‘We must all save water’ – Ugu mayor
Ugu mayor urges communities to continue using water sparingly at the state of the district address.
CURRENT Ugu mayor, Ntombifikile Gumede, has called for stringent measures to be taken in order to restrict water consumption in the district.
During the ‘state of the district address’ held at the Port Shepstone Civic Centre on Monday, the mayor said the district is currently confronted with a water scarcity.
“Unless we change our behaviour in controlling our water consumption patterns, we will be heading towards a disastrous situation, as we are currently experiencing strain on water supply.”
Although she said there were plans to improve water supply to communities, she urged communities to co-operate.
Financial State
In her speech the mayor said it was no secret that, when she took over, the municipality was in a financial state of paralysis where it could not provide adequate services to communities.
“Because we have convened a series of consultations with communities, our district today is better than it was yesterday. We have built a solid foundation of financial sustainability as well as increased our infrastructure, aimed at improving the lives of our communities.”
Other aspects she mentioned on finances include:
* The fact that Ugu had a clean financial audit;
* Debt collection remains a challenge;
* Illegal water connections remain a setback to the system;
* Umtamvuna, Bhobhoyi, Harding, Umzinto water treatment works will be upgraded;
* Margate sewer pipeline will also be getting an upgrade
In terms of local economic development, the mayor said over 320 job opportunities were created in the previous financial year through the Ezinqoleni essential oils project, tea tree distillery plants, Ugu Jazz Festival etc.
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