employees and equipment had on the DPWI's ability to deliver services.
On the DPWI's inability to attract people with disabilities and youths -- apparently due to a lack of interest -- she recalled that Members had urged the Department to institute measures that would aid in reaching set targets. She requested information on what had been done, especially in light of the current unemployment crisis.
On human resources matters, she said that 20 officials had resigned from the DPWI. She asked why these officials had resigned, and whether exit interviews had been conducted. She expressed her dismay at the vacancy rate.
She referred to the clean audit received by the CBE, but lamented the unsatisfactory overall performance of the entity. She wanted to ascertain what plans had been put in place to address the lack of performance.
The Chairperson noted the success obtained with the conclusion of the Expropriation Bill. She did, however, take Minister De Lille to task for the DPWI's inaction on amending the Public Works Bill. Minister De Lille was reminded that she had to drive transformation of the public works sector – the built environment and the rest -- and that she had promised that transformation would be addressed, yet nothing had been done. From 2014-2019, a lot had been said about transformation of the sector, yet it still lagged. She called on the Minister, as the political head of the DPWI, to drive this process.
She lamented the fact that the DPWI still had several key positions that had not been filled. Instead, the DPWI was awash with acting positions. She called on the Minister to fill these positions.
She also recalled that the AG had warned the DPWI that there had been continued non-compliance with key policies and government legislation, and that nothing had been done to prevent irregular expenditure. She called on the Minister to ensure that all relevant legislation that hampered transformation had to be amended, and the policy and research programme strengthened.
She also asked a question on behalf of Ms S Graham (DA), who had wanted to know whether the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) would be referred for investigation.
Mr W Thring (ACDP) largely agreed with most of the comments that had been made by his colleagues. He also chastised the DPWI for the irregular expenditure incurred in relation to the construction of new school buildings. This should not occur, regardless of how "virtuous" the projects were. He wanted to ascertain why irregular expenditure of almost R3 million had been entertained. He wondered why there had been no internal audit checks. He asked the DPWI to furnish him with the number of schools built and where these schools were situated.
He also lamented the dismal solvency and liquidity rate that the PMTE found itself in, as well as the fact that its liabilities had exceeded R9 billion. These were serious concerns -- the PMTE was going in the wrong direction.
He asked to be briefed on what steps had been taken to implement consequence management, if any, as there seemed to be a repeat of wrongdoing at the DPWI. He described the double payments at quarantine sites as scandalous, especially in light of the dire economic circumstances faced by millions of South Africans during the Covid pandemic. He asked for clarity, as these actions bordered on criminality.
He requested the Chairperson to schedule a meeting to discuss the woes around the asset register. This was a matter of extreme urgency, as it continued to be a concern for the Committee.
DPWI's response
Minister De Lille expressed her gratitude to the AG for its guidance and help to the DPWI. She said that the AG had really gone the extra mile with the training that had been offered to all senior managers within the DPWI on the Audit Amendment Act. She agreed with Members that the DPWI had a history of poor performance, and that the remedial action contained in the 2018-2019 plan of action had not been implemented.
For the 2019-2020 financial year, the strategy had been changed to include consequence management, and this would be followed in the remedial plan that had to be implemented. She cited the case involving 13 senior managers that had been pending before the Labour Court as a serious impediment to appointing full time officials, hence the high rate of acting positions.
She said new key results indicators had been introduced for all senior managers, and Deputy Minister Noxolo Kiviet had worked on a new change management policy. The Minister stressed that if things did not change within her Department, than it would continuously obtain the same result.
She conceded that there had been weaknesses in contract management that had led to under-spending, poor performance and graft. She was confident that the new policies would yield good results.
On the outstanding legislative frameworks, especially the Public Works Bill, she was mindful that unless real changes were effected, the DPWI would continue to be dogged by the imposition of new policies as new ministers were appointed to lead the Department. She committed to furnishing the Committee with a report on the progress made.
She added that the DPWI had instituted due diligence on all SCM processes, and she would be happy to furnish Members with this list. She hoped that this would help.
On the overpayment of leases, the Minister made the claim that decisions taken by her seemed to be ignored. She informed Members that there was a certain committee that took decisions without her approval. She had since moved to clip the wings of this committee through the implementation of the new policy. She also decried the fact that it was lamentable that an overall performance rate of 60% had been achieved, against the 90% budget expenditure.
She said the DPWI would be signing service delivery agreements with set targets with the DPWI's entities. These agreements would be aligned to the infrastructure plan. The DPWI had taken the time to brief the entities and the professional bodies in the built environment on the infrastructure plan, and had requested these stakeholders to furnish the DPWI with their inputs. The DPWI awaited these inputs.
The Minister expressed her exasperation at the lack of transformation in the built environment, and said that transformation in this sector occurred mainly in the lower grades. She had asked the profession to indicate to her how they intended to facilitate transformation in the higher grades as well.
She added that the time had come for the DPWI to conduct some introspection on the relevance of all its entities. This was based on the notion that several of these entities had overlapping mandates, and had been created by acts of Parliament.
She also conceded that policy and research development had to be improved. To assist the DPWI in this field, an external service provider had been procured to assist with the drafting of regulations for the Infrastructure Development Act (IDA), as well as other related legislation. Once again, she admitted that unknown officials within the DPWI had taken a decision that the DPWI should focus only on the IDA. She admitted that it was difficult to work with a Department that relied on convention, rather than targeted interventions.
On the procurement irregularities, she said that President Ramaphosa had directed the AG to conduct a live audit of all Covid-19 related procurement, and that she awaited the report. She vowed that there would consequence management for those implicated of wrongdoing. She had asked the acting DG to provide guidance on whether the Presidency should be approached on whether a proclamation should be sought for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate.
Referring to the requests for condonation, she said the schools in question had been built between 2016 and 2018, and that the irregular expenditure recorded had been on the DPWI's books since then. This had been the reason for the requests.
She concurred with Members that the immovable asset register should be a stand-alone item for a future discussion, and that she stood ready to provide a report on it.
One of the problems had been the DPWI's reliance on contract workers for well over five now. She had received a request to approve another six-month extension of these contract workers' contracts. She would furnish Members with a report on this as well.
Mr Mandla Sithole, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), DPWI, addressed the issue of procurement irregularities and overpayments at quarantine sites. He stressed that there had been a need to further engagement on this matter, and that his office had provided a report to the AG. He said that when people initially arrived from abroad, there had been a lack of planning, especially on matters like preferred diets. He explained that the double payments at the sites were reflected as a result of two or three family members being placed in separate rooms. He hoped that this explanation provided clarity.
He lamented the overpayment of about R42 million on leases, and vowed that consequence management would be implemented. He could not go into detail on the various cases. As per the guidelines, the DPWI would request officials to provide appropriate reasons as to why action should not be taken against them. After this assessment, labour relations would take over the process. 42 letters had been issued to officials, and that a decision had been taken that overpayments would not be tolerated.
Regarding the concern over prepayments, he replied that the Beitbridge border fence issue and state funerals were regarded as isolated incidences, and that it by no means meant that it occurred across the board.
He promised Members that he would furnish them with a list of schools that had been built, and said an amount of R261 million had been spent on their construction.
The immovable asset register was updated on a regular basis, and the only outstanding issue had been evaluations. The DPWI had various measures in place to record assets, and in most cases also relied on municipalities to verify assets. He conceded that it would be a very exercise to conduct verification of almost 90 000 facilities.
The DPWI was looking at measures to address the solvency and liquidity rate as well.
Ms Sasa Subban, DDG: Real Estate Investment Services, DPWI, said the asset register had been updated on a continuous basis, and a reconciliation process of the register took place on a yearly basis. The deeds register was also reviewed regularly, whereas the physical verification of assets took place every five years.
The assets had been valued at R123 billion, but the DPWI had received a disclaimer as it had undervalued some assets. This had constituted only about 2% of all assets. She also referred to the DPWI's reliance on municipal evaluations and verifications.
She conceded that there were inherent challenges with the asset register, as some buildings had been built on land that did not belong to the State.
Mr Morris Mabinja, Senior Manager: Key Accounts Management, DPWI, said that specific cases related to the month-to-month leases had been referred to the SIU for investigation. The DPWI had also received an instruction from National Treasury not to engage with leases that were under investigation. He referred to the reconfiguration of government as a challenge, as certain departments had merged. The DPWI had been working closely with other departments on these month-to-month leases as well.
The refurbishment of the Telkom Towers was well under way, and would be occupied by the South African Police Service (SAPS). Once the building was operational, ten month-to-month leases would be terminated. These leases would not be able to be extended.
Mr Batho Mokhothu, DDG: Construction Management, DPWI, said that the DPWI had been faced with both macro and micro economic issues, and that there needed to be some appreciation of the challenges faced at the micro level, as these factors had been out of the DPWI's control. The construction sector had seen a steady decline for years now, and in the main there had also been liquidity issues. Many contractors would commit to a project and as a result of the economic environment would have to halt work, as they did not have access to funds.
He had been working with the acting DG, and together they had identified the obvious financial implications as a result of construction delays. These had impacted on the financial statements of the DPWI. A short-term plan had been introduced that would look at the capacity issues, and there was a commitment to look at the value chain business improvement to unblock bottlenecks. The plan had been approved by the Executive Committee, and was in the implementation stage.
The Telkom Towers project was on track, and this would alleviate some of the concerns raised by Members. The project had been held ransom by labour disputes and the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Carmen Abrahams, Chief Director: EPWP, DPWI, said she had engaged various stakeholders with the view to design key outcomes to attract more youths and people with disabilities. Coincidentally, the Community Youth Programme had done remarkably well. She said that most programmes had a large female component, but very little youth participation. The DPWI managed to attract youths to work on Covid-19 project and that it would be key for the Department to design more youth-orientated programmes.
Ms Florence Rabada, Acting Deputy Director-General: Property and Construction Industry Policy and Research, DPWI, noted the comments by the Minister and the Chairperson on the need to gain traction on the legislation. She said a policy review was currently under way to finalise all policy documents. The Expropriation Bill had been finalized, and the DPWI was also working on several other policy documents.
Mr Molatelo Mohwasa, Acting DDG: Inter-Governmental Coordination, DPWI, said that there had not been much related to the public entities, except to note the findings by the AG on the fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure by ASA and the CBE. The chief executive officers (CEOs) of these entities had been instructed to ensure that they developed an action plan to deal with these adverse findings, and the DPWI would be closely monitoring developments to ensure that these entities complied with the audit action plans.
He also touched on the errors with regard to financial misstatements, and said that these irregular expenditures amounted to astronomical amounts. This indicated that there was a need for built-in internal controls that included over- and under-payments.
On transformation, as reflected on by the Chairperson, he referred to the forums that had been established to address the lack of transformation. Meetings had taken place, but work had been stymied by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the CBE would furnish him with a report on the outcomes of meetings that had been held with stakeholders in the built environment sector.
Ms Priscilla Mdlalose, CEO of the CBE, said she thought it important to explain the discrepancies between the actual performance versus expenditure. She found it unfortunate that she could not present the partially achieved targets. The CBE had reached about 95% of all the targets that had been set.
In programme 4 that dealt with regulations, work had been on the identification of work, and reports to this effect had been published. The CBE had also engaged with the Competition Commission (CC), and she thanked the Minister and Deputy Minister for having facilitated the engagement with the CC. This was an important milestone.
The CBE had also developed a knowledge management platform, and it only required public participation. For information communication technology (ICT) governance, the CBE had formed an internal ICT steering committee with the support of the DPWI's ICT experts to strengthen this field.
Mr Cyril Gamede, CEO of the CIDB, admitted the challenges experienced with the filling of vacancies, especially at the executive and senior levels. He wanted to assure the Chairperson that the CIDB had agreed on a way forward. Two of the five executive positions should still be filled, and four of 12 senior level positions would also be filled by the end of the first quarter in 2021.
He acknowledged the slow pace of transformation, and confirmed that the bulk of transformation had occurred in lower grades. The CIDB had engaged contractors to devise plans that ensured that targets were met. He cited the lack of access to work as one of the biggest impediments to transformation. The CIDB had engaged departments and other stakeholders on the need to prioritise previously disadvantaged contractors. He also cited challenges related to the payment of invoices by government departments. This impacted heavily on contractors.
Mr Clive Mtshisa, DDG: Corporate Services, DPWI, explained that 262 positions had already been advertised, and that these positions straddled all levels. To date there were also 244 positions that had still not been advertised. About eight senior managerial positions should still be advertised. The selection process of 13 directors had been concluded, as well as seven chief director positions. Some DDG positions had been combined, but would be uncoupled.
Mr Nkosana Kubeka, Chief Director, Property Management Operation, PMTE responded to the questions posed by Ms Shabalala that pertained to the Ocean Economy and small harbours. He said that over and above the 12 proclaimed harbours in the Western Cape, cognisance had to be taken of the special nodal development areas as well. In the Northern Cape, three harbours had been identified, in the Eastern Cape five, as well as five in Kwazulu-Natal. Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape, Port St John in the Eastern Cape and Port Edward in Kwazulu-Natal, had all been identified as part of the phased approach.
He added that in the Eastern Cape, a feasibility study had been done on the economic viability of Port St Johns as part of the special economic development framework. This work had been conducted in tandem with other sister departments. The feasibility study was at an advance stage. On 4 November, the DPWI had met with potential multilateral investors, who had all expressed interest in the project.
In phase 2 and 3 of the initiative, the DPWI would focus on the other two provinces. He promised Members a detailed presentation on all of these.
Mr Fazel added that on the quarantine sites, a follow-up had been done and no irregularities had been found. The DPWI would conduct additional follow-ups, in tandem with the AG.
With regard to state funerals, the DPWI, in tandem with the Presidency and the Department of Defence (DoD), was in the process of developing norms and standards. A cap on each state funeral had also formed part of these discussions.
On the Beitbridge issue, he said that 13 disciplinary procedures had been instituted, and the SIU was busy with a legal process to recoup the money from the contractor.
On the blacklisting of companies, he said that the DPWI had created a special committee to investigate this matter, and it would have to ensure that the committee was well capacitated.
On consequence management, he said that to date 20 warnings had been issued. These covered various offences, from the serious to the mundane.
The DPWI was in the process of developing a clean audit action plan with the help of the AG, and he hoped that next year would paint a different picture.
On change management, he commented that the Deputy Minister had led process that sought to address inherent challenges. The DPWI had undertaken a diagnostic review of morale within the DPWI, and this diagnostic review would provide guidance.
Minister De Lille said that the Committee should give her and her team six months to address all the pertinent challenges within the Department.
The Chairperson thanked the Minister and her team for the concise briefing, which had shown the weaknesses within the Department, especially the PMTE.
She called on the Minister and her team to work towards the improvement of the audit outcomes. There were many issues that had been raised that required more information. She also touched on the issue of Telkom Towers, and asked that this project be completed as a matter of urgency.
DPWI audit outcomes: AGSA briefing; DPWI, PMTE & Entities 2019/20 Annual Report; with Minister 1
DPWI Public Entities: Presentation Annual Report 2019-20 -17 November 2020
DPWI Presentation Annual Report 2019-20 -17 November 2020
AGSA: Public Works and Infrastructure PFMA 2019-20
Ntobongwana, Ms N Chairperson
De Lille, Ms P
Graham, Ms SJ
Hicklin, Ms MB
Kiviet, Ms N
Mjobo, Ms LN
Nxumalo, Mr MN
Shabalala, Ms LF
Siwisa, Ms AM
Thring, Mr WM
Van Schalkwyk, Ms SR
Van Staden, Mr PA
FF+


text:
Railway station at heart of city
After major reconstruction, Tsentralny bus station reopens in the capital
As a theatre starts with the coat-check room, cities begin with their stations. Speaking more broadly, the transport system forms the 'face' of a city. In this respect, Minskers are lucky, as anyone who has ever witnessed a Moscow or Kiev traffic jam can easily confirm.
However, our capital is ever expanding. It can be a true challenge to get around during rush hour. As the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has noted, we must act quickly. In support of these words, he visited the reconstructed Tsentralny bus station to launch this joint project of the Minsk City Executive Committee and the Railway and made a short trip on an urban Swiss-made electric train.
The major construction site has attracted attention in the centre of the city for the past four years. Tsentralny bus station has acquired a new 'face', with work now completed. The unique complex is open at last, offering access to the train station and, by November, a business centre and parking.
The site is a landmark for Belarus, being the first European level complex of its kind in the country, as specialists assert. Initially, it was to open in November but, on the eve of City Day, the bus station was unveiled, making a worthy present for the capital's birthday. Its four storey building resembles an express train.
The Ivan Vinogradov Studio designed the architectural appearance of the new station, with construction overseen by the Miaton company. Its Director, Alexander Kunitsky, admits that they are pleased with the results. It's hard to argue on viewing the beautiful building, which received over $55m in investments. The Director of the Minsk Bus Station's branch, Alexander Buslyuk, is also satisfied and transport staff are now taking up residence in their wonderful new workplace.
From now on, Tsentralny will operate as an international bus station, receiving its first passengers at platforms and ticket offices. Work continues on cafes, restaurants, shops and multi-level parking for the eye-catching building. It stands in Privokzalnaya Square and is certainly a calling card for the Belarusian capital.
As regards the urban electric train, the first stage of the project is now complete. The President travelled from the railway station to Zhdanovichi to sample the new development. In the coming five years, urban trains are to connect Minsk with more neighbouring suburbs, in addition to Smolevichi (an upcoming city-satellite).