Councillor Juwairiya Kaldine. Photo: Facebook
NOTE: Apology to Councillor Kaldine and retraction. See Editor’s note below article.
A Patriotic Alliance (PA) councillor in the City of Johannesburg has been accused of fraud by a civil society group after signing approval to give land owned by the Gauteng government for a taxi rank development without following the law.
The Community Accountability Gatekeepers, a civil society organisation in Eldorado Park, called for action against the councillor for her alleged “fraudulent” conduct in a letter to Johannesburg council speaker Margaret Arnolds, sent last week.
Internal notes from the Gauteng human settlements department claim that Juwairiya Kaldine, a senior official in the PA, allowed the Eldorado Park Taxi Association to “invade” a stretch of open land in the township owned by the provincial government. The notes said the taxi association’s alleged invasion “was also supported by councillor Juwairiya Kaldine misleading them when it comes to ownership”.
The Mail & Guardian has seen a letter dated 14 December 2023 written by Kaldine, who told the taxi association that she had “no objection” to the development of the rank because the “stand is owned by the City of Joburg”.
“If the City of Joburg, through its future development plans, needs to develop during [the taxi association’s] occupation, through my office, it’s important that the City of Joburg communicate and afford three months’ notice where the owners of the land won’t assist the association to move,” Kaldine wrote.
A deeds search confirmed that the land is not owned by the city, but rather belonged to the provincial government.
Section 14 of the Municipal Finance Management Act stipulates that land the state wants to dispose of or lease should follow a fair, equitable, transparent and competitive process. No records exist that a competitive and transparent bidding process was advertised for the land.
“We, as the community, approached the Eldorado Taxi Association chairperson [Saliem Basson] when they started digging but they were very arrogant and told us that the executive of the association had a meeting with the ward 18 councillor [Kaldine], and she gave them permission to build on the stand,” the letter reads.
“We also approached the City of Joburg’s building inspector and his supervisor. They also attempted to stop them from continuing to build as they had no building plans or any other paperwork from them or the Gauteng Province, but they defied all of us and are continuing to build on the mentioned stand.”
The land owned by the Gauteng government that has been given for a taxi rank development without following the law. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Last week, the M&G sent detailed questions to City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane, who had not responded by the time of publication.
Tahir Sema, the spokesperson for the provincial human settlements department, said records showed the stand number was “privately owned”.
Kaldine confirmed authoring the letter granting permission to the association to occupy the vacant land, telling the M&G: “I provided the association with a no objection letter, a letter they needed to take to the province. The province is a higher sphere of government and they communicate through [the] local government.”
The councillor said she did not object to the occupation because the area was rife with e-hailing vehicles such as Uber and Bolt being hijacked, robbery of scholars and the illegal dumping of trash that she said affected nearby residents.
She added that there were “even rape cases [that] have occurred on that stand, where the victims are still undergoing psychological treatment”.
Kaldine denied committing fraud, saying: “This portion of land has been a problem in the community for many years. Please contact a resident who resides directly opposite to ask [if they] have any issues with what is happening.”
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
When the M&G visited the area recently, a brick wall was being erected as a barricade for the taxi rank development.
Litter was strewn across portions of the cordoned-off area, showing that the land was used as an illegal dumping site when it was vacant. Residents told the M&G that the area had morphed into a crime hotspot with muggings, car hijackings and rape, among other crimes, committed in the area.
Kaldine told the M&G that the rank development had paused after the taxi association was asked to stop construction, but the site was a hive of activity during the publication’s visit, with fresh cement laid for an expansive concrete foundation for the rank.
Saliem Basson, chairperson of the taxi association, did not respond to questions sent to him. But in its business plan for the rank, the association said it wanted to turn the vacant land “into a beacon of hope and opportunity for the community”.
The plan stated that not only will the site be a rank, but also a skills development centre and will create “a significant opportunity to uplift the community and address pressing social and economic challenges”.
When the M&G visited the area recently, a brick wall was being erected as a barricade for the mooted taxi rank development. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
“By providing individuals with access to education, training, and support services, we aim to create a pathway to a brighter future for all members of our community. Together, we can turn this vacant field into a thriving hub of opportunity and empowerment,” according to the plan.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Apology to Councillor Kaldine and retraction
In the above article, Mail & Guardian reported on an accusation from a civil society organisation levelled at Patriotic Alliance councillor in the City of Johannesburg Juwairiya Kaldine.
On 5 February 2025, the Appeals Panel of the Press Council overturned a ruling by the Deputy Press Ombud that had dismissed the initial complaint against the article. The Appeals Panel’s point of concern centred on the sentence: “Kaldine confirmed authoring the letter granting permission to the association to occupy the vacant land…”
The Appeals Panel found that M&G was wrong to construe Kaldine’s letter and its statement “I have no objection” as “granting permission”. M&G retracts the statement and apologises to Councillor Kaldine.
For the full finding, visit www.presscouncil.org.za.
