Latest news with #ZwakeleMncwango
The Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald
ActionSA branch launch in eThekwini cut short after shooting incident
ActionSA's launch of a new branch in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal was suspended on Sunday after a shooting incident. The incident took place in full view of party president Herman Mashaba and provincial chair Zwakele Mncwango. Party members scurried for cover as one of the gunmen who arrived in a Toyota Quantum fired shots inside the venue. Some party members managed to disarm the gunman. Mcwango confirmed the incident and said the men stormed the meeting venue and started shooting. 'We managed to disarm the suspects and took them to Sydenham police station,' he said. Mncwango said the branch launch had to be cancelled because members were terrified. He said they want the suspects to reveal who sent them. Mncwango has many enemies in the province for his stance against corruption in the provincial government and eThekwini municipality. He has spoken out against corruption in the department of health and education in the province and eThekwini municipality officials who are allegedly implicated in fraud and corruption. In a media statement on Sunday, Mncwango said they were left with the difficult decision to cancel the planned branch launch for Ward 25 in eThekwini after a violent and deeply concerning attack on their activists. 'Several shots were fired during the incident, and fortunately, the perpetrator was successfully disarmed. Unfortunately, one of our activists was physically assaulted and sustained injuries during the altercation. Due to the seriousness of these attacks and in the interest of ensuring the safety of our members and activists, including our president Herman Mashaba, we made the difficult decision to cancel the branch launch,' he said. Mncwango said this incident serves as a stark reminder of the history of political intolerance in KwaZulu-Natal. 'It is a direct infringement on the rights of South Africans to freely support the political party of their choice without fear of intimidation or violence,' he said. He said that as they approach the 2026 local government elections, they are calling on all political parties and their members to foster an environment of respect and tolerance. 'It is a shame that in our quest to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans, we have found ourselves under attack for simply engaging with communities,' said Mncwango. He said they have opened a criminal case at the Sydenham police station. The suspect and his co-accused are expected to appear in court on Tuesday. 'I believe this gunman was sent by someone who is trying to intimidate us. What they are doing is not going to succeed,' he said. Mncwango said they will follow the case until the end. KwaZulu-Natal police had not responded to questions sent to them by TimesLIVE. The story will be updated with their comment when received. TimesLIVE
IOL News
29-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Controversial R70. 9 billion budget approved by eThekwini Municipality
The eThekwini Municipality approved a R70.9 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year at the ICC The eThekwini Municipality approved a R70.9 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre Complex on Thursday. This decision comes after Mayor Cyril Xaba presented the budget on Monday, where he highlighted key priorities such as infrastructure development, job creation, and enhanced service delivery. However, while the budget was passed, several political parties including ActionSA, the United Independent Movement and the Democratic Alliance (DA) rejected the budget, arguing that it "fails to adequately address the needs of our citizens." "The budget fails to provide sufficient funding for critical services such as public transport, crime prevention, and land management. The allocation for public transport is insufficient to address the needs of our growing city, and the lack of funding for crime prevention will make the situation worse. "Thirdly, the municipality's financial management is a major concern, " KZN Action SA leader Zwakele Mncwango said.
TimesLIVE
27-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Mncwango spread false info over fan park tender: eThekwini mayor Xaba
eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba has warned ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal leader Zwakele Mncwango against spreading 'false information' about the tender process for the Nedbank Cup final fan parks. The city set up two public viewing areas (PVAs) at the Durban beachfront and Albert Park to accommodate supporters who weren't able to buy tickets for the Cup final between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium earlier this month. The build-up to the match was marred by safety concerns in and outside the stadium after disappointed fans threatened to force their way inside the stadium or to protest in its vicinity when it emerged that online ticket providers Open Tickets and Computicket had over-issued more than 10,000 tickets above the stadium capacity. While this was swiftly corrected and refunds were promised, some fans had already made travel and accommodation arrangements from Gauteng and elsewhere, prompting the city to host the free fan parks. Mncwango, like many other organisations, welcomed the initiative but also called for transparency and accountability around processes followed in issuing the tender. The ActionSA caucus leader in eThekwini council submitted questions to city manager Musa Mbhele, mainly seeking details about the service provider, the procurement processes followed to appoint it, as well as the money spent.
IOL News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
eThekwini Municipality's investment in Metro FM Music Awards sparks debate
The eThekwini Municipality has announced that Durban will host the Metro FM Music Awards. Image: Willem Phungula The announcement that the eThekwini Municipality is to host the Metro FM Music Awards has drawn mixed reactions from city councillors and ratepayers. Some councillors felt the idea was not negative, as the City does need to be competitive. However, a ratepayers group said the city should not be involved in such sponsorships, suggesting that there are many businesspeople who could have been approached to fund the event. Last week, the City announced that it has committed to an agreement to be the host city of the popular Metro FM Music Awards, with an investment of R25 million over the next three financial years (2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28). This partnership positions Durban as a leading events destination, boosts tourism, creates jobs, and enhances the city's brand visibility, both nationally and internationally, it said. ActionSA councillor Zwakele Mncwango expressed concerns about the process followed in the approval of this deal. He stated that while the City needs to compete for events, the issue lies in how the funds are being spent. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading 'We have not seen any report before council, and the fact that it is being announced before the council, which is the highest decision-making body, has a say, tells us that council is being used to rubber stamp this decision by the officials. This should have come to council first before they committed to hosting the Metro awards. The decision disregards the role of council. One wonders if the deal has been signed; that will be a concern for us as Action SA, that it is coming from which budget as we have not budgeted for the Metro,' he said. Ish Pradlah also expressed concerns, stating, 'Why does the City of eThekwini want to spend so much money on the Metro FM Awards when we have such big businessmen and companies that benefit and get awarded tenders from the City and rake in millions from the city coffers and ratepayers' money? 'They should be the ones to sponsor awards like this and make it less of a burden for the ratepayers. Rich businessmen and entrepreneurs should give back to the City of eThekwini and lessen the cost to the city.' THE MERCURY
IOL News
06-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Concerns rise over eThekwini Municipality's cash coverage amid R35 billion consumer debt
The Durban City Hall serves as the seat of local government, the eThekwini Municipality. Concerns have been raised about the municipality's cash coverage. Image: : Leon Lestrade Independent Newspapers THE amount of money the eThekwini Municipality has on hand to continue functioning in the event of a financial emergency has raised concerns among city councillors, who believe it is too 'little' and could lead to failure to deliver services. Councillors are calling on the municipality to aggressively collect on outstanding debts to ensure it has enough cash available to maintain operations in case of a financial calamity when it might be unable to collect revenue. They said having considerable cash on hand was critically important in light of a double-digit tariff increase that could come into effect in July. They expressed fears that the tariff hikes could lead to more people failing to pay for services. The municipality is owed close to R35 billion by households, businesses, and government departments. Councillors expressed extreme concern about the municipality's cash coverage over the last few months, which they say has been low. They said in February, cash coverage was less than a month, but it has since improved to around 38 days. A local government expert, who didn't want to be named, said the National Treasury's benchmark for cash coverage should be between 30 and 90 days. For instance, if there were a national shut-down and no one paid anything, the question would be how long the municipality could continue its operations. A report on the finances of the municipality tabled before the finance committee on Friday detailed the matter of cash coverage, revealing that the municipality has just 38 days of cash coverage compared to the norm of one to three months. 'This ratio indicates whether the municipality has enough cash coverage to meet its monthly fixed operational costs, with the norm being one to three months. The municipality has reported a ratio of 38 days, excluding unspent grants, and 43 days, including unspent conditional grants,' the report said. ActionSA leader in eThekwini Zwakele Mncwango remarked that the situation is better than it was in February when cash coverage was less than a month. He emphasised that a large municipality like eThekwini should ideally have at least two months' cash coverage. 'The chief financial officer informed us that part of the reason for the low cash coverage is that more money is paid out in months like December, while rate-payers tend not to pay during that time.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ However, Mncwango expressed scepticism about this explanation, stating, 'You cannot have a situation where someone owes the city a million rand and the city continues to provide them with services,' he said. DA councillor Mxolisi Khubisa also expressed concern over the cash coverage, warning that the city is at risk of failing to meet its debt obligations. 'In the last finance committee meeting, we noted a concern in the Section 71 report/budget that was presented, indicating an increase in the cash coverage ratio.
