DURBAN - THE Ugu District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast will no longer sponsor sporting events or assist destitute families with burials, as it aims to direct its resources towards tackling the area’s serious water problems.
These functions will now be handled by the local municipality. The municipality has resolved to move away from any activity that does not constitute its core mandate in order to preserve its financial resources.
Mayor Sizwe Ngcobo revealed in a media interview that his municipality, which is facing a severe water crisis, will redirect all its resources into resolving water issues.
He recently tabled the municipality’s budget for the 2021/22 financial year. Ngcobo told a radio station recently that burials and sporting events were not part of the municipality’s core mandate.
Municipal spokesperson France Nzama said: “What the mayor was outlining is that the approved budget for this year starting on July 1, 2021, will only deal with deliverables of water and sanitation services”.
He said this would include the implementation of new water projects across the district, while also ensuring that they place an emphasis on the maintenance of ageing infrastructure.
“As you might be aware, the municipality has previously committed its resources to other developmental issues which had no direct impact on the delivery of our core services. As a water service authority, we have taken a firm stance this year to allocate our financial resources to water and sanitation in order to create more water security for the district,” he said.
The municipality revealed recently that it needs close to R1 billion to address its water infrastructure challenges.
THE MERCURY