City status looms for KwaDukuza if demarcation board approves ward changes

Proposals before the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) could see King Shaka International Airport falling under KwaDukuza’s jurisdiction.

And the town being granted city status sooner than anticipated may also be on the cards.

This depends on the outcomes of proposed redeterminations of municipal boundaries however, the details of which were published by the MDB last week.

According to the notice, two eThekwini Metro wards – Ward 58 (Umdloti, Mount Moreland, La Mercy, Westbrook and Seatides) and Ward 62 (Tongaat, Maidstone, Hambanathi, Sandfields, Frasers and Gandhi’s Hill) could potentially be demarcated to fall under KwaDukuza.

If the ward 58 proposals are adopted then eThekwini would lose the airport, which comes with significant benefits, to KwaDukuza.

A further proposal could see Tongaat and Hazelmere Dam also excluded from eThekwini and moved within Ndwedwe municipality’s boundaries.

Ndwedwe falls within the umbrella of the iLembe district municipality, alongside KwaDukuza, Maphumulo and Mandeni.

While these acquisitions could have a profound economic impact on our local municipalities, iLembe Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism chief executive, Cobus Oelofse, believes it is still early days.

“Caution is always advised when it comes to demarcation and the changing of municipal boundaries. A consultative process will impact on the published proposals to ensure a transparent and inclusive process considers the needs and preferences of the affected communities. There will always be positive and negative consequences,” he said.

But should the proposals be implemented, Oelofse said it would have a massive positive impact for the rates bases of KwaDukuza and Ndwedwe.

“It would have a positive impact on the economic credibility of our region that flows from the hosting of a specialised economic zone and an international airport, already considered the heartbeat of the provincial economy.”

But he warned that should this come to pass, consolidation of services might prove to be a challenge.

“The infrastructure investment that might be required to ensure efficient and effective service delivery to such high-profile nodes could present difficulties.

“These are definitely interesting proposals, although difficult to speculate about at this early stage, but have the potential of delivering KwaDukuza city status sooner than anticipated,” Oelofse concluded.

Proposals are out for comment until the end of this month, with only written views and representations being considered.

The MDB, in preparation for elections, often makes changes to boundaries to ensure an equal number of registered voters in each ward, which may not vary by more than 15%.

In the past, this has seen the addition of new wards locally, as was the case with the addition of ward 30 to KwaDukuza in 2021.

Visit www.demarcation.org.za for more information.

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