By Celani Sikhakhane
- Flooding in Dundee’s Sibongile Township killed one woman and damaged homes. KwaZulu-Natal sent R800,000 in disaster relief to Endumeni municipality.
- Sources say politicians and officials may have stolen flood relief money. Dundee victims got cheap sponges instead of real help.
Flood victims in Dundee were given cheap sponges and basic items worth far less than R800,000 in disaster relief money. Sources inside Endumeni Local Municipality say the money may not have reached the victims.
The flooding hit Sibongile Township on 7 December 2025, damaging homes and killing one woman.
The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) department sent disaster relief money to Endumeni Local Municipality to help the affected families.
Sources say some politicians linked to the funds worked with certain officials. Some officials believed they had been left out of the money.
Some councillors approached a politician who was said to have benefited from the funds and asked for petrol money. The politician refused and said he had received nothing.
This angered some councillors, who threatened to expose what they believed had happened to the money.
One politician believed to have benefited from the funds is said to have bought a filling station in Glencoe and a coffee shop in Ladysmith.
An official from the municipality’s technical unit resigned after rumours that he had leaked a report about how the disaster money was spent.
ANC councillor Thembelihle Zulu, who serves on the disaster portfolio committee, said councillors were still waiting for a full report.
“We are still waiting for the full report to be tabled before the committee so that we can have an understanding of how much was spent and how it was spent,” Zulu said.
Scrolla.Africa sent questions to Endumeni mayor Mncedisi Mkhize. His bodyguard said the mayor would return the call in 15 minutes, but the call never came. The phone later rang unanswered.
Pictured above: Endumeni Local Municipality offices.
Image source: Endumeni Local Municipality
