Despite ongoing controversies, Umzinyathi District Municipality was voted Second Best Performing District Municipality in the province, during the Municipality Awards hosted by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) at Durban’s ICC last week.
There are eleven district municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, all of which participated in this awards.
It was the communities of these municipalities who voted for them.
This announcement has indeed came as a surprise to many, since Umzinyathi has for some months been in the news for the alleged misappropriation of funds, and had requested Cogta MEC Nomsa Dube to intervene.
“This serves as proof that this municipality did not in any way mismanage its funds, but avoided the danger of being bankrupt by taking precautions on its finances by requesting intervention,” said UDM spokesperson Jeff Hassan.
Umzinyathi Mayor Cllr Rev James Mthethwa thanked the management, led by Municipal Manager Mdu Mngomezulu and the Speaker Bonga Chambule, together with councillors, and said the award is the proof of selflessness, hard work and dedication.
“This is the sign of recognition by the community we are serving that indeed Umzinyathi does deliver on its mandate. Votes for this award were as the result of the community we are serving, which has confidence in us,” said Mayor Mthethwa.
He further thanked the community of Umzinyathi who voted, and said, “They are the only judges of our performance, and it will remain that way.
“Today’s Umzinyathi will never be the same as yesterday.”