Category: News

The MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sipho Hlomuka, welcomes the arrest of seven men who have been found in possession of copper and cables that are worth an estimated amount of R1.5 million. 

The information which the department received, indicates that on the 25^th of July 2022, a specialised multi-disciplinary task team comprising of the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), Metro Police, Transnet, Telkom, and Eskom, discovered an illegal scrap metal dealer in Ntuzuma A-Section. The dealer was discovered manufacturing traditional three-legged pots using copper and cables that are said to belong to eThekwini Municipality and Transnet. 

The specialised task team raided the house in Ntuzuma following a tip-off that they had received. Upon arriving, they found several stripped copper cables. The suspects were charged with being in possession of the stolen property and for participating in various illegal activities. 

The MEC said while the country is still faced with the issue of load shedding, the theft of cables will continue to negatively affect communities as they will be left without any electricity supply and communication network. 

MEC Hlomuka says that these arrests are a clear indication of the dedication of law enforcement agencies in addressing the scourge of economic infrastructure-related crimes. He says the arrests send a strong message about the government’s commitment to fight crime and prevent further damage and loss to public infrastructure. 

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The brave men and women from the Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC) of Gauteng and Mpumalanga were honoured by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka during a special two-day visit to these provinces. 

The visits which took place on 12 and 14 July, provided the MEC Hlomuka an opportunity to honour the search and rescue teams for their service when the province of KZN was faced with the April floods, which left a trail of death and destruction. It also provided an opportunity to benchmark best practices applied by these provinces. 

Speaking during the Gauteng leg, which was held at the PDMC of the Province in Midrand, where MEC Hlomuka handed over certificates and medals to the disaster teams, MEC Hlomuka thanked the teams for their selfless service and dedication.

“The people of KZN are grateful for the services that you provided during one of the most difficult times in our province’s history. We will never forget what you have done for us. Through your efforts, many lives were saved. Many families were able to bury their loved ones all because of your recovery efforts” said Hlomuka who was accompanied by senior officials from the department including the Deputy Director General for Development and Planning Ms Barbara Mgutshini, representing the Gauteng Cogta department was its Acting HOD Itumeleng Mokate.

The benchmark aspect of the visit, saw officials from both provinces interacting and sharing best practices for Disaster Management. This part of the visit provided Cogta KZN officials with valuable insights into how the team from Gauteng deals with disasters in the province.

MEC HLOMUKA THANKS MEC NDLOVU FOR THE ENGINEERS THAT ASSISTED THE PROVINCE

The Mpumalanga leg of the visit took place on 14 July at the Mpumalanga PDMC in Mbombela. 

KZN Cogta MEC Hlomuka together with his Mpumalanga counterpart MEC Mandla Ndlovu led the deliberations which centred on deepening ties between the two provinces and sharing best practices on disaster management. 

MEC Ndlovu, in his remarks during the engagement, expressed solidarity with the people of KZN for the loss they have suffered as a result of the April Floods.

“As Mpumalanga, we stand with the people of KZN, when the province was facing calamity we could only do that which was in our power to help through sending donations and engineers. We are saddened by the loss of life and pray that the people of KZN rebuild their lives” said Ndlovu.

In this visit, MEC Hlomuka expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of KZN and thanked the Mpumalanga government for coming to the aid of the province through the support that was provided.

An appreciative token was handed over by MEC Hlomuka to MEC Ndlovu.

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The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, this is a quote that is often ascribed to the former president of South Africa Dr Nelson Mandela.

The statement conveys a simple truth about the importance of young people in the present and future of any country.

As a continent, Africa generally has a fastest-growing youth population in the whole world, with South Africa alone having a youth population of 20.6 million, which is 35% of the country’s population.

These statistics differ when compared to those of countries which are situated in the Global North, who have an aging population where the youth accounts for just above 10.3% of their population.

The negative implications of having a young population in the country, is that they happen to be the most affected by the inequalities inherited from the past. This is prevalent in the high youth unemployment rates, poverty which often makes it a challenge to access education; particularly higher education, and the last being the state of health.

Unemployment and poverty are mostly higher for those young people who often stem from rural-based areas. These are the same young people who, having noted the difficulty of surviving in low-income households, move to cities to seek employment or education. As Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma asserted during her remarks at the KZN Local Government Indaba, this shows that, “besides local government being the most important sphere, this is where resources should be spent”, and I add to say, this is where young, capacitated people ought to be injected.

As the sphere of government closest to the people, local government provides an ideal opportunity for young leaders to connect with their communities and to deal with first hand the day to day issues faced by normal citizens.

This is vital in crafting servant leaders who will be able to connect with the needs of their communities and work hard to put the interest of their communities first.

The famous american football coach, Vince Lombardi once said  “Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile”.

As the department Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, we strongly identify with the words of Lombardi, in that leaders are made, they are not born. It takes deliberated concerted efforts to produce the kind of leaders that we need, more especially within the sphere of local government.

This is the reason why we convened the Youth in Local Government Summit which we held on the 25^th of June in Newcastle where we invited young councillors, ward committee members, internship holders and beneficiaries of programmes such as the Expanded Public Works Programme.

The Summit focused on the local government’s role in uplifting the youth and finding practical solutions to improve the roll-out of services to our communities.

The summit was made up of high-profile panellists such as the Chairperson of SCOPA at Parliament Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa, MP; the Chairperson of the Higher Education, Science and Innovation Portfolio Committee Ms Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, MP; the Chairperson of the KZNCOGTA Portfolio Committee Ms Zinhle Cele, MPL;  the chairperson of Committees at the KZN Legislature Mr Sboniso Duma, the former Chairperson of the KZN Provincial House of traditional leaders Inkosi Chiliza and Inkosi N Zulu of kwaNodunga who is one of the youngest amakhosi in the province.  

In his remarks, Honourable Duma, MPL called on young people to demand their place as the country grapples with the issue of economic transformation, and push for the implementation of measures such as a sovereign fund, which can be an important tool in the transformation of our society. 

In his remarks, Mhlengwa, MP called for the youth to be given the space to represent young people, saying “Representation must not just be numerical but it must be substantive, qualitative, efficient and functional so that it makes the required impact in the spaces of representation”.

These sentiments resonated well with the 500 young people that were attending this summit, each of whom had their own hopes and desires for what needs to be done for young people to emerge as leaders in various sectors of society.

Placing young people at the forefront of local government thus means renewing re-modernising and repositioning the sphere of local government. It also means an implementation of new and relevant ideas in establishing adequate economic activities within our communities.

Already we have begun to see what is possible when young councillors and mayors are chosen, this can only be a tase of what is to come as we see more of our young people leading in the important of sphere of local government.

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Opinion Piece

Mr S.E Hlomuka

MEC: Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

The community of eMpangisweni in the Abaqulusi Local Municipality ward 4, now has electricity for the very first time, this is thanks to the intervention of the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka, whose department quickly responded to the plight of the 101 households, who had never had electricity before. 

On Friday, 15 July, MEC Hlomuka paid a special visit to this community. He officially switched on the Cogta-funded electrification project which brings the modern-day convenience of electricity to households. 

Speaking during the switch-on, MEC Hlomuka hailed the community for their cooperation during the roll-out of the project, “when we visited this community in January, to officially introduce the contractors that we had appointed to this project, we made a plea to the community that there be no disruptions in the implementation of the project, which would have compromised the timelines which we had set. Our visit here today, would not have been possible, had the community not played its part in ensuring that the contractors can get on with their work with no disruptions” said Hlomuka. 

One of the beneficiaries of this project, Thabisile Zondo (62), who lives with her husband, daughter and four grandchildren, hailed the project as a life changer for her village, as they will now be able to store groceries that require cold storage and be able to charge their phones which will allow them to be more accessible to their friends and employers. 

“As a community we are grateful, we will no longer have to fetch firewood in order to cook. I can safely say that our lives will drastically improve because we now have electricity. The life of burning candles is now in the past and our grandchildren will now be able to do their homework without worrying about lighting” said Zondo. 

During the visit, MEC Hlomuka was accompanied by Inkosi Zondo, of the eMpangisweni Traditional Council, who also commended the department for responding with speed to the plight of the community. 

“Access to electricity is a reality today for our community, to many of us it is like a dream come true. We are thankful to the department of Cogta for implementing this project” said Zondo. 

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The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called for municipalities to strengthen the capacity of their local economic development business units.

The Minister was speaking today, at the local government Indaba which was hosted at the Durban ICC.

According to the minister, municipalities have to improve the functioning of their respective LED units to help bring direct investment. Which will in turn assist to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

“As municipalities, you have to continue to attract investment, this is the only way in which you can ensure that you build your rates base. This is a task that municipalities should be seized with since the current funding model does not allocate sufficient resources to municipalities” said Minister Dlamini-Zuma.

The Indaba was attended by Premier of the Province Sihle Zikalala and brought together mayors, exco members, MPAC chairpersons, senior officials in local government and state-owned entities such as Eskom and water boards.

In his remarks, the Premier called upon municipalities to build financial management systems that are resilient and will comply with all prevailing legislation.

The Premier also commended the municipalities that have consistently built robust systems which ensure that public finances are protected and utilised appropriately as indicated in the latest audit outcomes from the Auditor General.

“We should learn from Ukhahlamba which continues to lead our province in attaining clean audits. The AG noted that although three municipalities in KZN obtained clean audits, this did not translate into improved service delivery per se”, said the Premier.

Zikalala also called for municipalities to address issues raised by the AG. “The report of the AG shows that political instability, inexperienced officials and system-related challenges led to the poor opinions at the three disclaimed municipalities, all of which were under administration. Inkosi Langalibalele, for instance, was again disclaimed in 2020-21 mainly due to challenges relating to its amalgamation”.

During the panel discussions various stakeholders such as the police, Eskom, the KZN provincial house of traditional leaders, the department of water and sanitation and the Auditor General engaged with delegates on topics such as good governance and accountability.

The key theme that emerged from the discussions is the need for local government leaders to ensure that capacity building takes place within their respective municipalities, this ensures that the municipality is better able to deliver services to communities efficiently and effectively.

The issue of public participation also came under the spotlight during the discussions, with municipalities being called upon to take their communities into confidence whenever they have service delivery challenges.

“If we fail to inform our communities about our challenges as municipalities we are shooting ourselves in the foot and aggravating those situations as communities end up protesting purely because they do not have updated on service delivery programmes,” said MEC Hlomuka.

“We do not wish to see more protests in our communities hence the call that we are making today that councillors should convene meetings with their respective communities” concluded Hlomuka.

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Fire breaks to be rolled out across the province following the successful launch of the provincial winter season disaster awareness campaign, which was held at Obuka, in the Mthonjaneni Local Municipality today.

The launch marks an important chapter in the rollout of the provinces disaster risk mitigation plan.

Through the campaign communities are educated on several issues, such as:

• Correct use of generators, gas, candles and paraffin stoves;
• Veldfire awareness;
• House fire and informal settlements fire awareness
  *Strong Winds;
• Illegal connection;
• Drought; and
• Snowfall

The launch of the campaign comes as the province grapples with the weather conditions brought about by the winter season.

During the launch of the campaign, we visited the Mpungose family where we oversaw the burning of firebreaks by our disaster management teams.

The firebreaks prevent runaway fires from reaching human settlements.

The department in partnership with municipalities is rolling out the firebreaks in rural communities as part of the winter season disaster risk mitigation strategy.

During the launch MEC was joined by Inkosi Biyela who commended the department for rolling out the programme in his community, which is one of the most affected areas especially by veld fires and lightning strikes.

Through this campaign the department of Cogta will work closely with disaster management teams at municipal level and Non Governmental Organisations to educate communities.

Issued by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sipho Hlomuka

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The Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the swearing-in and peaceful election of office bearers within the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders.

These elections saw the election of new incumbents with the new Provincial House Chairperson being Inkosi Rubert Sifiso Shinga from Umzumbe in the Ugu District while Inkosi Nqayizivele Wiseman SIthole from uThukela District was elected as the new Deputy Chairperson.

The swearing in ceremony was presided over by Deputy Judge President of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court, Justice Thoba Poyo-Dhlwathi.

Premier Sihle Zikalala who together with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka officiated at the ceremony, congratulated the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders for the successful elections.

“These elections are testament to the fact that democracy is alive and well within the institution of traditional leadership in our Province” said Premier Zikalala.

“What we have just witnessed is the pinnacle of the process of re-establishment of the House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders in our province in line with the law. This process is part of our journey to restore the legitimacy of the institution of traditional leaders enjoyed prior to the distortions introduced by colonial and apartheid regimes, said Premier Zikalala.

Congratulating the newly elected chairperson and deputy chairperson together with all the Amakhosi in the new structure, Premier Zikalala said our Constitution placed importance and dignity to traditional leaders which apartheid never did.

“Chapter 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa signed into law in 1996 spells out the role and importance of traditional leadership. Informed by the supreme law of the land, the National Framework Act on Traditional Leadership and Governance Act was promulgated in 2003,” Premier Zikalala reminded the gathering.

The Premier said this legislation was the bedrock on which the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Leadership and Governance Act no 5 of 2005 is founded.

“With the establishment of this House, we expect our esteemed AmaKhosi to assume their legitimate roles as development champions of our communities. The Houses, both at local and provincial level, are expected to act as structures where AmaKhosi engage on issues that affect our people and recommend practical solutions,” said the Premier.

The Premier stressed the important role that traditional leaders play as the province transforms, tackles the social ills such as crime and disease, and address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.

“One cannot over emphasise the importance of this institution in social cohesion and nation building. We look up to it to provide leadership in uniting the people of KwaZulu-Natal, deepening peace, fighting social ills, and defeating the shameful scourge of gender-based violence and Femicide. We must also work together to address the rife killing of Traditional Leaders, Amakhosi and Izinduna. We will continue working with the newly constituted House to ensure that all planned interventions are continued until perpetrators are arrested” Zikalala added.

COGTA MEC Sipho Hlomuka committed his department to working closely with the newly elected amakhosi in order to strengthen supportive measures aimed at uplifting rural communities.

The newly elected Chairperson Inkosi Shinga thanked amakhosi for bestowing confidence and faith in him and his new leadership collective. He called upon amakhosi to unite in the common pursuit of interests that are at the heart of the communities they lead. “This election is very humbling, as amakhosi you have entrusted us with serving amakhosi and the interest of our communities,” said Shinga.

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The plight of young people in the sphere of local government came under the spotlight on Saturday, 25 June, in Newcastle when the KZN Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka hosted the Youth in Local Government Summit at the Newcastle Showgrounds. 

Amongst the high-profile speakers were the Chairperson of SCOPA at Parliament Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa, MP; the Chairperson of the Higher Education Portfolio Committee Ms Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, MP; the Chairperson of the KZNCOGTA Portfolio Committee Ms Zinhle Cele, MPL; the chairperson of committees Mr Sboniso Duma and Inkosi N Zulu of kwaNodunga.

All the speakers called for the young people to make the most of every opportunity that they get exposed to and called for them to use education as a tool to get better equipped to play an active role in building the economy.

During the discussions, the involvement of the youth in agriculture and other sectors of the economy was discussed with the emphasis being placed on the need for government to work closely with Amakhosi to ensure that young people have access to land which they can use to make produce.

The former chairperson of the KZN Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San leaders Inkosi Chiliza called for the youth to not resort to violence or destruction of the little resources that the country has whenever they air their grievances.

In his closing remarks of the summit, which was comprised of young councillors, ward committee members, community development workers, expanded public works programme employees, interns from the department and Municipalities and also young people from the community.

MEC Hlomuka urged the sphere of local government to be the first point of contact that offers assistance to the youth through the rolling out of innovative programmes that give the youth access to the world wide web so that they can get access to knowledge so that they can build up their skills. 

The MEC commended the Municipalities for taking on the 661 interns and in-service trainees rolled out through a programme that was launched by the department two years ago, which saw graduates bring their wealth of skills in engineering, built environment, finance and other fields to the municipalities in order to improve service delivery.

MEC Hlomuka also committed his department to work together with youth structures across the province in order to ensure that the youth have a voice in local government.

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The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Mr. Sipho Hlomuka under the powers vested in him by section 38(1) of the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Leadership and Governance Act, 2005 (Act No. 5 of 2005), and in order to synchronize the term of office of both the Provincial and Local Houses of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders in KwaZulu-Natal with the term of office of the National House of Traditional and Khoi San Leaders, in consultation with Amakhosi, has directed for the Provincial and Local Houses of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders in the province to commence with the re-constitution process.

The province’s Local Houses of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders will convene their first sittings on 22 and 23 June 2022 where they will formally re-constitution and elect office bearers. This process marks an important milestone within the local houses.

Once all the local house members, that is Amakhosi AseNdlunkulu, are sworn is, members will participate in the election of the office bearers (Local Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson), EXCO members for the Local Houses ranging between 3 and 7 as well as nominating the local house members to represent the local house to the KZN Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 28 June 2022. 

This is an important milestone for the institution of traditional leadership in that this move consolidates and cements the gains attained in the 1994 democratic elections and practically confirms the recognition of the traditional leaders as per chapter 12 of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

The schedule below gives details for each Local House:   

SCHEDULE REGISTRATION COMMENCES AT 09H00 BOTH DAYS

LOCAL HOUSES OF TRADITIONAL LEADERS	VENUE
CLUSTER 1	22 JUNE 2022
ILembe Local House	Glen Hill Multi-purpose Centre
Ugu Local House	Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre
Umgungundlovu Local House	UMsunduzi Municipal Council Chamber
Harry Gwala Local House	UMzimkhulu Council Chamber
Ethekwini Local House	Pinetown Civic Centre Council Chamber
CLUSTER 2	23 JUNE 2022
Zululand Local House	Ulundi Old Legislature Building
Umzinyathi Local House	UMzinyathi CoGTA District Office Boardroom
Amajuba Local House	Newcastle Council Chamber
Uthukela Local House	Alfred Duma Council Chamber
Umkhanyakude Local House	Umkhanyakude CoGTA District Office Boardroom
King Cetshwayo Local House	Eshowe Town Hall

Issued by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sipho Hlomuka

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On Tuesday, 7th June 2022, MEC Sipho Hlomuka together with senior officials from the department

which were led by the Accounting Officer Mr Thando Tubane met with the KZN COGTA Portfolio Committee in Mayville, Durban as part of its general oversight of the work that is being carried out by the Department.

The meeting took place amidst the Department’s continued efforts of responding to the relatively recent floods that happened in the month of April and May.

During the meeting committee members gave their inputs on the presentations that were made by the department on matters such as the:

•            4th Quarter Report 2021/22  (Financial and Non-Financial)

•            Expenditure to-date

•            Responses to Finance and Scopa Resolutions

•            Responses to Youth Parliament Resolutions for 2021

•            Recent Disasters

•            uMkhanyakude, Newcastle and Abaqulusi Municipalities

•            The establishment and Reconstitution of the Traditional and Kingship Councils, The Provincial House and The Local House of Traditional and KhoiSan Lead,

• and on the installation of Traditional Leaders.

The reports tabled by the Department were all very well received by the members of the Committee, notwithstanding the various strategic input and comments that they raised on each of the reports Speaking during the meeting, MEC Hlomuka commended Committee members for the ongoing guidance that they continue to provide to the department in the execution of its constitutional mandate.

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