“KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW”

CALL 080 311 1111 FOR ALL CITY SERVICE QUERIES

IN an effort to improve customer service, eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede unveiled the One Number

centralised call centre and the Mayoral Hotline on 19 February at the Durban City Hall.The 24-hour One Number

centralised call centre is free while standard call rates apply when phoning the Mayoral Hotline. Both numbers are operational

and customers can call the One Number on 080 311 11 11 and the Mayoral Hotline on 031 322 8200. Both channels of

communication are aimed at integrating customer service processes and systems to deliver a robust and efficient

service to all residents. This intervention is also part of the City’s ongoing effort to make communication with its 3.7 million resident’s simpler and convenient while fast-tracking service delivery.Mayor Gumede applauded

the launch of the two communication lines.“We are a Municipality that

listens to its people. Residents have complained that it is sometimes difficult to get through to our call centres and that it was a burden to call different numbers for different services. The One Number centralised call centre will help customers to receive a more efficient service in keeping with technological

trends,” she said.She said the Mayoral

Hotline was created to assist customers that have exhausted all other avenues of logging a complaint and are dissatisfied with the level of service they have received. “The Hotline is an extension of government’s Operation Sukhuma Sakhe Programme. As a caring City, we must be more accessible to the public,” added Mayor Gumede. The One Number centralised call centre and Mayoral Hotline will be manned by qualified and competent operators who will field calls directly from members of the public.Mayor Gumede also

mentioned other

ETHEKWINIWEEKLY BULLETIN

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w By 2030 eThekwini will be Africa’s most caring and liveable City 26 February 2018 [Issue 112]

communication projects in the pipeline which include the City’s SmartApp where customers can log complaints and receive updates on various items, eThekwini Municipality TV which will display the services offered by the City as well as “pop-up” offices which have proved highly successful in the Galleria and Mpumalanga malls. City Manager Sipho

Nzuza said: “Improved communication is key and we must ensure that our customers are satisfied with the service they receive.” Pastor Ziningi Jali from the

eThekwini Interfaith Church welcomed the integrated communication service.

The 24-hour toll free One Number centralised call centre and Mayoral Hotline was launched by eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede on 19 February at the Durban City Hall. Also present during the launch was Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, Executive Committee members as well as City Manager Sipho Nzuza and other senior officials.

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2 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN ISSUE 112

DURBAN AND BREMEN PARTNER TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGETHE City of Bremen in Germany has injected R7.5 million into eThekwini in order to kick-start a newly launched partnership to tackle climate change issues.The three-year Ocean

Champions Empowerment Programme was officially launched on 21 February at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and aims to broaden the knowledge base and empower communities on climate change activities.A key objective of the

initiative, which ends in April 2020, is to transfer skills that will contribute to the protection of the sea, the reduction of pollution and also have an effect on climate protection especially in coastal areas around eThekwini.Speaking at the launch,

eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede said the Programme mainly targets young people. She said approximately 50 youth between the ages of 14 to 25 who have a good knowledge on the role of oceans in the global ecosystem and marine pollution were being sought to be part of the

EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede and Katharina Krames from Germany vowed to work together to come up with a robust action plan to address climate change as part of the Durban and Bremen partnership on climate change leadership empowerment programme.

Programme.“About 90 percent of the

project funding will be from the German Service Agency as they have already injected R7.5 million to kick-start this learning exchange. We will soon send out a call for applications from youth who have finished school and want to participate in the

Programme,” she said. Mayor Gumede, who is also

the Vice-Chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, said matters of the environment are very close to her heart, adding that this initiative will assist in delivering sustainable development goals. “I am confident that this partnership

will be a success as both cities are pioneers in the space of climate change.”Bremen and Durban have an

existing sister city relationship and officially became twin cities in 2011 and have hosted a number of climate change pilot projects since then. Central to the Oceans

Champions Empowerment Programme, which will be facilitated by local and German experts, includes building up a respective network between the two cities.Participants will take part in

debates on marine pollution, reforestation of mangroves and the cleaning of beaches as topics of discussion. The Municipality’s Head

of Development Planning, Environment and Management Unit Musa Mbhele said a critical aspect of the venture is ensuring that it benefits people who were previously excluded from participating in coastal activities. Mbhele said the project will be

carefully monitored to ensure its success.

ETHEKWINI Municipality will be establishing a Catalytic Projects Office which will fast-track catalytic projects in the City.The newly created office

will fall within the Economic Development and Planning Cluster.For a development project

to be defined as catalytic it must have major impact on the sub-metro and be on a mega-scale inclusive of the number of jobs to be created, the amount of investment by the public and private, revenue to be generated, be mixed-use in stature and be in alignment

with sustainable development goals.A report finalising the

organogram of the Office was tabled at a Full Council meeting held on 22 February. The report stated that the

organogram will include the funded post of Head: Strategic Projects and Programme Manager which is to be transferred to the newly created Office.It went on to say that the

newly created and changed posts be subjected to the grading process by the Compensation Management Branch to confirm the

envisaged grades in the financial implications table. EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede welcomed the establishment of the Office saying it would help the City, through the fast-tracking of catalytic projects, to create jobs.She applauded the efforts of

the Economic Development and Planning Cluster for this initiative.Chairperson of the Governance

and Human Resources Committee Councillor Barbara Fortein said the organogram was discussed in her cluster to ensure that measures taken

CATALYTIC PROJECTS OFFICE PLANNEDwould make the Office more effective.Chairperson of the Economic

Development and Planning Committee Councillor Sipho Kaunda added that while there were staff dealing with catalytic projects in the City, they had been seconded from other units. He said having staff from all the relevant City units sitting under one roof would attract investors and encourage them to make decisions regarding investing in the City, faster.“This Office will address the

slow pace of implementation of catalytic projects in the City,” said Councillor Kaunda.

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ISSUE 112 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN 3

CITY PRESENTS ANNUAL REPORT TO LOCAL BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS

SERVICE delivery achievements and challenges as well as the City’s consolidated annual financial statements were presented to local business stakeholders at an interactive consultation breakfast held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on 21 February.This engagement was part

of presenting the eThekwini Municipality’s draft 2016/2017 financial year’s Annual Report and financial statements to key business stakeholders in the City.The Annual Report provides

a detailed account of service delivery achievements and challenges as well as consolidated annual financial statements for the City.Speaking at the engagement,

eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede welcomed stakeholders saying that the City has done well over the past financial year. She said the City remained committed to accelerating service delivery and providing economic opportunities through the Radical Economic Transformation Framework. Mayor Gumede touched on

the State of the Nation Address delivered recently by President Cyril Ramaphosa where he called for partnerships with business, labour and social partners, urging them to join government and work towards a better South Africa for all.

EThekwini May-or Zandile Gumede highlights some of the successes that the City has achieved as stated in the Draft 2016/2017 Annual Report. City Manager Sipho Nzuza (seated) attributed the City’s achievements to its strong leadership and administration abilities.

SERVICE delivery gains the City has made were highlighted at the first Community Media Forum for the year, which was held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre on 23 February.This includes curbing rock

throwing incidents in the City and bringing perpetrators to book. Durban Metro Police are leading the way in this regard and have arrested four suspects for their involvement in some of these incidents. This was revealed by Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad who said ten cases have been reported in recent months.“We have increased police visibility on bridges,” he said. Several other senior City officials presented interventions being made across eThekwini Municipality to improve the lives of its 3.7 million residents.Head of Development and

Planning Musa Mbhele unpacked the Isiphingo Regeneration Programme which is aimed at addressing crime, grime and general cleanliness in the area.He said the City is working

hard to restore the area and outlined various projects currently underway.Head of Expenditure Sandile

Mnguni explained the City’s budget preparation process saying numerous factors will be taken into account when developing the 2018/19 financial year’s budget.“These include the tough

economic conditions, the national budget, bulk purchases increases and spending trends,” he said.He said the City’s finance

team was studying the budget report presented by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on 21 February and will attempt to cushion the impact of the budget increases.

SERVICE DELIVERY INTERVENTIONS HIGHLIGHTED AT COMMUNITY MEDIA FORUM

She said that as a leading Metro that contributes significantly to the national fiscus, eThekwini Municipality has positioned itself to respond to the legacy of spatial fragmentation and contribute to inclusive growth. “This integrated approach will allow for the majority of our local citizens to access public transport, goods and services in a cost effective and efficient manner and to also respond to growing the City’s rates base,” added Mayor Gumede.She further captured attention

of the audience when she spoke of the 25 catalytic projects currently underway in the City. She said: “This is yet

another demonstration of our commitment to transform the economic landscape of eThekwini towards being more inclusive. These projects speak to the notion of ‘people-centered development’. It is important that projects have economic strategies in place to draw previously excluded people into the economy.” President of the Durban

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Musa Makhunga congratulated the City on its performance and confirmed businesses commitment to help eradicate the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.Deputy City Manager

of Treasury Krish Kumar

presented the Annual Report together with the City’s financial statements. He said that despite the tough economic climate the Municipality remains in a strong and stable financial position due to the management of the City in terms of its short and long term sustainability and viability. He said for the 2016/17 financial year eThekwini received an Unqualified Audit Opinion as per the report recently released by the Auditor General of South Africa. The City boasts a strong

financial position as evidenced by its collection rate of 97 percent, cash on hand at year end which was at R6.3 billion and that the Municipality has managed to maintain its investment grade credit rating of AA- in the long term and A1+ in the short term with a positive outlook.National Treasury also

commended eThekwini’s budget as the best in the country in terms of quality. Kumar said that the City’s

capital spend of 90.46 percent was achieved. This is above the industry norm of 85 percent. Some of the reasons cited for the underspend included, inter alia, problems with housing subsidies, land issues, environmental impact assessment issues, delays with water licenses and contract appeals.

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If you would like to submit feedback or contribute to eThekwini Weekly Bulletin

EDITORIAL TEAMEDITOR: Tozi Mthethwa, Head of Communications • CONTENT EDITOR: Gugu Sisilana •

WRITERS: Charmel Payet, Romita Hanuman-Pillay, Nonduduzo Ngcongo and Jessie Singh

DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Sandile Sokhela

ROBUST TOURISM STRATEGY TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO DURBAN

WHILE domestic tourism numbers have declined across the country owing to the global economic slump, eThekwini Municipality has a turnaround strategy in place to attract tourists back to the City. The turnaround strategy was tabled in a report at an Executive Committee meeting held on 20 February which outlined how this would be achieved.This includes the Durban

Destination Tourism Promotion Campaign for the period of February to July 2018 as an intervention to address the declined visitor numbers.Furthermore, the annual

City’s events partnership with various events listed for the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years was approved.The report also granted

authority to the Deputy City Manager of Economic Development and Planning Phillip Sithole and the Acting Head of Business Support, Tourism and Markets Thulani

Nzama to engage with the event organisers for the City’s benefits and rights to leverage and profile the Durban destination promotion campaign.Authority was also granted

to City Manager Sipho Nzuza to conclude contracts with the various events partners against the partnership investment framework as outlined in a report by Nzuza dated 9 February 2018 in compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act.The budget implications

of the Durban Tourism’s destination promotion campaign is R2.9 million excluding VAT annually for the next three financial years.Addressing the Executive

Committee, Sithole said major tourist cities in South Africa had experienced a decrease in domestic tourists including eThekwini. He said the tabled report

clearly outlined the turnaround strategy to promote the City as well as the number of events to be

held in coming months.He said it was important for

the City to support events. He reiterated that a number of popular tourist cities in South Africa were affected by the decrease in tourism numbers as a result of a range of factors.Sithole added that the issue

was rather complex but Durban Tourism was thankful that Council has approved a line-up of events to be held in the City for the next three years. “This approval will allow us

to market the City and these events in advance. The tabled report is about intensifying the tourism campaign,” he added.EThekwini Mayor Zandile

Gumede welcomed the report.She said hosting events

in the City ensured visitors would be coming to the City and hotels would be full.Mayor Gumede encouraged

residents to continue being hospitable to visitors to ensure they returned to the City. Chairperson of the Economic

Development and Planning Committee Councillor Sipho Kaunda said a number of events would be held in the City as well as at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, such as the Comrades Marathon, which would be part of the event. He said the Stadium will be

exposed to people who may not have visited it before as a result.“There are other programmes

such as cycling events that will attract people to eThekwini from outside the province.”Late last year eThekwini

Municipality launched a new marketing campaign called DISCOVER DURBAN that will be at the forefront of the global and domestic marketing of the City. The campaign encapsulates the unique attributes of what makes Durban attractive, identifying new routes and addressing the constant demands of the new traveller to the City.