Sihle Mavuso presents the latest news from KwaZulu-Natal.
Richards Bay – The SAPS task team sent to Richards Bay to stop the assassination of mining executives and the theft of minerals have arrested a man, 44, for stealing from Richards Bay Minerals (RBM). The man was found in possession of stolen zircon and chloride minerals worth R15.5-million. His abandoned truck was recovered in the KwaMbonambi area. Further investigation led the team to an address in Durban where the minerals stolen from RBM were later found.
Dundee – Yet another motion of no confidence has been tabled against the IFP mayor of Endumeni (Dundee) municipality, Siyabonga Ndlovu. The latest motion has been brought by the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC), the former alliance partner of the IFP. In his letter initiating the motion, ABC councillor Mbulelo Phakathi says the municipality, under Ndlovu, is in a state of financial paralysis and on the brink of collapse because service delivery has failed. He wants the motion tabled on 28 March.
Richards Bay – The chairperson of the South African Local Government Association in KwaZulu-Natal, Thami Ntuli, wants the pricing model for water supplied by municipalities to be reviewed. Ntuli says the pricing is grossly unfair as water boards that sell the commodity to municipalities continue to make profits because they are agents of the Department of Water Affairs, which sets the price for the bulk water that municipalities pay. Ntuli added that the funding model for infrastructure services assumes citizens can afford a cost-of-service tariff.
Ngwelezane – The man who stabbed his girlfriend to death in front of the public in February last year has been handed a life sentence by the Ngwelezane Regional Court. Nhlanhla Zikhali, 42, repeatedly stabbed Winile Zwane while threatening to kill any member of the public who dared to try to stop him. He fled but police nabbed him two months later.
Durban – The ongoing water crisis in Durban has spread to the Ngoqokazi settlement in Inanda. The new settlement now joins townships like Ntuzuma and Lindelani in going without water for days. On Wednesday morning, residents of Ngoqokazi were seen lining up in the streets with empty containers and wheelbarrows waiting for a water tanker that never came. One resident claimed that the last time they saw a water tanker was on Saturday after the taps ran dry.
Pictured above: Richards Bay Minerals recovered by SAPS.
Image source: Arrive Alive
