THE uThungulu District Municipality has set the benchmark for best practice in local government countrywide after being named the ‘best run municipality’ during the KZN Premier’s Service Excellence awards ceremony in Durban on Thursday.
The annual awards honours civil servants, government departments and municipalities who have gone the extra mile to achieve excellent service under the principles of Batho Pele (putting people first) in the public service.
This includes service standards, courtesy, openness and transparency, dealing with complaints, giving best value, encouraging innovation and rewarding excellence.
uThungulu scooped the prestigious award with an entry showing a consistent record of financial prudence and sterling performance management through integrity, accountability and transparency.
The municipality triumphed with its impressive track record of clean audits and its award-winning Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
The district has remained in the top 10 IDPs for more than 10 years and has won the ‘Best IDP in KZN’ seven times.
Playing an important role in kick-starting and facilitating economic development in the region, the district was further lauded for uplifting rural areas by providing basic services such as water and sanitation.
Proud of projects
‘This is a humbling award,’ said District Mayor, Thembeka Mchunu.
‘It encourages us to work harder to provide services to citizens. We are proud of our benchmark projects including the bulk water schemes, fresh produce market and biogas electricity projects in rural areas.
‘If we have not covered a particular area yet with services, we are still coming to them. Every home must have electricity and a tap in their yard,’ Mchunu told the Zululand Observer.
KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu praised the professionalism and adherence to strong ethical standards displayed in the public sector adding that these high standards had restored confidence in the public sector.
Better life
‘Hosting the awards in July is very timely and appropriate because it gives us the opportunity to promote the legacy and values of Tata Nelson Mandela,’ Mchunu said.
‘Tata Madiba believed that the State was the only instrument available to ensure a better life for our people.
‘It was Tata Nelson Mandela, as the first president of a democratic South Africa, who spearheaded the transformation of the public service. We want to pay homage to civil servants who have been part of the transformation of the public service.’
It is amazing because there are people who doesn’t have water like Macekane and Ntambanana(Mvazane)