UMDONI IN CRISIS: Community protests in Scottburgh

The Cogta MEC, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has intervened after allegations of corruption, non-operational offices and service delivery failures at Umdoni Municipality.

A crowd of about 200 frustrated community members marched to the municipal offices on Monday morning this week as part of a planned protest, where Buthelezi addressed them.

At the meeting outside the municipal offices, the MEC expressed his concern at the inability of the municipal leadership to deal with the issues raised by the community.

He also highlighted the council’s inability to address the Section 106 forensic investigation conducted by Cogta in 2018 and its recommendations, which have yet to be acted on by the council.

“The failure to act on the forensic investigation by the council creates an unfavourable perception of how seriously the municipality takes the issue of corruption. We are committed to seeing the concerns of the community being addressed by the municipality. Transparency and accountability are crucial in restoring trust and ensuring effective service delivery,” added Buthelezi.

He also called on the municipality’s Executive Committee (Exco) to exercise proper oversight and not allow matters to go unresolved.

“The Exco must take a proactive role in ensuring that these issues are addressed promptly and effectively.”

Thula Khumalo, one of the community coordinators, said that the protest saw representatives from all Umdoni wards and included members from Umdoni action groups and ratepayers’ associations.

“A few weeks ago, the community marched to the municipal offices and handed over a memorandum. After receiving feedback, the community felt that the findings were vague and did not address the issues we raised. We have had meetings with them over the weeks as well.”

Khumalo said that this protest should not be taken lightly, as it’s a serious matter affecting all residents of Umdoni, from the average citizen to businessmen.

“Due to the complexity of issues, we have not allowed the municipality to function as usual, as we know people are still involved in maladministration. The area we were being addressed in is evidence enough as to what state Umdoni is in, with rubbish all around and a stench in the air.”

The MEC told the community a council meeting will be held this Thursday (8th), which he will be sitting in on.

Buthelezi then called on the community to allow due processes to be followed in the investigation of corruption allegations and said that it is essential that everyone follows proper procedures to ensure that justice is served.

The municipality announced on Monday afternoon that refuse collection and street sweeping services will resume and that the refuse collection will be conducted as per the weekly schedule.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram