Ratepayers called out KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) mayor Lindi Nhaca at Wednesday’s 2022/23 draft integrated development (IDP) plan presentation, demanding service delivery and the fulfilment of past ’empty promises’.
About 100 residents from wards 6, 30 and 22 turned out for the meeting, which was originally postponed due to the previous venue not being large enough for the unprecedented attendance.
While the presentation at Umhlali Preparatory School went smoothly, question time quickly triggered heated exchanges.
Residents were frustrated over what they described as a disregard of service delivery basics.
Ward 6 (Ballito) resident, Thulani Xulu, said high rates and low return on service delivery was aggravating, questioning the proposed rates increase and funding of councillors’ security.
“Residents should not fund security,” he said, adding that estimates he had been shown indicated the municipality stood to make R37.5-million from the proposed 5% rates increase.
“If these issues are not addressed, the IDP process is really futile.”
Community services executive director, Siyabonga Khanyile, said most of the irregular expenditure could be attributed to expired contracts. He dismissed the claim that the municipality stood to earn R37.5-million from the rates increase.
Finance department executive director Shamir Rajcoomar confirmed this, saying there was no projected rates surplus, with the municipality just about breaking even.
Ballito resident and secretary of the KwaDukuza Residents Forum, Riaan Verster, said there was nothing to show from past promises, while ratepayer Malcolm Kensett said they only ask for service delivery of basic priorities each year.
“We raise the need for roads and streetlights, for example, but each time we are simply told there’s no money,” he said.
He suggested the municipality should draw from its reserves and equally distribute R50-million between the ratepayer bodies of the five wards which could see proper application of funds.
On the matter of councillor security, municipal manager Nhlanhla Mdakane said security measures were only allowed if a valid threat presented itself, mostly based on police information.
Proposed increases tabled at the meeting include electricity at 6%, rates 5%, refuse 6%, and officials’ salaries at 4.9%.
Expected revenue is pegged at around R2,1-billion, with the same amount budgeted for expenditure.
Find a copy of the Draft IDP at: https://www.kwadukuza.gov.za/index.php/idp/
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