Ugu honoured for disaster response
Ugu District Municipality mayor Sikhumbuzo Mqadi said the award not only reaffirms their coordination of disaster management activities in the district but also serves as a testimony that they are a people-centred municipality.

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi recently honoured Ugu District Municipality with an Efficiency Disaster Management Response award.
Sithole-Moloi handed over the award to Ugu acting municipal manager Vela Mazibuko at the annual Municipal Service Excellence Awards held at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall recently.
The MEC said the awards are aimed at motivating municipalities to enhance their performance, productivity, and innovation in service provision, as well as promote best practices.
At a media briefing last Friday, Ugu mayor Sikhumbuzo Mqadi said their strides towards having a functional disaster management centre in the province have contributed to the municipality receiving the award.
Mqadi said the award not only reaffirms their coordination of disaster management activities in the district, but also serves as a testimony that they are a people-centred municipality.
“On behalf of the municipality’s leadership, we thank the head of our administration, Vela Mazibuko for helping us guide this ship in the right direction as awards of this nature mirror the reflection of good work being done in the municipality. As a gesture for receiving and accepting this award, we arranged a procession at our disaster centre where all other joint operations committee members will receive the award,” said Mqadi.
“As we celebrate this achievement”, added the mayor, “we are also mindful of our core deliverables as a water service authority, that of provision of water and sanitation services.”
Mqadi continued: “However, we must display our displeasure at the rate of vandalism being directed to our infrastructure. This has become unbearable considering that an act of vandalism on our infrastructure impedes our ability to fulfil our mandate of providing an uninterrupted water supply. We are convinced that this is a well-orchestrated act of sabotage which is seeking to weaken our ability to provide water services. The cost of repairs associated with these acts of vandalism is astronomically high.”
He said in response to the vandalism, Mthoko Mkhoma has been appointed as security manager.
“With his vast experience in the field, we are certain that he has put measures in place which are to secure our infrastructure from vandals. More focus will be placed on monitoring our key water and sanitation infrastructure across the district. The devastation caused by vandals to our communities is too much as it subjects them to a prolonged interrupted supply of water, therefore it can no longer be left unabated. The leadership of the municipality is currently engaged in site visits under the theme Operation Mbo to monitor the state of water supply in different municipal wards,” said Mqadi.
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