Economy dominates State of City address
City of uMhlathuze Mayor Mdu Mhlongo concluded his fifth and final State of the City (SOCA) address at the eSikhaleni FET sports fields on Saturday.
‘OF course challenges will be there as we did not achieve every single aspect with perfection, but our victories far outweigh our failures.’
With these words, City of uMhlathuze Mayor Mdu Mhlongo concluded his fifth and final State of the City (SOCA) address at the eSikhaleni FET sports fields on Saturday.
Economic growth was clearly the hallmark of impressive past year achievements and future priorities, including:
• Supply chain management policy to promote local sourcing set aside 40% of procurement for youth, 40% for women and 20% for people living with disabilities.
With 81 of 136 employed in the past year being youth, they now constitute 60% of the City’s workforce, with 90% of these hailing from local communities.
• A new blueprint for economic development, transformation and job creation by the city, government and social partners, can create at least 6 200 jobs by 2020 and 18 645 by 2030.
• Progress has been made on initiatives to stimulate growth, including: Richards Bay Waterfront Development; International Convention Centre; Airport City; Ridge Estate Development; Empangeni CBD Revitalisation; Richards Bay CBD South Extension; Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone; and the John Ross Eco Park.
• Township economy revitalisation and modernisation initiatives focusing on eSikhaleni, Nseleni, Ngwelezana and Vulindlela will allow for the absorption of SMMES, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour force into formal and informal economy sectors.
These include: transport; urban agriculture; creative industries (arts, craft, fashion); cultural and heritage tourism; light manufacturing and artisan industries; eventing and catering; leisure; lodging; health and medicine; and property.
More than R10-million worth of construction projects will be allocated directly to SMMEs in the next financial year.
• As a beneficiary of the Oceans Economy Project, expansion of the Richards Bay Port, the possibility of establishing a ship repair and maintenance facility, oil and gas hub, development of a container handling capacity, as well as the establishment of a maritime school, will be realised in the next few years.
• A ‘one stop shop’ dedicated to business support for SMMEs and young entrepreneurs will be prioritised. SMME Parks will be established in Richards Bay and eSikhaleni.
Empangeni Market Stalls (A rank and B Rank) and upgrading of Taxi City in Richards Bay have been completed and the development of market stalls at eNseleni is currently underway for a total budget of R3,5-million.
Water needs
The drought and water shortages received focus.
‘We have opted to invest in building reservoirs across the city as we lack significantly with that infrastructure,’ said Mhlongo.
‘This will better our chances of fighting the drought and making us less reliant on dams.’
Water and electricity infrastructure also takes priority, and the city will be building a 120MVA sub-station on the John Ross Interchange Development to leverage more investment.
A replica sub-station is in the pipeline for Nseleni.
Cllr Mhlongo called for constructive debate in Council when it grows from the present 60 to 68 seats after the local government elections, which will see the incorporation of Ntambanana.
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