UThukela District Municipality embarked on the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2018/19 public consultation meetings. The meetings were held over a five-day period from February 12 to the 16 in Alfred Duma, Inkosi Langalibalele and Okhahlamba local municipalities.

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The purpose of these consultations was to conduct a community needs analysis so that by the time the municipality prepares the budget, it will then factor in all those needs identified by the communities for the five-year term of council.

The Mayor Cllr AS Mazibuko, Deputy Mayor Cllr NW Sibiya and executive committee member Cllr MV Khumalo as well as other councillors and officials hit the road running consulting with the communities to get their views in order to direct resources where they are most needed. In all the three municipalities that were visited, attendance was full house and people participated very well, in terms of listing their needs.

The Mayor clarified and explained to people that the core function of uThukela District Municipality is the provision of water, sanitation, disaster management and environmental health.

“Our task thus, is to make sure all households in the district have a proper functioning water and sanitation infrastructure. In simple terms, government does not consider any project that does not appear on the IDP, hence we consult with the communities,” said the Mayor.

He informed stakeholders that the district is faced with challenges of ageing infrastructure. He also said that there was a plan to have water boards in all provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal. Mr Mazibuko mentioned that the district has a responsibility of maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.

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This was also emphasised by Cllr Sibiya and Cllr Khumalo in other community engagement meetings. This was the first round of the IDP public consultation process. During the months of April and May, uThukela District will be going out for another consultation with the draft IDP and Budget for 2018/19 financial year.

By so doing, uThukela District is trying to improve communication lines between the municipality and the community so that both parties clearly understand what is going on in terms of budget allocation and community needs.

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