Lerato Mbhiza
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, said during her State of the Province Address on Wednesday that despite various challenges, including floods that hit the province, the provincial economy is back on its feet.
Dube-Ncube delivered a range of plans to deal with the energy and water crises, unemployment, crime and infrastructure challenges while also highlighting the gains made in 30 years of democracy during the State of the Province (SOPA).
Speaking at the Oval Cricket Ground in Pietermaritzburg, Dube-Ncube said life had improved for people living in townships from KwaMashu to uMkhanyakude, where in 1996 communities that had access to electricity was 46% while today this stands at more than 97% and water provision now stands at 85% of households that have access to tap water.
The province is gradually addressing the damage caused by floods which is estimated in the region of R33 billion, she said.
“At times, we felt we were on the verge of collapse while at other times we felt we could touch the sky. The circumstances around the sixth administration tested our steely resolve and we chose to soldier on,” Dube-Ncube said.
The Premier said following the destructive floods in April 2022 and the July 2021 civil unrest, the government implemented a package of recovery programmes to rebuild a number of infrastructure, including shopping malls and factories, which were torched or looted.
She said the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA) has spent over R20 billion rebuilding shopping malls and businesses affected by the social unrest, with more than R2 billion spent on rebuilding economic infrastructure damaged by the floods, resulting in over 192 000 jobs being saved.
“The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) relief measures implemented through the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Critical Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme, saw a total of 118 applications from affected businesses approved with a value of R1.9 billion.
“The IDC further partnered with the province in allocating R30 million support to SMME [Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise], township and rural businesses affected by the civil unrest. IDC allocated R10 million to support the informal businesses that were impacted by the floods of 2022,” Dube-Ncube said.
Furthermore, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs allocated R67 million towards flood relief for businesses affected by the 2022 and 2023 floods.
The Premier also acknowledged President Cyril Ramaphosa for visiting the Port of Richards Bay in November 2023 to assess the state of the port and efforts underway to address congestion.
Following the President’s oversight visit, Dube-Ncube said the province has witnessed a significant decrease in road truck traffic leading to the Port of Richards Bay as congestion decreased.
The Premier attributed this to a collective achievement and the introduction of the Truck Management Strategy, championed by the Ports Authority.
“At the Port of Durban, after having received word on the introduction of the container surcharge by shipping lines because of the container backlog in our ports, we are delighted to report that the number of vessels at anchorage has reduced from more than 60 ships in mid-November, to just 12 ships at the end of January 2024.
“We recognise, with appreciation to the role played by the industry, as well as local businesses in ensuring our ports are held accountable and deliver on their intended mandate of facilitating international trade.”
Dube-Ncube also highlighted that the provincial government is strengthening its support for businesses, by ensuring that enterprises doing business with the government are paid on time.
A province-wide programme, Operation Pay on Time, assists with resolving payment queries from suppliers that do business with the government.
“From April 2023 alone, the total number of cases and queries received is 288. Of this number 216 were resolved with a value of R281 million paid to suppliers,” she said
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