ETHEKWINIWEEKLY BULLETIN

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09 February 2018 [Issue 110]By 2030 eThekwini will be Africa’s most caring and liveable City

“KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW”

AS PART of a rigorous effort of providing optimal healthcare, a new hospital

development is currently underway in Cato Ridge. The Cato Ridge Private Hospital will be a fi rst privately-owned and independent general acute hospital situated between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The project is estimated to cost R136 million. The hospital is expected to be operational by early next year. KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

Deputy Speaker Meshack

Radebe, eThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, Ward 1 Councillor Bongumusa Mkhize, Inkosi Simangaye Mlaba and Cato Ridge Private Hospital Director Jetendra Poorun offi cially turned the sod for the new hospital development on 8 February. Councillor Peer said the City

fully supports the development. Poorun said the development

was ideally located as it was situated between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. “The hospital will meet the general demands of multi-disciplined medical

services, including a level 2 trauma unit and supporting infrastructure to meet the demands of casualty patients as well as two operating theatres equipped with the latest theatre technology.” The hospital’s patient base

will cover various Cato Ridge areas, including Cliffdale, Hammarsdale, Georgedale, Intshanga, Camperdown, Bhobhonono, Denge and other neighbouring areas. Poorun said the hospital will

have 54 beds. “Based on the demand and the needs for

healthcare in Cato Ridge and surrounding areas, the board has envisioned to expand the hospital to a150 bed facility over the next fi ve years.” An overjoyed Councillor

Mkhize said: “Our people will no longer have to travel long distances to get medical care.” He also urged the hospital to

never refuse medical assistance to residents.Councillor Mkhize said the

construction of the hospital was also going to create short and long term job opportunities.

NEW HOSPITAL FOR CATO RIDGE RESIDENTS

Cato Ridge Private Hospital Director Jetendra Poorun with KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Deputy Speaker Meshack Radebe, eThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, Ward 1 Councillor Bongumusa Mkhize and Inkosi Simangaye Mlaba offi cially turn the sod where a new hospital will be constructed. (Right) An artist impression of the proposed hospital.

2 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN ISSUE 110

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ETHEKWINI Municipality’s exceptional service delivery performance in the 2016/17 financial year has reinforced that the City is one of the best operated cities in the country. The City has delivered houses,

electrified homes and provided water to residents despite numerous challenges, like the drought, aging infrastructure and rapid urbanisation. This information is contained

in the Annual Report which gives a detailed account of the City’s service delivery achievements, challenges and consolidated annual financial statements. The City achieved an unqualified audit report. The Annual Report indicates

that the Municipality is in a strong financial position, underpinned by the outstanding collection rate of 97 percent, growth in revenue, moderate gearing, stable debt and strong liquidity. The City has also maintained its investment grade credit rating of AA in the long term and A1+ in the short term with a positive outlook. This is the highest rating in the country’s

SERVICE DELIVERY EXCELLENCE HIGHLIGHTED IN ANNUAL REPORT

municipal sector. The Municipality continued

its impressive track record in terms of service delivery with a capital spend of 90 percent. However, despite the excellent progress made, there were a few areas of improvement in

financial and performance management, including proper record keeping and daily and monthly controls. Some of the highlights of

the report indicate that the Municipality has delivered 5003 new houses and 35

EThekwini Municipality officials have worked hard to rollout effective and efficient services to all parts of the City as revealed in the Annual Report. The report is available at Municipal libraries and Sizakala Centres for public comment.

family units. The drought and water loss

posed a major challenge for the City in ensuring water delivery to communities, however, portable water is currently delivered to 897 574 households including informal settlements.The City also supplies

electricity to more than 745 000 customers and a weekly refuse removal service to 1 046 307 households, including 602 939 informal settlements. The Annual Report is now

open for public comment and the Municipality is calling on residents to make their representations before 2 March 2018. A public meeting to discuss the report will be held on 20 February at the Albert Luthuli Hall at City Hall at 9am. The Annual Report is available

on the Municipality’s website, www.durban.gov.za and at Sizakala centres and Municipal libraries. Members of the public are invited to browse through the report and provide feedback to Khululiwe Faya at khululiwe.faya@durban.gov.za

ETHEKWINI Municipality has extended its appreciation to residents, property owners and business organisations that submitted input on the Draft Rates Policy for the 2018/19 financial year. About 3000 comments were received and captured. The proposed policy was

released for public comment late last year and concluded on 31 January. The Rates Policy is important because municipalities are expected

to be self-funding. One of the major income generators along with water and electricity usage, is property rates which are paid by property owners.Money from property rates

is used to fund a range of public services, from the maintenance of roads and traffic lights to providing public parks, libraries, clinics, recreation centres and other similar services for the public.Head of Revenue

Management Peet du Plessis said engaging with the public was very crucial. “As a City, we must ensure that all regulations are complied with. The Rates Policy is also required to be reviewed annually and amended if necessary. Comments received are given due consideration before we adopt the policy. We thank the public for their input.” One of the most important

highlights of the 2018/19

Draft Rates Policy is the changes relating to the determination of Special Rating Areas (SRAs). Du Plessis said: “The bulk of comments were found to be related to this change. Other issues related to the Senior Citizens Rebate, Valuation Roll and commercial accommodation rebates.” The Rates Policy will be

adopted with the 2018/19 budget.

DRAFT RATES POLICY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD SUCCESSFUL

ISSUE 110 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN 3

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Lusaka city Councillor Lubwa Kapapula and eThekwini Municipality Coun-cillor Futhi Maluleka signed the Durban Adaptation Charter; a partnership that will result in further developing a network of African cities that will include university students generating research to provide answers for some of the climate change challenges that communities and local gov-ernment face. Overseeing the signing ceremony were eThekwini officials, Dr Sean O’ Donoghue and Zama Khuzwayo.

DURBAN AND LUSAKA SIGN CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN

carbon footprint and mitigate climate change. The first stop was the Buffelsdraai Landfill and Research Hub, which is the City’s environmentally sensitive landfill site and community reforestation project.

Lusaka city Councillor Lubwa Kapapula said he was left in awe at the energy regeneration and clean drinking water projects led by eThekwini. After visiting the Sihlanzimvelo Community Stream Management Programme

IT WAS a historic day for climate change action when a visiting delegation from Zambia signed the Durban Adaptation Charter with eThekwini Municipality to establish its own Climate Change Compact partnership in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia on 8 February.Six officials from Zambia

attended a two-day Lusaka-Durban Learning Exchange Workshop on 7 and 8 February to learn about eThekwini’s various internationally recognised climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The aim of the visit was for Zambia officials to also get a better understanding of how eThekwini has established strong partnerships with universities to tackle climate change. Apart from the robust

knowledge sharing sessions, the Zambia delegation was also taken on site visits to see working projects that the City has in place to reduce its

in KwaMashu, Councillor Kapapula said: “It is amazing to see how eThekwini has partnered with communities to take ownership of their surrounding natural water supply and keep streams and rivers clean. There are so many excellent systems in place in eThekwini from grand scale projects like generating electricity from methane gas to creating jobs by promoting tree planting. Our team will definitely work with eThekwini to improve service delivery in Lusaka.”Lecturer and Researcher

from the University of Zambia, Dr Gilbert Siame said he was thoroughly impressed and inspired by the unique relationship eThekwini has formed with universities. Workshop facilitator, Dr Sean

O’ Donoghue from the City’s Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department said: “It’s about dealing with adaptation, best practices and climate change challenges.”

KWAZULU-NATAL MEC for Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube and eThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer have heaped praise on Absa bank for its role in bringing about socio-economic transformation in the province.MEC Dube-Ncube and

Councillor Peer were speaking at the official opening of Absa’s new provincial offices in uMhlanga Ridge on 7 February.“Financial institutions can

play an important role in bringing about tangible socio economic transformation in the lives of many people in this province. You (Absa) have proven to be a reliable partner to the government of KwaZulu-

ABSA applauded for investing in KZN

Natal in many ways. We have seen a number of initiatives where you have partnered with

us as government and we pride ourselves to be a government that is open to business,” said

MEC Dube-Ncube. MEC Dube-Ncube also

thanked Absa for the role that the bank played during the storms in October last year. “Our solid partnership with

Absa has been put to the test many times, we saw it recently when we had the devastating floods in this province. Absa was there as one of our reliable partners and they timeously responded when our communities needed help,” she added. Councillor Peer also praised

Absa for investing in projects that benefit residents. “We hope that your continued investment in the province will create more jobs and boost economic activities.”

MEC for Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube, eThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer and Absa Provincial Executive Faisal Mkhize during the opening of the bank’s new provincial head office in uMhlanga.

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Email: gugu.mbonambi@durban.gov.za

If you would like to submit feedback or contribute to eThekwini Weekly Bulletin

EDITORIAL TEAMEDITOR: Tozi Mthethwa • CONTENT EDITOR: Gugu Sisilana • SUB-EDITOR: Nondumiso

Mathomane • WRITERS: Romita Hanuman-Pillay, Nonduduzo Ngcongo, Simphiwe Dlamini,

Sohana Singh, Themba Khumalo and Jessie Singh • DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Zakhe Ntshingila

ETHEKWINI Municipality will soon launch a social media page that will focus on customer service enquiries.This comes after the proposal

to create the page was given the green light by the Municipality’s Governance and Human Resources Committee during a meeting held on 7 February at City Hall. Currently, the Municipality

addresses customer queries

relating to a range of services including rates, water and electricity through call centres and Sizakala Customer Centres. With this new platform, residents will now

have an option to lodge their complaints through social media. Head of the City’s

Communications Unit Tozi Mthethwa said there has

been a noticeable trend whereby customers use social media to raise complaints with the Municipality. Thus, it has become important to explore an alternative way of facilitating service related complaints on social media. The new platform is expected

to be launched on 23 February 2018.

VENUE DATE TIME TOTI CIVIC CENTRE 13 February 9am-2pm

BESTER HALL 14 February 9am-2pm

PHOENIX STONE BRIDGE HALL 15 February 9am-2pm

ISIPINGO SMME MARKET 21 February 10am-2pm

MKHUMBANE COMMUNITY HALL 22 February 9am-2pm

CLERMONT HALL 27 February 9am-2pm

PINETOWN CIVIC CENTRE 6 March 9am-2pm

CITY TO SET-UP CUSTOMER SERVICE PAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

CITY EMBARKS ON INFORMAL TRADING BY-LAW ROADSHOWSTO EFFECTIVELY regulate street trading in the City and empower informal traders, eThekwini Municipality hosted a draft Informal Trading By-law review meeting at City Hall on 8 February.The public engagement was

to give traders from the Durban Central Business District (CBD) a platform to comment and make recommendations on the proposed By-law amendments. Business Support, Tourism and

Markets Unit Coastal Region Manager, Vumi Mchunu said the By-law was last reviewed in 2014 and this process was

necessary to improve the way of doing business within the sector. Key aspects highlighted in

the By-law include prohibiting trading in places where informal trading is restricted, confiscation of goods, regulation of abandoned goods and plans to crack down on people trading without permits. Deputy Chairperson of

eThekwini Municipality Informal Economy Forum Lindiwe Zuma said: “We welcome most of the changes because we understand that for this sector to flourish, it has to be properly managed. We

hope our recommendations will be considered.” Mchunu said the Municipality

will consider the inputs made by informal traders in order to develop by-laws that will not hinder economic growth while also promoting compliance. Addressing the traders,

Councillor Chris Pappas from Ward 31 said the Municipality’s intention was not to oppress traders but the review process was aimed at clarifying some critical concerns traders may have around the By-law “to avoid future clashes that can end up in courts”.

“We may differ in opinions but we value the informal trade sector as it injects billions to the City’s economy. What we are trying to achieve by hosting these workshops is constructive discussions that will lead to fruitful resolutions to enhance management and empower traders in the sector,” added Councillor Pappas. CBD traders can still submit

their input to the regional office at iTrump offices in Warwick until 28 February. For the other regions,

consultation roadshows will be held as follows:

DASSENHOEK COMMUNITY HALL 8 March 9am-2pm

VERULAM MARKET AREA 21 March 10am-2pm

VENUE DATE TIME

For more information contact the region closer to you. North Region : 031 311 4612 South Region : 031 902 2024 CBD Region : 031 201 2453West Region : 031 311 6161/6287