Category: News

A novel initiative to provide educational and job opportunities for young people has been announced by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, Sipho Hlomuka.

The Graduate support and placement program will see over 500 youth being recruited and trained in various fields that are of demand to the local government sector, these youths will then be placed in various municipalities as part of the capacity building programme.

The Department of Cogta issued an advert inviting unemployed graduates to apply.  Graduates who have successfully completed a 3 or 4-year qualification in the following disciplines:

• Civil Engineering, Construction and Build Management
• Internal Audit and Risk Management
• Urban and Regional Planning
• Finance and Accounting
• Electrical Engineering
• Water Engineering and Quality Management
• Plumbing and Sanitation
• GIS and Land Use
• Human Resources Management

“The task of reposition the sphere of local government in the province of KwaZulu-Natal is going full steam ahead,” Hlomuka said as he announced the commencement of the program.

“In the assessment that we did of municipalities in our province, the glaring need for specialized skills especially in the areas of Engineering, Finance, Town planning and human resources. We, therefore, took a decision to embark on this groundbreaking project in which we will recruit young people who are graduates with the aim of sending them our municipalities where they will harness their skills and improve the level of service delivery,” said Hlomuka.

Through this initiative, we are addressing the most pressing socio-economic challenges facing young people, particularly skills development and youth unemployment in our province.

Through this program, we want to change the lives of many young people. We encourage young people to apply and take advantage of the opportunities presented by this program. We know it is not a panacea to the big unemployed challenge but a humble contribution and will make a difference.

Applications for selection into this program have officially opened and close on Friday 11 October 2019.

This will be a 24-month graduate placement programme, which we will see 500 young people deployed to municipalities across the province.

It comes hot on the heels of the launch of Operation Khawuleza (hurry up) by the department, where plant equipment valued at R160 million is being given to municipalities to assist them to respond quickly to service delivery needs of communities.

Entries for this programme officially opened on 27 September and close on Friday 11 October.

To apply young people can visit www.kzncogta.gov.za/vacancies.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has expressed his shock and sadness at the passing of Inkosi Magutshwa Bhekinkosi Simelane (62) of the Simelane Traditional Council in uPhongolo. The inkosi passed away following a short illness.

 
“Inkosi Simelane took on the traditional post in 1988 and has since led his people with distinction through very difficult circumstances. His legacy is one of a community builder, a unifier and a foot soldier in the war against social ills plaguing communities in the uPhongolo local municipality. His passing leaves a great gap in the sphere of traditional leadership in our province,” said Hlomuka.

Inkosi took his role in his community very seriously and participated in the uPhongolo and Zululand Councils in terms of Section 81 of the Municipal Structures Act of 2000. The Act makes provision for amakhosi to participate in municipal councils. This bears testimony to Inkosi’s commitment to ensuring that his community is developed.

 
Hlomuka has expressed his condolences to the family of Inkosi and the Simelane Traditional Council. Inkosi will be laid to rest in uPhongolo this Saturday, 28 September, at his homestead
KwaShoba.

 
Ends.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has condemned the violence that occurred at the Newcastle local municipality where a brick allegedly thrown by striking workers hit and injured the mayor, Cllr Ntuthuko Mahlaba.

 
“This attack on the mayor is not taken lightly by the department since mayors are public representatives who are tasked with spearheading the delivery of services to our communities. Threats, intimidation and assault on any mayor will never be tolerated by the department and strong action needs to be taken against those who are responsible for this heinous act,” said Hlomuka.

 
KZN Cogta MEC has called upon the law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident. “No amount of industrial action can ever justify an attack on our public representatives. We are also calling upon workers in other municipalities to exercise their right to strike in a manner that respects the rule of law,” said Hlomuka.

Ends

“Africa continues to bear the brunt of climate change more than any other continent. Millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure is wiped out every year due to bad weather conditions. This calls for all of to act as one in the fight against Climate Change” these were the words by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, who spoke at the Under2 Coalition Members’ Forum, which took place on the sidelines of the New York, Climate Week on Monday.

Hlomuka led a delegation comprising of the Province’s Director-General, Dr Mkhize and other senior officials.

Hlomuka who hails from Ladysmith, spoke at the Under2 Coalition Members Forum which was attended by political leaders, from various states and regional governments. 

Hlomuka who spoke on behalf of KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala, affirmed the province’s commitment to combating climate change. “Our province has suffered immeasurable hard at the hands of climate change. This year we lost 71 lives when floods wreaked havoc in our province. We also continue to have incidents such as lightning strikes, which kills many people, especially in rural areas. As a province, we embarked on several campaigns aimed at educating residents about the dangers of climate change and the need for mindset change and the migration to environmentally friendly products in every area of our lives. As a province, we are committed to combating climate change and have embarked on practical steps on this. We were the first provincial South African government to establish a Climate Change and Sustainable Development Council” said Hlomuka.

The Coalition brings together more than 220 governments spanning six continents and 43 countries of which KZN is a part of. 

End

The KZN Provincial Government under the leadership of Premier Sihle Zikalala today launched the R160-million Operation Khawuleza programme in Newcastle in the Amajuba District.

This programme, implemented through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, will see millions of rand worth of plant machinery which includes graders, TLBs, waste trucks, honey suckers, rollers and the like handed over to municipalities so that they can deliver speedy services to communities.

Speaking at the launch, Premier Zikalala emphasised government’s commitment to capacitating municipalities so that they can take care of the needs of communities. “What we have launched today is an unprecedented and ground-breaking intervention aimed at capacitating municipalities to respond to service delivery challenges that have sparked dissatisfaction in communities. As the provincial government, we are determined to see our communities receive adequate services from our municipalities,” said Zikalala.

In his address, Cogta MEC Hlomuka called upon community members to protect the machinery that is being given to their municipalities since it will be used to service their needs. “With this plant equipment, municipalities will be better able to respond to your needs as communities. If there is a pothole or a broken water pipe, municipalities will now have the equipment to attend to it. This equipment comes at no cost to municipalities and we expect them to utilise it because every month we will be monitoring the usage of this equipment,” said Hlomuka.

Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, who was the first mayor to receive this equipment, has committed to ensuring that this critical tool is utilised efficiently and effectively in service to the people of Newcastle. “We are honoured to have received this equipment since now this municipality will not have to hire plant equipment and this will allow us to divert our scarce resources towards other pressing service delivery needs of our communities,” said Mahlaba.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka has read the riot act on the Abaqulusi Council this afternoon, warning them to shape up or risk facing extraordinary measures by the province.

This follows the allegations that the leadership of the municipality have violated their responsibilities in respect of the implementation of the Constitutional intervention at the municipality by interfering with the work of the Administrator.

This municipality was placed under administration by the Provincial Government in February this year in terms of section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution. A Ministerial Representative was appointed to work with councillors in getting this municipality back on its feet.

The allegations are that the leadership of the municipality caused the suspended Municipal Manager to return to work thus violating his suspension conditions. It is alleged that upon his return he approved millions worth of irregular payments.

The unlawful return of the Municipal Manager to office led to the Administrator taking the Municipal Leadership to court thus resulting in unnecessary wastage of municipal funds. MEC Hlomuka made it clear that such action must be followed by consequence management measures for both councillors and managers alike. 

“The Ministerial Representative is here on behalf of Cogta, he provides regular reporting and analysis is done on the progress the municipality is making.  In the assessment, we made recently, we have observed concerning trends, which negates our drive to ensure that this municipality gets all the basics right and serve the community of Abaqulusi better. We have received reports that there seem to have been numerous instances of confrontation where our Ministerial Representative is not receiving adequate support.  In some instances, he was pitted against the Speaker and the Deputy Mayor, with serious allegations of undue interference. 

Hlomuka also emphasized the fact that the municipality has an unfunded budget and thus the leadership has the responsibility to ensure that the finances of the municipality are used prudently.

The MEC emphasized and clarified the powers of the Administrator as a representative of the Cabinet of KwaZulu-Natal.

Hlomuka warned Councillors of the serious repercussions should they fail to continue to follow good governance practices.

MEC Hlomuka also introduced Mr Sibusiso Mkhize as the new administrator and asked the council to use the intervention to restore stability in the municipality.

Hlomuka ordered that all transactions authorized by the suspended Municipal Manager be investigated in order to hold accountable those behind the wrong decisions which have led to frivolous litigation at a huge cost to the ratepayers and the community of Abaqulusi

Hlomuka’s visit follows a number of incorrect decisions within this council and that are compromising good governance.

KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, has scooped top awards at the national Thusong Centre Service Excellence Awards held in Cape Town last night.

The awards recognised top-performing Community Service Centres across the country.   MEC Sipho Hlomuka congratulated his Department for this impressive showing, which saw it scoop a number of coveted awards, which include:

• Most improved province in the Thusong Roll Out.
• Outstanding Provincial Coordinator, which was won by Cogta employee Ms Bev Khanyile.
• The Biyela Thusong Centre which was built by the department won in the category of Outstanding Satellite.

The province also won in the following categories:

• The Mayor of uMshwathi Local Municipality was recognised for Special Contributions to the Thusong Programme
• Outstanding Semi-Rural Hub was won by Maphumulo Thusong Centre
• Outstanding Semi-Rural Hub – uMshwathi Thusong Centre (first runner-up)
• Outstanding Semi-Rural – Urban Hub; Archie Gumede Thusong Centre (winner)

“This impressive achievement is a reflection of the ethos KZN Cogta pursues when it comes to fulfilling its constitutional obligation to the citizens of the province. As a department, we took a decision to aggressively roll out these community service centres which bring government services closer to communities. Currently, we have over 30 of these centres in our rural communities,” said Hlomuka.

“As a department, we will continue to strive for excellence in our efforts to bring government services closer to our communities. Awards such as these motivate us to do more in the service of our communities,” said Hlomuka.

The KZN provincial government through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs under the leadership of MEC Sipho Hlomuka, is embarking on an unprecedented and ground-breaking intervention aimed at capacitating municipalities to respond to service delivery challenges that have sparked high level of dissatisfaction in communities.

Heavy plant equipment worth over R125 million is to be given to communities by the provincial government to respond to immediate infrastructure needs that in many instances have sparked service delivery protests.

The launch of Operation Khawuleza will be attended by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, honourable Sihle Zikalala. Operation Khawuleza is the Provincial Government’s quick response to maintaining roads, fixing and maintaining infrastructure and many other service delivery issues. The Provincial Government led by Premier Zikalala, will handover graders, TLB’s, rollers, water tankers, refuse trucks and fire engines to municipalities across the province.

This programme a first of its kind intervention dubbed “Operation Khawuleza” is part of the directive by President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend to immediate infrastructure needs affecting communities.

The equipment that will be rolled out to municipalities comes at no cost and will ensure that municipalities are better able to handle key service delivery issues like the maintenance of roads, which includes the fixing of potholes, and the provision of sanitation and water. “We are committed to working with municipalities as the Constitution compels us to do. We have noted over the past couple of years that this critical sphere of local government is struggling to keep up with the demands of communities. As a response, we have decided to implement this revolutionary programme, which will ensure that municipalities have adequate machinery to be supplied by us so that we can collectively speed up service delivery,” said Hlomuka.

“Through this ambitious programme municipalities within our province are to fix at least 500 potholes a month. This equipment will be closely monitored to ensure that it is utilised effectively and efficiently,” said Hlomuka.

The Programme will be officially launched in Newcastle on Thursday, 19 September 2019 at the Gama Sports Ground, Ward 12, Johnstone, Newcastle at 11 AM.

KZNCOGTA Head of Department Mr. Thando Tubane, on Monday, 09 September 2019, visited Umpumulo Hospital and Montebello Hospital, in the Ilembe District, as part of Public Service Week. HOD Tubane is the HOD Champion for ILembe District.

The HOD’s visit to the  health facilities in the iLembe District, was part of his initiatives of gearing towards the improvement of community services in the district where he is the HOD Champion.

After his visit to the two health facilities in iLembe District, HOD Thando Tubane, along with officials from his Department and officials  from the Department of Health, convened a strategic meeting with the aim of coming up with strategies which will fast-track the provision of health services in health facilities within iLembe District.

Amongst the key issues discussed at the strategic meeting between HOD Tubane and officials from the provincial Health Department, on Monday, 09 September 2019, were risk management, fraud and detection, effective use of technology and value for money on rendered services.

Ends