KZN premier to set ideology aside to find depoliticised solutions

Ntuli says government will prioritise engagements with all sectors of society to enable them to contribute to the rebuilding of the province

The KwaZulu-Natal government is embarking on a depoliticised, non-ideologically aligned social dialogue to find meaningful lasting solutions to economic and sociopolitical challenges. 

Premier Thami Ntuli announced this during the first state of the province address under the government of provincial unity that recently took over the provincial executive. 

Over the next 100 days of his administration, Ntuli said government will prioritise engagements with all sectors of society to enable them to contribute to rebuilding the province.

“We acknowledge that there are sections of society that may perceive themselves alienated from our government, we aim to remedy that. We acknowledge the need for the creation of effective platforms for citizens to engage with their government,” said Ntuli.

The main goal of these sessions, the premier said, is to create neutral channels for the engagement of a broad array of stakeholders.

Stakeholders will include community-based organisations, academia, business, chapter nine institutions, the media, parliament as well as local and provincial government with the support of leading experts.

“One of the most important aspects of sociopolitical and economic reconstruction is the ability and willingness of communities to engage in dialogues to find meaningful and lasting solutions to existing problems.

“These sessions are impartial and not tied to any political party or ideology. These will be driven by the office of the premier. We have a duty and mandate to ensure that we work together to harness the collective potential of every citizen of our province,” Ntuli explained.

The first of such engagements will begin this month with district-wide gatherings that will culminate in a provincial crime prevention summit. These engagements, Ntuli said, will enable role players to analyse the crime situation in the province and to come up with interventions that must be prioritised as part of their sector plan for crime fighting and crime prevention.

To find solutions for the pervasive growth of the so-called construction mafia in KwaZulu-Natal, Ntuli extended an invitation to the construction industry to “contribute positively”, emphasising the need for a united front in the fight against the mafia.

An invitation has also been extended by the premier to help the government achieve clean, ethical and good governance by reporting fraud and corruption via a toll-free number 0801229040 and/or email, complaints@kznpremier.gov.za

“I wish for every citizen not just to see wrongdoing, but to also report wrongdoing. I encourage you all to report acts of maladministration, corruption and poor service delivery,” said Ntuli. 

The premier committed to expediting the relocation of the 2022 flood victims from transitional emergency accommodation to permanent homes. 

He said to date, five land parcels for permanent housing have been rezoned to accommodate 400 units. He added he had directed the director-general to follow up on the rezoning process of the outstanding five land parcels and to provide a progress report with an intention that the process is finalised.

His plans to combat other social ills include collaborating with communities to identify and reintegrate children who have dropped out of school and addressing the high dropout rate and illiteracy. 

He added the department of agriculture and rural development will work with Amakhosi and all stakeholders to ensure KZN is green with vegetable gardens, crop farming and grazing land in a bid to tackle food insecurity.