In a momentous celebration of advocacy, visibility, and excellence, the 1st eThekwini Pride Recognition Awards took place at the iconic Ushaka Marine Aquarium, bringing together changemakers and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community under the theme: “Honouring Excellence, Visibility, and Advocacy in the LGBTQIA+ Community.”

Among the evening’s distinguished honourees was the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Nontembeko Boyce, who received the prestigious “Voice for Inclusion Award.” This accolade celebrates individuals whose voices extend beyond private advocacy, resonating in policy-making arenas and shaping a more inclusive and equitable society.

Hon. Boyce has demonstrated unwavering commitment to justice, diversity, and representation. Through her leadership, she has consistently used her platform to champion LGBTQIA+ rights, influence progressive policies, and ensure that inclusion is not just an aspiration but a reality in governance. Her dedication to amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices at the highest levels of government exemplifies the very spirit of the Voice for Inclusion Award.

The event marked a significant milestone in Durban’s Pride history, celebrating not only the resilience and brilliance of the LGBTQIA+ community, but also the leaders who stand beside them in solidarity

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Caption 

Hon. Nontembeko Boyce, Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, was honoured with the prestigious Voice for Inclusion Award at the inaugural eThekwini Pride Recognition Awards, held at uShaka Marine Aquarium in Durban. 

11 June 2025

Good morning, Honourable Members, and colleagues.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to today’s meeting of the Ethics, Privileges and Contempt Committee. Thank you all for availing yourselves to continue the important work of upholding integrity, accountability, and transparency in the Legislature.

As public representatives, the ethical standards we uphold set the tone not only for the functioning of this Legislature, but also for how we are perceived by the people we serve. The mandate of this Committee is central to ensuring that our work is guided by clear principles, fairness, and a genuine commitment to ethical conduct.

Today’s meeting is an opportunity for us to focus on our broader priorities around ethical governance and capacity-building. In an evolving political and social environment, the challenges we face are complex. For that reason, we must constantly assess how well-prepared we are, not just to respond to ethical misconduct but to prevent them through education, support, and proactive leadership.

Our key priorities involve us reviewing at how to strengthen ethical governance across the Legislature. This includes identifying areas of risk, ensuring consistent application of the Code of Conduct, and reviewing how we can better support Members in dealing with ethical dilemmas before they escalate.

Secondly, we need to focus on ethics training and knowledge-building. Our work must be supported by clear guidance, practical tools, and continuous learning. Ethics cannot be something we revisit only in times of crisis; it must be an integral part of how we lead, engage, and make decisions.

Thirdly, we must reflect on the role of this Committee in shaping a culture of integrity and principled leadership. That includes setting an example as Members of this committee, and ensuring our processes are fair, transparent, and aligned with the highest standards of accountability.

Finally, this is also a time to set our agenda going forward, to align on key focus areas for the months ahead, and to identify opportunities for outreach, collaboration, and stronger internal support systems that reinforce ethical behaviour at all levels.

Honourable Members, the work of this Committee is more than compliance, it is about protecting the public trust and affirming the values upon which our democracy is built.

I encourage open engagement, critical reflection, and shared ownership of the outcomes we seek to achieve. With your commitment, I am confident that we can continue to advance a strong, principled, and ethical institution.

Thank you once again for your participation, Honourable Members, I trust that today’s session will be informative, practical, and empowering. Let us approach this workshop with openness and a shared sense of purpose.

Thank you once again for your presence and active participation. I now invite our facilitator to take us into the session.

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Premier, Community Safety and Liaison Portfolio Committee holds Public Hearings on the Public Service Amendment Bill and Public Administration Management Amendment Bill

Today, 10 June 2025, the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison Portfolio Committee is holding the third public hearing on the Public Service Amendment Bill and the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill at the Old Legislative Assembly Chamber in Ulundi. The first public hearing was held in a hybrid mode where Members of the committee and certain stakeholders attended the hearing physically in the Legislature Chamber in Pietermaritzburg while other stakeholders, and the public participated in the public hearing on our virtual platform. The second public hearing was conducted virtually in which committee Members, and all stakeholders participated in the hearing on our virtual platform.

The Public Service Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Public Service Act, 1994 to provide for the devolution of administrative powers from executive authorities to heads of departments, and to enhance and strengthen the role of the Director-General in the Presidency to support the President. The Public Administration Management Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 so as to provide for the transfer and secondment of employees, to provide for the clarification regarding the prohibition against employees conducting business with organs of state, to provide for the National School of Government to be constituted as a national department, and to provide for the removal of employment disparities across the public administration, and to provide for the determination of conditions of service with financial implications.

At the conclusion of the public hearings, the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison Committee will consider all submissions received from the public and stakeholders and formulate a report that will be presented to the Legislature Sitting where a final Negotiating Mandate of the KZN Legislature on the Bills will be adopted for presentation to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town. At the NCOP Sitting where the final Negotiating Mandates from all provinces will be considered and debated, the two Bills may be passed and then referred to the National Assembly for final passing into the laws of the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
06 June 2025

KZN SPEAKERS FORUM LAUNCHED TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND STRATEGIES TO STRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEEPEN DEMOCRACY

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature today officially launched the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Speakers Forum, a strategic platform designed to foster collaboration, enhance oversight, and build stronger links between the provincial legislature and municipal councils across the province.

Speaking at the launch, the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Nontembeko Boyce, hailed the establishment of the Forum as a “landmark moment” in the province’s democratic journey and a vital step toward a more responsive and accountable system of governance.

“This Forum represents a shared commitment to honest leadership, collaborative oversight, and better service delivery,” said Hon. Boyce. “Our people don’t see separate spheres of government; they just want results. This Forum helps us move forward, together.”

The establishment of a Speakers Forum is not a new concept; it revitalises work initiated under former Speaker Peggy Nkonyeni and Deputy Speaker Mtholephi Mthimkhulu, and later advanced by Speaker Lydia Johnson during the fourth and fifth legislative terms. Today’s launch continues the relationships they built towards the end of the fifth term and throughout the sixth.

“Our engagements carried over from previous Provincial Executive Councils have always been dignified, grounded in mutual trust and respect. None of us studied specifically to be public representatives, we succeed through the capable, professional, and dedicated technical teams at SALGA and the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature,” said Hon. Boyce.

She extended heartfelt thanks to SALGA KwaZulu-Natal for its ongoing partnership and commitment to working with the Legislature in pursuit of accountable, ethical governance.

Objectives of the Forum

Modelled on the National Parliament Speakers Forum, the provincial body will provide a platform for municipal Speakers to:

• Share oversight strategies and capacity-building resources,
• Strengthen inter-governmental relations between councils and the Legislature,
• Address service-delivery challenges through coordinated responses,
• Exchange knowledge, skills, and governance strategies,
• Align Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) with legislative priorities.

Hon. Boyce urged all municipal Speakers to embrace the Forum fully, emphasising collective ownership and participatory leadership. “This is not just a Legislature-led initiative, but a collaborative journey for everyone who believes in ethical, effective governance. We may come from different municipalities, but we are united by purpose. Let this Forum be a space where we support and uplift each other. In that unity, we find real power to change people’s lives.”

The Forum is expected to convene regularly and contribute to broader national oversight mechanisms, serving as a proactive and structured platform that strengthens legislative leadership and supports service delivery in communities throughout KwaZulu-Natal.

ENDS

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KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HON. NONTEMBEKO BOYCE SPEAKER OF THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE KZN PROVINCIAL SPEAKERS FORUM
6 June 2025

Programme Director,
Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Mmabatho Tembe,

Chairperson of SALGA in KwaZulu-Natal, Cllr Xolani Dube
Esteemed Speakers of our municipalities across KwaZulu-Natal,
Honourable Members,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

It is truly a heartfelt honour to stand before you today on this very special occasion, the official re-launch of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Speakers Forum. This is a moment is a testimony of how much we can achieve when we work together to achieve our shared aspirations as leaders for the benefit of our communities.

As Speakers, coming from different municipalities with different contexts from urban and rural areas. But what binds us is far greater than what separates us. First, we bound by shared history of South Africa and her people who endured difficulties and divisions but resolved to work together to come out of the ugly past and forge forward in unity and brotherhood. Are we not the generations that owe their being to the heroic Ilembe, Isilo sakwaDukuza who’s leadership was deeply entrenched in bringing the African children together and thus giving birth to uZulu omnyama ondlela zimhlophe isizwe esakhelwe ebuhlakanini nasekukhalipheni kukaMkabayi. Yebo ubuhle bezintaba zoThukela nezimpophoma zazo ezigeleza amanzi abika impilo ngokugeleza imifula equka  uMfolozi, UThukela, Umzimkhulu,  uMthamvuna eningizimu, uMkhomazi omanzi asawoti ngoba eyikhaya lezinye  izinhlanzi ezisengcupheni yokushabalala  emhlabeni.

We are bound together by the plight of the people whose hopes and dreams were shattered with the closure of the home industries, factories, and retailers that they sold their labour to in areas in the Midlands Meanders, KwaSithebe, Marburg, Ladysmith, and other areas. Together we call home the beautiful province that is also home to the lime producing stones of Oribi, the Sibhudu and kwaXolo caves and the majestic Sani Pass. A province of three world heritage sites, Isimangaliso Wetlands, Drankensberg mountains and Sibhudu caves. So, we are here today because we further bound by our individual consciousness to serve the people of our province by enacting transformative laws causing the delivery of services by executives in a transparent and ethical manner for the benefit of the citizens.

We are striving for the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate bestowed upon us when we responded to the call of being Speakers and Deputy Speakers in the provincial and local spheres. We are therefore here because we have been called and answered to a call that is better walked in company of others and because we care about what happens beyond the chambers of this legislature and our council chambers.

The idea then behind this Forum is simple, we need each other. No Speaker should feel isolated, nor council should have to navigate complex challenges alone. Through this Forum, we are saying: let us support one another, let’s learn from one another, and let’s stand together as leaders for the greater good of our province.

We are also drawing inspiration from the National Parliament Speakers Forum, where we have seen the real value of bringing Speakers together, not just to talk, but to act. To share solutions, raise concerns, and build a network of trust and cooperation. That same spirit is what we are bringing here to KwaZulu-Natal.

This Forum gives us a chance as KwaZulu-Natal legislators and overseers to ensure that our oversight and law-making initiatives through Councils and the Legislature is moving in the same direction. Because our communities do not care where a service comes from, they expect service delivery. They do not care who fixes the road, who installs the tap, or who makes sure the clinic is working, they just want it done. And they want us, as their leaders, to pull in the same direction. With all those expectations the local government as a sphere in which service delivery is the first point of call for our communities.

That is why I want to encourage you, fellow Speakers, to take full ownership of this forum. This is not just a Legislature project, it belongs to all of us. Let us use it to strengthen our oversight and law-making work and to confront challenges that are troubling our communities. Let us use it to build relationships that go beyond titles and reach into real collaboration and understanding of the responsibilities of our positions. It calls me and the Deputy Speaker to not hide behind the fact that people will call the Hon. Premier and his executive when they do not receive expected services, nor should Municipal Speakers hide the Honourable Mayors in municipalities. It calls us to action at material times and be worried when our leadership is not seen as part of the ecosystem of service delivery, for we know that maybe because we don’t rise to the occasion in terms of our responsibilities of oversight.

We must not always escape by thinking we have lesser responsibilities than the executives for we do not, we have equal responsibilities and space enough for us to dance to the tune of accountability, ethics, and oversight through involving the public. In this Forum we must learn from each because our capabilities and strategies need constant finesse.

The establishment of Speakers Forum is not a new concept; it is the resuscitation of the work started during the time of former Speaker Peggy Nkonyeni and Deputy Speaker Mtholephi Mthimkhulu which continued to the time of Speaker Lydia Johnson in fourth and fifth legislature terms. This is a continuation of their work and relationships they formed that laid dormant towards the end of the fifth term and the sixth term.

I must declare that this day may not have been possible without the wisdom, strategy, and commitment from the Legislature Deputy Speaker Hon. Mmabatho Tembe and SALGA KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council led by the Mayor of Newcastle, His Worship, Cllr Dube. The engagements we had were carried over from the previous PECs that preceded them, and all our engagements had always been dignified based on mutual trust and respect. Of course, you all know that all of us as public representatives never studied to be where we are it is only through the capable, professional, and dedicated technical teams at SALGA and the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.

The engagements we held assisted us to come with a list of objectives in order for us not to be tempted to act outside the mandates of Chapters 6 and 7 of constitution which regulates the scope for provincial legislatures and municipal councils, respectively. This is premised in Chapter 3 which defines the expected cooperative nature of the government and governance of the Republic of South Africa with particular emphasis paid to Section 41 (h) ( i-iv), that enjoins to the principles of our cooperation based on “mutual trust and good faith” .

The result has been agreement based on achieving the following objectives:

• To exchange knowledge, skills, and views on strategies to strengthen good governance and deepen democracy.

• Build a stronger link between councils and the provincial Legislature,
• Share what works, and help each other through,
• Speak with one voice on issues that affect our communities,
• And find ways to make our oversight and law-making work not only robust but meaningful.

And I also want to say this: we are not always going to agree. That is okay. But if we stay rooted in our shared values, accountability, service, and respect for our communities, we will always find our way forward. This I am certain of because we are born out of struggle, sacrifice, and triumph of our forefathers. We are a generation that have a history deeply intertwined by the success of our people at iSandlwana , we see no obstacle larger than our cause because through the sacrifices of Isilo uDinizulu, izimfundiso zeSilo uZwelithini kaBhekuZulu, imikhuleko nokuqhubeka kokufundiswa isilo uMisuzulu uNomthebe osesihlalweni. Yes, we are the generation that did not only learn from the struggles and sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi, Inkosi Albert Luthuli but the one that is charged with continuation of foundation laid by our democratic forebears Dr Frene Ginwala our National Assembly founding Speaker and Dr Gideon HS Mdlalose, uNyanda. Their work and that of Speakers that followed must finished by this generation in order for the incoming leaders to focus on oversight of the future the one dealing with impact and efficacy of the oversight mechanisms in a fully capable and ethical environment.

To all the Speakers, let me once again thank you for joining us, not just physically, but with heart. Your presence here tells me that this Forum has the potential to become something truly transformative, remember that there’s no KwaZulu-Natal Speaker’s Forum without you.

To my colleagues at the Legislature, the Deputy Speaker, Chairperson of Committees, Chief Whip, Deputy Chairperson of Committees, Deputy Chief Whip, Secretary Ms Naidoo, and her team among them the three Executive Managers and the Manager in the Office of the Speaker who helped bring this initiative to life thank you. To the Chairperson of SALGA, His Worship Mayor Dube, the PEC of SALGA, the Administration of SALGA led by Mr Madlala, Sishi, Hlokohloko thank you for proving that together we can do more.

Let us walk this journey together. And let us never lose sight of who we are doing it for, the people of KwaZulu-Natal. Thank you.

This year, as the world reflects on progress and persisting challenges, it is important to acknowledge the powerful role of women leaders in driving health policy reform, especially Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, whose work in South Africa has left a lasting legacy.

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma served as South Africa’s Minister of Health from 1994 to 1999. During her tenure, she was instrumental in introducing and championing legislation that significantly restricted tobacco use in public spaces facing strong resistance from tobacco companies.

The Tobacco Products Control Act of 1993, though initially passed before she assumed office, was strengthened under her leadership through strongamendments and regulations. Dr Dlamini Zuma ensured the enforcement of smoking bans in public places, restrictions on tobacco advertising, and the mandatory inclusion of health warnings on packaging. Her firm stance on tobacco control made her a formidable advocate for public health on the African continent.

Dr Dlamini Zuma’s contribution is more than a case study in effective policy making, it is a testament to the transformative power of women’s leadership in government. Her work shows how women leaders bringstrategic thinking to governance, often championing issues that directly impact families and communities. In South Africa, Dr Dlamini Zuma’s efforts not only helped reduce exposure to harmful tobacco smoke but also paved way for prioritizing public well-being over corporate interests.

The measures championed by Dr Dlamini Zuma continue to influence South Africa’s tobacco control landscape. Her work paved the way for later laws, such as the proposed Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which seeks to strengthen existing regulations to include modern tobacco products.

In a world where tobacco use remains one of the leading preventable causes of death, her contributions remain profoundly relevant. By aligning national health policies with WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, she positioned South Africa as a continental leader in tobacco regulation.

As we commemorate World No Tobacco Day, let us honour not only the strides made in reducing tobacco use but also the leadership that made it possible. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s legacy exemplifies how women in positions of power can drive meaningful, life-saving change. Her work is a reminder that empowering women in leadership is not just a matter of equity, it’s essential for building healthier communities. 

The Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Mmabatho Tembe, together with Hon. Andile Biyela and Hon. Mongezi Twala, has officially concluded participation in the exchange seminar titled “Exchange of Experiences on Modernizing National Governance and Professionalization of the State between China and South Africa.”

The seminar took place in Beijing from 7 May to 27 May 2025, and formed part of a strategic partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and South Africa’s National School of Government (NSG).

The programme aimed to foster mutual learning between South African and Chinese institutions, focusing on innovations in governance, administrative reform, and the professionalization of public service.