Premier leads oversight visit in district

KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube announced projects that will deliver visible improvement in the lives of communities in Gamalakhe, Bhobhoyi, Mvutshini, KwaMadlala, KwaNyuswa, Oshabeni and Mbotsha under Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM).
The premier and members of the Executive Council visited the Ugu District under the Operation Sukuma Sakhe programme last week Wednesday.
It included oversight visits at police stations and community-based projects where they engaged with communities and assessed the impact of government projects on ordinary citizens.
Premier Dube-Ncube launched a free WiFi hotspot at Gamalakhe taxi rank as part of the SMART KZN project involving the roll-out of digital empowerment programmes, capacity development, entrepreneurship and data skills.
She also toured the Real Quick Layer Poultry project aimed at ensuring food security. The project is situated in Gamalakhe and is owned by Phakamani Mbili.
Other projects included the One Home One Garden in RNM which covers over 14 wards.The project is worth R375 000 and is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, local and district municipalities which will commence in April and end in March 2024.
The project will assist households to produce enough food to meet basic food security needs and where viable, to sell the surplus for generating income.
Premier Dube-Ncube announced the establishment of two rehabilitation centres as part of the response to the drug problem in communities.
She also gave a progress report on water challenges affecting communities in Ugu.
Working with the province, Ugu has developed a strategic 6-Point Plan to tackle water issues closely aligned to the KZN Provincial Water Master Plan.
The implementation of short-term interventions at St Helen’s Rock of critical maintenance and repairs to existing infrastructure costing over R15 million is now complete. This secures bulk water in the Bhobhoyi water system.
At the Msikaba Water Supply, Phase 1 construction of a 5.5km long steel pipeline from Nsimbini Pump station to Bhomela North Reservoir at R25 750 000 was completed on February 28. The project supplies sustainable water to Bhomela Reservoir.

In Umuziwabantu Ward 9, production boreholes were drilled and equipped at a cost of R4 million, and were completed in July last year.
According to the premier, operational efficiency at all nine water pump stations has improved. The aim is to reduce the number of water tankers as the bulk pumping system gains momentum.
Dube-Ncube also conducted an oversight visit at the Paddock police station. Part of her visit was to monitor how the station deals with gender-based violence (GBV) cases as some members of the community complained that cases are reported, but later disappear without trace.
She also wanted to check if the police station has a victim-friendly room to accommodate victims of GBV. She also engaged with officials about the challenges in providing a service to the community.
The community also cited their challenges, including lack of proper infrastructure, water and roads. The premier committed that the concerns raised will be given attention, working with local community structures and the municipality.

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