Cape Town – Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba has approved the City of Cape Town’s request to deviate from Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) regulations to urgently deal with the drought, the City said on Monday.

The City in a statement said Gigaba informed it that he had been advised that potential regulatory challenges might hamper successful implementation of water resilience measures whose aim is to help the City continue to provide water to its residents.

City of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille explained that the minister’s go-ahead allowed her “to immediately incur and approve unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure in terms of the MFMA”.

“This means we no longer have to call a special council meeting, but I will report on these budgetary adjustments to council in December.”

De Lille said the approval would also allow the City to speed up procurement processes.

“I want to extend a big thank you to team Cape Town because the help of residents and businesses is vital as the City of Cape Town rolls out its plan to secure more alternative water sources.”

She said, currently, dam storage levels were at 38.5%, with usable water at 28.5%.

“Consumption is at 585 million litres of collective usage per day. Together, we have managed to bring consumption down to 585 million litres of collective use per day from pre-restriction consumption levels of 1.1 billion litres per day,” said De Lille.

She thanked residents for their efforts as the City adapted to the “new normal”.

“We will not allow a well-run City to run out of water,” she said adding that the City was bringing more alternative water sources into its network while residents continued to save.

NAIROBI – Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta won 98 percent of the vote in a repeat presidential election in Kenya, although only 39 percent of voters turned out due to an opposition boycott, the electoral commission said on Monday.

The announcement touched off small protests in a few opposition strongholds, but also celebrations in pro-Kenyatta areas of the east African country. Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga had already branded the election a farce.

Given the deeply polarised atmosphere, some Kenyans fear that the violence seen so far – for the most part protesters clashing with police – is starting to take on ethnic overtones after two deaths in clashes between rival groups at the weekend.

On Monday, the US ambassador said Washington was “profoundly concerned” by the outbreaks of violence in Kenya – east Africa’s biggest economy and a key security ally of the West against militant Islam – since the October 26 re-run election.

READ: Kenya elections were ‘neither transparent or verifiable’ court rules

In his victory speech, Kenyatta repeated his belief that his victory in the original August 8 election – later nullified by the Supreme Court due to a string of irregularities – was legitimate and said dialogue would have to wait if the opposition was going to lodge court cases again. “My victory today is just part of a process that is likely to once again be subjected to a constitutional test through our courts … I will submit to this constitutional path regardless of the outcome,” Kenyatta said.

“Those who are going to ask me: ‘Are you going to engage in dialogue?’ … Let them (the opposition) first and foremost exhaust all their constitutional options.”

Kenyatta took 98 percent of the vote, results from 266 out of 291 constituencies showed. The electoral commission said 7,616,217 valid votes were cast, representing 39 percent of the 19.6 million registered voters.

Protests by Odinga’s supporters prevented polling stations from opening in 25 constituencies.

The election commission said that poor security prevented balloting in those areas but the final announcement could go ahead as it would not “materially affect” the result.

As the election commission began reading results on Monday, around 100 youths listening through their mobile phones gathered in Nairobi’s Kawangware slum, chanting “No Raila No Peace”.

Bonfire

As soon as the outcome was announced, protesters lit a bonfire in the middle of the street and began taunting riot police with cries of “the people want tear gas”.

Earlier in the day, police dispersed protesters there with teargas when they tried to block a visit to Kawangware by Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i.

In another Nairobi shanty town, Mathare, the scene of deadly clashes between police and protesters immediately after the August vote, social worker Ann Mbuthia, 58, told Reuters before the results were known that women were hurrying home.

“We are afraid because here in Mathare youth are ready to fight if Uhuru is announced (the winner),” she said. “Women are afraid to come out of their houses.”

And in the western city of Kisumu, Odinga’s political heartland, around 50 youths began to block the road at the Kondele roundabout, the epicentre of protests, while others banged metal poles together. But the protest was small.

READ: Kenya faces praise, uncertainty after election overturned

“What can I do? They’ve already announced it. Even if I burn tires, nothing will change,” said 25-year-old labourer Kennedy Omondi as he watched young men set a barricade alight.

Odinga pulled out of last week’s vote, saying the electoral commission had failed to institute reforms to forestall the kind of “illegalities and irregularities” that scuppered Kenyatta’s victory in the August election.

Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu, a coalition of civil society organizations with 2,000 election observers, said there were “multiple” cases where results from polling stations differed from results on the forms posted on the election portal after last week’s vote.

In a report, they supplied a photo taken by their observers of the tally sheet for Bashaal market centre in Garissa. It showed 133 votes for Kenyatta while the form displayed online showed 433 votes.

Another form posted on the election website, from Tumbeni primary school in Kakamega, showed four votes for Odinga and two for another minor candidate but recorded the total number of votes cast was 77 votes cast.

Reuters

Cape Town  – Cricket South Africa (CSA) has congratulated the Proteas on their achievement in winning the T20 International Series after they beat Bangladesh by 83 runs in the second game of the two-match series at Senwes Park on Sunday to clinch the series 2-0.

They won the first match by 20 runs at the Mangaung Oval on Thursday evening.

“This is another important step forward for our new leadership team headed by national head coach Ottis Gibson, Faf du Plessis as well as stand-in captain JP Duminy and congratulations are due to them and all the players and management staff,” commented CSA Acting Chief Executive, Thabang Moroe.

“It has been heartening to see the way responsibility has been given to some of the younger players to show that they can step up and broaden our talent pool.

“The time has come for us to move up the T20 rankings to the same level achieved by our Test and ODI squads and this forms part of this process.

“I would also like to thank and congratulate the Free State and North West unions that have hosted these matches. They have been extremely well supported,” concluded Moroe.