The Department of Co–operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Ms. Nomusa Dube- Ncube encouraged voters to participate in the upcoming by-elections during her visit to ward 6 in Newcastle Municipality on the 5th of November.

The by-elections were prompted by the murder of ward 6 councillor candidate ahead of the 2016 local government elections. This candidate won her respective ward posthumously.

A prayer for peaceful and successful elections was conducted with the help of local ministers and pastors at the Siyathuthuka Sports Grounds Ward 6 and it was attended by over 3000 people
Amid this prayer Dube-Ncube called for political tolerance amongst all parties that will contest these elections.

“The tragic loss of life that we saw happen in our province brought back painful memories of the past,” said Dube-Ncube.

Dube- Ncube was accompanied by the Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa, The Treasurer General Dr Zweli Mkhize, Member of KZN legislature Mr Gcabashe, Amajuba District Mayor Dr Ngubane, Newcastle Deputy Mayor Cllr Sibiya, Newcastle Municipality Speaker Cllr Mkhwanazi, Amajuba District Speaker Cllr Rehman and Newcastle Municipality Municipal Manager Mr Errol Mswane
The by-elections will take place on Wednesday, 9 November, Ward 6 in Newcastle.

Community engagement at Itheku Mall

The strong contingent of the Newcastle business community descended at the Black Rock Casino on the 1^st of November 2016, to share their views in preparation for the provincial budget to be tabled by the MEC for Finance in KwaZulu-Natal, Belinda Scott, in early March 2017.

The budget breakfast, held in partnership with Newcastle Municipality, Majuba TVET College as well as Absa Bank, who sponsored the function, is a signature outreach for KZN Treasury with a view to engage with all sectors of the community to ensure a balanced budget for the province.

Mayor of Newcastle Municipality, Makhosini Nkosi during his welcome address, said the opportunity afforded to them as Newcastle residents was going to help them to influence the preparation of the budget for 2017/18.

“We understand the difficult task that KZN Treasury has in putting together the provincial budget under very difficult economic times. We have confidence in you as KZN Treasury and we applaud you for giving communities a chance to partake in the budget process”.

Bonga Nxumalo of Igalelozwide farming, said in order to address the challenges of unemployment, there was a need to bring the youth into agriculture. “We have a programme called smart farming and we need partnerships to ensure agricultural development,” he said.

Mandla Mthethwa said, “we have skills in Newcastle that we need to use to develop our economy and it is important for us all to have a full understanding of the budget so we can know the role to play in shaping our future”.

Other views include the need for more youth to be represented in the budget discussions because they are the ones who should make more input to help shape the future of this province as well as the need for Newcastle to focus more on agriculture.

Sanele Mlotshwa; Principal of Majuba TVET College, said their partnership in the budget breakfast is to emphasise the fact that skills development cannot be divorced from the budget and economic processes.

“The provincial budget must translate into service delivery and economic development through growth of businesses. For businesses to grow, they need skills. As a training college, we produce skilled people who will help in the development of our communities and we need our local businesses to afford them opportunities to showcase their skills and contribute to the economic development of Newcastle,” he alluded.

Faisal Mkhize; Managing Executive of Absa Bank, said it was inspiring for Absa Bank to partner with local stakeholders, especially Majuba TVET College, to ensure that they build, not only the economy but also develop skills that are desperately needed by our province.

“This is democracy in action. Government has come to Newcastle to share ideas on how better we can develop our province. We must grab these kinds of opportunities and make our views heard so we can together shape our destiny. As a private partner, we are further encouraged to see the National Minister of Finance putting more funds into skills development in the area of education,” said Mkhize.

Head of Department in the KZN Treasury; Simiso Magagula said, “When you develop the budget for the province, it is very easy to lose sight of the involvement of key stakeholders. We are here to engage with business so we can have a balanced budget process.

“There are a number of challenges that affect the preparation of the budget. One of them is the need to raise money for free education after protracted student protests, the need to secure and strengthen border security along the SA-Mozambican border. However, there are very good things that government has done with the budget. Today was the time to engage with business and take note of their views and this is what we need as government”.

The public must be aware that the Newcastle Municipality’s Customer Service Portal will, at no point, leak any person’s private information. The portal is 100% security compliant in accordance with security standards including https encryption and PCI payment gateway.

The municipality would like to thank the 874 customers who registered on the portal in August and the further 994 customers who registered in the month of September. The portal is a sure way to access your municipal account, download your statement and even sign-up to automatically receive e-Statements via email.

The number of unique daily logins have increased from 1411 in August to 1956 in September. 1213 customers have downloaded their statements in September and 812 e-Statements were emailed in the month of September.

The municipality encourages customers to utilize the feedback form that allows for both technical and non-technical support. Customers can log queries, comments and report system bugs by clicking on the Support tab – on the side of the screen:

The municipality has received and addressed 33 queries in the month of August, and 117 queries in the month of September. Queries that have been received so far range from customer profile updates, linking of accounts, registration assistance and other account related queries that are related to the Revenue Section.

The Newcastle Municipality encourages the public to be careful at all times when utilizing any e-commerce sites. There is a technique called Phishing, where a user receives an email requesting that they confirm the account number, credit card details and login details.

Please be aware that the Newcastle Municipality will never ask you to confirm your personal information, credit card details, account details, login details or any other information in an email. Such an email should be reported to the municipality without hesitation.

The Provincial Department of Human Settlements, led by the Honourable MEC R.R Pillay, the Amajuba District Municipality Mayor;  Honourable Dr. Musa Ngubane and the Newcastle Local Municipality; Honourable Cllr  Makhosini Nkosi gathered  with the community of Charlestown on the 4^th of October 2016 to officially launch the Charlestown Rural Housing Project. The appointed implementing agency was introduced to the community during the meeting with the project expected to commence on the 10^th of October 2016.

The project will resolve both the issue of service delivery and unemployment. The steering committee will meet to divulge a plan to employ community members, and the community will be convened to the meeting thereafter.

MEC R.R.Pillay outlined that the employment process should be conducted in an open and transparent manner, it should be fair and there should be equitable employment opportunities for all sections of the community which will address gender equity, 50/50% opportunities for men and women.

“Phase one of the project will cost R50 million and that will consist of installing the pipes for the clean running water and the sewer system, and the R150 million will build 500 houses. The total cost of the project is R200 million”, alluded Pillay.

The community was requested to own the project, by looking after it, by reporting all improper conduct executed either by the contractor, or the employees. The MEC concluded by advising the Newcastle Local Municipality to prioritize the issue of electricity and sanitation in Charlestown in its five years of administration and further persuaded the municipality to continuously give inspiration to it residents and the country as a whole thus enhancing good governance.

In an effort to raise funds for the CANSA relay taking place on the 15th of October, Mayor Makhosini Nkosi had to spend time behind bars until the public could bail him out with bail set for R10 000. The Mayor amazingly outdid himself by raising R40 000.