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KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has issued a stern warning to the council of the troubled Mtubatuba local municipality when he met with the full council at KwaMsane today.

This council is one of nine in the province that are currently under administration. Hlomuka’s warning is in response to a number of governance-related challenges that have been plaguing this municipality, including the failure of councillors to attend council meetings.

Reports in the department’s possession indicate that several council meetings have collapsed as a result of disagreements among councillors. This has also cascaded to the Executive Committee meetings which have collapsed five times since June as a result of disagreements and lack of quorum.

Other oversight committees at Mtubatuba, such as the Audit Committee and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee have faced the same fate and this has had disastrous consequences for the provision of basic services to residents.

Hlomuka has appealed to the councillors to put their differences aside and act in the best interest of their residents by resuscitating these oversight structures and ensuring that the council performs its functions.

Hlomuka has welcomed the steps that have been taken against officials who have been fingered in a forensic report for various wrongdoings which include fraud and corruption. Criminal proceedings and civil recovery processes have been initiated against those that are implicated.

A total of 15 municipal employees were implicated in the forensic investigation. Subsequently, 10 employees have faced disciplinary tribunals and were dismissed and four employees are currently facing disciplinary processes. One employee passed away while undergoing disciplinary action.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has learned with sadness of the passing of Inkosi Nandi Sweetness Mjoli (52) of the Mvolosi Traditional Council in the uMzimkhulu local municipality.

Inkosi Mjoli passed away on Sunday, 4 October, following a short illness. Hlomuka has praised Inkosi Mjoli for the important role she has played in bringing development to her community during her tenure as a traditional leader which commenced on 17 October 2017.

“We are shattered as a department by the loss of such a passionate Inkosi who was always acting in the best interest of her community. Her passing has robbed the Mvolosi Traditional Council of an exemplary leader who led with distinction and stopped at nothing to see government programmes implemented for the benefit of isizwe,” said Hlomuka.

Hlomuka has sent condolences to His Majesty the King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu who has also lost in Mjoli a faithful steward of the Mvolosi community. The MEC has also sent condolences to the grieving family, the Harry Gwala District House of Traditional Leaders where Inkosi played an important role ensuring that delivery initiatives at a local government level have an impact on isizwe sakwaMvolosi.

Hlomuka has dispatched senior officials to assist the family with the preparation for the laying of Inkosi to her final resting place.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka today disclosed the latest figures for Covid-19 expenditure by KZN’s municipalities when he briefed members of KZN Legislature’s Cogta Portfolio Committee.

This latest expenditure report accounted for the period between 15 March 2020 and 11 September 2020 and revealed that municipalities have spent R749.5-million on Covid-19-related expenditure.

The department has directed municipalities to ensure that mayors table detailed reports on Covid-19 expenditure to councils for adoption. Such expenditure is to be included in the Special Adjustments Budget allowed for in respect of 2019/2020 by the National Treasury Circular 99 by 15 June 2020.

The department has also asked councils to assess expenditure on extraordinary measures introduced as a result of Covid-19 lockdown and consider a comprehensive council item with financial and non-financial reports in the context of the regulations for urgent and emergency spending to prevent unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

“While we appreciate that municipalities are an independent sphere of government, we have a responsibility to ensure that we thoroughly assess any expenditure to ascertain whether all relevant policies were followed in this procurement,” said Hlomuka.

The top 11 municipalities with the highest Covid-19 expenditure in KZN are:

Ends.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has learned with sadness of the tragic loss of three lives at the Sibiya household in KwaNongoma, Ward 17, KwaMjiza, in a house fire incident which took place last night.

In the incident, two children together with their grandmother perished from the severe burns they suffered as a result of the fire which engulfed their home. The cause of the fire is unconfirmed at this stage but it is suspected that it could have been caused by a candle.

Hlomuka has sent condolences to the grieving family and he has also dispatched his department’s disaster management teams to KwaNongoma who are now on site to provide immediate relief to the family and to investigate the possible causes of the fire.

Hlomuka has likewise urged residents across the province to continue to be cognisant of the dangers posed by candles, especially when these are unattended.

KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka today assigned a team of senior officials to table before the Msunduzi and Ugu councils a report on the forensic investigations into allegations of fraud, corruption, maladministration and statutory non-compliance at these municipalities in terms of Section 106(1)(b) of the Municipal Systems Act.

Both reports reveal damning findings of fraud, corruption and maladministration as well as irregular, unauthorised and fruitless expenditure involving both former and existing officials and one former councillor.

The Msunduzi report has exposed issues, such as the defrauding of the municipality of millions of rand by an irregularly appointed service provider. The report also made findings on the complicity of senior officials in the defrauding of the municipality.

The Ugu report made a number of findings against senior officials within the municipality regarding their failure to follow SCM policies in the awarding of tenders and failure to fulfil functions in relation to the performance of municipal bid committees. These actions consequently contributed to the irregular, fruitless and wastefull expenditure incurred by the municipality.

The reports for both municipalities are recommending disciplinary, civil and criminal proceedings to be initiated against those that are implicated in the findings.

Commenting on these reports, Hlomuka said: “These forensic reports are proof of our department’s commitment to good and clean governance. As government, we are committed to ensuring that our municipalities spend each and every rand on the real needs of our communities. We are fighting maladministration, fraud and corruption in municipalities wherever and whenever these occur. All reported allegations are duly investigated without fear or favour”.

The councils have now been given 21 days within which to table the report before full council, deal with specific details contained in the report and thereafter report to the MEC for Cogta on the remedial actions.

“We are committed to investigating all instances of wrongdoing, including fraud and corruption, in municipalities that are brought to our attention. The department conducts a multitude of investigations simultaneously and reports on the progress of all ongoing investigations to the Provincial Legislature on a regular basis,” said Hlomuka.

As part of his commitment to the capacitation of the institution of traditional leadership in the province of KZN, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka today handed over vehicles and electronic equipment to the Executive Committee of the KZN Provincial House of Traditional Leaders.

The tools include 27 tablets with SIM cards with 10GB of data per month to be given to all EXCO members and all Chairpersons of the District Houses of Traditional Leaders. Hlomuka also handed over SUVs to the Chairperson of the Provincial House Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza and his Deputy Inkosi Zulu.

Speaking at the handover, Hlomuka committed his department to ensuring that amakhosi across the province continue to be equipped for the work they do in leading communities. “Today’s handover of tools of trade is an important milestone in our efforts to support the institution of traditional leadership in our province. A lot has changed in our country as a result of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and we hope that these tools will help amakhosi with the job of providing leadership to our communities under these difficult circumstances,” said Hlomuka.

Chairperson of the Provincial House Inkosi Chiliza expressed his gratitude on behalf of amakhosi for the continuing support the department is giving them. “The tablets and the data SIM cards that we have been given today will go a long way towards ensuring that the Provincial House is able to convene virtual engagements with residents and stakeholders,” said Chiliza.

The Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Mr Obed Bapela accompanied by the MEC of CoGTA in KwaZulu-Natal(KZN), Mr Sipho Hlomuka embarked on project inspection exercise as part of the Local Government Week which unfolded between the 07 – 12 September 2020. The Local Government Week was held under the theme: “Ensuring Capable and Financially Sound Municipalities”.

The Siyahlola programme was undertaken on Friday, 11 September as part of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation exercise targeting areas that were previously affected by floods in the eThekwini Metro. The primary aim was to assess progress on the implementation of disaster relief interventions to rebuilding the public infrastructure.

The programme started with a briefing at the eThekwini National Disaster Management Centre which plays a critical role in the promotion of an integrated and coordinated system of disaster management, with special emphasis on prevention and mitigation.

The eThekwini Metro was allocated R62 million from National Treasury in 2018/19 financial year for post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation of 105 engineering projects. To date, 100 projects have been completed with only five (5) projects still outstanding. Furthermore, the provincial CoGTA is also funding community service centres under the traditional authority such as the Thusong Service Centres which constitute a one stop shop for access to government services within community proximity.

Some of the projects include the Umnini Trust Traditional Administrative Centre that has been rehabilitated to an accumulative amount of over R8million, the reconstruction of Gabions and Outlet repairs in 57 Sigwegwe Road to the tune of over R2 million, and the construction of a new pipe network at 30 Umathinta Drive, costing over R3 million in KwaMashu, as well as the upgrade of damaged storm water network of 3 Khulanathi way for over R4 million in Ntuzuma.

Deputy Minister Bapela remarked that, “the eThekwini Metro is one of the national DDM pilot site encompassing characteristics of both an urban and rural municipality. eThekwini is endowed with vast opportunities in the ocean economy including tourism which could propel it to be a leading economy in the country. However, for the metro to be the leading tourism destination it must deal with the impediments such as crime and grime”.

More rain is projected for KZN due to the global climate change hence the need to augment disaster awareness programmes for prevention and mitigation. Therefore, one important tool of assessment for the DDM is spatial integration which affords communities to reside next to their places of work. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inability of municipalities to collect sufficient revenue because of the none-payment of municipal services that is accumulating debt exponentially. The province is also known for its wealth of traditional authorities which presents a valuable opportunity for social partnerships.

“This Siyahlola visit symbolises the implementation of the Local Government Week”, said MEC Hlomuka. The Deputy Minister was also joined by Cllr M Sithole, who applauded the metro for being the first to develop a Climate Change Action Plan to deal with the impact of climate change.

This visit was in line with the principles of the District Development Model (DDM) which gives expression to section 154 of the Constitution that enjoins the national and provincial government, to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to deliver on their constitutional obligations.

The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka has warned the Council of the Nquthu Local Municipality of consequences that will follow should they fail to address governance and council functionality issues that have seen service delivery almost grind to a halt in this municipality.

Hlomuka’s visit follows the failure by the Council to resolve a number of issues which include:

• the election of Councillor I.L Shabalala as the Mayor, following the resignation of Councillor S.M Kunene. While the department has made several attempts to advise the Speaker, Councillor M.E Mnguni to remedy the situation to no avail.
• The failure by the municipality to comply with the requirements of the Municipal Systems Act related to the development and approval of the IDP and Budget Process Plan which was to be adopted on or before the 31st of August 2020.
• The failure by the municipality to investigate Unauthorized, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure.
• The dysfunctionality of Municipal Public Accounts Committee.

The municipality has also since 2017, been embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with the Department over the appointment of three senior managers, namely the Municipal Manager, the Chief Financial Officer and the Director Planning and Development. The municipality had challenged the Department’s decision right up to the Constitutional Court, where the municipality’s application failed.

These failures threaten the ability of the municipality to render services to residents.

MEC Hlomuka has warned Councillors that his department will not allow this municipality to descend into a state of chaos and jeopardise the provision of service delivery to communities of this deeply rural municipality.

In his meeting with the Council, MEC Hlomuka has requested the Councillors to put their act together by addressing issues that have been identified by the department so that governance issues can be improved within the municipality to the benefit of residents.

In an effort to fulfil his department’s mandate of general oversight over the province’s municipalities, KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka will tomorrow, 10 September 2020, convene an urgent meeting with the full council of the Nquthu local municipality.

The meeting will probe the existing governance-related challenges that are impeding the functionality of this municipality and other matters that are seen as significant for service delivery at Nquthu. The meeting will be attended by all councillors, traditional leaders and senior management of the municipality.

Members of the media are invited to attend the meeting, the details of which are as follows:

Date: Thursday, 10 September 2020

Time: 09:30am

Venue: Nquthu local municipality, Council Chamber

For more information, contact: Ms Nonala Ndlovu, 066 282 6903; or Senzelwe Mzila, 082 474 1882