KZN still grapples with problems of aged infrastructure: Premier Sihle Zikalala

Premier Sihle Zikalala, says KwaZulu-Natal still grapples with problems of aged infrastructure and communities who are in need of piped water.

Zikalala spoke at the opening of the provincial annual planning Lekgotla under way in Durban. The Lekgotla is a high-level strategic meeting and takes place ahead of the State of the Province Address (SOPA).

Zikalala painted a grim picture of what the province went through last year during the July unrest, the impact of COVID 19 and increasing crime. He says parts of the province have old infrastructure that have an impact on the provision of water.

“We undertook a comprehensive assessment and in this assessment done by Cogta in KwaZulu-Natal examined the 54 municipalities that we have. The assessment indicated the challenges in the following areas infrastructure backlogs and gaps in the phase of urbanisation. On one hand we are faced with the infrastructure backlog but I would want to emphasize that we are faced with a challenge of infrastructure, infrastructure backlog is one of that. But on top of that is the aging infrastructure and aging and the backlog,” says Zikalala.

Zikalala also acknowledged that crime is a major concern in the province.

“The fourth challenge that is facing the people of KwaZulu-Natal is the whole issue of crime and this ranges from political killings, to traditional killings, to violence in the taxi industry and to killings that happens in communities which are perceived to be driven by high level of drugs. We do need to pay attention to that. These are issues that are affecting the people of KwaZulu-Natal on daily bases. KwaZulu-Natal is becoming a capital for murder and rape in South Africa we need to ensure that we get rid of this impression,” the Premier adds.

Zikalala calls for political parties to help end political killings in KZN:

Meanwhile, Zikalala also revealed that six municipalities have failed to utilise their Conditional Grants from national government which will result in the money having to be returned.

“Conditional grants are given by national government for specific services which are specified that municipalities need to attend to. They are either infrastructure, water or roads or anything and these municipalities are unable because some do not have project management units that must package projects and ensure that they are costed and implemented. These will include municipalities such as Ugu, uMkhanyakude, uMzinyathi those are three I can remember.”

The provincial lekgotla continues and various departments are expected to table their reports with solutions to fast-track service delivery.