The Easter holiday season is synonymous with high crash and accident rates which claims too many lives and or incurs injury to our citizens. This ultimately negatively affects the country’s economy by millions of rands.

In order to influence the mindset of road users, it is vital that law enforcers create a euphoria of Omni-presence, especially over this notorious period. It is therefore the intention of Newcastle Traffic Services to embark on a rigorous high visibility weekend in order to suppress road carnages.

On Thursday 13 April 2017, Traffic services hosted a roadblock on Allen Street at Hilldrop. Attending this roadblock was Newcastle Municipality’s Deputy Mayor Cllr D. Sibiya, Executive Strategic Director for Community Services Mr. Mandla Sithole, Manager to the Mayor Mr. Andile Masondo and Chief of Traffic Mr. A.K Anandhaw

Welcome those who were present Deputy Mayor emphasized the importance of having traffic officers on the road during this season, she said that the lives of the passengers and even the drivers depends it.
“Motorists tend to get overly excited this season and end up drinking alcohol whilst driving, we need to send all those to jail because they are putting people’s life in danger. Speed is also a lethal offence, motorists should be held accountable for not adhering to speed limits” said Sibiya

Chief of Traffic Mr. Anandhaw said that there are many factors that contribute to these unacceptable behavior from motorists I.e. High volumes of traffic over a short period- increased travels to places of worship. Easter is the first long break since December holidays, thus migrant workers return to their homes and this increases traffic volumes, KZN is still the preferred tourist destination prior to the winter period.
“Road-user behavior- drivers do not obey rules of the road. They do not ensure that they are buckled up and the latest plague is the cellphone usage whilst driving. Pedestrians are also oblivious to road safety and pose a huge hazard in the road environment.” Continued Anandhaw

The Delegation proceeded to the road where they started spreading messages of road safety to motorists by engaging with them and also handing out road safety kits.

The Newcastle Municipality’s Department of Water Services held a three day water awareness campaign from the 5^th to the 7^th of April 2017, under the theme Water and Sanitation is a Human Right.

The main objective of the programme was to highlight the  importance of  preserving water and  educate  residents from the rural areas on the importance of yard connections, looking after infrastructure, illegal connections and the water status in Newcastle.

This is what saw the Department of Water Services visiting Lister Farm, Mndozo and Manzana.

Customer Relations Manager: Dr. Dumisani Thabethe said rural communities were the main target for this year as they have discovered that there are more illegal connections and residents are not aware of how to maintain toilets and report water loses in these areas

“We end up having more water losses in these areas, due to lack of awareness on the following; reporting of water problems, and honey sucker damage as a result of residents throwing disposable nappies and other foreign objects inside the toilets, “explained Thabethe.

Thabethe continued to remind residents about the water status of Newcastle from Charlestown, Normandien, Madadeni and Osizweni.

“We had a crisis in December last year where Ntshingwayo Dam was sitting at 40%. It was a difficult period and we ended up closing water and reopening the taps in the morning. We also had to reduce water consumption by 30% as per the directive by the Department of Water and Sanitation, “he stated.

Thabethe said Newcastle was fortunate enough for favorable weather conditions due to the recent heavy rains as the dam is currently sitting at 95%. He added however that this did not mean people should waste water.

“95% is nothing if we continue to waste water because we just might a have a drop to 10% as in the Western Cape which has been declared a disaster area because of the heavy drought,”he said.

P.R councilor Ruben Molelekwa said it would be sad if Newcastle had to run out of water that will require the provincial government to bring in trucks as it has been done in other towns.

“Let’s preserve water, without water there is no life, “added Molelekwa

He also added that ward councilors work tirelessly and go out of their way to ensure that services come closer to the people but if people vandalize and waste them, it becomes a setback for the municipality. He urged residents to take better care of water and other services as they will have no choice but to stop delivering in the same area as they are going around the same circle, he said.

Ntuthuko Madlala from customer care warned residents about the dangers of illegal connections and urged them to come forward and make applications for new connections at a cost of R1 900. The connection according to Madlala is a 21 working day process. He said it was important for each household to legally connect their own taps to avoid conflicts.

“When you connect illegally, you end up fighting with neighbors and it now becomes the burden of the municipality and the police while they were not there when you decided to break the law, “he said.

Madlala also reminded residents that if they connect legally, they have free access to services in case of leakages, residents can call the municipality to come and fix any problems.

The campaign ended on a high note as residents walked away with water buckets, t-shirts and water bottles after participating in a series of questions concerning water. 

“The year of OR Tambo: Unity in Action in Advancing Human Rights”

The 21^st of March, Human Rights Day South Africa commemorates the fallen heroes of the Sharpeville Massacre. Our Country can will always remember the 69 men, women and children killed and another 180 injured for standing up against the unjust “Pass Laws” of the brutal apartheid system.

As we reflect on South Africa’s journey as a free and democratic country which honours and promotes basic human rights for all its citizens, regardless of race, gender or culture, this year 2017 we also honour the life of Oliver Reginald Tambo who dedicated his life to the emancipation of black people that were oppressed by the apartheid government.

Oliver Tambo once said “It is our responsibility to break down barriers of division and create a country where there will be neither Whites nor Blacks, just South Africans, free and united in diversity.” In 1994 we moved from an oppressive South Africa to a liberating country that values the human rights of all, let us build a cohesive Newcastle Municipality that condemns racial discrimination‚ xenophobia and violence against women and children and all its prejudices against its cultures.

Report on heavy rainfall in Newcastle
This morning, 23 February 2017, the Mayor together with the SED for Community Services: Mr Mandla Sithole and Protection Services Chief Traffic Officer: Mr Ashok Anandhaw held a media briefing to report on the heavy rainfall.

During the briefing the following was reported;

Housing
Approximately fifty-five (55) households with two hundred and twenty (220) people were affected.
• No injuries or fatalities has been reported;
• Vulnerable communities have been evacuated as follows:
– Lennoxton, Paradise and Siyahlala-la to Fairleigh Community Hall, where mattresses and blankets has been distributed to 26 people.
– H39: it was critical to assist with the relocation of one (1) to Section 4, Madadeni Hostel and 16 informal dwellings were found to have flooding due to spring water from the ground.
– 7 families from Khanana, Section 3 and 1 elderly woman, who was allowed to spend the previous night at Osizweni Fire Station has been taken to Madadeni Community Hall; K24 and 994 were found to have sewerage flowing in the yard and children playing on this heavily contaminated water; nothing has been done with regards to clearing the stream that flows next to houses especially all the K666, 667 and 669; council has begun to raise all three critical houses recently identified as most vulnerable and of which its occupants are still housed at the Madadeni Community Hall; 2 Donkeys were found trapped in the stream and it is impossible to rescue without proper equipment;
– Ward 1 on the Memel Road the Brink’s farm – 11 houses were assessed in one area and 8 more on the other side. Total assessed was found to be 19 houses of which only black roof covering sheets were distributed. There is nothing more council can be due to spring water and the farm being a private property;
– Bosworth Farm, 21 houses has been assessed though not complete due to inaccessibility to other areas. Teams have been instructed to carry out Field Operations Guides (FOG’s) which could drag the assessment for longer than expected;
– Blaaubosch especially ward 12 has been assessed. Monitoring is on-going.

Traffic & Roads
The following roads remain closed:
• Newcastle Taxi & Bus Rank
• Terminus Street
• Sutherland Street
• Finnemore Street
• Kirkland Street by Factory Plaza and between Bird & Sutherland
• Ayliff by construction & cutting
• Umfolozi (Amcor Dam)
• Vezubuhle access road at Roypoint
• Drive carefully between Drakensburg between John Parks & Impala

Schools affected
• SE Vawda – Paradise
• St Oswalds – CBD
• Thembinkosi – Osizweni
• Siyalungelwa – Ingogo
• Collateral
– Lincoln Heights
– Suryaville
– Lennoxton

Relief Mechanisms
• Newcastle is providing tapolins, plastic sheeting and blankets. District is providing blankets, plastic sheeting, mattresses, gel stoves and pots.
• Red Cross, SASSA and 911 Newcastle (Business Community) is providing non-perishable food items.
• Department of Human Settlements and Newcastle Housing ill support temporal accommodation where some of these families will be housed in Siyahlala Housing Project which is currently under construction.
• Department of Social Development will support with temporal care centre should need arise.
• The PDMC is on standby to provide and coordinate support that will be required through the District JOC.

Financial Implications
The estimated cost to replace the transformer is approximately R4 million. At the moment, the Department is continuing with the assessment of a number of municipal roads and storm water infrastructure to determine the damages and costs of repairing.

In conclusion, the municipalities in partnership with PDMC, sector departments are conducting damage assessment and relevant relief material is being issued to the affected and needy households. Based on the assessments and verifications conducted, a comprehensive beneficiary list will be compiled and submitted to the Department of Human Settlements and/or relevant sector Departments to ensure that affected families get the necessary assistance to normalize their lives.