The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Nomusa Dube-Ncube has welcomed the clarification from the St Lucia Ratepayers’ Association regarding misrepresentation of their views in the recent media reports that suggested that the Association wished for the town of St Lucia to break away from the Mtubatuba Municipality.
Recent media reports quoted the Rate Payers Association of St Lucia, a town falling within the jurisdiction of uMtubatuba Municipality as calling for the town to be excised from the municipality and have self-determination including their own flag. In response the MEC despatched a team including the Administrator of uMtubatuba municipality, Mr Bamba Ndwandwe to engage the leadership of the Ratepayers Association and seek clarity on the media reports.
In response the Vice Chairperson distanced the association from the media reports calling them “ludicrous and completely unfounded”.
“As COGTA we have engaged the rate payers and accept their clarification unconditionally. We also take note of the Association’s concerns about the management of the Mtubatuba Municipality, which is why the Provincial Government placed this municipality under administration in the first place. We would like to assure the Association that we will do whatever it takes to put this municipality on a sound footing and already the municipality is getting out of the woods and the ship has made a positive turnaround,” said KZN MEC for COGTA Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
At the same time, KZN COGTA has expressed shock at the media reports that appeared to misrepresent the views of the St Lucia Ratepayers’ Association to the effect that it wished to break away from the Mtubatuba Municipality as an independent town with its own management, budget and flag.
“The sensationalism of the media never ceases to surprise us but the reports that portrayed the St Lucia Ratepayers’ Association as a secessionist organisation opposed to the principles of equality and non-racialism entrenched in our 1996 Constitution clearly hit a new low,” said Dube-Ncube.
KZN COGTA prides itself on its sound working relationships with all municipal stakeholders, including individual Ratepayers’ Associations, whose input into making the province’s local government work is deemed invaluable and forms the basis of the department’s commitment to the idea of cooperative governance.
“The St Lucia Ratepayers’ Association have been in constant communication with the administrator placed in the Mtubatuba Municipality and we wish to assure them that the municipality, whose progress we monitor and evaluate regularly, is on the path to recovery,” said Dube-Ncube.
KZN COGTA also wishes to assure all other Ratepayers’ Associations in KwaZulu-Natal that the lines of communication with the department are always open and that dialogue is the best way to address ratepayers’ concerns about developments in any municipality.
“It is of utmost importance to us to ensure a steady flow of information between these two components,” said Dube-Ncube.
For more information contact:
Lennox Mabaso
Cell: 082 884 2403
