Category: News

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has condemned the murder of Inkosi Manqoba Fred Mkhize, 37, of the Amambuzane Traditional Council in the uMngeni local municipality.

According to reports received by the department, Inkosi was gunned down yesterday, 13 March, by unknown gunmen who ambushed him and his aide when they were driving to Inkosi’s home in Mpophomeni.

Hlomuka has condemned this senseless attack and called upon the law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of the cowards who are responsible for this double tragedy.

“We are saddened by the reports we have received of the passing of Inkosi Mkhize together with an aide he was travelling with. These deaths come at a time when the Zulu nation is mourning the passing of our beloved King, Goodwill Zwelithi kaBhekuzulu,” said Hlomuka.

Hlomuka has sent condolences to the family of Inkosi Mkhize, the traditional community of Amambuzane and the uMgungundlovu Local House of Traditional Leaders where Inkosi played a meaningful role.

The MEC has also called upon the Amambuzane community to desist from taking the law into their own hands but rather work with law enforcement agencies so that the culprits can be apprehended and face the full might of the law.

Hlomuka has dispatched senior officials to the grieving family to provide support during this difficult time.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has noted and welcomed the landmark, precedent-setting judgement handed down by the High Court in Cape Town which has sentenced five copper thieves to a collective 1250 years in jail. The crimes they had committed between 2016 and 2018 include the theft of copper wires worth R1.8-million from Eskom and Telkom.

Hlomuka believes that this judgement will serve as a strong deterrent to those who continue to pillage private and public infrastructure. “This landmark judgement sends a clear message that the stripping of public and private infrastructure will not be tolerated and that those who dare inflict this form of economic sabotage on our society will face the possibility of lengthy sentences as their actions are tantamount to treason and an act against the state,” said Hlomuka.

Municipalities across the province continue to suffer millions of rand in damages every year as a result of cable theft, acts of sabotage and vandalism. Such behaviour also hampers the provision of regular service delivery to urban and rural communities.

Hlomuka has appealed to communities across the province to work closely with their respective municipalities and the law enforcement agencies to report any suspicions they might have in connection with cable theft.

“The fight against vandalism of public infrastructure is one that government cannot win on its own. We therefore appeal to our communities to play their part in safeguarding our essential infrastructure. Those who live near such infrastructure must take a stand and be vigilant by working with the police to bring perpetrators to account,” said Hlomuka

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has expressed his concern about the loss of life the province continues to witness as a result of the prevailing inclement weather conditions.

In the latest incident, a six-year-old girl lost her life yesterday afternoon when she was struck by lightning while in the yard in her home in Madiba village in Ward 10 of the Maphumulo local municipality.

Hlomuka has expressed his condolences to the Manqele family for their loss and directed disaster management teams to provide support to the grieving family.

“The news we have received of yet another life lost as a result of inclement weather is devastating. We appeal to all communities to be vigilant as our province continues to experience rough weather conditions which pose a significant risk to human life,” said Hlomuka.

The province has lost 11 lives since the heavy storms struck on 24 January. Two people are still missing since they were swept off the uThukela Bridge between Kranskop and Nkandla on 12 February.

Search and rescue teams deployed a helicopter to assist with the search for Smakade Magwaza (62) and his grandson Lwandle Magwaza (8) who were swept away by the crocodile-infested uThukela River.

KZN Cogta under the leadership of MEC Hlomuka continues to invest in additional disaster management capacity in municipalities so that they can better respond to natural disasters and weather-related incidents.

Yesterday, Hlomuka visited the Ilembe district where he handed over a fully equipped fire and rescue vehicle to the rural municipality of Ndwedwe so that it can better manage such incidents and be able to assist other municipalities in the district.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka has congratulated the newly elected Mayor and Speaker of the uMlalazi Local Municipality.

Yesterday, 23 February the Council of the Mlalazi Local Municipality convened and elected Cllr Thulani Dlamini as Mayor and Cllr Mthokozisi Edward Dlamini as the Speaker.

The election of the Mayor comes following the tragic passing of Cllr Thelumoya Bazil Zulu who passed away in December.

The election of the Speaker comes after the resignation of the previous Speaker.

MEC Hlomuka has committed his department to working with the newly elected Mayor and the Council to ensure that residents of uMlalazi continue to receive services. “As a department, we are committed to the wellbeing of the municipality and its residents. It is our firm belief that the election of the Mayor and Speaker marks an important moment in the municipality. We look forward to working closely with the Council as it seeks to serve the people of Mlalazi under the leadership of Cllr T.D Dlamini” said Hlomuka.

Ndwedwe: The plight of the rural communities of Ndwedwe received a major boost this morning when KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka handed over a water tanker and a state-of-the-art fire fighting vehicle to assist this rural municipality in improving access to water for its residents and strengthening its disaster management capacity.

Hlomuka was joined by Mayor of the District Cllr S Gumede and Ndwedwe Mayor Cllr N Chili who welcomed this investment by the department into building capacity within the district which comprises some of the most rural municipalities in the province.

During the handover, Hlomuka stressed his department’s commitment to supporting municipalities in fulfilling their constitutional mandate of providing services to communities.

This rural municipality experienced a tragedy last year when five people died in a house fire in Mthebeni, Ward 11. The fire truck handed over by Hlomuka today will be a major boost to the municipality’s ability to respond to such incidents. “Today’s handover is a significant milestone in our efforts to improve the safety of our communities and speed up the response time by our fire and rescue teams whenever they are called upon,” said Hlomuka.

During the visit, Hlomuka also handed over a water tanker which is a short-term intervention by the department to alleviate the plight of rural communities within the municipality.

The truck is fully funded by Cogta and will serve areas within the Ndwedwe local municipality which is one of the areas that still fall behind in terms of water provision.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka this morning took part in the Harry Gwala District Schools functionality programme, where he was joined by the Mayor of the District, Cllr Nxumalo, and Members of the Provincial Legislature which were led by Hon Hlobisile Dlamini.

The aim of the programme is to assess the state of readiness of schools to commence with teaching following the opening of schools across the province.

The delegation visited the Nkumba and Dlangala Primary in the Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma municipality.

During the visit, the delegation interacted with the management of both schools on some of the challenges they are faced with and some of the interventions that can be made to resolve them.

These issues ranged from provision of water, structural damage to schools, pass rates, tools of trade for teachers, and the provision of PPE for teachers and leaners.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has welcomed positive developments in the payment of debt owed to Eskom by municipalities in the province.

Yesterday, Eskom KZN issued a statement commending the department’s intervention which has been a key factor in municipalities being able to honour their payment plans.

According to Eskom some of the municipalities have been able to pay off their electricity debt like eDumbe and Abaqulusi. With other municipalities are on the verge of finishing like Msunduzi and Inkosi Langalibalele.

MEC Hlomuka has commended the Management within the department for the excellent work they have done in mediating between Eskom and municipalities.

Hlomuka believes that the positive developments being noted did not happen by themselves but took great effort from the department through the deployment of senior officials to mediate between the municipalities and Eskom with a view to finding a workable solution that would allow the municipalities to pay off their debt monthly at a sustainable rate.

This breakthrough in the mediation efforts led to the signing of payment plans by Eskom with all these municipalities.

Prior to the signing of the payment plans municipalities such as eDumbe, Mthonjaneni, Abaqulusi, Inkosi Langalibalele, Msunduzi, Ulundi and Mooi-Mpofana were facing the possible risk of their electricity supply being interrupted as a result of the debt they owed to Eskom.

Following the intervention of the department the following municipalities have settled their debt:

·       eDumbe which owed R6.2-million

·       Mthonjaneni which owed R6.9-million, and

·       Abaqulusi which owed R36.1-million

“We have also seen remarkable progress in the Inkosi Langalibalele municipality. They owed Eskom an amount of R104- million and have been able to pay off 90% of this debt. In the Msunduzi municipality, the original debt owed was R203-million. They have been able to pay 78% of the debt. In both these municipalities, the full settlement of their debt is expected to take place at the end of this month” adds Hlomuka.

The Mooi-Mpofana and Newcastle municipalities are continuing to honour their payment plans.

MEC Hlomuka has also noted that the Ulundi municipality has chosen to terminate its electricity supply agreement with Eskom, which is a situation the department is mediating in to ensure the best possible outcome is reached – one that will be in the best interest of the community.

MEC Hlomuka has also noted telling contributions by the Administrators in the municipalities that are under Section 139(1) b intervention such as Abaqulusi, Msunduzi and Inkosi Langalibalele which were able to pay their debt faster.

MEDIA STATEMENT: KZN COGTA MEC HLOMUKA PLACES UMKHANYAKUDE DISTRICT UNDER ADMINISTRATION

16 February 2021

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has today announced the appointment of Bamba Ndwandwe as the administrator of the uMkhanyakude district municipality.

Hlomuka met with the full council of the district municipality this morning to officially inform its members of the decision taken by the Provincial Executive to place the municipality under administration in terms of Section 139(1)b of the Constitution.

In the meeting, Hlomuka explained to the council that the decision to institute this intervention is the culmination of Cogta’s previous efforts to address long-term dysfunctionality at the district whose governance system has suffered due to internal divisions and failure to convene council for three consecutive scheduled meetings.

“Some of the consequences of this frequent and persistent breakdown of council meetings at uMkhanyakude include the council’s failure to table completed forensic investigation reports or the municipality’s precarious cash flow position and resultant failure to meet its financial commitments” said Hlomuka.

As part of the intervention, the Provincial Government has now assumed the functions specified in terms of Sections 51, 56 and 57 of the Municipal Systems Act as well as those related to financial management.

Ndwandwe who is now the ministerial representative at uMkhanyakude will be based at the municipality where he will prepare and implement a recovery plan to:

·       ensure the implementation of financial systems, policies and procedures including preparation and implementation of cost-cutting measures,

·       establish and act as chairperson of the interim finance committee to monitor and manage the cash flow of the municipality, approve or dis-approve purchase requisitions and to ensure that the municipality’s cash position is not overdrawn,

·       implement governance systems and procedures, including oversight over the administration and ratification of decisions taken by the council, the Executive Committee, committees, Municipal Manager and Section 56 Managers in terms of delegated or original authority,

·       ensure the implementation of findings arising from any investigations into fraud or maladministration or corruption,

·       ensure the finalisation of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure reports and any consequence management emanating from the outcome of the reports tabled with the council, and

·       institute all disciplinary processes that will be deemed necessary.

Hlomuka has urged the uMkhanyakude district council to work together with the newly appointed administrator to address the challenges that have led to the municipality being placed under administration.

*For any enquiries contact: Ms Nonala Ndlovu, 066 282 6903; or Senzelwe Mzila, 082 474 1882* 

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Ends.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka yesterday paid his respects to the family of the late Inkosi Sifiso Derrick Cele, 47, of the KwaCele Traditional Council in the uMdoni Local Municipality.

Inkosi Cele was assassinated on Wednesday evening by unknown gunmen who raided his house and opened fire on Inkosi fatally wounding him.

MEC Hlomuka visited to households of Inkosi Cele in Dududu, where he paid his respects to the family of Inkosi.

During the visit MEC Hlomuka condemned the senseless attack on Inkosi and called for law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of those that murdered Inkosi.

In the visit, MEC Hlomuka was accompanied by the Mayor of the uMdoni Local Municipality Cllr S.T Khathi and the Chairperson of the Ugu Local House of Traditional Leaders Inkosi Shinga.