Maritzburg will rise again, MEC promises

The Msunduzi municipality has been placed under administration because of the decline of governance and service delivery over the past months, KwaZulu-Natal economic development, tourism and environmental affairs MEC Sihle Zikalala said.

“On behalf of the ANC, I should apologise to especially the business community and the community of Pietermaritzburg. We should apologise and commit ourselves to rectify this.”

His apology to local businesses, which included the Msunduzi Economic Development Agency (Meda) and the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB), came just days after cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube held an

in Caluza to explain to residents why the city was placed under administration.

Zikalala said the ANC-led government had observed that for a while Msunduzi has been dysfunctional and there was failure to hold councillors accountable. This, in turn, had affected service delivery. “There has been unacceptable, ongoing failure of council to resolve service delivery issues like waste management, roads and street maintenance, as well as electricity services,” said Zikalala. Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas had fallen behind Durban and Richards Bay when it came to economic development, reflecting poor political leadership, but this would now be addressed, he said.

“It is time for a fresh start in this municipality. After a long period of instability and poor results, the people of Pietermaritzburg deserve that we give them a municipality they can be proud of through our hard work and flawless performance,” said Zikalala.

The MEC commended both the PCB and Meda over their continuing effort of raising issues that concern them and commitment to working with government, labelling the business formations the real patriots.