Firstly, let me take this opportunity to greet the Hon. Speaker of Council, Cllr SJ Shezi, Deputy Mayor, Cllr. NA Mthethwa. Members of the Executive Council and the whole Council. Humble greetings to iNkosi yesizwe sakwa Mpukonyoni, Shamase oMkhulu and Izinduna. Last but not least, greetings to the community of iNkosi Mtubatuba Municipality.

As we enter into the 5th generation of our IDP, it is with great pleasure that I get to address you as your Mayor, your first citizen. The people of iNkosi Mtubatuba have chosen us to lead this Municipality for the next 5 years, I therefore commit myself that we will provide nothing else but service delivery.

After 23 ward consultation meetings, that were done from the 10th of February to the 10th of March 2022, we have listened to every citizen and you the people of iNkosi Mtubatuba Municipality requested nothing else but a quality service.

It is with great pleasure that I embrace the opportunity to report on the progress in respect of what we pledge to deliver for the community of iNkosi Mtubatuba Municipality in the next 5-year period.

To start, the IDP has 6 Key Performance Areas which are as follows:

1. Municipal Transformation and Institutional Development;
2. Basic Service Delivery and Institutional Development;
3. Municipal Financial Viability and Management;
4. Social and Economic Development; Good Governance and Public Participation; and
5. Cross Cutting Interventions (Provincial KPA).
6. The KPAs have goals and strategic objectives and they are in line with the programmes and projects which we have the intention to implement over the next 5-year period in our endeavor to address the below mentioned interventions:-
   1. Cleanliness of Mtubatuba and St Lucia Towns;
      – As the Mayor of Mtubatuba, I launched the Cleanliness Campaign in Ward 5 Indlovu Village in partnership with Insika Foundation and Aquille and appealed to all Councilors to lead their ward-based cleanliness campaigns.
   2. Traffic congestion in Mtubatuba Town and lack of parking space;
      – We have engaged the Traffic Department regarding the enforcement of By-Laws.The existence of the afore-mentioned By-laws allows us to deal effectively with unruly and nuisance behavior in our towns. As such, we will be increasing the number of our Traffic Wardens, Traffic Experts to deal with the traffic and in the process generate revenue.
   3. Haphazard Street Trading and Unlicensed Businesses;
      – Our Local Economic Development unit, coordinated the informal economy and collectively they came-up with a register mitigate unlawful trading
      – The municipality is now actively enforcing trading licenses and doing business inspection to root-out expired foods. – We also looking at creating a flea-market for our informal traders to trade at a better market, especially those that deals with hand works.
   4. Encouraging participation in Arts, Culture and Sports
      – As we are to re-establish the function of all soft-programs and other special programs. We will therefore engage communities and form ward-based forums i.e. Arts and Culture Forum, Womans Forum, Mens Forum, Ward Sport Councils We are also actively engaging artists to turn their talents to business. – It is equally worth mentioning that Mtubatuba municipality has positioned sports as a way of life and as a trigger of business opportunities.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the public who actively participated and continue to support the Municipality during the process of the drafting of the IDP, working together with one objective in mind being to create a better future and to improve the lives of our communities. A word of gratitude to our Councilors through the Office of the Speaker, Honorable Cllr. SJ Shezi, for always putting the needs of our people first. Finally, the office of the Municipal Manager, Mr. TV Xulu, senior managers and officials are also acknowledged for their respective pivotal roles in ensuring that decisions taken are in support of the Council and its resolutions