AMAJUBA
DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
PROFILE
TABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY / 3
1. / INTRODUCTION / 4
1.1 / Overview / 4
1.2 / Municipalities within the District / 6
1.3 / Political and Administrative Leadership and Seat of District / 6
1.4 / Political Representation / 6
2. / SERVICE DELIVERY / 8
2.1 / Household Infrastructure / 8
2.2 / Sanitation / 8
2.3 / Water / 8
2.4 / Electricity / 9
2.5 / Refuse Removal / 9
2.6 / Service Provider / 9
3. / AUDIT OPINIONS / 9
4. / STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSESSMENT / 10
4.1 / Overview of findings on assessment in the Municipality / 10
4.1.1 / Governance / 10
4.1.2 / Financial Management and Viability / 11
4.1.3 / Service Delivery / 11
5. / INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF THE MUNICIPAL TURN-AROUND STRATEGY / 11
6. / MIG PROJECTS / 13
7. / VULNERABILITY CLASSIFICATION / 15
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Amajuba District Municipality is predominantly urban with almost 60% of households located in urban areas. The largest concentration of people occurs in the Newcastle-Madadeni-Osizweni area. Income levels in the district are generally low. Unemployment has increased substantially to about 26.46%
The economy was historically focused on coal mining but many collieries have closed. Due to the decline in mining, local economic development has been forced to refocus. The manufacturing sector is the main employer but is concentrated in Newcastle Municipality.
About 64% of households in the district have piped water either inside the home or inside the yard. About 49.6% of households have flush toilets that are connected to a sewerage system of some type. Amajuba district has the second highest access to infrastructure amongst the districts in the province. However, an overview of household access to infrastructure in the district shows a slight improvement from 66% in 1996 to 67% in 2009. A downward trend can be observed in access to electricity in the district. In 1996, household access to electricity connections was at a high level of 72%. Access has, however, decreased over the years and by 2009, it was at 61%.
Amajuba District municipality and two of the local municipalities have improved their audit outcomes over time to a financially unqualified with other matters opinion. Newcastle municipality was the only municipality to still receive a qualified opinion in 2009/10.
Amajuba District Municipality has been identified in the KwaZulu-Natal State of Local Government Assessment as one of the councils that did not seem to perform any oversight function and were also experiencing serious service delivery challenges.
In terms of its Municipal Turn-Around Strategy the Amajuba District Municipality identified the limited access to funding for infrastructure development, as well as inadequate policies and bylaws, poor reporting and poor implementation of agreements. As the municipality is not providing electricity, engagement is required with Eskom to address energy challenges.
None of the local municipalities in the Amajuba District have been classified as in the category of most vulnerable by DCoG in terms of functionality, socio-economic profile and backlog status, but two of the three local municipalities are classified in the second most vulnerable grouping.
This profile confirms that infrastructure prioritisation in the Amajuba District should focus on sanitation, especially the funding to eradicate the backlog.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview[1]
Amajuba District Municipality, located in the northwestern corner of KwaZulu-Natal, comprises three local municipalities: Newcastle, Dannhauser and Utrecht. The population of Amajuba District Municipality is 447 768. Over seventy percent of the population are below the age of 34. The municipality is predominantly urban with almost 60% of households located in urban areas. The largest concentration of people occurs in the Newcastle-Madadeni-Osizweni area.
Income levels in the district are generally low. Unemployment has increased substantially to about 26.46%. Factors that may have contributed to this include the following:
• Workers retrenched in big cities would have returned home to Amajuba;
• Many mines in the area have been closed;
• The labour force has grown as many young people completed their education;
• Mechanisation and growth in the services sector have occurred;
• Some people living with HIV/AIDS have become incapacitated and are unable to continue with their jobs.
The economy was historically focused on coal mining but many collieries have closed. The manufacturing sector is the main employer but is concentrated in Newcastle Municipality (90% of manufacturing employment is found there). The social services sector is the second most important employer, providing about 22% of employment opportunities. Farming predominates in Dannhauser Municipality with activities such as cattle farming, dairy farming and maize growing being prominent. Coal mining remains the main economic activity in Utrecht Municipality, which provides 68% of mining employment opportunities in the district. Due to the decline in mining, local economic development has been forced to refocus. The municipality has embarked on an ambitious initiative whereby Utrecht is being marketed as ‘a town within a game park’.
About 64% of households in the district have piped water either inside the home or inside the yard. About 49.6% of households have flush toilets that are connected to a sewerage system of some type. Only 20% of households have no access to electricity. Fifty-nine percent of households receive a weekly (or other) refuse removal service from the municipality.
The following areas of growth potential have been identified:
• Battlefield development and Amajuba Tourism Route;
• Creation of the Midway Meander;
• Development of tourism opportunities around the proposed Ncandu River Dam;
• Development of dams along the Buffalo River catchment, which will open up large portions of the tribal areas for irrigation;
• Development of the old casino complex into a 2010 base camp;
• Further development of the Balele Nature Reserve at Utrecht;
• Development of the eMadlangeni Fly-fishing Meander;
• Development of the proposed Dunblaine Golf Estate;
• Development of a proposed residential estate at the Newcastle Golf Course;
• Development of an agricultural hub that will be linked to the Dube Trade Port;
• Development of opportunities along the MR483 Corridor linking the CBD to Madadeni and Osizweni;
• Implementation of the Urban Renewal Programme in the Newcastle CBD;
• Development of a new mall adjacent to the new casino;
• Development of housing projects as part of the implementation of the housing plans for the three local municipalities;
• Establishment of SEDA Amajuba;
• Development of the Amajuba Hydroponic Techno Park;
• Identification of Newcastle as an industrial development zone;
• Development of the following areas of agricultural potential:
- Dairy: Further development of the diary industry to focus on the export of milk, cheese, powdered milk, yogurt and fruit juices;
- Soya: Processing of soya to create bio-diesel and soya meal;
- Vegetables: Specialised production of vegetables through the use of tunnels;
- Beef: Feedlot development;
- Dams: Identification of sites for storage to increase irrigable land and further develop the above.
Tourism has the potential to play an important role in the economy. Gauteng Province and Durban are the major domestic tourism markets for the district, with overnight stays popular with travellers from these areas. Tourist attractions include historic buildings, factory tours, flyfishing, hunting, art routes, abseiling, hiking, adventure camps, battlefields, organised bird-shooting, museums, 4 x 4 trails, nature reserves, craft shops, bird-watching, gaming, horseback adventures, golf courses, legal street races and festivals such as the Amajuba Winter Festival.
Amajuba District Municipality contains battlefields from a variety of conflicts, including the Anglo-Zulu War, the South African War and the First War of Independence (1880–81).
A number of hiking trails have also been developed in the district such as the Bushmankrans, Eikenhof, Fort Mistake, Holkrans, Hunter’s Valley Game Ranch, Majuba Mountain Resort and Ncandu trails. The Amajuba Birding Meander is also a very popular tourist attraction. It gives bird-watchers easy access to most of the wonderful birds found in the region. These include ground woodpeckers, cranes, harriers and kestrels. The creation of the Midway Meander has been proposed. This will build on the existing Amajuba Birding Meander and the battlefields routes.
1.2 Municipalities within the Amajuba District
The details of the three local municipalities within the District are tabled below:
Table 1: Statistics of the Amajuba District and Local Municipalities
Municipalities within the District / Area (km²)in 2009 / Area (km2) after 2011
Local Govt Elections
& % change / Population / No. of
Households / Poverty Rate
Amajuba District Municipality / 6,910.52 / 6,910.52 / - / 447,768 / 102,309 / 19.09%
Dannhauser Local Municipality / 1,515.91 / 1,515.91 / - / 92,500 / 18,283 / 72.01%
Emadlangeni Local Municipality / 3,539.32 / 3,539.32 / - / 23,548 / 5,274 / 56.80%
Newcastle Local Municipality / 1,855.29 / 1,855.29 / - / 331,719 / 78,752 / 56.36%
1.3 Political and Administrative Leadership and Seat of the District[2]
Political Leadership: Executive Mayor: Ms J Khumalo
Administrative Leadership: Acting Municipal Manager: Ms Z Ndlovu
The head office of the District is located in Newcastle.
1.4 Political representation[3]
Table 2: Local Government Election 2006 / Provincial and National Elections 2009 comparison:
Leading Parties in the Elections / Local Government Elections 2006 / Provincial Elections 2009 / National Elections 2009Party / Party Votes and % / Ward Votes and % / Councillor Seats / Party / Votes and % / Party / Votes and %
Party / Seats / %
1st / ANC / 33,478 / 42.5% / 32,720 / 41.6% / ANC / 10 / 40.0% / ANC / 93,420 / 66.0% / ANC / 99,173 / 68.7%
2nd / IFP / 28,773 / 36.6% / 28,606 / 36.4% / IFP / 9 / 36.0% / IFP / 33,940 / 24.0% / IFP / 29,323 / 20.3%
3rd / DA / 6,765 / 8.6% / 6,496 / 8.3% / DA / 3 / 12.0% / DA / 8,004 / 5.7% / DA / 8,940 / 6.2%
4th / ACDP / 1,256 / 1.6% / 1,035 / 1.3% / FEDCON / 2 / 8.0% / FF/VF / 1,272 / 0.9% / COPE / 1,300 / 0.9%
Other / 8,418 / 10.7% / 9,807 / 12.5% / Other / 1 / 4.0% / Other / 5,014 / 3.5% / Other / 5,525 / 3.8%
Totals / 78,690 / 100% / 78,664 / 100% / Totals / 25 / 100% / 141,650 / 100% / 144,261 / 100%
Figure 1: 2011 Local Government Election results and seat allocations:
The ANC is the leading party in terms of proportional DC40 Seats in Amajuba, with 5 seats of 10 seats. The ANC and the NFP forms a coalition government in the District.
2. SERVICE DELIVERY[4]
2.1 Amajuba District Municipality Household Infrastructure
Amajuba district has the second highest access to infrastructure amongst the districts in the province. However, an overview of household access to infrastructure in the district shows a slight improvement from 66% in 1996 to 67% in 2009. A downward trend in access from 2007 can be seen on the graph above.
2.2 Sanitation
With regard to access to sanitation, the district municipality’s household access to hygienic toilets has gone up slightly from a higher level of 61% in 1996 to 64% in 2009. The slight improvement in access to sanitation in general in the Municipality is mainly due to the increase in the use of pit latrines with ventilation.
2.3 Water
There are higher levels of access to piped water in the district. Access to piped water above RDP level increased from 68% to 74% from 1996 to 2009. Similarly, there has been a slight increase as well in access to piped water below RDP level. Only 10% of the households do not have access to this service.
2.4 Electricity
A downward trend can be observed in access to electricity in the district. In 1996, household access to electricity connections was at a high level of 72%. Access has, however, decreased over the years and by 2009, it was at 61%.
2.5 Refuse removal
Access to formal refuse removal service in the district has been higher (almost 60%) since 1996. By 2009, some of the formal refuse removal services in the district were, however, removed by the community. While this is the case, personal refuse removal stayed the same over the years.
2.6 Service provider
Amajuba district does not have authority and does not perform the electricity reticulation function. The district, however, has authority and performs potable water and sanitation functions. The district has no authority and is not performing the refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal function.
3. AUDIT OPINIONS
Table 3: Audit Opinions of the District and Local Municipalities
Municipality / Audit Opinion 2005/6 / Audit Opinion 2006/7 / Audit Opinion 2007/8 / Audit Opinion 2008/9 / Audit Opinion 2009/10Amajuba DM / Qualified / Qualified / Qualified / Qualified / Financially unqualified with findings
Dannhauser LM / Disclaimer / Disclaimer / Disclaimer / Qualified / Financially unqualified with findings
Newcastle LM / Qualified / Qualified / Financially unqualified with other matters / Qualified / Qualified
Emadlangeni LM / Qualified / Disclaimer / Disclaimer / Qualified / Financially unqualified with findings
Source: Auditor-General 2009 and 2011, see. www.agsa.co.za
In 2005/6 and 2006/7 Amajuba district and its four locals failed to secure clean audit results. In 2007/8 Newcastle was the only municipality to receive a financially unqualified audit outcome. Amajuba district, Dannhauser and Emandlangeni all obtained financially unqualified audit results following qualified audit opinions in 2008/9.
4. STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSESSMENT
4.1 Overview of findings on assessment in the municipality
Amajuba District Municipality was one of 24 councils that did not seem to perform any oversight function and should be supported to implement the oversight role. The Provincial Report states that the lack of Councillor Oversight has emerged as the single most contributing factor to poor governance and service delivery. A large number of Councillors appear not to appreciate the nature and importance of their oversight role and the administration seem to ignore the need for oversight due to the administrative and accountability implications it will have for them.