Sihle Mavuso presents the latest news bites from KwaZulu-Natal.
Nkandla – The Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party has announced a presidential task team whose job is to stabilise the party in KwaZulu-Natal and improve its performance and visibility. The team has 17 members, including amakhosi, the youth and women. Among those appointed to the team are Inkosi Themba Mavundla from Port Shepstone, Inkosi Nhlakanipho Maphumulo from Pietermaritzburg, Induna Phumlani Mfeka, Sbonelo Nomvalo from Umzimkhulu and Wiseman Ngobese from Durban.
Pietermaritzburg – The former head of the eThekwini Parks and Recreation department, Thembinkosi Ngcobo, has filed court papers to fight off an attempt by former MEC Amanda Bani, who is trying to silence him. This follows a social media post last week by Ngcobo where he claimed that he was fired in eThekwini due to Bani’s alleged corruption. Bani, who reported to Ngcobo back then, unleashed her lawyers on him to take down the post and apologise. The matter is now with the Pietermaritzburg High Court on an urgent basis and Ngcobo is defending the lawsuit. The case will be heard tomorrow.
Durban – The eThekwini municipality says its efforts to restore problem buildings in the inner city are getting results. The programme involves revamping the buildings and painting murals on some of them to improve the streetscape of the city. It says on top of the 32 problem buildings that were identified in 2019 when the project started, another 32 have been identified for repairs.
Verulam – The water woes of Buffelsdraai in Verulam continue unabated. The areas that fall under the eThekwini municipality have been facing the challenge since April 2022 when floods hit Durban. The municipality brought in water tankers to service the community. However, residents allege that now even the water tankers seldomly service them and if one does come, it does not carry enough water to service all of them.
Durban – The police in KZN say out of the 9,595 suspects arrested in May alone, 145 of them were wanted for murder cases and another 186 were wanted for attempted murder cases. It also said during these arrests 295 illegal firearms and ammunition were confiscated. Worryingly, 205 suspects were arrested for rape and 12 were arrested for attempted rape, 32 for sexual assault and 155 for domestic violence, underlining the province’s problem with violent crimes.
Pictured above: The MK party has set up a presidential task team for KwaZulu-Natal.
Image source: Sihle Mavuso
