Newcastle Municipality is among seventeen municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal to be allocated a share of the R139 million designated for disaster relief initiatives. This substantial financial injection is a crucial step towards rebuilding and strengthening infrastructure in areas severely impacted by recent natural disasters across the province.
This significant development follows the announcement by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). The allocation of R139 million is specifically earmarked for disaster relief efforts across KZN municipalities.
KZN CoGTA has clarified that this funding, intended for immediate disaster response and subsequent recovery, stems from applications submitted by KZN municipalities severely affected by incidents that have inflicted billions of rands worth of damage throughout the province.
“The grant will provide much-needed relief to communities, facilitating the installation of new disaster mitigation measures and the improvement of roads, as well as water and sanitation infrastructure. This allocation also underscores the national government’s commitment to supporting the province’s ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts,” stated KZN CoGTA.
According to the government entity, the following municipalities are set to receive allocations from this grant:
- Umzumbe Local Municipality: R730,135
- Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality: R13,500,000
- uMsinga Local Municipality: R7,000,000
- uMvoti Local Municipality: R5,000,000
- Mthonjaneni Local Municipality: R8,000,000
- Ulundi Local Municipality: R6,200,000
- Nquthu Local Municipality: R9,300,000
- eDumbe Local Municipality: R10,000,000
- Abaqulusi Local Municipality: R12,000,000
- uThukela District Municipality: R7,000,000
- Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality: R11,000,000
- eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality: R9,000,000
- Newcastle Local Municipality: R11,000,000
- Zululand District Municipality: R13,000,000
- Mandeni Local Municipality: R5,000,000
- eNdumeni Local Municipality: R4,300,000
- Mfolozi Local Municipality: R7,000,000
To ensure stringent accountability across the various municipalities, KZN CoGTA affirmed, “The KZN CoGTA MEC is committed to exercising rigorous oversight to ensure these funds are utilised by recipient municipalities for their intended purposes, ultimately contributing to community recovery and resilience.”
The rigorous oversight promised by KZN CoGTA will be paramount in ensuring that every rand of this allocation serves its intended purpose, ultimately translating into tangible improvements for residents. This collaborative endeavour aims not only to repair past damages but also to build stronger, more resilient infrastructure for the future of KwaZulu-Natal.
What are your thoughts on the above? Share your views in the comment section below.
One Response
it will disappear or be spent on a foot bridge somewhere………
Look around, the town is falling to pieces, what happened?
Newcastle was once a proud , respected Town… Now it looks terrible… where is these “ward” councilors? where is the pride of the Town? you speak of evolution? all Newcastle is turning into is a crime hotspot rubbish dump………