14 minute read
CITY RECLAIMS ITS FORMER GLORY
AND REMAINS ON TRACK WITH SERVICE DELIVERY TARGETS
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BEING invested heavily in good governance is a sure bet to reaping a good return on investment. Couple that with staying true to your mandate to stakeholders, both residents and business, you are bound to reap handsomely.
That is exactly what The City of uMhlathuze can attest to about its four-and-a-half year term of office, marked by a string of impressive accomplishments consistently. A recent feather in the city’s cap is its unqualified audit opinion, also referred to as a Clean Audit, during the 2019/20 financial year. The good news was presented before the Full Council by the Office of the Auditor-General (AG).
The news of the Clean Audit was welcomed by an elated Mayor, Cllr Mduduzi Mhlongo, who ably leads the Financial Portfolio Committee, the Executive Council, the Full Council, the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, the Audit Committee, the Finance Team, the Internal Audit and the Accounting Officer.
“As the municipality, we are excited with the outcomes of the Audit for the 2019/20 financial year. For us, this is not an opportunity to be complacent but it is an opportunity to improve, and reverse some of the issues and recommendations raised in the report.
In particular, the city was commended for its efficient leadership, oversight responsibility, sound policies on supply chain management, a functioning Audit Committee and proper record-keeping.
Infrastructure development in Umhlathuze
We want to make sure that we continue to be the best example of leadership in the country and (in) KZN in particular,” said the first citizen of the burgeoning coastal city.
The show of faith in the prudent handling of the financial affairs by the city followed the unflattering news of the previous financial year, when it was flagged. What was a relief was that the AG said it was for an unwitting “misinterpretation” of a certain section of the legislation in discharging its duties.
The recent accolade was a welcome return for the city to the golden years, characterised by five consecutive clean audit opinions.
Cllr. Mhlongo said the city introspected on the previous audit outcome. “We were coming from a record of five consecutive years of clean audits and taken aback by the bizarre outcomes in the (past) financial year where we were castigated for doing what we thought is correct. We had to pull ourselves from that and put measures in place to ensure that we do everything according to book,” he said.
The city was commended for its numerous progressive measures for the positive results. They include improvements in contract management and stringent monitoring in compliance processes with all prescripts and legislation.
The AG underscored that during the audit, uMhlathuze was not found wanting on compliance with prescripts, and had provided reliable and credible performance information and a clear financial statement.
Crucially, the AG gave all financial systems a clean bill of health. The AG found that during the period under review uMhlathuze did not engage in any fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure.
The recent accomplishment is in line with the city’s vision and tireless efforts in fulfilling its constitutional mandate.
On Cllr. Mhlongo’s watch, the city has seen several service delivery achievements and has provided
Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ)
effective basic services that have had a direct impact to the lives of its people and other stakeholders.
At the centre of uMhlathuze’s economic success have been collaborations and partnerships with institutions such as the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, COGTA, Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RIDZ) and Transnet. According to the Mayor, the city’s updated supply chain management (SCM) policy that is aimed at addressing the imbalances of the past is gradually benefitting local businesses.
UMhlathuze cares for its youth because they are the future of the city and it has earmarked certain projects for the development of its young people.
To that end and working with Transnet, uMhlathuze recently opened an SMME centre to assist small businesses with business opportunities and skills.
“We have an SCM policy that responds to the advancement of previously underprivileged groups which sets aside 40% of capital budget for women, 40% for the youth and 20% for disabled persons, and as part of supporting the SMMEs, we have established a one-stop-shop in the eMpangeni CBD with NYDA offices that covers the whole King Cetshwayo region, Zululand and some parts of uMkhanyakude districts,” he added.
In partnership with SEDA, uMhlathuze is on course to establishing a fullyfledged construction incubator at eSikhaleni, the biggest township in the city.
It will facilitate skills development for the youth to seize opportunities in infrastructure development. The programme has begun to bear fruit already with 20 beneficiaries under the programme. A building will be unveiled this year.
As a result of its deliberate attempt to open up opportunities for the youth and in keeping with the times, the municipality has been keeping tabs on the age index of its employees, which is becoming lower in relation to age.
“It cannot be right to have a municipality that does not employ its youth, hence we have an MoU with the University of Zululand and Umfolozi TVET College to absorb artisans and graduates from these educational institutions,” says Cllr. Mhlongo. As part of its fourth industrial revolution drive, uMhlathuze is gearing towards becoming a Smart City through piloting technologicallyadvanced operations.
In addition to the roll-out of free public wi-fi, which has reached even rural spaces, the city has embarked on a study regarding developing a City App to assist customers and citizens to access services remotely.
Deputy Mayor: Cllr. K.D.Sibiya
As part of moving with the technological trends and keeping up with the needs and requirements of the fourth industrial revolution, our city has adopted a move towards being a Smart City through piloting technologically-advanced means of operations. We are also proud to be one of the few municipalities in the country to have installed a desalination plant that is able to supplement our system during crisis periods.
We are currently investigating the establishment of a City App that will connect our customers and citizens with our services easily without them having to carry any costs of travelling to our offices. project of a 132KV grid that will eliminate power interruptions. This will also ensure that the supply to old and new customers, including heavy industries, is not interrupted.
uMhlathuze works tirelessly to deliver basic services for its people while also ensuring there is socio-economic development in the area.
As part of the City’s commitment to stabilise the power supply permanently, it approved a construction Previously, uMhlathuze service connections such as water, refuse removal, electricity and tarred roads in the urban precinct sat between 80 and 95%, but after the 2016 local government elections it inherited three large wards that were previously not in its demarcation. The city’s figures dwindled as a result of the incorporation of the new areas. Notwithstanding the challenges, it has managed to deliver on services while taking care of the public purse.
Over the years, among its achievement is a 2 500 housing project in Ntambanana, where people now have a taste of freedom for the first time in their lives. The project is still on course with geotechnical studies and environmental impact assessments already completed.
The advent of democracy and freedom in South Africa has brought about welcome and noticeable changes for the people. They are now far better off than they were during the oppressive and racially exclusionary apartheid era.
UMhlathuze has been the driving force in improving the quality of life, delivering better services and bringing about noticeable changes in the landscape of the city.
The city continues to be a beacon of hope for the people under very strenuous global economic conditions, which the city is not immune to, and the continued demand for services against the reversal of the inherited damage that ravaged the chain of life of black residents, and of late, the global pandemic.
The triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality remains our biggest enemy, but one that we will defeat if we all work together to grow South Africa, KZN and uMhlathuze.
Despite all the accomplishments, we are mindful of basic service delivery shortfalls and all its causes, mainly the migration of people from other areas to seek better opportunities in our city, thus straining our systems.
Human settlement patterns, mainly in semi-urban and rural areas, thus prompt the city to deliver services after the houses are built, instead of laying services first then top structures. Migration to the city by people in search of better opportunities,
continues to cause strain to our aged infrastructure, hence we have embarked on a trajectory of laying new underground water pipes to ensure adequate and constant supply.
The people we serve can bear testimony to the speed with which we have accelerated basic service delivery to them in the past few years under serious constraints of a non-payment for services culture, illegal connections and ageing infrastructure, all of which we are earnestly overcoming. The outbreak of Covid-19 compounded the strain on the city’s resources.
As a result of our concerted efforts, water connectivity is now sitting at 95%, the remainder being the Ntambanana wards. New infrastructure such as a 3 Megalitre reservoir and reticulation will be completed soon and some in the near future.
We are also proud to be one of the few municipalities in the country to have installed a desalination plant that is able to supplement our system during crisis periods. The quality of desalinated water is as good as natural water. This is critical to the city as we also supply our industries with water for their production.
We are now embarking on a pre-paid water meter system that will ensure that customers honour the municipal services timeously.
Another ground-breaking initiative for uMhlathuze is exploring the possibility of recycling water and sending it to industrial customers. This will save volumes of clear water for future supply to our communities. To this end, the KwaZulu-Natal Treasury is facilitating a Public-Private Partnership to undertake this project.
The bulk of the budget in all financial years goes towards securing electricity from the national supplier, Eskom, who then distributes to the customers.
Some of the areas are supplied directly by Eskom. The industries are the major bulk customers and it is worth noting that uMhlathuze ensures at all times that they are powered up,
Speaker: S.G. Mkhize
knowing they need to be continuously productive to maintain the economy.
Providing sanitation amounts to bringing dignity to human life. To date, the city is sitting at 79%. In the urban areas it is at 100% with waterborne sewerage and in other areas, we provide VIP units, some of which need to be changed in areas such as Ntambanana.
Waste collection coverage is at 68% within the city and rural areas. In the outskirts, the waste skips system is utilised and EPWP workers are employed to assist in this area. The city has completed a waste transfer station in Ntambanana, where waste will be collected, separated, some recycled and the rest transported to the nearest refill site.
The city has established itself as the economic hub of the northern coast of KwaZulu-Natal and is gradually moving towards being the second largest GDP contributor to the provincial economy. Our aim is to create and maintain an environment where business and investors will thrive, thus creating further opportunities and employment for our domestic, commercial and industrial residents.
Our new supply chain management policy, aimed at addressing the imbalances of the past, is gradually benefitting local businesses.
Part of further activating economic activities in the eSikhaleni precinct is the expansion of the main intersection, for which we have budgeted a further R30 million to ease traffic congestion during peak hours. This project was hit by the lockdown and suffered a major setback. Work has resumed now and contractors will move with speed to complete it.
Despite the global economic decline that is also affecting our city, working with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the RIDZ, plus the good working relationship with Transnet, the city has made a strong case to investors to consider uMhlathuze as their next investment destination. This has, and will continue to, yield positive and tangible results.
The establishment of The Ridge Estate overlooking the ocean and the deepest harbour on the African continent is in the pipeline and earthworks will begin later this year.
N2 highway upgrade between Mtunzini and Empangeni
This high-class estate will consist of an upmarket hotel and residential units. Coupled with the beach development precinct and the future plan to revamp the Tuzi Gazi Waterfront, the face and the landscape of uMhlathuze will change completely for the better.
All environmental studies required have been completed successfully. The work will begin later this year.
Underground infrastructure has been laid in eMpangeni opposite Qalakabusha Prison, where the city, together with the provincial and national governments, is building 10 000 mixed-use houses including stand-alone flats and subsidised units.
This is a new suburb that will include all amenities such as schools, healthcare and recreational facilities.
All underground infrastructure has been laid. Overground services such as road storm water drainages have been completed. More than 10 000 houses will be built.
The relocation of the city’s airport is also underway with recent studies conducted showing positive projections. An airport city will be developed including shopping centres and other amenities. A new airport construction project is in the pipeline. Environmental studies are in progress.
The council receives quarterly reports on progress on these projects.
The city’s self-funded budget is also an indication that its revenue collection base remains healthy although it can be improved, thus reducing reliance on government grants.
We want to assure the people who elected us to serve them that we are a caring government and all we do is towards the betterment of their lives.
We are aware of the challenges they are facing and are tackling them headon. It may take time, but by working together with them, we shall conquer.
Residents, businesses and investors often complain about the red tape they experience in their dealings with the city. It can lead to frustrations, inefficiencies and lost opportunities. As a result, uMhlathuze, as a responsive municipality and in keeping with
international best practice, has embarked on efforts that are aimed at improving efficiencies around the red tape to improve service delivery and doing business.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has continued to send shockwaves around the globe. South Africa and uMhlathuze have not been spared of its ravages.
Mindful of that, uMhlathuze has formulated an economywide COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan that aims to bring the economy back into a growth trajectory.
The city continues to be the epitome of clean governance, and it is reflected in the recently acquired clean audit results having obtained five consecutive clean audits. Investors want to know how the local government of the area they intend investing in is run, therefore, our credibility is crucial to their decisionmaking processes.
This means taxpayers’ money is directed where it is meant to go, that is into service delivery projects within the prescribed period.
“The ending term of office has been characterised by a harmonious political climate not only in Council, but also in the community we serve. We prioritised engagements and communications with all social and statutory structures and improved relationship with traditional authorities drastically.
“We have changed the landscape of the City of uMhlathuze in all corners and created a conducive environment for companies to trade and helped develop SMMEs mainly for the youth, women and disabled people. We thank everyone who has played a meaningful role in the development of our people during this term of office and have high hopes that the city will continue to rise amid all challenges,” Mhlongo concluded.
