Category: News

Newcastle: This morning we learned with shock and sadness of the assassination of the Speaker of Amajuba District Municipality Cllr Reginald Ndima, who was gunned down at his residence in Newcastle in the early hours of this morning. 

Yesterday, we were in Newcastle where we convened a special engagement with all the Mayors, Speakers and EXCO members from municipalities under the Amajuba, uThukela and uMzinyathi. This engagement was attended by Cllr Ndima and we were looking forward to him making more contributions in the management of Council matters. 

This senseless murder has robbed the people of Amajuba of a dedicated servant who was passionate about improving the lives of residents.

This assassination comes while the province is mourning the murder of eThekwini ward 103 Councillor Minenhle Mkhize who was killed on Saturday, 22 January at his home in Cato Ridge west of Durban.

We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Cllr Ndima and appeal for calm amongst our communities. We urge law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in the quest to apprehend those that are responsible and bring an end to these attacks on public representatives in our province.

We cannot allow those that are hell-bent on plunging the sphere of local government in our province into chaos to succeed. 

We appeal to our communities to come forward with information that will assist law enforcement agencies.

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

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KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has commended the swift actions of disaster management teams and non-governmental organisations that led to the evacuation of over 100 residents from flooded areas in the town of Ladysmith. 

Today, Hlomuka visited the disaster-struck area to assess the extent of the damage caused by the flooding and to monitor the rollout of relief. During his visit, Hlomuka was accompanied by the Mayor of the uThukela district Cllr Shabalala, the Mayor of the Alfred Duma local municipality Cllr Sibisi and Inkosi Sithole who is the Chairperson of the uThukela Local House of Traditional Leaders.

Hlomuka engaged with some of the affected business owners and members of the community and assured them of the government’s commitment to deal with the cause of the flooding and find a permanent solution that will protect the town from future flooding.

According to disaster management teams, heavy rains in the catchment areas have led to the uThukela River bursting its banks over the weekend and affecting communities and towns located along its path. 

MEC Hlomuka has warned communities along the banks of the river exercise extreme caution. “Currently the bridge linking Kranskop and Nkandla is submerged in water, we appeal to the community in this area to not go near the bridge and for parents to guard their children” said Hlomuka.

Similarly, in the Mandeni local municipality 20 families had to be evacuated yesterday from their homes that were located near the river in Ward 7 (Shekembuya area). 

Also, in the Msinga local municipality, Ward 5 (Bathenjini area) 15 people were evacuated yesterday and moved to uMkhuphulangwenya (Sampofu area in Ward 4) to the Municipal Hall for safety. 

The province has been experiencing inclement weather conditions since early December which have left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. So far 25 people have lost their lives with two people still missing. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has learned with shock and sadness of the untimely passing of Inkosi Jomba Sam Zulu (72) of the Bhekeshowe TC (Eshowe) and Izigqoza subclan in Nkandla under the King Cetshwayo district. 

Inkosi passed away yesterday, 20 January, following a short illness. Hlomuka has described him as a fountain of wisdom who would share his extensive experience with the younger amakhosi who actively sought his counsel and guidance. 

“The passing of Inkosi is a huge blow to us as a province and especially the institution of traditional leadership, as we have lost a brave leader who was a proponent of development within his community and dedicated his life to the service of others,” said Hlomuka.

The MEC has expressed his condolences to the family of Inkosi and the Bhekeshowe Traditional Community. Hlomuka has also assigned senior officials from the department to provide support to the grieving family during preparations for the funeral.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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CEDARA: 20 JANUARY 2022

Ladies and gentlemen of the media

Thank you for availing yourselves to this media briefing. Its purpose is twofold: it will explain the rationale behind our upcoming meetings with all newly elected municipal Executive Committees (Exco’s) in KZN and it will also update you on our relief efforts in response to the weather-related incidents that have plagued the province during the summer season.

Engagements with municipal Exco’s

The first order of business are our upcoming engagements with the Exco’s of all KZN municipalities, both district and local. The first of these sessions will take place today with the uMgungundlovu and Harry Gwala districts and the Exco’s of their respective families of local municipalities. Tomorrow we will be meeting with eThekwini metro and the Ugu and Ilembe districts in Durban. Next week Tuesday we will be meeting with the King Cetshwayo, uMkhanyakude and Zululand districts in Empangeni. The following Thursday we will be engaging with the Amajuba, uThukela and uMzinyathi districts in Newcastle.

Purpose of the engagements

In some cases, we will be meeting with the councillors who serve in these Exco’s for the very first time in our official capacities – me as KZN MEC for Cogta and them as returning or newly elected councillors. The intention is to establish personal rapport and a good working relationship with everyone serving in these committees. In a way, these engagements are a taste of things to come: we are a provincial government department that supports the sphere of local government and exercises general oversight over the province’s municipalities and we take this mandate very seriously.

In essence, these engagements are designed to explain to members of all Exco’s the extent of our support as a provincial government department to municipalities and the scope of our oversight and monitoring of municipal performance in this province. But above all, these engagements will also demonstrate our approach to intergovernmental relations, which is one of close cooperation and unity of purpose behind a simple goal: to make our local government work better for the people.

Issues to be discussed

The areas we will be dealing with during these engagements specifically include our own assessment of the state of local government, the councillors’ code of conduct, councillor orientation, establishment of ward committees, implementation of the District Development Model, participation of amakhosi in municipal structures, performance of infrastructure grants, and implementation of the KZN Provincial Water Master Plan.

State of local government in KZN

In respect of the state of local government in the province, some of you will be aware that after the 2019 provincial elections we conducted a comprehensive review of the state of municipal governance, finances and service delivery in KZN. The methodology used in this assessment has given us additional tools for oversight and it has also informed our targeted support provided to municipalities. In August 2021, we assessed all municipalities afresh and the outcomes of this assessment will form part of our discussions with the Exco’s.

Councillors’ code of conduct

The councillors’ code of conduct is an important aspect of ensuring that our elected representatives in municipalities live up to their roles and responsibilities in an ethical manner. This is an important topic to touch on just as we begin a new term of local government so we are all on the same page with regards to what it means to be a councillor within the legal boundaries set by the national legislation as well as the rules laid down by your respective councils. It is best to talk about issues of discipline before issues that give rise to disciplinary action occur.

Councillor orientation

With as many as 80% of the councillors elected in last year’s local government elections being newly elected public representatives, it is crucial that we also address the topic of councillor orientation. All manner of capacity-building programmes are still ongoing in municipalities but, over and above this, it is important not to lose sight of what councillors’ roles and responsibilities are and what it means to be an effective councillor when it comes to either deployment to municipal oversight committees or regular constituency work.

Establishment of ward committees

Ward committees are a fundamental part of how our municipalities interact with communities and keep a finger on the pulse of specific communities in order to gauge their service delivery needs. Municipalities are essentially given 180 days after municipal elections to establish ward committees but it is equally important to ensure right from the start that these committees are fully effective as vehicles for meaningful public participation at local level. For this to happen, councillors need to understand how these committees function.

District Development Model

Following the establishment of dedicated hubs and clusters, our fairly new District Development Model is now being implemented in full force. The model essentially ensures integrated planning, budgeting and implementation of infrastructure projects centred at a district level but it is more than that in that it encapsulates how intergovernmental relations should unfold in the context of local government – as teamwork between municipalities and all other stakeholders in the provincial and national governments.

Participation of amakhosi in local government

Among municipalities’ stakeholders I always count our amakhosi as representatives of our traditional institutions. This department provides support to both municipalities and traditional institutions and we do our best to involve the latter in the affairs of the former. This is because traditional leaders and municipalities share the goal of improving people’s lives and bringing development to communities. Our engagements with the Exco’s will focus on ways of making amakhosi feel at home in municipalities and on working together towards common objectives.

Municipal infrastructure funding

Conditional grants are a key source of funding of infrastructure in municipalities and their spending is a good indication of any given municipality’s financial management and level of service delivery. Grant performance is a complex topic and an important part of oversight, both by councillors and other spheres of government, including my own department. I cannot overemphasise the importance of proper planning, budgeting and actual expenditure when it comes to grant funding because unspent grants are returned to the national fiscus for redistribution to other provinces.

KZN Provincial Water Master Plan

And last but not least, our engagements with the Exco’s will also deal with the implementation of the KZN Provincial Master Plan. The plan is a comprehensive blueprint for the province’s immediate, short-term and long-term water needs, both in terms of water supply and infrastructure. The plan has also been customised per municipality so it is an easy point of reference for municipal councillors and officials for the purposes of water delivery to communities. The engagements will serve to familiarise the newly elected Exco’s with the plan as a top provincial priority.

Direct line of communication with Exco’s

I would like to express my hope that our engagements with the municipal Exco’s, starting today and going forward, will always be honest and productive. I also hope that by establishing this direct line of communication between KZN Cogta and municipal Exco’s, both local and district ones, we are giving true meaning to intergovernmental relations. As the province continues to tackle its many challenges, including the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we need all hands on deck and today’s meeting is proof that we are indeed getting there.

Weather-related incidents during summer season

The second issue I would like to talk about here today has to do with the weather-related incidents we have been witnessing since the start of the summer season and our response to emergencies on the ground. KZN is routinely affected by bad weather and the forecast ahead of this year’s summer season from the South African Weather Service indicated that we would receive above average rainfall. In line with the forecast, we have received a significant amount of rain since 15 December 2021 which have in their wake left a trail of death and destruction across the province.

Disaster statistics

Our disaster management teams have responded whenever and wherever called upon to do so. The inclement weather conditions have resulted in over 200 incidents, which include strong winds, lightning strikes, fires, and heavy rains. Latest reports indicate that 25 lives have been lost (19 drownings and 6 lightning strikes) as a result of weather-related incidents with three people still missing. A total of 28 000 people from over 5000 households have been affected. From this number, 2400 houses were destroyed. It was also reported that there were fifty (50) injuries and six hundred and fifty-three (653) homeless people, all displaced were housed by their neighbours and friends. The estimated cost of the damages stands at R3.3-billion. This includes damage to both public and private infrastructure but we are still assessing the extent of the damage in some of the municipalities.

 It was also reported that there were fifty (50) injuries and six hundred and fifty-three (653) homeless people, all displaced were housed by their neighbours and friends. 

Way forward

We have consolidated a report on the above that was tabled to the Provincial Executive, which then resolved to request the National Government to declare the province a disaster area which will allow the Provincial Government to access funding to deal with some of the damages caused by the inclement weather conditions. At the same time, our appeal to our communities is for to exercise caution, particularly during heavy rains, and avoid crossing flooded rivers or low-lying bridges as this poses a risk to their lives. We are very concerned about the images of young people swimming in flooded rivers. This is reckless and dangerous. We appeal to parents to ensure that children are not placed in danger, particularly when having to cross flooded pathways, especially since the schools have opened.

On this note of extreme caution and concern, I would, once again, like to thank all of you for honouring our invitation to this media briefing.

I thank you!

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka has welcomed an interdict issued by the Pietermaritzburg High Court which has effectively reinstated the originally elected leadership, including the mayor, deputy mayor and the speaker of the Mtubatuba local municipality.

The MEC approached the court after the municipality subsequently elected a parallel mayor, deputy mayor and speaker as well as appointing an Acting MM at a council sitting that was seen as unlawful. The municipality which remains under administration thus ended up with two mayors, two deputy mayors and two speakers and without much-needed stability.

“We are pleased that the court has sided with our argument which deemed the election of parallel Mtubatuba office bearers unlawful. The court’s interdict has served to restore basic governance, administration and service delivery at Mtubatuba,” said KZN MEC for Cogta Sipho Hlomuka.

KZN Cogta hoped that the instability that marked the previous term of local government at Mtubatuba would end with a new council after last year’s local government elections. This, however, was not the case after a parallel leadership was elected later and the department had to turn to courts to enforce stability there.

The matter is back in court for full argument on 26 January where KZN Cogta will re-enforce its argument and maintain that the municipal leadership elected after the 2021 local government elections remains the legitimate leadership of Mtubatuba Municipality and that the process in which a second mayor, deputy mayor and a speaker were elected as well as the appointment of the Acting Municipal Management was unlawful. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has deployed disaster management teams to commence with the evacuation of residents in the town of Ladysmith and Msinga following the heavy rains that led to local rivers bursting their banks over the weekend.

So far 70 residents have been evacuated from the flooded areas in Ladysmith and moved to the Indoor Sports Centre. Disaster management teams are working together with various non-governmental organisations to provide immediate relief, such as blankets, sponges and hot meals to the affected residents.  

The town of Ladysmith received significant rainfall over the weekend which led to the Kliprivier bursting its banks and flooding parts of the CBD. Hlomuka has commended the quick response by the disaster management teams and social partners in responding to this incident. So far there has been no report of loss of life or injury as a result of this incident.

In the town of Msinga, heavy rains have caused the uThukela River to burst its banks and flood surrounding areas. Disaster management teams have commenced with evacuating residents to safer places, such as community halls. Hlomuka has called upon residents who are living in low-lying areas to seek shelter on higher ground. 

The MEC has also warned communities against building along river banks. Hlomuka has likewise urged residents to avoid crossing low-lying bridges. “We have recently experienced inclement weather conditions, which have left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. So far 25 people have died with one person missing and R3.3- billion in damages has been incurred during the current summer season. We appeal to residents to be cautious,” said Hlomuka.  

Disaster management teams are continuing to monitor the situation across the province. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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MEC Sipho Hlomuka, condemned the attacks on Amakhosi and Izinduna, calling them inhumane and asserted that the communities they serve should be at the forefront of protecting their traditional leaders.

Hlomuka was addressing traditional leaders and various stakeholders during a special District Cluster Imbizo which was held at the KwaDukuza Town Hall, in Stanger, on Tuesday 11 January 2022, for traditional leaders hailing from uGu, uMgungundlovu and iLembe districts, as well as eThekwini Metro.

“There is no justification for the murder of anyone, and it gets even worse if the person in question is a community leader. When an Inkosi is killed, his or her nation suffers immensely and that is why attacks on traditional leaders must be condemned in the strongest terms possible,” he said.

The MEC urged traditional leaders to collaborate with communities and also encouraged them to aid the government in combating the province’s scourge of killings, especially of Amakhosi and Izinduna.

“The government will not be able to accomplish everything on its own. There is a scarcity of Police Officers in South Africa, we need to work together with the Police to combat criminality of any form, particularly that of Amakhosi and Izinduna,” he added.

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KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, has assigned additional resources to the nine ministerial representatives who have been deployed by the department to the municipalities currently under Section 139 intervention. 

The department has specifically assigned financial experts who will work with the administrators to implement turnaround plans in these municipalities. The deployment of the resources follows a thorough assessment following regressions in audit outcomes in some of the municipalities that are under administration. The lack of support provided to the administrators by officials and councillors was also considered.

Today, Hlomuka convened a special meeting with the administrators where he received comprehensive reports on the progress of the municipalities. 

Key among the issues discussed was the implementation of consequence management measures against errant officials who waste municipal resources through irregular and unauthorised expenditure. The MEC called on the administrators to leave no stone unturned in their quest to hold the management accountable within the municipalities. “As ministerial representatives, we expect you to act always in the interest of residents. The nature of the job that you have been appointed to requires you to take unpopular decisions which will assist the municipality,” said Hlomuka.  

The MEC has also directed administrators to improve on systems that improve the cash flow of municipalities such as debt collection, reduction of water and electricity losses. 

“We are concerned that some of these municipalities that are under administration continue to lose millions of rand as a result of their failure to improve revenue collection. Some of them have experienced severe blackouts as a result of the failure to invest in their electricity infrastructure, as ministerial representatives you have to guide the councils so that they can address these issues,” said Hlomuka. 

Hlomuka called upon the administrators to not get caught up in the politics of the municipality they are in but to instead focus on the job they have been assigned. During the meeting, Cogta HOD Thando Tubane indicated the department’s commitment to a rigorous monitoring and evaluation process aimed at dealing with challenges faced by administrators as they go about their job. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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The inclement weather conditions that have struck large parts of the province since the 15th of December have left a trail of devastation and destruction in several areas within the province. As a result of these weather conditions that occurred on 30 December 2021 alone, four fatalities have occurred, which include a 3 year that drowned in ward 8 Maphumulo Local Municipality.

Disaster Management teams have been busy with the rollout of interim relief measures to the 1692 households that have been affected. The nature of the incidents ranges from housing structural damages, the collapse and flooding of roads and hail damage, some of these incidents led to fatalities. Some areas experienced black-outs as a result of extensive damage to power lines after trees were uprooted by the storms.

The most affected areas are the Districts of uMgungundlovu (400 households) and Ilembe (300 households including the collapse of a part of the R74 road which connects KwaDukuza and Greytown).

Following the severe thunderstorms that brought hail and heavy rains yesterday, 4 January the number of households that are affected is expected to increase.

The department continues to support and coordinate the response by the affected municipalities in partnership with sector departments.

Within this period the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Department under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, has received over 12 severe weather warnings from the South African Weather Service, which were all acted on by Disaster Management teams.

Since the start of the festive season, the department has activated all Disaster Operations Centres to monitor incidents and coordinate response to report to the weekly Joint Operations Committees (JOCs) on further interventions required. The department has also provided social relief to all municipalities for distribution to the affected households whilst also facilitating the interventions by other sector departments in line with their legislative mandates.

So far the total cost of the damage has not been finalised since the majority of assessments are being conducted and incidents continue. The determination will be made once all assessments have been completed and quantified.

The MEC for Cogta, Sipho Hlomuka has commended disaster management teams for their swift response to the incidents that have struck many parts of the province.

MEC Hlomuka has urged residents and all sectors of society to partner with the provincial government in the fight against climate change. “All of us have to acknowledge that climate change is real, frequent and violent. We need to pay attention to all the severe weather warnings issued by the South African Weather Service to practice risk avoidance behaviour such as staying indoors, avoiding sporting and recreational activities during thunderstorms, and ensuring that we do not cross overflowing and running rivers either by car or on foot said Hlomuka.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department under the leadership of MEC, Sipho Hlomuka has transferred R19 million in grant funding to the Ugu District Municipality as part of efforts to improve the provision of water within the District.

The money will be used for repairing the Bhobhoyi water scheme (St Helen’s Rock) which requires major upgrades to the tune of R15 million. The rest of the grant is for the drilling of 12 boreholes in the uMuziwabantu and uMzumbe local municipalities.

Through the rollout of the grant, the department aims to stabilise the provision of water within the district which has faced severe water constraints.

The grant follows a rigorous assessment of water infrastructure that was done by technicians from Cogta in conjunction with their counterparts from the District.

Today, 1 January, MEC Hlomuka together with the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mr Ravi Pillay and the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Ms Peggy Nkonyeni, convened a special meeting of the Ugu Water Inter-Ministerial task team, where they received progress reports from District’s delegation which was led by the Mayor Cllr Phumlile Mthiyane. The meeting was also attended by officials from the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency and the HOD Champion of the District under Operation Sukuma Sakhe, Dr Thobile Sifunda who is the HOD for the department of Sports and Recreation, who was there on behalf of the MEC Champion Ms Nonhlanhla Khoza, MEC for the department of Social Development.

The reports tabled by the municipality before the task team shows that currently, demand exceeds supply across all the water systems within the district. The municipality proposed a mix-use approach that requires more investment in boreholes, spring protection, rainwater harvesting and desalination to complement the conventional methods of water supply.

The Task-Team resolved for the Ugu District to embark on an extensive outreach programme to communities to raise awareness about the water challenges and to enforce water-saving measures which include the reporting of water leaks. The task team also called for greater transparency between the District and communities on water provision.

During the meeting, MEC Hlomuka directed the municipality to convene a special council meeting to consider the election of Portfolio Committee Chairpersons and for the municipality to fast track the appointment of the CFO. Hlomuka also raised concerns with the delays in the implementation of the upgrades to the Eskom power lines in the Umtamvuna pump station. The MEC called for the fast tracking of the project which will improve security of supply. The project is projected to be completed by June 2022.

The provincial government through the department of Cogta continues to provide support measures to the District municipality which are aimed at improving the functionality of the municipality and its ability to provide service delivery to communities. This includes the provision of technical, governance and financial experts.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Ends.