Ceding significant portions of the eThekwini municipality to the KwaDukuza (Stanger) municipality would, officials say.
|||Ceding significant portions of the eThekwini municipality to the KwaDukuza (Stanger) municipality would ensure equitable distribution of the province’s wealth and give the sustainablity of the smaller municipality a shot in the arm.
ILembe district mayor Welcome Mdabe confirmed on Wedesday that it was for these reasons that his district had submitted proposals to the Municipal Demarcation Board to have Verulam and Tongaat under KwaDukuza’s authority.
Subsequently, eThekwini might also have to part with the prime revenue generator King Shaka International Airport and Dube TradePort.
The board, responsible for determining city and provincial boundaries, is also proposing that eThekwini inherit at least 12 tribal areas. It will hold a meeting for all stakeholders tomorrow.
Mdabe argued on Wednesday for the merits of KwaDukuza’s possible gain, saying that there had to be a distribution of wealth.
He said the deliberations that had led to the proposal had looked at which communities served which economic centres.
“The people of Ndwedwe spend their money in Tongaat and Verulam. It’s the only economic hub they have, but it’s in eThekwini.”
Mdabe asserted that the argument that the metro had spent substantial amounts of money on development in the areas it could lose did not hold water. “State funds were used,” he said.
He dismissed concerns that if the proposals were approved, KwaDukuza and ILembe would not be able to provide services at the level to which ratepayers in Tongaat and Verulam were accustomed. “Zimbali falls under KwaDukuza – a… world-class estate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the tribal areas which eThekwini stands to inherit include KwaXimba, Mgangeni, Enchobeni, KwaNdaya, Toyana and Maphumulo. Sibusio Sithole, eThekwini’s municipal manager, said:
“We need to formulate a technical response on which wards will be affected, but there are also political issues.”
However, DA caucus leader Tex Collins said that the KwaDukuza municipality would not be able to match the funds that eThekwini had invested in the airport and Dube TradePort. “Durban is already the victim of a diminishing rates base,” Collins said.
Minority Front councillor Patrick Pillay warned that the impact on eThekwini’s ratepayers would be huge if the municipality inherited the tribal areas. - The Mercury