XPRESS TIMES

KDM faces heavy reprehension over weekend blackouts

By Musa Mnyandu

Communities residing in the northern part of KwaDukuza believe that KwaDukuza Municipality did not cover itself with glory over the past weekend.

This follows a literary black weekend for most parts of KwaDukuza, with a total blackout occurring on Sunday through the northern grid network.

And the only excuse to come from KDM's Electrical Engineering Services Department to account for the outage was “a fault at Glenhills substation taking down the network from Eskom side”. Whether this

explanation qualifies as English language or not, remains to be seen. What has been seen, however, is that the affected communities were not impressed at all.

Added to that was the misery of higher stages of loadshedding, for which the residents of KwaDukuza are never compensated for the energy time lost due to breakdowns and faults.

One resident felt that KwaDukuza Municipality manages its electricity supply in a very callous fashion, with no care about the extremely adverse the prolonged outages have on the already overburdened consumers and

businesses.

Reports suggest that the municipality is struggling with, among other unaddressed challenges that severely hamper service delivery:

• Human resources shortages;

• Shortage of functioning vehicles and tools, with some vehicles said to be broken down, some sitting with expired licence discs; and

• Inadequate capacity to manage

Ilembe fails to explain Glenhills faux pas

loadshedding.

Adding salt to the consumers' wound remains the same burning issue of “selective loadshedding”, for which the residents are still demanding a satisfactory answer from KDM.

By Musa Mnyandu

Spending several days without water has become a norm in KwaDukuza. However it gets worse when those are spent without even a single water tanker being seen to the area to provide some water for the residents.

This is what the residents of Glenhills have been going through, since Friday. And when we went to press yesterday, the situation remained unresolved. There was still no water, no water tankers, and only silence from Ilembe District Municipality.

Xpress Times is aware of an emergency meeting that took place yesterday (Tuesday), involving PR

A plumber is seen trying vainly to fix the pipeline, while residents remained without water

Teenager killed in tragic shooting

By Xpress Reporter

Mystery surrounds the tragic death of a 14-year-old boy after a shooting in Stanger Manor, this week. IPSS Medical Rescue says

paramedics responded to the scene to discover that then boy had sustained a fatal gunshot wounds, and was declared deceased no the scene.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, and are being investigated by the local SAPS.

“Allegedly, the two teenage boys were playing with a firearm when it accidentally went off. Fortunately, the second boy sustained no injuries during this horrific incident,” stated IPSS Medical Rescue.

A 14-year-old boy died tragically following a shooting incident in Stanger Manor

No water, and no accountability from Ilembe

Continued from Page 1 Councillor Rishi Pooran and senior Ilembe officials, in which these matters were briefly ventilated. However it appears that no solutions were offered during a meeting. Residents further claim that Ward 13 Councillor Nkululeko Qwabe has throughout the crisis appeared happy to take the backseat, and allow the PR councillor to handle the crisis.

On Monday Xpress Times sent an urgent query to the municipality, requesting an explanation for the endless outage, and also the reasons for the absence of water tankers to provide some relief fr the residents. We were promised a detailed response,

which, true to form, was never received.

It would therefore appear that of one is expecting water, water tankers or answers from Ilembe, then one is guaranteed a very long wait. Ilembe, in particular the Technical Services Department, is simply incapable of providing any of those.

Dead end

“Over and above the water outage over the weekend we have many leaks that have been reported since December that are still outstanding. Thousands of kilolitres of water (are being) wasted .The current logging system is not working as

anticipated. The logs are now duplicated and new numbers allocated.

“Some of the repairs are outstanding but customers receive messages to say it's completed. We are at the dead end with the current service provided by Ilembe. We are aware of the upgrade to the infrastructure which is a 12month project. We need a quick fix (solution) to water leaks and quick turnaround time in repairs.

“This water issue is actually a violation of (people's) basic human rights. Residents suffer for days without water. Ilembe has tankers which should be used in such cases (but) this is not happening,” stated Cllr Pooran.

Cllr Nzo Nkosi recently conducted an oversight visit to assess the progress of various projects being undertaken by the Maphumulo Municipality. The visit aimed to ensure that the projects are being implemented in line with the approved plans, evaluate the quality of work being done

by the Municipality and ensure that all projects are being executed in line with the approved budgets and timelines.

During the visit, Mayor Khuzwayo-Dlamini together with the committee members visited eMvozane Community Service Centre, Mnawe Road, Okhalweni Road, Sabuyaze Sports field and the R74 Highway construction site to meet with project managers and contractors. The delegation inspected the project sites and reviewed project

documentation to ensure that all necessary procedures and protocols are being followed with the intention of identifying any challenges that need to be addressed. Although the delegation expressed satisfaction with the progress made with some of the projects thus far, it also noted and commented on projects that are not performing as planned and vowed to take corrective action.

The oversight visit is part of the Municipality's commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability, and good governance. The Municipality remains committed to delivering quality infrastructure and services to its residents and will continue to monitor the progress of all municipal projects to ensure that they are completed on time, within budget and to the required standards.

Three firearms were seized after a suspicious vehicle was searched in the CBD

A multi-disciplinary operation conducted in the KwaDukuza CBD last week resulted in four suspects being detained, and three firearms, including a gas gun, being seized.

The operation was sparked by a vigilant member of the KwaDukuza CBD CPF spotting a suspicious vehicle in the CBD. The Chairperson of the CBD CPF Salim Tootla was then alerted. Tootla then placed the vehicle under observation and called for police back up.

Local SAPS led by Captain Perumal, assisted by the CPF and Tyger Security searched the vehicle, resulting in the recovery of firearms, and the four men being detained.

All role-players have been commended for their vigilance and dedication, as efforts continue to rid the KwaDukuza CBD of crime.

KwaDukuza SAPS communications officer, Constable Siphesihle Myeni, said the suspects have been charged and would soon appear in court.

By Xpress Reporter

A gruelling 2-day search for a 27-year man who drowned while fishing on the Tugela River near Sans Souci has ended with the tragic discovery of the body. The man was last seen by passerby on Tuesday last week, fishing on the river, before he apparently decided to take a swim as it was a humid day. That was when he reportedly got into difficulty and disappeared under water.

IPSS Search and Rescue, SAPS K9 Unit and KDM Lifeguards all responded to the scene to begin the search, but to

no avail. The following day

Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) flew to the incident scene in their helicopter to join the search. Upon landing, the RUISA crew received a briefing from the ground team consisting of Umhlali SAPS K9 Unit, Sundumbili SAPS and IPSS Search and Rescue.

In a statement, IPSS Medical Rescue said the body had been spotted by members of the community in a location that was not accessible by vehicles. This necessitated a long hike by the search and rescue teams who, after locating the body, requested assistance from RUSA to airlift the body to the waiting vehicles far down the

river.

Drowned fisherman airlifted from Tugela River

“It was confirmed that the body of a 27 year old man who drowned in 1.5 meters of water on Tuesday (had been) recovered approximately 300 metres downstream by Search & Rescue technicians in the crocodile infested river t(that) afternoon. They requested assistance to fly the body to Medico Legal Mortuary (MLM) employees.

“The deceased was loaded into the aircraft and flown approximately two (2) kilometres to the awaiting vehicle. The scene of the drowning could not be accessed by vehicles,” stated RUSA.

Elderly lady beams as ANC restores dignity

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) remains hopeful as the Mandeni Ward 15 by-election draw nigh.

The by-election in Mandeni will take place on the 24th of May 2023, following the death of an ANC ward councillor Nkanyiso Nxumalo earlier this year.

The ward is being contested by three political parties viz ANC, EFF and IFP, with the candidates being Ngcebo Dludla (ANC), Mbuso Sibiya (EFF) and Khulekani Langa (IFP).

The EFF is intensifying its campaign ahead of the polls, with the party's ward candidates convening a community meeting recently,

in which he called for voters to vote for change in Ward 15. The party, sticking to its belief that the people of ward

15 are ready for change, has expressed hope that it will cause an upset in the byelection.

Mums Appreciation Day in Ward 16

By Xpress Reporter

A new home, new furniture, a fresh start and restored dignity. This is what it felt like for Mrs Hadebe, an elderly resident of Chris Hani (KwaDukuza Ward 15) after the ANC visited her family to hand over a brand new house. The handover ceremony

took place on Saturday. The house has been built as part of the ANC's Letsema Programme (working together for a common purpose).

ANC KwaDukuza SubRegional Secretary Xolani Mbhele said all structures of the ruling party, viz the Sub Region, the REC, the PEC,

the Youth League and the Women's League were part of the programme.

The beneficiary lives with three grandchildren, whose lives will now change for the better. Mbhele says the ANC will be embarking on more programmes as part of Letsema.

Mothers' Day came just a tad early for elderly mothers in ward 16, after DA PR councillor Nerish Singh together with the DA Ward 16 branch hosted Mums

Appreciation Day at the Mdoniville Community hall, on Saturday. The guest speaker on the day was the recently elected DA KZN provincial deputy

leader, Sithembiso Ngema. Over 100 mums came out to revel in much love, and to enjoy the sponsored meals and gift vouchers. Cllr Singh would like to thank all the sponsors for the success of the event.

Covid-19 “no longer public health emergency”

The Department of Health says it has noted an announcement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that COVID-19 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

“However, it is important to clarify that this doesn't mean the pandemic is over,” the department said at the weekend.

“The Department has however warned that the pandemic

remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in high risk populations such as the elderly and people living with comorbidities.

The Department explained that the number of cases is far lower at the current moment than during the height of the pandemic, hence it is no longer viewed as a public health emergency. Meanwhile, the department, in

line with WHO recommendations, continues to recommend vaccination especially for high routine health services and will continue to offer services aimed at preventing and treating COVID, including vaccination services.

On Thursday, the Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, told the Presidential Health Summit delegates warned that COVID-19 is not over.

He announced that the country still has about 25 million vaccine doses and urged those who have not had their booster shots to get the jab, as winter approaches.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Emergency Committee members highlighted the decreasing trend in COVID-19 deaths, the decline in COVID-19 related hospitalisations and intensive care unit admissions, and the high levels of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

“The committee's position has been evolving over the last several months. While acknowledging the remaining uncertainties posted by potential evolution of SARS-CoV-2, they advised that it is time to transition to long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He said COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

Ghebreyesus said the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency is a moment for reflection.

“The painful lessons we have learned, the investments we have made, and the capacity we have built must be transformed into meaningful and lasting change.

EF Mandeni Ward 15 candidate Mbuso Sibiya is seen addressing community meeting as campaigning gains momentum ahead of by-election.

Pictured is the new house beneficiary, Mrs Hadebe, in the company of ANC officials and activists

Pictured are the mothers who came out ni their numbers to enjoy the Mums Appreciation Day

Organizers are seen watching the cutting of the celebratory cake by some of the mothers

KZN police recover hundreds of illegal firearms

KZN MEC for Community Safety, Sipho Hlomuka

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka applauds the stellar work done by law enforcement following a successful intelligence driven operations across the province from 01-30 April 2023.

Operations in various parts of the province have resulted in 8 809 suspects being nabbed for various transgressions including murder, attempted murder, rape, dealing in drugs and the possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.

Police reports reveal that efforts to bring justice to the

victims of crimes yielded desired results when 185 suspects were arrested in connection with cases of murder and 112 more people were busted for attempted murder. One hundred and two (102) suspects were cornered and nabbed for business and house robberies, whereas a total number of 205 suspects were caught for rape. Police also busted 43 suspects for their alleged involvement in cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances. One thousand and fifty eight (1058) suspects were brought before the courts of law in connection with cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

MEC Hlomuka is especially pleased that police are turning the ride against the high number of illegal firearms in our society. Police recovered a total of 325 firearms, inclusive of 26 rifles, 20 shotguns and 29 homemade firearms. Two thousand, three hundred and seventy five (2 375) rounds of ammunition were also seized from the arrested suspects. The intensified war against drugs also saw huge amounts of cocaine, mandrax, heroin and crystal meth being confiscated during the operations.

Hlomuka hails this as a victory law enforcement.

“we are indeed turning the tide against crime in our society. We are not going to

allow criminals to hold our people at ransom. The provincial government, law enforcement and community crime prevention structure are working tirelessly to wage a war against all criminality. We are going to intensify our efforts in order to create safer communities for all the people of our Province. We are calling upon all the people to unite and build a stronger united front against crime. We reiterate our clarion call for active citizenry in the fight against crime by emphasizing governments call to action of leaving no one behind in our journey of building a crime free province,” said MEC Hlomuka.

Local Hindi teacher off to India

By Xpress Reporter

A KwaDukuza Hindi educator is looking forward with mouthing excitement to her upcoming trip to India.

Sanam Singh, who teaches Hindi at two local schools, has been selected by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), through the Indian Consulate, to participate in the ICCR's Visitors Programme for International Students of Hindi. The programme is an effort by the Indian government to promote the teaching and learning of Hindi abroad. Participants are selected from countries where Hindi is taught. Singh currently serves as the

regional Director of the Hindi Shiksha Sangh (SA). She studied Hindi for 12 years through the Hindi Shiksha Sangh (SA) an achieved top 10 positions in each junior grade and top 3 positions in all senior grades. In 2013, Singh st achieved 1 position in Ilembe District in Hindi, in the National Senior certificate (NSC) examinations. She will be visiting Hindi institutions in India, attend Hindi lectures and seminars and also visit the iconic Taj Mahal. She will be jetting off on the 20th of May 2023, and will be returning to South Africa on the 29th of May 2023.

Reserve Bank releases new SA money

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has released the upgraded series of banknotes and coins, which are expected to go into circulation from Wednesday last week.

According to the bank, the upgraded notes and coins have enhanced security features and new designs.

While the banknote designs will remain largely similar to that of old, with an enhanced look and feel, the coinage has the most significant changes, now boasting ecologically inspired designs.

“The banknotes continue to pay tribute to South Africa's first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela, with his portrait retained on the front of the banknotes, while the Big 5 animals are now illustrated as a family on the back.

“We also celebrate our constitutional democracy, with the preamble to the South African Constitution printed in microtext around Madiba's portrait and the country's flag featured on the front and the back of the banknotes.

“The theme of the coin series is 'Deep ecology', which acknowledges the interconnectedness of living organisms as an integral part of the environment. These themes are depicted by our fauna and flora on the coin,” the SARB said.

Changes to the coins include:

• The Cape honey bee is on the 10c; bitter aloe is on the 20c; the Knysna turaco is on the 50c; the king protea is on the R1; the springbok is on the R2 and southern right whale is on the R5 coin.

• The South African flag is on the front of the R1 coin.

• The words 'South Africa' are in one language on the R1 coin.

• The words 'South Africa' are in three languages on the R5 coin.

• The latent image on the R5 changes from 'RAND' to 'FIVE' when tilted.

• The coin series has new landing patterns on the inside of the coin to assist the visually impaired community to differentiate between the various denominations by feel.

The SARB explained that international best practice informs that banknotes and coins are regularly upgraded to “combat counterfeiting and to stay abreast with technological advancements”.

“In general, banknotes are refreshed in intervals of six to eight years and coins in intervals of 20 to 30 years. In South Africa, the current Mandela banknote series

was issued in 2012 and a commemorative series of banknotes was issued in 2018. The current coin series was issued in 1989.

“The SARB does not demonetise its currency. All previously issued circulation banknotes and coins can be used as a means of trade together with the upgraded banknotes and coin. All circulation currency maintains its face value.

“Members of the public are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the upgraded banknotes and coins and to use the look, feel and tilt method to authenticate their currency.

Changes to the upgraded banknotes and coins are available on the SARB website and the SARB Currency App, which is available on the Apple iStore and the Google Play Store,” the SARB said

Consumers are urged to familiarise themselves with the security features of the new banknotes and coins

Hindi educator Sanam Singh will be soon jetting off to India

Cllr Krsna Sing Caucus Chairperson Democratic Alliance (Ilembe District Municipality)

1. Although increase on water and sanitation in the 2023/2024 draft budget is 9.5% one must take into account the CPI is at 5.3%.

2. No measures were put in place to cushion the increase in form of rebate especially on sanitation calculated on property value.

3. The DA calls on Council to develop a staggered policy on sanitation to assist the (elderly) who are 60 years and over and are not indigent. For example combined income is R 5000. 00 per month regardless of the value of the property.

DA Petitions Ilembe

4. We further call on Council to consider:

* 60 years - 25% rebate on sewer charges

* 65 years 30 % rebate on sewer charges

* 70 years and over should enjoy 30 % rebate on sewer charges.

5. The DA calls on Council to review the indigent policy to be updated every two years instead of annually. It makes sense and eliminates unnecessary administrative costs and delays in processing the indigent application before one qualifies for the standard benefits.

6. That the indigent household should always enjoy 10 kl of free water every month even if they have been disconnected which is not the case currently. Policy review is required to give effect to basic human rights. Furthermore the threshold to qualify should be upped to R 4500.00 per month

Letters to the Editor

With regards to the article: “KDM apologizes for prolonged power outage” (Xpress Times: 3 May 2023, Page 12), it is a slap in the face to people from many other affected areas.

With reference to Whatsapp groups, “Service Outages” and “Outages Ukusiza”, and posts of residents from areas like Glenhills, St. Luke's Home of Healing, Dawnside (5 days without power), Blythedale, and many more; highlighting that this was going more than two days without power, on more than one occasion, is a slap to the citizens' faces en masse.

combined income.

8. Repairs and maintenance of existing infrastructure, inadequate allocation dropped from R126 million last year to R 91 million in the 2023/2024 draft budget. This will pose challenges on regular water leaks, pumps burnt out, telemetry system at reservoir to monitor levels not working for years in some cases leading to water losses over 100 million as recorded in the last financial year.

9. Employee related cost is R 312 million whereas main internal revenue through water and sanitation is R 373 million. Of this, according to revenue collection trends, only about half of that can be realised. It's crystal clear the municipality is not sustainable and survives on grant funding from province and National Treasury. Only critical posts should be filled. The projection for new additional connections on Revenue of R85

million is overstated and not realistic. Can it be explained what is the current collection rate on the new water schemes?

10. Inability to collect monies for services provided is scary as a staggering R584 million is owed to Council. More aggressive collection campaign needs to be put in place without fear or favour. Selective write offs must be discouraged and should be fair to all deserving consumers.

The DA submitted a petition of almost 2000 signatures to iLembe to consider reducing the tariff increase on water and sanitation in the 2023/2024 draft budget.

Please explain yourself. (Open Letter to KDM)

Your apology, is creating a perception that is akin to a form of discrimination.

I have asked the community, and they just say, “because it's Salt Rock…”.

Since KwaDukuza is given a north and south load shedding schedule, the northern region has been discriminated against in the past. Now, Ward 22, and its surrounding areas are part of the southern region, to which this categorical apology was issued to.

Why the bias, KDM?

Confusingly the article states: “The power outages experienced…will be part of the municipality's dossier to

Eskom…to have substations temporarily exempt…until new substations are commissioned.”

Really! (Want the other cheek)? Asking for exemption for a specific area, which compels you to do so for every other disenfranchised area.

You cannot say, Eskom is responsible for switching off the specific areas, because according to the report, with your input; published on the Whatsapp group: “Group 2 Fair and Equitable Load Shedding” by the Chairperson of the Ilembe Civic Action Movement (ICAM), Walter Schotter says: “Eskom's response clearly states that KDM approached them to handle the load

shedding, so this is not Eskom's issue. They merely require X amount of power to be removed from the grid by KDM.”

Please answer this hot potato question, officially.

Who/ What (from KDM) is responsible for physically switching off power to areas in KwaDukuza, North and South, when it is time to activate load shedding. Our citizens are being psychologically crushed by this heinous bias; for you knowingly allowing for areas and districts, to be exempt from load shedding, and this is consistent blatant discrimination.

Licence printing machine breaks down

The Department of Transport has reassured members of the public that the production of driving licence cards will not be

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Community Notice

Weekly satsangs are held on Mondays from 6:30pm - 7:30 pm.

Shree Hanuman Temple, 19 Rose Road, Stanger Manor. Transport, contact us on 073 152 8910 or WhatsApp us.

affected by the routine maintenance of the card production machine. In a statement issued on

will be available from MONDAY, 15 MAY 2023 until TUESDAY, 30 MAY 2023 (09h00 to 11h00), at school.

Wednesday last week, the department encouraged members of the public to continue applying for their driving licence card as normal. The routine maintenance started on 5 April 2023 up until 19 April 2023.

All Application Forms must be completed by no later than 11h00 on TUESDAY, 30 MAY 2023

GRADE R: Must be born on or before 30 JUNE 2019. Must turn 5 by 30 JUNE 2024

NB: Must be born between July 2018 and June 2019.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION:

* Parents’ original identity document together with a copy.

* Learners’ original birth certificate together with a copy.

* Learner’s clinic card / immunization card together with a copy.

For further information contact the School Secretary: Mrs P. Maharaj on 032 - 551 1953.

Thereafter, the technical team encountered a technical breakdown, which requires a replacement of a critical part from the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

“It is anticipated that the resumption of card production shall commence within the next two to three weeks,” the department said.

VERNON PILLAY Erasmus Dam (KwaDukuza)