In a bid to enhance the operational efficiency of the Okhahlamba Municipality, a comprehensive two-day Strategic Planning session was convened at the Alpine Heath Resort from 18 to 19 April, 2024.

During these sessions, the council and municipal officials engaged in robust discussions covering various critical aspects. Topics ranged from formulating policies and strategies for the upcoming financial year to addressing service delivery bottlenecks identified through the IDP/Budget Roadshow process, alongside reviewing the draft budget. Additionally, presentations were delivered by key stakeholders to enrich the deliberations. The session was facilitated by Mr. Eric Sithole of Nsikayezwe Management Consultants.

His Worship, Mayor V.R. Mlotshwa underscored the importance of establishing strategic alliances to propel the municipality forward, ensuring the realisation of its strategic objectives aimed at uplifting the lives of its citizens. He also stressed the significance of upholding the municipality’s clean audit status as a pivotal priority.

The overarching goal of these sessions is to enhance the municipality’s performance by prioritising community needs and effectively allocating resources within the constraints of the municipality’s budget.

The council, alongside stakeholders and municipal officials, reaffirmed their unwavering dedication to collaborating synergistically despite the escalating economic challenges, both locally and globally.

The Okhahlamba Local Municipality was honoured last night at the Municipal Excellence Awards, hosted by the KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, for achieving and sustaining a clean audit. We take great pride in announcing that for the 2022/2023 financial year, we have secured our ninth consecutive clean audit outcome from the Auditor General of South Africa. This marks our ninth clean audit within a ten-year period, a testament to our unwavering commitment to fiscal responsibility. We are profoundly humbled by this achievement.

Despite facing significant challenges during the 2022/2023 financial year, our municipality has remained steadfast in maintaining a clean administration.

A crucial factor contributing to our consistency is the collective dedication of our staff, whom we proudly consider as family. Together, we operate with a shared vision to empower and improve the lives of those we serve. Additionally, we have diligently implemented National Treasury circulars to enforce cost-containment measures and adhere to sound financial management practices. Furthermore, we have successfully adapted to new political leadership, fostering a positive working relationship based on oversight and a shared commitment to progress.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the council, our dedicated staff, oversight committee members, government departments, stakeholders, and the Okhahlamba community for their unwavering support throughout the year. Our success reflects your ongoing commitment, and we are truly grateful for your continued support.

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Today Okhahlamba Local Municipality hosted its annual Matric Excellence Awards ceremony which was led by His Worship, Cllr. V.R Mlotshwa. The awards ceremony commemorated the top 30 highest academic achievers across the municipality.

In his keynote address Cllr. Mlotshwa reminded the learners that “The path to achieving success is always undergoing development” and encouraged them to always remember their roots.

The Bergville Circuit Manager Cluster outperformed Estcourt CMC and Mnambithi CMC. The Bergville CMC secured an 88,9% pass rate followed by Estcourt CMC (81.7%) and Mnambithi CMC (78.4%). The Emangwaneni Circuit secured a 91.2% pass rate with its Class of 2023 securing 436 bachelor passes, 250 diploma passes, 127 higher certificate passes and one national senior certificate pass. The top-performing schools in the Bergville CMC were Amazizi High School, Qhozo High School, Maqoqa High School and Bambazi High School. All of these schools secured a 100% pass rate.

The top five learners in the Bergville CMC were: Bhekithemba Sthembiso Nduduso Xaba (Amaphisi High School), Sbongakonke Alwande Khumalo (Amangwane High School), Alwande Zamakhuze Bulelani Zikalala (Ngcongcosi High School),  Edwin Ntokozo Ngubeni (Ubulinga High School), and Asanda Nobuhle Zikode (Ukhahlamba High School).

The event was attended by councillors, learners, parents, teachers, principals, dignitaries from the Department of Education and municipal officials.

We would like to congratulate the Class of 2023, the CMC and all the schools under it, the student governing bodies and everyone who contributed to this success on their remarkable achievement.

Suraya Asmal

On Wednesday, Ithala Bank and Okhahlamba Local Municipality hosted an Imbokodo Iyazenzela Women in Business Workshop at the Sports Complex. The initiative was a multi-stakeholder partnership that included various governmental departments and role-players including SARS, EDTEA and Consumer Protection.

The workshop included information on Ithala products and services, Edtea Women Empowerment Programmes, Supply Chain Management Training, Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) business management and business plan development, Small Finance Development Agency (SEFA) financial support for SMMEs; as well as a KZN Treasury help desk which attended to the central supplier database (CSD) enquiries and registrations.

A large number of ladies from across the municipality attended the workshop and engaged in robust discussions where they raised pertinent questions and sought knowledge on improving their business skills.

As a municipality, we would like to thank our stakeholders for committing to improving the lives of women in our municipality through this informative initiative. We would also like to thank all the women who actively participated in the sessions that made this day a success.

The Department of Human Settlements Housing Unit is having a consumer education at the Mamfemfetheni Housing Project.

The project is at close out stage 1 and in the application process of of stage 2. Stakeholders involved include: Mr Dumisai Ntuli, Provincial Director DOHS (Consumer Education), Mr Dlamini (Rental Housing), Land affairs, and the municipality.

July thus far has been a very productive and progressive month in my working schedule. I have managed, inter alia, to formally notify and engage with community members from various wards of Okhahlamba Local Municipality regarding the pending road projects and introduced the contractors that have been tasked with the primary responsibility of improving our road infrastructure. Most importantly, jobs will be created in the immediate and sustained during the course of these projects.

The road projects include but not limited to:-

1. Hoffental, Ward 04 road L1526 – R3 501 391.03 budget – Contractor: Indumiso Yolwazi Holding
2. Sandlwana, Ward 05, road D2311, R2 899 651.78 budget – Contractor: Siyakutakulana
3. Hoffental, Ward 04, road D1376, R5 025 974.04 budget – Contractor: Lekganyago
4. Kwanobadini, Ward 03
5. Ngoba, Ward 03, road P388, R10 785 411.39 budget – Contractor: Jahanna Kalisha Reddy
6. Mhlaza, Ward 01, road P294 – R8 500 000 budget – Contractor JK Reddy
7. Mpondweni, Ward 01, road D742, R 8 300 000 – Contractor: Heshan M Contractors
8. Stulwane, Ward 14, Contractor: Zihlobo’s Trading
9. Ogade, Ward 8, R5 528 044.74 budget – Contractor: Golden Rewards 1850
10. Mazizini, Ward 06, R3 129 551.25 budget – Contractor: Magnacorp 522
11. Greenpoint, Ward 13 (2 roads D285 & D43), R5 933 973.49 budget – Contractor: Rishakwa Construction
12. Bhudlu, Ward 14, road D277 – R8 400 000 budget – Contractor: Global Mycel Investors
13. Acton Homes, Ward 11, Hershan M Contractors
14. Emangwaneni, Ward 11, R5 071 846.63 budget – Contractor: Hershan M Contractors

Overall, the projected value for all the road projects amounts to R30 691 819.40

The Service Excellence Legacy Committee that will lead initiatives to sustain improved service levels in Bergville was announced today. The team comprises of tourism business owners, members of the community and officials from the Okhahlamba Local Municipality.

#ServiceExcellenceStartsWithMe
#WeDoTourism

Bergville – The now formalised multi-million dagga industry of Bergville (Okhahlamba) in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is now expected to produce its first yield in the first week of April.

According to the mayor of Okhahlamba (Bergville) local municipality, Vikizitha Mlotshwa, the first yield will come from one of their three chiefdoms – Simahla area under AmaSwazi chiefdom.

He said it was a pilot project that has proven to be a success and they would now roll it out in the other two remaining chiefdoms under the municipality.

Mlotshwa was speaking to the media on Wednesday in Bergville where his municipality was giving feedback regarding the project which was first initiated a few years ago when the planting and use of dagga for medical purposes was legalised.

The Bergville area is notoriously known for its dagga trade which until the Constitutional Court in 2018 decriminalised the use of weed for personal use, was an underground activity.

Mlotshwa said it was wrong notion to say dagga was only used for leisure smoking, saying even in ancient times, it was used for medical purposes by the black community.

“This is how it will go, since in April it will be our (first) harvest we will then start preparing the soil since it was a pilot where only small hectares were used to plant.

“From now it would be on a bigger scale. Our bigger scale farming would start in September this year.

“Here our large scale dagga farming will be in the chiefdoms of Emaswazini, eMangwaneni (the Hlongwas) and eMazizini.

“For now we had only planted at Emaswazini because we were still piloting the project to see how it goes and we have realised that our soil is suitable,’’ Mlotshwa said.

In November last year, Mlotshwa told IOL that they have been granted licences whereby local farmers would take their yield to Inkosi (Chief). Some of the dagga from the local farmers will be exported to overseas markets like the US.

He said according to what they have now, all three traditional leaders (amakhosi) under their jurisdiction have been granted a licence to collect dagga from people and send it to a factory located near the town of Winterton.

However, he stressed that it would not be a free-for-all, as licences would be issued after getting a police clearance.

On Wednesday Mlotshwa also announced that they have finally won the battle to exhume from Pretoria and rebury bodies of 22 men from the Hlongwane clan who were executed on March 21, 1957 after what they called the ganja/cannabis war.

The men were sentenced to death after a brief battle between the apartheid police who wanted to stop dagga farming and angry locals. Mlotshwa said these men are heroes to the locals as they were the ones who started the long battle to have the dagga industry formalised since it was their livelihood.

The culmination of the reburial would happen on March 31 this year at the Bergville sports complex, just outside the town of Bergville.

sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
Source: Independent Online

The Department of Tourism, together with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs and Okhahlamba Local Municipality today held the Service Excellence Small Town Event at Drakensberg Sun Resort.

The Service Excellence Small Town Initiative is an initiative that is aimed at creating a platform that involves small-town partners, stakeholders, and communities in the implementation of the National Tourism Service Excellence Strategy and standard.

The event is a session that is meant to showcase and celebrate the strides gained in fostering a culture of service excellence at a small-town level.

#ServiceExcellenceStartsWithMe
#TourismIncentiveProgramme