Category: News

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs notes the changes of dates that were initially set for convening of the first council sittings in the province’s municipalities.  However, the Department would like to emphasize that at this point there are no delays as the legislated 14 day period has not lapsed.

 
The 2021 local government elections were unique in that in a number of municipalities none of the political parties was able to secure an outright majority of votes. This has resulted in 18 of the municipalities in the Province being “hung”.  An unintended consequence of this is a need for engagements and agreements between different political parties.  This is a clear indication of the level to which democracy is maturing in our country.

 
The department believes that it is critical for these processes to be given space so that when the inaugural meetings do happen, consensus can be reached promptly. This will then allow the councils to get on with the important task at hand, that of delivering services to our communities. None of the municipalities has given an indication that they will not meet the 14-day deadline and therefore there is no reason to panic at this stage.

 
The department has further called upon municipalities to ensure that they convene their first sittings within the stipulated 14 days which ends on 23 November. Once the local municipalities have convened the District Municipalities will have until the 8th of December to convene.  

 
The department further urges communities to be patient during this time of transition, while the department continues to provide the necessary support to the Municipal Managers who are seized with the gigantic responsibility of steering this process. 

 
Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
 
 
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The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka has commended the disaster management teams that responded swiftly to the Transnet pipeline fire that took place yesterday in Clairwood Durban. 

Yesterday, at 04h20 AM Disaster Management teams were dispatched to respond to a reported fire at Horseshoe Road, Clairwood. Upon arrival and further investigation, the teams were able to identify the source of the fire as a pipeline.

Quick action by the fire and rescue teams working together with Transnet brought the fire under control. 

Further assessments by the rescue personnel found three bodies of 

people that are believed to have died as a result of the fire. 

Preliminary assessments indicate that the fire could have started as a result of an attempt to perforate the pipeline and siphon product into an awaiting tanker. It is believed perpetrators carried out excavation and exposed the pipe which they then punctured at three points. 

At this moment in time is not clear whether the three fatalities are linked to the attempt to steal fuel from the pipeline. 

As a result of the fire, 270 people from 130 households residing at the informal settlement which had encroached on the pipeline have been temporarily displaced, disaster management teams are working together with social partners to provide interim relief to the affected. 

The MEC for Cogta Mr S.E Hlomuka has called upon residents to not encroach on hazardous installations as this poses a huge risk to their own safety. Our communities must follow the safety laws that have been put in place to protect hazardous installations such as rail roads, gas, fuel and water pipelines. 

MEC Hlomuka has also called upon law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their quest to apprehend syndicates that penetrate dangerous installations intending to steal products. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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In line with his commitment to making local government work better for communities across the province of KZN, the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka today, 27 October officially opened the Imbali Youth Enterprise Park in Msunduzi and the Matimatolo Community Service Centre, in the uMvoti Local Municipality. 

The opening and handover of the two facilities is an important milestone in the efforts made by the provincial government, through Cogta, to bring government services closer to communities and address youth unemployment.

In the Imbali Youth Enterprise Park, the department of Cogta invested R9.4 million so that the facility can be built. The facility provides office space for youth-owned businesses and houses training programmes that are aimed at assisting young people who are in business. 

Speaking during the opening of the Enterprise Park, which took place at Imbali Unit 2, MEC Hlomuka re-affirmed his department’s commitment to rejuvenating townships such as Imbali through the deliberate investment in key projects that provide opportunities for the youth. “It gives me great pleasure to be a witness to the opening of this project which will assist our young people to be better able to exploit opportunities in business through the state of the art office space that is now available here at Imbali at a reduced cost to young people,” said MEC Hlomuka.  

According to Msunduzi Mayor, Cllr Mzimkhulu Thobolla, the investment that has been made by the department of Cogta into this project will transform the lives of many young people who will now receive specialised support for their businesses. “The ongoing support that we continue to receive from the department of Cogta has ensured that we can deliver on projects such as this one, which helps us to provide specialised support to youth-owned businesses,” said Mayor Thobolla.

MEC Hlomuka also visited the rural village of Matimatolo, near Greytown, where he officially opened the Matimatolo Community Service Centre, which is a specialised facility that houses government services. Through this centre, the residents of Matimatolo will no longer have to travel long distances to access basic government services such as home affairs, the Department of Labour and others. 

The Mayor of uMvoti Cllr Thami Ngubane, has hailed the new centre as a step in the right direction by the provincial government as it ensures that rural communities receive developments that make their lives easier especially when it comes to accessing government services. 

The centre will also house a state of the art computer centre which will assist the youth to upskill themselves so that they can get access to better opportunities.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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Residents of the Harry Gwala district municipality have been urged to exercise extreme caution as their area is prone to weather-related disasters, such as runaway veld fires, thunderstorms with lightning, hailstorms and heavy rains resulting in flooding. 

This was the message from KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka when he launched the Summer Season Disaster Awareness Campaign in the district today at the Morningside Sports Ground, Ixopo. 

The campaign will raise awareness within communities about the dangers posed by inclement weather conditions, especially in summer. Hlomuka also officially opened the multi-million rand Fire and Rescue Centre built by the department in partnership with the uBuhlebezwe local municipality. 

The Rescue Centre houses firefighters and other disaster management teams and is located in the township of Morningside. According to uBuhlebezwe Mayor, Cllr Ngubo, Morningside was an obvious choice for this structure because government is keen to build key infrastructure in townships.

According to Hlomuka, his department will continue to invest millions of rand into improving the ability of municipalities to respond to disasters with specialised centres and equipment. “When we build municipal capacity to respond to disasters, we are also making our areas attractive to investors and improve the safety of communities,” said Hlomuka. 

Speaking at the event Mayor Nxumalo said: “The opening of this state of the art fire station marks an important milestone in our efforts to ensure safety for our communities. Should any incident strike, we know that assistance will arrive very fast. As we start the summer season, we are ready to face disasters,” said Nxumalo. 

As part of the event, 10 disaster victims, mostly from Ofafa area, received assistance in the form of groceries and other household items. One of the victims Babongile Mthembu (34) lost her son Nhlanzeko (9) in a lightning ancident when he was on his way to school last month.

This week a lightning conductor was installed near her home. “I am very grateful for this intervention. I hope it will help save someone else’s child. I lost mine. I do feel safe now since a lightning conductor was installed. Also having a firestation here will help us as a community,” said Mthembu. 

As part of the programme, Hlomuka also handed over cheques to the 30 local SMMEs who have been identified as Operation Vula beneficiaries.

Issued by Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka has officially opened the multi-million rand municipal precinct that will house the head offices of the uMuziwabantu Local Municipality in Harding. 

The facility includes offices for municipal officials and a council chamber. Speaking at the opening of the precinct, MEC Hlomuka commended the leadership of the municipality for utilising its revenues to build the state of the art building, which now ensures that the municipality no longer has to pay rent like it previously did for its old offices. 

During the handover, MEC Hlomuka was accompanied by the Mayor of the Municipality Cllr Dixie Nciki and the Mayor of the uThukela District, Cllr Sizwe Ngcobo. 

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Mayor Nciki emphasised the outgoing Councils commitment to ensure that the municipality has its own offices which are accessible to all residents. “We are happy to see that our new precinct has been concluded and we are now able to serve our communities at our facilities that meet all necessary health and safety standards,” said Nciki. 

In his remarks during the ceremony, MEC Hlomuka called upon community members to protect this vital infrastructure that has been built so that they can have easy access to government services. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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Fresh clean drinking water is now a reality for the rural communities of eMandabeni and eMoyeni in the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality. This morning MEC Hlomuka paid a special visit to these villages where he officially handed over production boreholes that were built by the department. 

As part of this visit, MEC Hlomuka also handed over lightning conductors to the two villages which have had incidents in the past. 

Speaking during his address to the community of eMandabeni, MEC Hlomuka encouraged residents to protect the crucial infrastructure that the department has built within their communities so that they can have water. 

“One of the biggest challenges facing communities in the municipality is the damage and vandalism of critical infrastructure that brings water. Recently the village of Thembalihle in Ward 19 had no water as a result of a cable theft incident in which a pump station was ransacked by criminals who stripped it of crucial cables which negatively impacted the ability of the community to receive water” said Hlomuka.

MEC Hlomuka also called upon residents to work closely with law enforcement agencies by reporting any suspicious activities. “Our municipalities are losing millions of rands every year as a result of cable theft, this is hampering our efforts as government to bring water to our communities. We as the communities must take a stand against these criminals” added Hlomuka. 

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has expressed grave disappointment at the criticism of municipal governance in the province, chiefly focused on Msunduzi, voiced by its former Senior Official Lionel Pienaar.

Pienaar served at KZN Cogta in various Senior Management positions for decades, even during the time predating the democratic government instituted in 1994. He was a Chief Director since 1996 and also acted as the Deputy Director General for the Local Government Branch.  During this time one of his responsibilities was the management of the Section 139 Interventions.  He retired from the department earlier this year and is currently a candidate for the Umgungundlovu District council for the Inkatha Freedom Party.

“It is surreal to watch Pienaar use his new platform as an opposition candidate in the upcoming local government elections to criticise issues in municipal governance which he himself was directing for the longest time and thus had ample opportunity to resolve during his time in government,” said KZN Cogta’s Head of Department Thando Tubane.

“If anyone knows how much time and energy KZN Cogta is devoting to ensuring that the province’s municipalities function optimally, it should be Pienaar given his exceedingly long tenure in the public service. His criticism is disingenuous and entirely self-serving,” said Tubane.

KZN Cogta wishes the IFP – Pienaar’s current political home – the best of luck using his expertise in local government which clearly failed to make the sort of difference in the province’s municipalities Pienaar is now so ardently calling for as a candidate.

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With the 2021 local government elections only days away, this is the last stretch of the term of local government whose representatives were elected into office in 2016. As such, this is a good time to reflect on what KZN municipalities have achieved during this time and where more work is needed in the next term of local government which will effectively commence next month.

“We have just concluded our second assessment of municipalities in KZN, the first such assessment having taken place just after the 2019 provincial elections. The highlights of this latest assessment must be shared with the outgoing local government representatives and for the benefit of future ones,” says KZN MEC for Cooperative and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).

For this purpose, KZN Cogta hosted an engagement with the outgoing local government representatives in the province. The engagement also featured national Minister of Cogta Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala who both addressed the delegates. Some of the successes achieved in KZN municipalities during the 2016-2021 term of local government include:

• Despite the current term of local government starting with an increased number of coalition and hung municipalities and despite the beginning of this term experiencing instability in 14 municipal councils, we are ending this term on a high note with only 4 municipalities that experience instability in their councils.
• Section 106 investigations have been concluded in more than 20 municipalities. There are municipalities that have moved rapidly and implemented the recommendations made in the Section 106 reports, even to the extent of laying criminal charges.
• There is also marked improvement in municipal compliance with legislated timeframes set for the adoption of the IDPs, Budgets, Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans as well as the timeous signing of Performance Agreements for senior managers and submission of Annual Financial Statements and Annual Performance Reports to the Auditor General.
• Many KZN municipalities are now filling their vacant senior management positions quickly to avoid creating a vacuum in their administration. As a result, the vacancy rate across the province’s municipalities has been reduced to 12.77% as at September 2021.
• We have overseen a dramatic reduction in municipal debt owed to Eskom, leaving only 3 municipalities with long outstanding debt, namely Newcastle, Ulundi and Mpofana. These municipalities have, however, been supported to facilitate agreements on payment plans with the power utility.
• Fewer of our municipalities are now reliant on consultants to compile their Annual Financial Statements because they have actively developed internal capacity throughout the current term to perform this function internally.
• There has also been a marked improvement in municipal grant spending, with only uMkhanyakude district failing to spend 100% of its Municipal Infrastructure Grant by June 2021.
• Infrastructure backlogs have marginally decreased across the municipal sphere compared to the pre-democracy era. This is largely due to the broad availability of infrastructure grants and improvements in their expenditure. The availability of the EPWP grant has also been instrumental in addressing local unemployment challenges in municipalities.
• KZN Cogta has channeled significant financial investments into Small Town Rehabilitation, Community Service Centres, LED projects, and water and electricity projects. These interventions have undisputedly improved the lives of beneficiary communities while also improving the economic prospects of entire regions of KZN that had previously been neglected.
• More than 50% of the province’s districts now have Disaster Management Centres and those outstanding have allocated budgets to either complete their centres or begin their construction. This has improved our capacity to mitigate the impact of disasters significantly across the board even we face increasing environmental challenges due to climate change. 
• KZN Cogta has also supported municipalities through the procurement of yellow plant equipment which has been distributed to benefit each district and its family of local municipalities. This equipment is addressing the most urgent issues of infrastructure maintenance while it is also saving municipalities money that would have gone into procuring it by themselves.

“The current term of local government has seen significant improvements in the way our municipalities are governed, institutionally supported, financially managed and in the way they deliver services to communities. Many of these improvements were made possible by the hands-on support provided by the KZN Provincial Government in general and KZN Cogta in particular,” said Hlomuka.

The new term of local government, which will effectively commence next month once the results of the 2021 local government elections are declared, will be built on solid foundations of the previous successes and KZN Cogta will continue to work closely with the newly elected municipal governments to ensure that the province’s local government institutions prosper in the years ahead.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs 

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The rural village of Mfekayi in the Mtubatuba local municipality now has electricity for the very first time since the dawn of democracy thanks to the injection of R11-million by the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) which funded 270 household connections in the area. 

This morning KZN MEC for Cogta Sipho Hlomuka visited the village where he officially switched on the electrification project. A local resident, Douglas Zulu, has hailed the electrification project for restoring his hope in government. “This project has helped us as a community. We can now access the modern-day conveniences of electricity. It has been truly life-changing for many of us,” said Zulu.

Speaking during the visit to the Zulu household, Hlomuka emphasised the Provincial Government’s commitment to achieving universal access to basic services, such as electricity. “Currently as a province, we have 2.5 million households with access to electricity. We are here today to witness the increase in this number as 270 more houses can access the grid. We are determined to eradicate the electricity backlog” said Hlomuka. 

Hlomuka also urged the beneficiaries of the programme to protect the infrastructure the Provincial Government has built for their benefit. During the visit, Hlomuka was accompanied by the Mayor of Mtubatuba, Cllr VT Ncamphalala, who hailed the government’s support which has assisted communities within the municipality to access electricity and other services. 

“The ongoing support we are receiving from the provincial and national government through the various grants is making a big difference in our efforts as Mtubatuba to bring services closer to our communities,” said Mayor Ncamphalala. KZN Cogta, under the leadership of MEC Hlomuka, continues to invest millions of rand in grants to assist municipalities to deal with the electrification backlog in the province.

Issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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Venue: eMadungeni, ubuhlebezwe ward 12

In order to create vibrant agricultural communities and improve food security, the Provincial Government has formally launched this year’s planting season in Madungeni in uBuhlebezwe local municipality under the Harry Gwala district today.

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka and the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bongi Sithole Moloi, together with the Harry Gwala district Mayor Zamo Nxumalo and the Mayor of uBuhlebezwe Cllr Ngubo, officially launched the planting season programme in the district.

Through this programme, communities across the district and the area of eMadungeni will be provided with specialised support that will assist them in their efforts to till the land.

Within the programme, 3500 hectares of land are earmarked for farming produce, such as cabbages, carrots and other vegetables. The Department of Agriculture is providing seedlings and farming equipment, such as tractors, for this purpose.

Mayor Nxumalo, in delivering his welcoming remarks during the event, welcomed the annual rollout of this programme which reminds communities of the importance of farming. “As a district, we have experienced good rains and are excited by the opportunity this programme presents to us,” he said.

Nxumalo also expressed his happiness with the significant increase in the number of people from the eMadungeni community who are turning to farming. 

In her address to the community, MEC Sithole-Moloi called for the youth to look at the sector as a possible career: “We all have to eat; no one can survive without food and you as the young people of the Harry Gwala district are blessed with vasts amounts of land which need to be worked on so that you can be part of the farming community that feeds our nation,” she said. 

One of the beneficiaries – Mkhipheni Memela (65) from Atlas co-operative, based at Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma municipality, said he is grateful for the support from the Department of Agriculture. 

MEC Hlomuka, who is also the political champion of the district under Operation Sukuma Sakhe, called on the community to make use of the support that is being provided by the government: “This support will ensure that our communities have food security. We must not turn our backs on working the land. Many of us grew up planting crops in our homes so let us continue with that good practice to grow our own food and take care of our families,” he said.

As part of the launch of this year’s planting season, the two MECs and the two Mayors handed over an assortment of farming tools to the cooperatives. 

Joint media statement issued by the Department of Cogta, DARD, the Harry Gwala District Municipality and the uBuhlebezwe Local Municipality