MOOI-UMNGENI TODAY Online Edition 4/2020 Covering: Mooi River, Bruntville, Rosetta, Nottingham Road, Lidgetton, Balgowan, Currys Post, Howick, Karkloof, Mpophomeni, Merrivale, Hilton, Cedara, Impendle POTHOLES Infrastructure in our local municipalities is crumbling. Years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance has left hundreds of kilometres of roads in disrepair. Despite residents diligently paying their rates and taxes, our roads have become a daily hazard that place lives at risk. The Democratic Alliance is pressuring your local municipality and the Provincial government to step up and take the necessary action required to fix our roads. Wasteful expenditure and bloated staff budgets can be reprioritised to replace and maintain basic infrastructure. IN THIS EDITION A MESSAGE SAFETY OUR COVID-19 FROM THE MPOFANA APPLY TO BE A MATTERS CONTRIBUTIONS UMNGENI UPDATE COUNCILLOR CAUCUS Page 2 Page 3 Page 5 Page 7 Page 12 Page 1 SAFETY AND SECURITY Police brutality in the spotlight The DA’s fight for safer rural communities (IPID). The DA has exposed this brutality and has been at the forefront of our agenda in will continue challenging the authoritarian the 6th Parliament. creep of the ANC’s incapable state. Now more than ever we need to stand up for and Last year the DA launched our Rural Safety protect our constitutional democracy. The Plan which makes the case for a more ANC’s authoritarian alternative is not an community based policing. The plan option. recognises the limitations of the state in the critically under resourced and inadequately trained South African Police Service (SAPS) and it enables rural communities to play a more intimate role in their own safety and that of their communities. The frequency and violent nature of farm attacks and murders as well as other rural crimes is a cause for great concern and deserves more attention from SAPS and government in general. During the lockdown the DA was shocked to hear that Neighbourhood Watches and CPFs would be prevented from operating. I immediately wrote to the Minister of Police requesting a rethink of this decision especially insofar as rural community safety structures are concerned. After a long battle, I am pleased to announce that SAPS has, last we e k , l i f t e d t h e b a n o n C P F s a n d Andrew Whitfield MP N e i g h b o u r h o o d Wa t c h e s t o p a t ro l . DA Spokesperson on Police Lockdown has brought with it some strange and irrational decisions from government, but it has also exposed the incapable state under WATCH THIS ONLINE the leadership of the ANC. DA Leader John Steenhuisen What is most concerning, however, is that address the issue of safety in lockdown has exposed the violent nature of rural and farming communities. the state through the excessive use of force by our law enforcement agencies. Police https://www.facebook.com/ brutality is over 30% up from the same DemocraticAlliance/videos/ period in 2019 and there have been more 643030593094274/ than 50 complaints relating to deaths at the hands of the police referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate SAVING LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS Page 2 OUR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GENEROUS DONATIONS - R25 000 - Through your generous - contributions the Democratic Alliance in - Mpofana, uMngeni and - Impendle has managed to raise R18 500 towards - assisting vulnerable - R18 500 communities. We have also received thousands - of Rands of in-kind - donations. - THANK YOU - - - - Picture (left & above): Volunteers knit and donate - beanies and masks to our communities - - - Picture (left): working with local NGOs to distribute food relief PLEASE WEAR A FACE MASK IN PUBLIC FOR MORE FAQs PLEASE VISIT: https://www.da.org.za/defeatingcoronavirus Page 3 WHY ACTIVISM WILL SAVE YOUR COMMUNITY “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. The respected cultural anthropologist how the balance will be tipped, and how we will Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that get the 8% more needed to win uMngeni. a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only So please become a volunteer, and be the change thing that ever has”. you want to see in uMngeni. There is so much to do, and so many ways to help. You can take Her rejoinder has proved resoundingly true over responsibility to be the go-to person on your the years. As human rights have advanced over street, help in our outreach program, support our the centuries, volunteers serving a cause greater street "blue waves", assist in fundraising, and than themselves have been at the forefront of many more. It's entirely up to you. Just contact civil rights movements, fighting slavery, your local councillor or find us on Facebook promoting equality before the law, and building @DAUmngeni social and charitable institutions, to name only a few. See you soon! In our own community and time, just think of the many NGO's and legions of individuals who are volunteering by supporting health care initiatives, sewing masks, or organizing food parcels. Change in uMngeni is no different. Our public representatives will do all they can to bring about a new local council that will deliver quality services for rates levied, but ultimately it will volunteers that will tip the balance. Why is this? In the last local elections, uMngeni had one of the highest registration as well as turnout rates in the entire country, around 85% in both cases. Notwithstanding this, that still means that close Greg Krumbock MP to one in eight of potential DA supporters were Mooi-uMngeni Constituency Head not registered to vote, and around the same DA Member of Parliament number were registered but did not vote, despite every attempt of our public representatives to encourage them to do so. This is slightly more https://www.facebook.com/ than the current ANC majority on the uMngeni daumngeni/ council! Every one of these unregistered or non-voting residents has family, friends or neighbours, 082 323 1191 sometimes all three. This is where volunteers come in. With volunteers in every suburb and every street, we can ensure that every person we need to engage to register and vote is visited by [email protected] someone they know and trust to do so. This is VOLUNTEER TODAY Page 4 A MESSAGE FROM THE UMNGENI CAUCUS There is nothing like a disaster to highlight the competence, or lack thereof, of a government. This has certainly been the case in uMngeni where the lockdown and uMngeni’s response to it, or lack thereof, has highlighted a competency gross deficit in the office of the Municipal Manager. An example of this incompetence is that the uMngeni 2020/2021 Draft Budget which should have been available for public comment from the 31st of March, was only made available at the end of May, 2 months late and leaving little time for meaningful public comment. The DA in uMngeni has gone through the draft budget and will be making the following submissions amongst others. • The proposed rates increase of 4.4% from 1.58c/R to 1.65c/R and Cllr Janis Holmes proposed refuse removal increase of 4.5% must be deferred for at DA uMngeni Caucus Leader least a year at which point the municipality must reassess the affordability of any future increases given the economic legacy of Covid-19. • The proposed electricity increase of 6.22% is in line with the NERSA approved increases. The DA will be asking that uMngeni look into the use of independent power suppliers going forward to reduce reliance on ESKOM, reduce tariffs and lessen the effects of national load shedding on our local economy. • We feel that the budgeted allocation for employee related costs is far too high and continues the trend of wage increases exceeding consumer inflation. Whilst most uMngeni residents are tightening their belts and going without, uMngeni municipal employees will be receiving a 6.25% increase in July and a 13th cheque! The DA will be asking that uMngeni apply for exemption from bargaining council increases and for NO INCREASES to be applied in the upcoming year and for NO 13th cheques for all employees. Clause 11 of the bargaining council agreement allows for this in the case of the municipality not having the capacity to afford the terms of the agreement if it is having cash-flow problems and unexpected economic hardship. We have already voted against a councillor increase of 4% and cost of living senior management increases, the ANC majority unfortunately won those votes. It is entirely unfair for local government employees to reap continued benefits when the community they serve has lost income and suffering economic hardship due to “stay at home” directives from the national government. • We will also be opposing the use of R4 million to purchase land for housing in the Karkloof. If there will indeed be “strict adherence to the principle of no project plan, no budget” then this vanity project of the Mayor’s must be stopped. Council has not yet seen a plan or needs assessment for housing in the Karkloof and cannot support the purchasing of land for the benefit of the Mayor’s extended family when housing projects in other parts of the municipality, which have plans and approved beneficiary lists, have stalled. • We will suggest that the budget for road repair is doubled. The proposed R7.9 million budgeted for road repairs is insufficient given the backlog of repairs and dangerous condition of our roads.