kzncogat Budget Speech Media Briefing https://t.co/rrNbAzmGcF
— KZNCOGTA (@kzncogta) May 9, 2017
Follow the conversation on social media using on Twitter #kzncogtabudget2017 and Facebook
Overview of the 2017/18 Budget Policy Speech
Budget Speech Infrastructure Projects
Press Summary: bid to Create Smart Municipalities
Press Summary: Anti-Fraud and Corruption Stance
Press Summary: Disaster Management
Press Summary: Cogta leads in the transformation of the economy
KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube will tomorrow, 9 May 2017, present to members of the KZN Legislature and the people of KZN her department’s Budget Policy Statement, for the 2017/2018 financial year.
Among the issues expected to come under spotlight are:
– Municipalities that are owed billions by big business, government departments and residents;
– Role to be played by municipalities in Radical Economic Transformation;
– Progress made in fighting corruption and new measures to prevent it;
– Aggressive plans to eradicate apartheid spatial planning;
– Progress made in the Back to Basics programme and an outline of its second phase;
– Plans to increase the number of municipalities getting clean audit outcomes;
– Targets to bring KZN closer to universal access to water, electricity and sanitation; and
– Strides made in restoring dignity of the institution of traditional leadership and the remuneration of izinduna.
The department’s 2017/2018 Budget will aim to revolutionise Cogta’s approach in the context of Radical Economic Transformation on a scale that has never been seen in KZN before.
Members of the media are invited to attend the Budget presentation, the details of which are as follows:
Date: 09 May 2017
Time: 09:30 AM
Venue: Provincial Legislature, Pietermaritzburg
Media enquiries: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220
Ends.
KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Inkosi Ndabingehlele Chiliza (67) of the Chiliza clan in the Ugu district, in the uMzinto Local Municipality who was a well-known development activist.
This latest death comes as the province has just buried another hard-working community activist and the former Speaker of the uMzimkhulu local municipality who was tragically killed last week.
Inkosi Chiliza had been in and out of hospital for the past two years and succumbed to illness on Saturday.
“Our heartfelt condolences go to the grieving family and the entire community of Inkosi Chiliza whose death has left a void in the esteemed institution of traditional leadership in KZN,” said KZN MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
KZN Cogta has noted that Inkosi Chiliza who had served as Inkosi for fifteen years remained committed to serving his traditional community even as his health began to fail.
“The late Inkosi Chiliza will be sorely missed by his community whose members will forever remember his passion for development and his energy in the fight against social ills, such as crime, disease and moral decay,” said Dube-Ncube.
KZN Cogta will advise the public of Inkosi Chiliza’s funeral arrangements once these have been finalised.
For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220
Ends.
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
Ends.
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
Ends.
“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.
ENDS
Note to editors: remarks by MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube at a meeting she held with the Province’s poorly performing municipalities. This meeting was held in Durban and was attended by Mayors and Municipal Managers from the affected Municipalities 13 April 2017
Thank you for attending this important meeting with Mayors, Municipal Managers, CFO’s and other key stakeholders from some of our municipalities, whom I’m sad to say, have not made us very proud as the province of KwaZulu-Natal. We have convened this platform to reflect on the recent audit outcomes as they impact on all the municipalities we have invited today.
This meeting is taking place only a week after the Presidential Local Government Summit in Midrand where His Excellency 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. Yesterday the Premier convened the Premier’s Coordinating Forum, which provided the Auditor-General of South Africa, Mr Kimi Makwetu, an opportunity to present before the leadership of the province and municipalities the financial state of our municipalities.
At the outset I want to be categorically clear in expressing my disappointment at the performance of our province in the latest audit outcomes. KZN has now regressed to 11 clean audits from a total of 22 such outcomes in the previous year. This is an ugly stain in our otherwise good record we have registered over the past five years.
Deeply concerning as well is the level of irregular expenditure by municipalities at R300-million.
Considering how much time and effort KZN Cogta and Provincial Treasury, has invested into municipal audit outcomes by way of supporting municipalities every step of the way, this result is truly disappointing and it must be a wake-up call for all senior municipal officials whose poor performance has caused this as well as all Mayors and councillors.
I am aware that most of the Mayors and councillors, are only seven months in office and cannot be personally held liable, however, it is important for the Mayors and councillors to understand all the causes and symptoms so that they can understand the areas where they need to exercise strong oversight.
Mayors would have heard from the AG that weak and poor oversight is a major cause of financial collapse in our municipalities. Unfortunately Mayors and Councilors, new as you are in your positions, our Constitution makes you successors in title, so you inherit the good and the bad and the terrible state we find ourselves in, we all have to clean it up.
The truth is that we cannot even begin to radically transform our local economies for the benefit of the poor if our municipalities continue to perform poorly. Audit outcomes are a good indication of municipal performance and since municipalities are the engines of local economic growth, poorly performing municipalities in terms of audit outcomes suggest that this engine is sputtering. Some of this poor performance has to do with inadequate reporting and non-compliance with local government legislation and some of it relates to poor financial management of municipal resources, of which irregular expenditure and flawed procurement processes are chief symptoms.
Our expectation is that in today’s meeting Mayors should clarify the reasons for this poor performance,
Whatever the cause of municipal non-performance, we cannot and will not tolerate it. As Cogta, we are dead serious about managing consequences for poor performance when it comes to municipalities. You would have inferred from our recent interventions in a number of KZN municipalities that we are prepared to take the hard and often unpopular decisions and place failing municipalities under administration. The next question is – are you Mayors prepared to take action against non-performing Municipal Managers and Senior Officials who delivere to us disclaimers and adverse opinions. It still feels like a dream to me that after such a long time we have a disclaimer and an adverse opinion in this province.
The current state of affairs is tarnishing an otherwise good image of our municipalities. The AG has showered us with praises on the performance audit but because of finances, there is not even a reason to celebrate the progress in this area.
Among the key factors identified by the recent Citizen Satisfaction Surveys are community dissatisfaction with poor service delivery, financial mismanagement and allegations of fraud and corruption, coupled with complaints of poor communication with communities. Poor audit outcomes justify these perceptions by communities.
I am aware that some municipalities are in a financially precarious situation, faced with limited, underutilised and diminishing revenue potential, all of which again bring us back to the Back to Basics programme and its focus on sound financial management.
We must ask ourselves a questions whether people in strategic positions are fit for the purposes of good, clean and accountable governance of our municipalities. It is obvious that financial and technical expertise in many municipalities is lacking and that financial management is inadequate. One manifestation of this is the generally poor level of bookkeeping and reporting. This is a constant source of frustration voiced by the Auditor-General and it is also a frustration shared by us at Cogta. As much as we support and assist, our hands are often tied precisely because our job is to support and assist, not manage municipal resources directly unless we intervene in any given municipality in terms of an appropriate constitutional provision.
From our own experience as Cogta, a much tighter system of monitoring and evaluation of the ability and performance of municipalities is required to ensure that they are effectively managing their resources.
The national transfer grants to municipalities are often used up in new development or, worse, utilised to fund operational expenditure. We are pleased to see the National Treasury’s efforts to tighten up on the controls placed on the use of conditional grants and the time has perhaps come to reward those municipalities which utilise them effectively and penalise those that do not. In 2016, we saw those municipalities that were deemed non-viable being redemarcated to become part of other, more viable, entities. Let this be a lesson for those municipalities that fail the test of financial viability in the current term of local government.
We need to address controversial issues in municipal procurement that cause municipalities to overpay for substandard services at the expense of their residents. It is absolutely critical that transparent, equitable and efficient supply chain processes are implemented and monitored by those responsible. Such a system will mean no more shady deals concluded in back rooms and behind closed doors and away from proper municipal oversight. If we at the provincial government level can effectively address the issues of fraudulent, irregular or nepotistic procurement so can our municipalities.
I find it disturbing that our municipalities are still engaging in uncompetitive or unfair SCM processes, or awarding tenders to municipal employees, close family members of employees or other state officials. It is equally disturbing to see the level of inadequate contract management that has been referred to by the Auditor-General in these latest municipal audit outcomes. These are grave concerns and the mismanagement that has caused them simply cannot go unanswered.
Let this meeting be a wake-up call for Mayors and Municipal Managers to ensure that municipalities’ finances are properly managed and accounted for, and that municipalities themselves are fully capacitated. As political and administrative heads of your municipalities, you must ensure that the right people are in the right positions. Unless municipal officials do their jobs properly and unless their work is overseen adequately by councillors, KZN municipalities will not achieve the audit outcomes their residents as ratepayers expect and deserve.
It is time to up your game. The choice before us is clear: either you are prepared to take the hard decisions and discharge your duties as elected public representatives or municipal officials in accordance with your respective mandates, or you face the consequences for poor performance. As Cogta, we have already demonstrated that we are not afraid to act. We now want to see harsh consequences for non-performance lead by Mayors and councils, this is in the interest of the people whom we are all supposed to serve.
I thank you.