Durban -The Umdoni Municipality this month begins rolling out its multimillion turnaround strategy to address infrastructure dilapidation as well as service delivery.
The R50-million strategy, in the form of a four-month project, would see dilapidated infrastructure resuscitated and both rural and urban roads restored.
According to spokesperson Sphelele Cele, the project also included maintenance of roads and storm water, maintenance of facilities, street lighting, verge maintenance, electrification and refuse removal, among other service delivery imperatives.
Over R31m of the R50m was going to be spent on roads and storm water maintenance.
Cele said R8m was going to be for electrification, while R1.5m was for grass cutting.
She said the remainder would go to street lighting, refuse removal as well as maintenance of community facilities.
Acting Umdoni Municipality ANC Whip Phila Thabethe explained that the municipality’s service delivery turnaround strategy was adopted at a special sitting of the Umdoni Council on Friday.
“The Umdoni turnaround aims at ensuring that whether you are from Scottburgh, Emalangeni or Mkhunya, you feel equal and benefit from this ANC-led Umdoni Municipality”.
He said there would be very strict monitoring of this turnaround plan and added that they would ensure that there was compliance on all areas.
Founder of the Umdoni Action Group (UAG) Geoff Smailes said they had received no formal communication from the municipality on this matter.
The group is based in Scottburgh and was established in 2015 to protect the interests of ratepayers, tenants and residents of the area, and has opted for ‘tax diversion’ to hold the local municipality accountable.
“What is certain is that Umdoni residents have received many apologies, excuses and promises during the past eight or more years, almost all of which have been without substance. We shall therefore have to wait and see what the municipality actually delivers in respect of repairs to broken infrastructure and service delivery. We also wish to see what steps are taken to stop the ongoing corruption which has so badly affected our area, including punitive action against the perpetrators of corrupt activities,” said Smailes.
DA caucus leader in Umdoni Eddie Baptie described the turnaround strategy as devious and dishonest.
“The acting municipal manager brought the strategy to the executive committee with very different allocations, and under the premise that the intention was to put back some of the savings generated by ratepayers into the maintenance of their infrastructure. The strategy was valued at R45m, to be taken from reserves and split between ratepaying areas (R28.5m) and non-ratepaying areas (R16.5m).This was duly recommended to council, but councillors Cele and Brijraj (ANC) lodged an irregular motion to remove the item from the agenda and the Speaker complied,” said Baptie.
He said the ANC caucus and managers then reworked the strategy and called a special council meeting two days later to present a vastly amended strategy worked into an adjustment budget without consultation and ignoring submissions made on behalf of ratepayers.
Daily News