THE Hibiscus Coast Municipality has been crowned the best performing municipality in the medium to large local municipality category in KwaZulu-Natal, at the KZN Municipal Excellence Awards at the ICC in Durban last Thursday.
The awards ceremony is the department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ way of recognising municipalities which have done well in service delivery. Over the years the awards have allowed municipalities to share their best ideas with other municipalities whilst at the same time showcasing their own municipality.
Municipalities were judged according to their key performances prescribed by the Cogta, such as municipal transformation and organisational development, basic service delivery and infrastructure, local economic development, financial viability, management, good governance and public participation.
“The municipality is pleased with this great achievement,” said HCM spokesman Simon Soboyisa. “The municipality recently hosted the minister of tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk at Ramsgate Beach where five of its beaches were awarded Blue Flag status. And in addition three beaches are currently being assessed for finalisation before end of December 2013,” he added.
Mr Soboyisa also added that in October the municipality’s Margate fishing pier had scooped the provincial South African Institute of Consulting Engineers award for Best Community Infrastructure. When Cogta had released the Consolidated Annual Municipal Performance Report HCM received the highest score (87 percent) in its assessment for good governance.
“The R1-million prize awarded to the municipality confirms the good work that HCM is doing,” he added.
“Whilst we have not achieved perfection, the efforts put in by HCM mayor Cynthia Mqwebu and municipal manager Maxwell Mbili are clearly bearing fruit, which means the municipality is headed in the right direction to achieve the vision of a better life for all in our community,” he concluded.
