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The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa, together with the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Thamsanqa Ntuli, led an oversight engagement with the uThukela District Municipality in Emnambithi/Ladysmith.

Also in attendance were the District Development Model Champion and Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa; the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Thulasizwe Buthelezi; and the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mr Musa Zondi.

The engagement brought together leadership from across the three spheres of government, business, organised labour and civil society, underscoring the importance of collaborative leadership and the strategic potential of the district.

The uThukela District Municipality, led by Executive Mayor Councillor Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala, is one of the eleven district municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. The district comprises three local municipalities: Alfred Duma, Inkosi Langalibalele and Okhahlamba.

The engagement forms part of ongoing interventions aimed at addressing persistent challenges affecting the district, particularly those related to service delivery in rural communities, including access to reliable water services.

During the meeting, stakeholders reflected on key indicators of a well-functioning municipality, including:

• Addressing legal challenges facing the municipality
• Ensuring reliable and sustainable service delivery
• Strengthening financial management and fiscal discipline
• Promoting good governance and ethical leadership
• Encouraging active public participation
• Ensuring institutional stability

Presentations by the Northern KwaZulu-Natal Chamber of Business and the municipality highlighted governance and financial management challenges that have significantly undermined service delivery.

The situation has been further exacerbated by the attachment of the municipality’s bank accounts, which negatively affected its ability to meet financial obligations, including payments to service providers and municipal employees. Minister Hlabisa emphasised that the municipality’s inability to fulfil its constitutional mandate has undermined investor confidence in the district and limited economic growth opportunities.

Stakeholders expressed a shared commitment to restoring a well-functioning municipality capable of delivering essential services, managing public resources responsibly and building public trust through transparent, ethical and accountable governance.

Business representatives pledged to collaborate with the municipality in restoring service delivery in critical areas, particularly ensuring reliable water supply and addressing sewage spillages.

Organised labour raised concerns about delayed salary payments in municipalities across the province and called for a credible and actionable turnaround strategy to stabilise the municipality and ensure accountability for governance failures.

The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs highlighted the importance of developing secondary towns such as Ladysmith to address the uneven distribution of economic opportunities across the province and to create an enabling environment for investment and sustainable economic growth.

Premier Ntuli reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to supporting the municipality and called for collective action to address infrastructure vandalism and other service delivery challenges.

“Let us join hands and work together to turn around the municipality,” said Premier Ntuli.

Minister Hlabisa emphasised the importance of building a professional, skilled and stable municipal administration with minimal vacancy rates in critical positions and functional council structures.

“We want a well-functioning municipality where communities experience the positive impact of improved service delivery, better living conditions and meaningful participation in the development of their communities,” said Minister Hlabisa.

Programme of action

At the conclusion of the engagement, Minister Hlabisa outlined the following programme of action:

• The Minister welcomed the constructive participation of all stakeholders and confirmed that the court has reversed the earlier decision to attach the municipality’s bank accounts, enabling the municipality to resume payments for outstanding services and employee salaries.
• Effective consequence management must be implemented to ensure accountability for failures in governance and service delivery.
• The Municipal Manager will convene a stakeholder engagement forum to address key issues affecting the municipality and identify sustainable solutions.
• Within the next three months, the municipality will host a uThukela Investment Summit to position the district as an attractive destination for investment and economic development.
• The district will receive priority attention within the work of the National Water Crisis Committee to address water supply challenges and critical infrastructure gaps.
• Strengthened communication and coordination between the three spheres of government will be prioritised to ensure the timely resolution of service delivery challenges.
• The repair of water leaks and other urgent infrastructure challenges will be prioritised, with clear turnaround times for response and resolution.
• The implementation of standby allowances for technical officials was welcomed to ensure that infrastructure faults are addressed promptly.
• Overtime expenditure of approximately R4 million will be reviewed as it has been deemed unsustainable.
• The municipality will explore alternative water sources, including the drilling of boreholes, to improve water access for communities.
• Within 21 days, the municipality must submit a comprehensive report on vandalised infrastructure, particularly infrastructure serving traditional communities under Amakhosi.
• The position of Chief Financial Officer must be filled urgently with a suitably qualified and competent individual.
• The municipality must adopt a funded and credible budget and discontinue reliance on unfunded budgeting practices.
• Non-essential expenditure must be removed from the municipal budget to ensure financial sustainability.

The primary objective remains the stabilisation of the municipality to ensure effective governance and improved service delivery.

Within 21 days, the Minister, the Premier and the District Development Model Champion will return to uThukela to assess progress on the agreed programme of action.

Minister Hlabisa emphasised that the programme of action will be closely monitored to ensure that it delivers tangible improvements for communities.

“Our communities must not continue to suffer due to governance failures. We have a responsibility to work together and deliver the services that our people deserve,” concluded Minister Hlabisa.

Issued by Department of Cooperative Governance