Category: News

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube has expressed her condolences to the family and community of uMzimkhulu Council’s Speaker, Cllr Khaya Thobela, who was shot at in his home Thursday night.  Thobela succumbed to the multiple wounds in the early hours of the morning today.

Dube-Ncube has expressed shock at this brazen attack on Thobela which led to his death and reiterated her earlier statement that the ongoing spate of violence directed at elected public representatives, traditional leaders and municipal officials in KZN’s local government institutions must stop.

“The passing away of Cllr Thobela is a huge blow to our province’s democratic system of local government.   It is unacceptable that yet another councillor in the province has been murdered. We are outraged, angry and shocked at the killing of the Speaker of uMzimkhulu council.  Violence against councillors is deeply concerning.   We have worked very hard since to make KZN a peaceful province and we cannot allow this achievement to be reversed by criminal elements,” said Dube-Ncube.

“We call upon the community to remain calm during this difficult time and allow the law to take its cause.  We also call upon the leadership of the area to work together to ensure peace and stability in the area and resist any temptation to have premature conclusion”; said Dube-Ncube.

Dube-Ncube has also urged the law enforcement agencies to apprehend those responsible for Thobela’s death and called for members of the public to assist and support the police bringing those responsible for this heinous crime to justice.

For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube has condemned last night’s assassination attempt on uMzimkhulu Council’s Speaker, Cllr Khaya Thobela, who was shot at in his home. He was apparently shot a couple of times in the upper body and remains in a critical condition.

Dube-Ncube has expressed shock at this assassination attempt on the Speaker and said that the ongoing spate of violence directed at public representatives, traditional leaders and municipal officials in the sphere of local government must stop.

“We are dismayed at the news of an attempt on the life of yet another councillor in the province. It pains me to even try and understand what could cause people to embark on such a senseless deed against a representative of our people. This is indeed shocking. We are finding this difficult to comprehend,” said Dube-Ncube.

“Violence against councillors is becoming a disturbing trend which requires urgent attention. We call on all our people to be in the forefront of protecting our councillors. Violence is deplorable and must be universally condemned. The Speaker has held a record for good administration and is an example to many others,” said Dube-Ncube.

Dube-Ncube has expressed a hope that the law will now take its course and that the perpetrators of this attempted murder – whoever they are – will be apprehended soon by the law enforcement agencies to be brought to justice.

Dube-Ncube has also assured the family, constituency and political party of Speaker that he remains in her thoughts and prayers and she has wished him a speedy recovery.

For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has applauded the tough stance taken by the Greater Kokstad municipality in rooting-out fraud and corruption which saw the dismissal of five municipal who have allegedly embezzled funds from the municipality’s pay point customer service station.

“The Greater Kokstad municipality is setting the correct tone and this is a good example to be emulated by all municipalities.  We need to bring to book those who tarnish the reputation of our government institutions and erode the confidence of our communities in municipalities. The bold step by the Greater Kokstad leadership augurs well for good governance and zero tolerance policy when it comes to fraud and corruption.

As the municipality said “they have adopted the Chinese approach to catch both the tiger and the fly,”.

KZN Cogta has long placed a premium on good governance and sound financial management, both of which constitute two of the five pillars of the department’s Back to Basics programme aimed at rebuilding the municipal capacity to deliver first class services by getting the basics right.

“The dismissal of workers found to have embezzled municipal funds sends a strong message to the rate paying public in Kokstad as well as the municipality’s employees. The message is clear: there are harsh consequences for wrongdoing,” said Dube-Ncube.

For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220 

More than 1000 learners from New River Combined will as from today have access to a library and touch a test tube for the first time, courtesy of KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

Dube-Ncube today visited the school in the Ethekwini Metro, together with the Mayor of eThekwini, Cllr Zandile Gumede, and JSE listed company Conlog which made a contribution towards the donations. The new mobile library and science kits will go a long way towards ensuring that all scholars get the best in terms of their education.

In her address, MEC Dube-Ncube urged the learners to take their education seriously because it is the only tool they have to escape poverty.

“Your presence here in the school is exclusively for one reason – to study and we have done our part in ensuring that the resources your teachers said they needed were supplied. We now expect all of you to focus on your studies since your own future and that of your families depends on you doing well in school,” said Dube-Ncube.

The school also got an upgrade to their assembly areas which have been tarred because the principal had expressed his concern about the dust the learners were exposed to during assembly time.

This school caters for learners from grades 1-12 and is located within a poor community. The principal of the school, Mr Ncube, thanked the MEC, the Mayor of eThekwini and Conlog for the investment made into the school which will ensure that it continues to provide quality education for its learners.

For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220

Date: 20 April 2017

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The KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has dismissed as ludicrous the claim by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) that it is using water provision programmes to campaign for votes in the Nquthu municipality. The IFP’s claims are a subterfuge to divert attention from the fact that it is fully responsible together with its coalition allies for the chaos that not only led to the dissolution of this municipality but for deprivation of important services to the people of Nquthu and uMzinyathi as a whole.  It is clear from their statement that the IFP is busy manufacturing spurious reasons to pre-empt its election performance or under-performance in the upcoming elections.

Let us help the IFP from the pluralistic ignorance or mistaken belief they suffer from.

Nquthu Municipality and uMzinyathi by virtue of Section 139(1C), of the supreme law of South Africa, the Constitution, is under administration and the MEC for Cogta is lawfully entrusted by the Provincial Executive, with the task of driving service delivery, development and functioning of the two municipalities, while the political failure by parties to govern is being resolved through a democratic process of by-elections.

The efforts to assist and support Nquthu municipality by the MEC for Cogta, Nomusa Dube-Ncube and her department commenced with immediate effect in September 2016, when it became obvious that the political stalemate in Nquthu will not be resolved speedily.   As early as November 2016, when by-elections were not even an option, Cogta MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube together with MEC for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, were leading efforts to assist communities in distress because of disasters.

Water tankers were provided since December as communities during interactions with the MEC, raised concerns about water challenges, even the supply of water storage facilities (JOJO Tanks) have been part of the solutions suggested by the communities as part of mitigating the drought crisis that is still prevalent in Nquthu.  This has been happening while the IFP had its eyes firmly fixed on the power games as opposed to providing services to the people of Nquthu.  Water Tankers fill-up the JOJO tanks so that people can have access to water for more days while the trucks are still supplying other wards.

The reality is that the people of Nquthu are seeing the positive impact of the intervention as opposed to the political theatrics spearheaded by the IFP and parties in council which was not benefitting the community of Nquthu.  It is not therefore surprising that the IFP is now peddling falsehoods and distortions about provincial government led initiatives that have been in progress for the past seven months while the IFP and its allies were flirting with the future of the people of Nquthu.

“These interventions have been in place for a long time and when people are getting water, no one is asked a membership card or political questions, people simply get water and this was suggested by the communities themselves.  The net-effect of the IFP concerns is that now that there would be by-elections in Nquthu, people must not get services.  As the government that put the interest of the people above narrow partisan political interested we do not accept the IFP narrative and we are committed to bring non-stop, never ending service delivery to the people of Nquthu” said Cogta MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube

“As Cogta we are interested in good governance and service delivery in Nquthu and uMzinyathi and not conspiracy theories that are baseless and a complete fabrication.  The JOJO tanks issue is just a scarecrow and a decoy to divert attention from the havoc that the IFP led coalition arrangements have wreaked in Nquthu.  The IFP can’t sustain their justification for letting down the voters hence they create mannequins. Our first priority has always been to ensure that both Nquthu and uMzinyathi are fully functional and able to deliver municipal services to their residents. No other issue is of interest to Cogta other than these priorities,” Dube-Ncube concluded.

For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokesperson Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403 or Msawakhe Mayisela on 0609664220

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“Stop relegating your responsibilities, delegation is not relegation” – this is a stern warning issued by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, at an urgent meeting with mayors, councillors and municipal managers of municipalities that have caused KZN to regress from 22 clean municipal audits last year to this year’s 11 in the current municipal audit year 2015/2016.

Dube-Ncube today read the riot act at a meeting with the leadership and officials of six municipalities that posted poor audit performance for the municipal financial year 2015/2016. These included uMkhanyakude, uMzinyathi and Amajuba district municipalities and Mooi Mpofana, Inkosi Langalibalele, Msunduzi, Uphongolo, and Big Five Hlabisa local municipalities.

“We are deeply disappointed by the decline in the number of municipalities receiving clean audits. Indeed, we want the mayors to take full responsibility and turn things around. I know some of the mayors are taking an issue with the audits because they have inherited them and I want to say, these are your audits now that you are in office, you inherit both the successes and the failures. I expect you to investigate and take action against those responsible for the poor audit outcomes. We also want responses on your remedial action,” said Dube-Ncube.

“Considering how much time and effort KZN Cogta has invested into municipal audit outcomes by supporting municipalities, this result is a wake-up call for all senior municipal officials whose poor performance has caused this as well as all Mayors and councillors whose poor oversight has failed to prevent it,” said Dube-Ncube.

The volume of irregular expenditure by KZN municipalities at R300-million is one of the reasons for this regression together with flawed procurement procedures. The latter means that municipalities are engaging in uncompetitive SCM processes, or awarding tenders to municipal employees or their close family members.

“Whatever the cause of municipal non-performance, we will not tolerate it. As Cogta, we are dead serious about managing consequences for poor performance when it comes to municipalities. We want mayors to ensure that there are consequences for those who have dropped the ball,” said Dube-Ncube.

Today’s meeting with KZN’s municipalities with poor audit outcomes took place only a week after the Presidential Local Government Summit in Midrand where President JG Zuma placed a premium on well-functioning municipalities as a prerequisite for the government’s drive for radical economic transformation at local level.

“We cannot even begin to radically transform our local economies if our municipalities’ fiscal management is not at a desired level. Audit outcomes are a good indication of municipal performance and since municipalities are the engines of local economic growth, the performance of these few suggests that their engine is sputtering,” said Dube-Ncube.

Dube-Ncube also lauded the province for still holding the record of most municipalities with good audit outcomes in the country. “While we have 48 relatively good audit outcomes, we want to avoid complacency, hence we are treating the six where we have not done well as a wake-up call and we want clean audits as a non-negotiable for all KZN municipalities,” said Dube-Ncube.

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Community members who allow themselves to be bussed into areas where they do not legally reside for municipal by-elections will face prosecution for voter fraud.

This is a stern warning issued by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, during the visit to Nquthu municipality where she inspected the state of preparedness for upcoming by-elections in May.

Dube-Ncube’s pronouncements comes against the Electoral Court decision last to postpone a by-election in ward 7 of Phongolo local municipality where there were discrepancies in the voters’ roll involving voters who did not legally reside in the ward.

“Voter fraud is a criminal offence and we will not tolerate it. Voters are now required by law to furnish an identifiable residential address to the IEC upon their registration to vote.  All instances of tampering with the voters’ roll and bussing voters into areas where they do not legally reside will from now on result in criminal prosecution. The legitimacy of our democratic institutions hinges on free and fair elections,” said Dube-Ncube.

It is inconceivable to accept that those community members whose name are found illegally on the voters roll in wards where they do not reside are not willing participants.  Our legal system should demand answers from individuals whose names are illegally on the voters roll and they will have to explain how it all happen, said Dube-Ncube.

“It is the community that are the custodian of our Constitution and they must lead from the front in exposing fraudsters who are masterminds behind the expensive expeditions to steal the elections through illegal means” Dube-Ncube added.

Dube-Ncube who was accompanied by Members of the Provincial Legislature include Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu and Jomo Sibiya, today visited Nquthu where she inspected the state of preparedness for the upcoming by-elections.

Nquthu local municipality was formally dissolved by the provincial executive following a protracted stalemate when the political parties elected in the August 2016 local government elections repeatedly failed to elect municipal office bearers.

Dube-Ncube who engaged with various communities under the trees and in open fields, expressed satisfaction with the preparations and the palpable excitement by the communities to participate in the upcoming elections,

“This is an opportunity for the community to elect leaders who will put their interest first and to correct the past mistakes”

She also expressed satisfaction with the progress made in electrifying most of the ward in Nquthu.

“We are determined to see free and fair by-elections at Nquthu that will allow this municipality to be properly reconstituted to serve its residents as the constitution of the country requires. This means that only those eligible voters who legally reside in Nquthu will be allowed to vote in the upcoming by-elections,” said Dube-Ncube.

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The embattled eMadlangeni municipality which had been placed under provincial administration in terms of section 139(1)b of the Constitution following the collapse of governance and service delivery, was paid a visit today by KZN Cogta MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube who addressed over 3000 community members at the White City Sports Grounds in Ward 2 of the municipality.

The meeting served the purpose of informing the community of the decision taken by the provincial government to place this municipality under administration. In her remarks, the MEC highlighted efforts made by her department in assisting the council to address challenges it was facing internally. Dube-Ncube noted the lack of willingness from some councillors to work under an administrator but pledged her department’s continued support for eMadlangeni.

“Poor governance and administrative collapse resulted in legally questionable council decisions and the culture of impunity in the council. There was clearly no adherence to the rule of law. Since the reconstitution of this municipality, councillors have been embroiled in infighting and illegal suspensions and hiring of staff without adherence to the rules and procedures. The root cause of troubles at eMadlangeni is political infighting which has resulted in irregular decisions by the municipal council,” said Dube-Ncube.

KZN Cogta had previous raised objections about the council’s suspension of the Municipal Manager and the appointment of an Acting Municipal Manager who did not meet the requirements for the job. The deliberately orchestrated instability had effectively halted service delivery and exposed the municipality to various risks, including litigation, corruption and maladministration. Dube-Ncube believes that it would have been wrong for the provincial government to sit by and watch as this unfolds.

Dube-Ncube called upon all councillors to do their job and work with the new administrator whose job is to ensure that the municipality gets back on its feet as soon as possible and that the needs of the community come first. The MEC stressed Cogta’s position that all its interventions in municipalities, however unpopular, are always taken in the best interest of communities who rightly expect uninterrupted delivery of basic municipal services.

The king of the Zulu nation, his Majesty Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, today paid tribute to apartheid struggle hero and activist Ahmed Kathrada and long-time comedian and beloved actor Joe Mafela, both of whom brought hope to many in the country during the darkest of hours of apartheid.

His Majesty paid these tributes today before thousands of residents from the Dlamini-Fodo clan where the king was present to install Senz’esihle Dlamini as Inkosi. At this gathering, his Majesty was accompanied by KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube and former Chairperson of the African Union Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

In his address, the monarch thanked Dlamini-Zuma for the role she had played within the African Union where she implemented significant programmes like Agenda 2063 and the promotion of the ocean economy that has a role to play in uplifting the lives of millions of people across the continent.

The king made a clarion call for communities within the province to resist service delivery protests which seek to destroy public infrastructure. “As a nation, we must not destroy our dignity. We have to be builders but violent protests paint a negative picture of us all. It is my wish that all our communities be havens of peace where violent protests and crime are frowned upon,” said his Majesty.

The king also emphasised his call for 100 hectares of land to be set aside by each Inkosi in the various communities within this province as a way of promoting agriculture and fighting against poverty.

In her remarks, Dube-Ncube warned communities of the dangers of inclement weather as the province has recently witnessed a tragic incident in Harding where a grandmother and her child were swept away when crossing a river.

For more information please contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220

30 March 2017

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