EThEkwiniwEEklY BullETin

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20 november 2015 [issue 11]By 2030 eThekwini will be africa’s most caring and liveable city

“KeepinG yOu in The KnOW”

The ciTy communication Forum, where eThekwini Municipality will be working with stakeholders passionate about creating a

prosperous city, was launched on Friday, 20 november 2015 at the Durban inkosi albert luthuli international convention centre.The forum aims to create a platform

for committed stakeholders to engage in solution-driven dialogue to address challenges in the city as well as present new innovative ideas to improve the city.The launch was well received with all role

players who attended the event including representatives from the Durban chamber of commerce and industry, unilever, eskom, amalgamated Beverage industries, umgeni Water, Sapref, university of KwaZulu-natal, Durban university of Technology, aBSa, parastatals and government departments, eager to get started. The fi rst meeting will sit in February 2016, with a quarterly meeting held thereafter.

Delivering the keynote address eThekwini Deputy Mayor nomvuzo Shabalala said she was pleased to be part of the historical launch.“There is a lot of work the city is doing

that people don’t know about. To effect the change we want, we cannot do it alone. The slogan, together we can do more is very true,” she said.Shabalala said in recent years city leaders

have engaged in an intense marketing drive to put Durban on the global map.“i am excited about this platform as it

brings together the think tankers who are passionate about the city and will come up with solutions to improve the city. This will promote economic development. We believe Durban competes with some of the best cities in the world. We have to go out and claim our space in the world. We need more people that are passionate about their city,” she added.Governance and international Relations

Deputy city Manager Sipho cele said it was good to see interested stakeholders,

including the media, at the launch as it showed their willingness to participate in the forum.“i believe if we hold hands as the various

stakeholders in the fi eld of communication the messaging and impact we will make will be greater,” he said.head of eThekwini communications unit

Tozi Mthethwa said the city has a vision of being the most caring and liveable city by 2030 for all 3.5 million residents.“This vision can be achieved with the city

working with various stakeholders who are committed to communicating the story of the city. it requires a combined effort.”president of the Durban chamber of

commerce and industry Zeph ndlovu pledged their support saying this kind of forum is long overdue.“We need to align and synchronise our

language when we talk about Durban. We pledge our support to today’s launch as it is our civic duty to promote this great city to all visitors,” he said.

CiTY COmmuNiCATiON FORum DRiVes susTAiNABLe PARTNeRsHiPs

The city communication Forum, where eThekwini Municipality will be working with stakeholders in the private and public sectors, state-owned enterprises and diplomatic corps to share information and coordinate plans to promote and market the city, was launched on Friday, 20 november 2015 at the Durban inkosi albert luthuli international convention centre.

2 eThekwini weekly BulleTin issue 11

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EThEkwini aT Your SErvicEThe MunicipaliTy has established the youth Development Office as part of the Mayoral programme to ensure that young people are fully integrated into the mainstream economy and not be perpetually dependent on the state.This office facilitates the formulation of youth development policies to serve as council guidelines during the co-ordination and implementation of youth development programmes.in line with national Government’s youth development plans, the Municipality has prioritised youth and skills development by allocating a budget of R65.8 million towards youth development initiatives for the 2015/16 financial year. The city’s various skills development programmes including apprenticeships and internships across several units have empowered thousands of young people.Through large scale infrastructure projects, the Municipality has made significant strides towards skills enhancement and job creation.For instance, since construction started in april 2014 for the integrated Rapid public Transport network, GO!Durban , 2622 youth have been employed.The Municipality has also invested more than R77 million towards the Durban Business Fair over the past 15 years. This initiative has benefited small companies mainly headed by the youth. Some of these companies have achieved a turnover of more than R50 million and have created over 2000 sustainable jobs.

ROaDS for the Go!Durban project’s dedicated bus rapid transit lanes are being completed in stages for the integrated Rapid public Transport network (iRpTn). Regarding progress made,

construction work is well underway at two transport corridors namely c3 corridor, linking Bridge city, KwaMashu to pinetown and c9 corridor running between umhlanga and KwaMashu. Other significant strides made include the signing of a Memorandum of agreements (MOa) with the taxi industry in February last year and recently with bus operators, pending a signing ceremony. This was revealed at a media briefing this week to update the media on progress made on the iRpTn, Go!Durban project.head of eThekwini Transport

authority (eTa) Thami Manyathi said while the project is expected to take 15 years to complete, it will leave a lasting legacy in the city with a safe, improved public transport

model.he said almost 85 percent

of residents will be in close proximity to some form of the transport system.“We have designed the

complete transport solution for the city, we are now mapping out the implementation. Operational readiness will be our key focus in 2016 with the first corridor (C3) opening in 2017,” Manyathi said.eThekwini Mayor James

nxumalo said it was important to keep the public updated on the project. he went on a site visit to pinetown before the briefing and was impressed with the development thus far.The Municipality will be

meeting with bus and taxi operators to ensure there were no job losses in the public transport industry when the iRpTn project is implemented.The City is confident a win-win

solution can be found that benefits everyone. Go!Durban is set to

revolutionise the public transport system in eThekwini

by providing a safer, greener and more efficient system.Deputy head of eTa Mlungisi

Wosiyana said not all the 112 taxi associations in eThekwini would be affected by the iRpTn. “This will be an integrated

service with various modes. negotiation structures are being finalised and negotiations are expected to start in March 2016. Some operators may have to upgrade their skills from driving taxis to legally driving buses. We are doing a skills audit to determine necessary interventions. We will try to ensure there are no job losses,” he said.Wosiyana said affected

operators can opt for a payout for withdrawal of their operating licence or they can form companies that will be contracted to provide the services on affected routes. in return for the bus operating contracts, the affected operators will be required to withdraw their vehicles on that particularly affected route.

CONsTRuCTiON OF GO!DuRBAN PuBLiC TRANsPORT NeTWORK

WeLL uNDeRWAY

EThekwini Mayor James nxumalo was on site in Pinetown this week to inspect progress made with the C3 corridor, which will link KwaMashu and Pinetown. The C3 corridor is one of the first construction projects underway of the integrated rapid Public Transport network which is set to revolutionise the public transport system in the city. nxumalo interacted with workers while inspecting the work and was pleased with the progress made thus far.

issue 11 eThekwini weekly BulleTin 3

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in a concerted effort to rid the eThekwini Municipality of fraud and corruption, the city’s integrity and investigations unit (ciiu) has dismissed 51 Municipal employees found guilty of the unscrupulous practice in the last financial year. ciiu head, Mbuso ngcobo

said 392 matters were reported to his unit in the 2014/15 financial year. Out of those, 208 investigations were completed,13 people resigned while being investigated, 51 were dismissed, a further 39 were criminally charged and 82 companies were blacklisted.“as eThekwini we are adopting

a zero stance against fraud and corruption,” said ngcobo, explaining that the unit is primarily responsible for fighting fraud and corruption in the city. he said the unit regularly

offers staff pro-active and re-active programmes where eThekwini employees are educated about their role in eradicating fraud and corruption. The unit also offers external

programmes, where ward committees, businesses, schools and churches are urged to report fraud and corruption. Speaking on the eve of the

anti-Fraud and corruption Seminar, ngcobo said the unit relies on eThekwini employees and the public to alert them to cases of fraud. During the seminar, which

was held on Wednesday, 18 november 2015 at the Durban city hall it emerged that corporate businesses in South africa have lost a staggering R160 million in revenue because of fraud and corruption. The alarming figure was

revealed by the president of the Association of Certified Fraud examiners Sa, Servaas du plessis. Speaking at the seminar, anti-

CiTY TACKLes FRAuD AND CORRuPTiON HeAD-ON

fraud and corruption experts said the unscrupulous practice usually starts small before escalating, said du plessis addressing more than 300 people that had attended the one-day seminar. “Fraud does not only affects

service delivery, but it also skims money allocated to the poor. That is when the rich get richer while the poor get poorer,” he said. Zanele Mxunyelwa, a Senior

General Manager in the Office of the accountant General at national Treasury said fraud and corruption is a crime against humanity. “it slows economic growth in the country,” she said.Mxunyelwa added that her

office has referred 50 cases to court since the beginning of the year. Bulelwa Vimbani, a Senior

State advocate for the national prosecuting authority in Durban said her department deals with various fraud and corruption cases, including tender, medical aid, identity and procurement.

Sharing some of her department’s success cases, Vimbani said in the 2014/15 financial year her office had finalised 212 cases with a 97.2 percent conviction rate. her department is often

faced with several challenges, which sometimes hinder investigations. “Our cases stand and fall on evidence by witnesses,” she said. Vimbani said witnesses are

reluctant to testify when they get threatened and while they do offer them witness protection, many of them do not want to be taken away from their loved ones. “This means that we are

sometimes forced to withdraw cases, because of the lack of evidence from witnesses,” Vimbani added.eThekwini Mayor James

nxumalo said the seminar was long overdue. “in the current integrated Development plan, our Municipality has deliberately focused on steering the organisation on a path of compliance and rooting out fraud and corruption which has

undoubtedly set the necessary foundation for sustainable service delivery,” he said. KwaZulu-natal Finance Mec

Belinda Scott said government has a sound anti-corruption framework, inclusive of both strong legislation and institutional mechanisms, which require optimal utilisation.The seminar was organised

by the city to commemorate international Fraud awareness Week (iFaW) which runs from 15-21 november 2015.iFaW is promoted globally in

november every year as part of a campaign to raise awareness about fraud.in partnership with the

KwaZulu-natal provincial Treasury and the association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Municipality conceptualised a programme to mobilise all stakeholders to respond to the challenges of bad governance and improve on strategies aimed at promoting good governance.

EThekwini Mayor James nxumalo led a panel of experts at the anti-Fraud and corruption Seminar which was held at the Durban city hall earlier this week. it emerged during the seminar that corporate businesses in South africa have lost a staggering r160 million in revenue because of fraud and corruption. The City, government officials and stakeholders vowed to work together to tackle the scourge.

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if you would like to submit feedback or contribute to eThekwini Weekly Bulletin

EDiTorial TEaMEDiTor: Tozi Mthethwa, Head of Communications • conTEnT EDiTor: Gugu Mbonambi

wriTErS: nondumiso Mathomane, charmel payet, Ziyanda Dlembula & Mandisi hlatshwayo

DESign anD laYouT: Zakhe ntshingila

eMpOWeRinG aspiring and upcoming entrepreneurs to drive economic growth is at the top of eThekwini Municipality’s radical economic transformation agenda. This statement proved

true this week as the Municipality celebrated Global entrepreneurship Week (GeW) running from 16 november 2015 to 20 november 2015. This event was celebrated through a series of seminars held at various Municipal locations throughout the week. The Municipality partnered

with companies such as KpMG, Shanduka Black umbrellas, international labour Organisation, nedbank and aBSa among others. The event targeting Small,

Medium and Micro-Sized enterprises (SMMes) and co-operatives in the eThekwini area focused on leadership trainings, it also highlighted critical areas entrepreneurs need to understand as well as provide guidelines to drive women entrepreneurship and economic growth.GeW is the world’s largest

celebration of innovators and

emPOWeRiNG eNTRePReNeuRs

eTHeKWiNi COmmemORATes WORLD TOWN PLANNiNG DAY

eTheKWini Municipality in partnership with KwaZulu-natal Department of cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs and the South african planning institute hosted World Town planning Day to highlight the role of planning in creating liveable communities.The one-day event was held

under the theme “Building resilient and sustainable communities: post 2015 Development agenda” at the Durban inkosi albert luthuli

international convention centre on 17 november 2015.cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs Mec nomusa Dube-ncube emphasised the significant role played by planners towards developing resilient sustainable communities. “This day highlights the important role of planners in preparing for the future to create liveable cities for the people of KZn”, said Dube-ncube. She said although the

event is taking place when South africa is facing water shortages as a result of the drought and challenges associated with climate change, planning was crucial. “There is increasing demand

for planners to manage these changes,” Dube-ncube said.eThekwini Mayor James

nxumalo said the focus for local government should be on incorporating a more long-term and strategic approach to our city planning. he urged planners to

translate visions, values, and ambitions into practical programmes of governance, investment, and management. eThekwini Municipality’s

Deputy city Manager for Development planning, environment and Management unit, Musa Mbhele said the city involves communities in their planning processes. “We ensure that plans for the city are implemented through service delivery and we have reflective sessions to identify progress made,” said Mbhele.

job creators. it also helps with the launch of start-up businesses that bring ideas to life and drive economic growth.among the activities held

during the week was a youth agenda in Driving entrepreneurship Seminar and a women empowerment session aimed at the upliftment of both women and young people in business. By hosting an event of this

nature the Municipality hopes

to alleviate poverty and tackle unemployment through its continued support to develop SMMe’s.eThekwini Mayor James

nxumalo said the rate of unemployment which continues to loom large among those between the 15-34 age group means that the country needs to foster more youth involvement in economic and entrepreneurial development initiatives.

“GeW provided entrepreneurs with the platform to share and have access to information, support and the opportunity to network with potential investors and sponsors. This week entrepreneurs were provided with a suitable platform to state their business challenges and receive solutions on site on how they can best shape and advance their businesses,” said nxumalo.

aspiring entrepreneurs at one of the business seminars that took place during the global Entre-preneurship week