President Zuma has arrived in Umthatha in the Eastern Cape to assess service delivery in local government in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality.
As early as 2009, residents expressed concern about the state of Mthatha, a town that was once the economic hub of the former Transkei.
In the President’s previous engagements with community members, great frustration has been expressed about challenges relating to dilapidated infrastructure such as water, sanitation, roads, electricity and housing and the need to improve local government management and systems.
To arrest the decline in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality, Umthatha was declared a Rapid High Impact Presidential Intervention Node in August 2009. The Intervention was intended to address the aforementioned infrastructure backlogs and service delivery challenges and fully revitalise Mthatha to its former stature.
KSD Municipality has developed a Sustainable Development Master Plan (the Plan), articulating its vision for the type of Mthatha that today’s babies, tomorrow’s adults should live in, in 2030. The plan spans over a 20 year horizon and 280 projects have been identified, for implementation over the short, medium and long-term.
The projects have been translated into work streams, for implementation purposes: Energy and Waste Management; Water and Sanitation; Human Settlements; Transport and Mobility and Local Economic and Social Development.
The plan advocates for an integrated approach in implementing critical interventions, especially in water, sanitation, electricity, housing, roads and public nodes.
The President this year appointed an inter-ministerial Committee made of Ministers, Eatern Cape Premier, MECs and Mayors to focus intensively on implementing the plan.
Today the team will report back to the community on how far they have gone in providing services as directed by the President.
The President is accompanied by the following members of the KSD IMC:
• Minister of Performance, Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration Collins Chabane
• Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti
• Acting Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nathi Mthethwa
• Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi
• Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson
• Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa
• Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi
• Deputy Minister of Human Settlements Zoe Kota-Fredericks
• Deputy Minister of Transport, Jeremy Cronin
• Premier Noxolo Kiviet
• Deputy Minister of Performance, Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration Collins Chabane Dina Pule
• MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs Mr Mlibo Qhoboshiyane
• Mayor of KSD Municipality Nonkoliso Ngqongwa
Enquiries:
Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 330 1148
