Maritzburg ‘ought to be a metro’, says ANC

THE failure of the Municipal Demarcation Board ( MDB) to declare Pietermaritzburg — which falls under the Umgungundlovu region — a metropolitan municipality has robbed the region of increased private investment and additional state funding, says the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal.

The province’s co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) department and the ANC in the province have expressed disappointment at the board’s decision. The board announced municipal boundary changes across the country on Tuesday, of which the majority (30) will take place in KwaZulu-Natal. The province’s municipalities would shrink from the current 61 to 54 after the 2016 local elections.

Yesterday, co-operative governance MEC Nomusa Dube said: “As much as we welcome the MDB’s appreciation of these realities, we are disappointed that not all of Cogta’s submissions to the board have been adopted.

“We believe strongly that Umgungundlovu metro would help streamline the region's administration under one roof with one mayor and one council, redirect savings from such an arrangement towards service delivery, and open new opportunities for additional state funding, private investment and development,” said Ms Dube.

While the ANC welcomed the changes, the party also believed that Pietermaritzburg deserved metro status. “The ANC believes this needs further processing as this will open new opportunities for additional state funding, private investment and development for the district,” said Sihle Zikalala, provincial secretary.

Ms Dube told reporters yesterday that her department would appoint municipal technical change management committees to facilitate an orderly change of municipal boundaries.

She said the municipal managers of the affected municipalities and their heads of department would serve on these committees. “I wish to allay any fears there may be in respect of merging municipalities or where a current municipality will be disestablished and accommodated with adjoining municipalities. A process, with participation of all stakeholders, including unions, will be implemented to ensure a stable transition,” Ms Dube said.