KZN News Bites: Provincial by-elections set to be postponed 

Sihle Mavuso presents the latest news from around KwaZulu-Natal. 

Pietermaritzburg – The Pietermaritzburg High Court will on Thursday hear the urgent application filed by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, to have by-elections in the province postponed until after the 29 May general elections. Should the court grant the order, the much-awaited Umzumbe by-election scheduled for 24 April would be postponed. Here the ANC is up against Sbonelo Maphumulo, its former speaker in Umzumbe, who has since joined the MK Party. Another by-election that will be postponed if the court gives the nod is Newcastle, where the IFP seeks to snatch a ward from the ANC and tighten its grip on the municipality. 

Hluhluwe – Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the conservation organisation WWF South Africa have started a joint process to dehorn the rhino population in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in northern KZN, to prevent the animals from being poached for their horns. Of the 325 rhinos lost to poaching in KZN in 2023, 307 of them were lost in the flagship game reserve. Ezemvelo CEO Sihle Mkhize said while the process is costly and takes time, it is the only option they have to save the endangered species. 

Ladysmith –  Sizwe Gamede and his mother Norah Gamede from Ladysmith, who were killed at the weekend will be buried on Sunday 21 April. It is believed that their murders are related to the ongoing taxi wars in the Klipriver Taxi Association. Sizwe, who worked in the taxi industry, was a close associate of Bhekuyise Masondo, the former chairperson of the taxi association, who was killed with his bodyguard last year. Gumede was driving his mother from work when gunmen pounced on them near the RTI offices along the R103 leading to the Ladysmith city centre. 

eThekwini – The eThekwini municipality has asked residents to use water sparingly in the next five days to allow its depleted reservoirs to recover. “This will allow the City’s storage reservoirs to replenish and eventually allow uMngeni-uThukela to recover its bulk reservoirs. The north, central, south, and western areas of the city are experiencing either water outages or intermittent water supply,” it said today. The troubled ANC-run municipality, which has been battling water and power cuts in the past few months, said water demand currently significantly outpaces supply. 

Durban – Former South African president Jacob Zuma has read the riot act to MK Party members who are jostling for positions. Zuma told a meeting in Durban on Monday that all the party’s structures are interim and the leadership uses their discretion to appoint people. He said he found it bizarre that some leaders try to resist when they are asked to give way for others to lead. According to the minutes of the meeting seen by Scrolla.Africa, Zuma said that members who are in MK for positions are free to leave and return to the ANC, where fighting for positions is a culture. 

Pictured above: Sizwe Gamede and his mother Norah were in this car when they were killed on Saturday. 

Image source: Supplied