Mayor’s Christmas message

The year 2022 has been a year full of challenges mixed with blessings, accomplishments, and great strides that we as the municipality have achieved. This year’s challenges have proven our resilience as the people of Inkosi Langalibalele and we will forever grow lessons from it.

Since this council was elected in office a year ago, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we bring you the services that you are entitled to. Services like waste collection and disposal, keeping our town clean, rehabilitating our town, ensuring that you have decent shelter, rebuilding and constructing new access roads, building, and maintaining community halls, etc.

We understand that we could not do it all and everything in one year, however, our commitment to work for you and deliver the best service delivery you need is interminable.

Reflecting on the year that was, I am proud to mention that we, as this multi-party government led by the IFP have among many other key activities done the following:

1. We kicked off our term of office with the introduction of a contractor to construct Ncunjana Community Hall in Ward 22, I am proud to announce that soon we will hand over this new state-of-the-art community hall to the people of Ncunjana, in Ward 22.
2. We introduced contractors to regravel and construct gravel roads in Ward 21 and 22 within months in office.
3. We introduced measures to ensure that our municipality tendering system favours our local small businesses and that those who do business with the municipality, are paid within the stipulated 30-day period.
4. We launched a ground-breaking Town Rehabilitation Program where we undertook to rebuild and restore our towns to their former glory. The program has ensured that we rebuild our roads, do pothole patching, streetlights fixing, fixing storm water drainage systems, tarring, and resurfacing our roads and much more.
5. We introduced the ground-breaking Tertiary Registration Fee Assistance Programme that assisted over 100 learners with registration fee, which I am also proud to announce that we will have again beginning of January next year 2023.
6. We introduced and revitalised many programmes that did no longer exist such as Ingoma YakwaNobamba, Mayoral Matric Excellence Awards, Celebration of Key Holidays such as Youth Day, Career Exhibitions, Business Fair, etc.
7. We have introduced contractors who are currently undertaking construction work in various wards in Inkosi Langalibalele to the tune of over R60 million. These include Disaster and Municipal Infrastructure (MIG) Funded Grants.
8. We revitalised partnerships with key stakeholders that are key to the development of our municipality in various aspects such as Government Departments among others.
9. The municipality’s audit opinion improved from Disclaimer to qualified, which is the right step to the right direction and ensuring that we lift out the municipality under administration. Due to this improvement, we will see the Ministerial Representative (administrator) leaving the municipality in May 2023.
10. The municipality was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from Cogta for having the most improved IDP’s in the province for the year 2022/23.

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As this year draws to an end, on behalf of council, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all the stakeholders and our partners who have stood with us and supported us in our work. Our first term in office, albeit met with mixed challenges and blessings, could not have been as exciting as it was without your support and words of encouragement. We understand the task that lies ahead, and I wish to assure you that, we will never rest until you are proud of this municipality.

To all the residents and various stakeholders: thank you once again for keeping us on our toes. Thank you for making sure that you hold us accountable, you ask us uncomfortable questions, comments and advice. The comments on Facebook did not go unnoticed, we will continue to draw lessons from these and ensure that we do our best. It has been a pleasure working with you, as always.

The festive season is a time for people to get together with family and friends and a time to care and think about others, especially those who are less fortunate and who find the festive season more painful than cheerful. We must think about the needs of the child headed families, the lonely and the neglected elderly who at times feel deserted and very alone, especially those with no family ties at all.

To those who will be travelling outside our municipality to meet friends and family and those who will visit our municipality, travel safe and welcome!

On behalf of council, management, and staff of Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. May God bless you all.

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