Durban — The mayor of Zululand District Municipality has applauded the Water and Sanitation Minister and King Misuzulu kaZwelithini for funding water relief in the municipality.
On Tuesday morning, mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi applauded Minister Senzo Mchunu for allocating funds for water relief in Zululand.
The allocation of R235 million comes after a meeting between His Majesty the King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and Mchunu.
At a council meeting on Tuesday, Buthelezi expressed his gratitude to Mchunu as this was a huge boost for rural infrastructure and water provision in Zululand.
“We express our utmost appreciation to His Majesty for continuing to champion rural development as this funding will not only assist Zululand District but also uMkhanyakude District Municipality,” Buthelezi said.
The district municipality is comprised of Ulundi, Pongola, Abaqulusi (Vryheid), Dumbe (Paulpietersburg) and Nongoma local municipalities, and it is home to a population of about 1.2 million people.
Earlier this year the dire financial situation of the municipality was exposed in a 2022 financial recovery plan, which was presented to the council during a secluded retreat held in Richards Bay on February 6.
The plan was instituted after the national Treasury wrote to the district municipality anchored in Ulundi, northern KwaZulu-Natal, warning it to get its finances in order following concerns its budgets were unfunded.
On service delivery issues, the report said no progress had been made, and to address the challenge, the municipality intended to lease more vehicles for staff and discard the use of water tankers to deliver water to residents.
“Service delivery has failed and, in many instances, basic service delivery infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate to an extent that service delivery mechanisms such as wastewater treatment works have failed, causing a health hazard to the community it was intended to serve,” read the report.
Daily News