JOINT TEAM TO FOCUS ON CLEANING UP THE CITY

A team of senior management from the Mayoral Parlour and Durban Solid Waste will work with supervisors from service departments responsible for keeping the City clean.

This will be done to ensure that tasks such as grass cutting, tree removal and the picking up of litter will be done at an accelerated pace.

This was announced by eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede at an Executive Committee meeting held today, 4 December.

Mayor Gumede said she has tasked senior management from Durban Solid Waste to work with Acting Head of the Mayoral Parlour Martin Xaba to deal with issues of cleanliness in the City.

“Firstly, since the storms experienced in the City there have been a number of tree stumps that need to be removed but no one is taking responsibility for it. This team will also monitor the serious issue of grass cutting and other issues around cleanliness in the City.”

She said while there are people on the ground working, the City was not clean. “We cannot celebrate Christmas in a dirty City. So this team, from my office, will be coordinating with supervisors responsible for the cleaning and maintaining of our City to ensure that people are working. We want to see the grass cut and litter being picked up,” said Mayor Gumede.

She said cleaning up the City and ensuring basic service delivery was in her manifesto when she took office and she aimed to deliver on these promises.

“I want it to be done now. I will deliver on my promise to residents to get the City clean,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said as we are entering the Festive Season she wanted to ensure that lifeguards have all the necessary tools they need to do their jobs. “It is within the budget so they must have everything they need for the very important job they do,” she said.

She also took the opportunity to thank City Manager Sipho Nzuza and his team for their hard work cleaning up the City.

“You have been cracking your whip and I can see a difference. I drive around the City and I have already seen improvements in some areas where there were issues. While there has been a lot of focus on the inner city we must also focus on the outer lying areas such as Phoenix where grass cutting is an issue as well as rural areas within our ward,” Mayor Gumede added.

NEW INNER CITY HERITAGE ROUTE TO BE LAUNCHED IN ETHEKWINI

The City will launch a new inner city heritage tourism route which will coincide with the switching on of the Christmas lights in the Central Business District (CBD).

Briefing the Executive Committee about the launch, Acting Deputy City Manager of Economic Development and Planning Phillip Sithole said the launch will take place on Tuesday, 12 December.

Commenting on the launch next week he said Durban Tourism has started a new tourism route which will be piloted this Festive Season.

“There will be a history, cultural and heritage route within the inner city. It is part of the urban renewal programme to bring people back to the inner city. The route starts at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre which was a prison before. It also goes along the Gugu Dlamini Park, the old Station Building, the Post Office, The Workshop which was a station previously, before ending at City Hall. Young people within the City need to be aware of our historical background,” he said.

The launch of the heritage tour will be done by Mayor Gumede and will be attended by youth from disadvantaged communities.

The event will also coincide with the switching on of the Christmas lights in the CBD, said Sithole.

“There will be a carnival to celebrate the switching on of the lights. The Mayor will switch on the Christmas tree lights which will automatically switch on all the lights. We invite communities to participate in this event. The event will start later in the day, at around 6pm, to have maximum impact in terms of lighting when the Christmas lights go on. This event is unique as we also will be launching the cultural heritage route in the inner City,” he added.

EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede welcomed the presentation on the launch and reiterated that the FESMAC plan will be presented in a report on Wednesday, 6 December at a pre-Full Council Executive Committee meeting.

She said as the Festive Season approached, and with Durban being a premier holiday destination, the City was ready to welcome visitors.

“We have an operational Festive Season Management Committee with all the relevant clusters to ensure we deliver yet another wonderful and safe Festive Season. On Wednesday we will have a full report at a special Executive Committee meeting that will be held before Full Council where the entire plan will be presented to us,” she said.

SUCCESSFUL INK BUSINESS INCUBATOR PROGRAMME EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS

Emerging construction businesses in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (INK) area will be supported through the INK Construction Incubator designed to assist businesses become more competitive in the market.

The Executive Committee tabled a report today, 4 December to enter into a three-year memorandum of understanding and a three-year lease agreement with the INK SEDA Construction Incubator.

The establishment of the INK Construction Incubator was aimed at providing support and mentorship to construction business based in the INK area. Since the establishment of the incubator, it has supported contractors in many areas in their businesses ranging from business, technical and site support on existing projects.

To date, two memorandums of agreement have been concluded with the first agreement concluded in 2010 which saw 28 contractors graduating from the programme. Based on the second agreement, the incubator currently supports 34 construction businesses in the INK area. These contractors will be graduating in 2018.

The incubator process model does not only provide a developmental pathway over a three year period, it also serves to provide its clients with opportunities to plan their business development and needs beyond that period.

The report stated that the eThekwini Municipality will provide the premises and infrastructure for the use by the SEDA Construction Incubator (SCI).

SCI will in turn design and implement the programme which will cover amongst others the tender stage, pre-construction, construction management and site supervision.

SCI will also be required to manage the implementation and operation of the programme and to plan, manage and coordinate external liaison activities. They will also monitor and evaluate progress of the incubatees and the programme, undertake regular assessments of emerging contractors and ensure that the programme is delivered efficiently and effectively.

The financial implications takes into consideration that the centre will support 35 contractors through its incubation services as well 25 extended public work programme through its learnership programme.

A budget of R10.4 million will be set aside from the Business Support Unit for a period of three years.

SCI will be required to submit a CEO’s report and an audited financial statement of each financial year to the Head of the Business Unit.

The report was welcomed by the Executive Committee.

EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede said she was very excited about this project and the impact it would have in residents’ lives.

ENDS

Issued by the eThekwini Municipality’s Head of Communications Tozi Mthethwa.