Umjindi-Mbombela merger is almost a done deal

The Barberton/Umjindi Ratepayers Association (B/URA) believe that despite the many submissions against the merger of Umjindi Local Municipality (ULM) with that of Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM), the process will still go ahead.

The merging of the two municipalities has already been published in the Government Gazette. Residents who are aggrieved by the possible merging have 30 days to submit their objections. 
The merging is reportedly to assist the non-viable one (Umjindi) by means of the viable one (Mbombela) to fulfil its mandate of service delivery and to be financially sustainable. 
Two consultation meetings, one in Mbombela and another in Umjindi, were held early in February to discuss the issue.

Both meetings ended abruptly as the majority of local residents opposed the merge. It was further said that there was too short notice for the meetings and as a result it was poorly attended. Furthermore, no advert was placed in newspapers to inform the public of the meetings.

Andy Nuns, chairman for the B/URA said their organisation was non-racial and non-political with the main objective of looking after the interests of the residents. 

“We are not interested in politics, only in service delivery. Unfortunately the behaviour of the attendees at the presentations (in Mbombela and Umjindi) made it very clear that the proposed merger was all about politics. Also the fact that a party member in full party (ANC) regalia walked around having the attendance register signed, indicated the meeting was organised and controlled by those in favour of the merger,” said Nuns.

The B/URA is also concerned about the high unemployment rate in Mbombela compared to Umjindi.
“Mbombela has a higher unemployment rate than Umjindi – per MDB own documentation, 26,9 per cent of people are unemployed in Umjindi and 28,1 per cent in Mbombela – so how is this going to improve job opportunities for those in Umjindi?” asked Nuns.

Nuns said as a mining town, Umjindi received benefits from the mines that build schools and training centres and fund roads. “It also employs a lot of people. If we merged with Mbombela they may have to spread their assistance into Mbombela which would mean less for Umjindi. We have less electricity interruptions in Umjindi. The township extensions in Umjindi are looked after better than in Mbombela where potable water is a problem. It is understood that many places, such as Lihawu in KaNyamazane, have running water for one or two days in a week only, and the residents are dependent on Jojo tanks to ensure that they have a continuous water supply,” continued Nuns.

He said all in all, they could not see any advantage for Umjindi residents to merge with Mbombela.
“If we join with Mbombela, our residents will become jointly responsible for the debt owed by Mbombela, and for the upkeep of what appears to be their white elephant stadium (Mbombela Stadium) on which R22, 2 million was spent in the last financial year in managing and maintaining it.

“Some of their other expenses, like R43 million spent on security services, seem exorbitant as well our municipality has a lot of property it can sell when the recession is over. At present that funding will benefit Umjindi whereas if we join with Mbombela most of the funds will go to Mbombela to pay off their debt,” added Nuns. 
He said the cost of the merger and all the name changes will also be a burden to both municipalities as they did not have the funds for it.

“It is true that Mbombela appears to be booming – on borrowed money – but Umjindi can easily manage on its own without merging, if we have an interested, qualified and committed management who will accept the challenge of attending to the problems outlined by us in our first submission, without allowing politicians to dictate their decisions,” said Nuns.

According to Jane Mathupha, chairman for the Municipal Demarcation Board (MBD), any person aggrieved by the determination might submit their objections in writing.
“Objections must reach the office of the MDB within 30 days of publication of this notice, and must, if possible, be based on the criteria provided for in Section 24 and 25 of the Demarcation Act, 1998. The reference number (DEM number) appearing in the first column of the schedule must be quoted in any correspondence with the board.”

“A copy of this notice, MDB Circular 8/2015, and maps can be downloaded from the MDB website www.demarcation.org.za or can be requested by sending an email to daniel@demarcation.org.za. In the case of a discrepancy between the schedule and the map, the map shall prevail, and in the event of any inconsistency between the English version and any other translation of this notice, the English version shall prevail,” said Mathupha.