Members of the provincial cabinet led by acting premier, Senzo Mchunu visited Ilembe District
Municipality last week to inspect at development projects under Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS).
The education MEC/ premier, Mchunu arrived in Mandeni on Tuesday to join the celebrations of International Literacy Day that were held in Ngcedomhlophe Stadium.
Before the main event, the dignitaries visited Imbewenhle Primary School to hand over a mobile
library. The library came packed with hundreds of books, a television set, DVD’s and three laptops.
On Wedneday, Mchunu and Kwadukuza mayor, Ricardo Mthembu visited Driefontein’s Maguyana
Primary School where they presented the school with a combo court that can be used for various
sports including volleyball.
They were joined by a number of MECs and local mayors to visit further Mandeni townships where they donated gardening tools. Mchunu said he was pleased with most of OSS’s poverty alleviation programmes but felt that more needed to be done.
In the community meeting held in Isithebe sports ground, residents from KwaDukuza, Mandeni and
Ndwedwe voiced their concerns, saying their basic needs were not being met. Most of them wanted clarity on local housing projects.
Human settlement MEC Ravi Pillay said there were a lot of housing projects in the pipeline for Ilembe but he had b e e n relieved to
hear that the issues that had been delaying the Nyoni housing project had been resolved.
Nyoni residents are still living on a wetland five years after they were promised houses. While one
of the contractors, Vulindlela Asphalts was liquidated in 2010 causing a major setback to the project (‘Residents await ‘promised land’, Courier, September 13), work does continue slowly.
Mandeni Mayor, Siphesihle Zulu, told the Courier that insurance regarding Vulindela has finally been paid out and everything was now going as planned.
“Our target is to have finished the first group of houses by December so that the 52 people who were moved into temporary homes in 2009 can finally move into their houses before Christmas,” said Zulu.
The tender previously given to Vulindlela was handed over to Nobinda Construction.
