ANDILE MOSHOESHOE
HOPE for better services in the rural villages of the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipality was restored at the tabling of the 2026/2027 draft budget by Deputy Mayor Kholeka Hadebe on Wednesday, April 15.
The event at Gobhogobho Community Hall near Bulwer saw Hadebe commending the visible presence of senior officials who described their engagement with communities as vital and overdue.
She underscored the importance of leadership that listens, insisting that senior officials must confront, firsthand, the lived realities of the communities they serve.
The gathering brought together residents, civic formations, councillors and officials from both the local municipality and the Harry Gwala District Municipality.
At the centre of the engagement was a proposed R299 million budget, however, Hadebe conceded that it was constrained by a tightening global economic climate that continues to squeeze public resources.
She painted a sobering picture of a municipality grappling with limited fiscal space while facing mounting service delivery demands.
In a pointed appeal, residents were urged to register to vote, amid alarmingly low registration figures relative to the municipality’s population of over 150 000. Hadebe stressed that civic participation is not merely a democratic duty but a financial imperative, as government grant allocations are closely tied to population data and voter rolls.
“Communities that do not register risk being undercounted and ultimately underfunded,” she warned, framing voter registration as both a right and a strategic necessity for equitable development.
She disclosed that the municipality’s Municipal Infrastructure Grant stands at R33 million, with the Financial Management Grant at R2.1 million. The equitable share totals R166.5 million, while the disaster management budget is set at just over R2.7 million. Funding for community programmes has been trimmed to R24.3 million, even as overall grants and subsidies amount to R211.3 million.
Adding depth to the proceedings was Councillor Nondyebo Dladla of the Harry Gwala District Municipality who delivered a detailed and insightful presentation on water and sanitation responsibilities at a district level.
