STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE, MS NONTEMBEKO BOYCE, DURING A MEDIA BRIEFING TO ANNOUNCE THE STATE OF READINESS FOR THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LEGISLATURE

23 February 2025

Programme Director

The Deputy Speaker, Ms. Mmabatho Tembe

The Secretary of the legislature, Ms. Nerusha Naidoo

Members of the media

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for joining us this morning at our press briefing where we will be outlining key developments and our state of readiness regarding our preparations for the 2025 Official Opening of the Legislature and the State of the Province Address.

In keeping with our practice in KwaZulu-Natal, this year’s Official Opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature will take place over two days. The first day is dedicated to the Official Address to the Legislature by His Majesty King Misuzulu KaZwelithini who will deliver his message to the House to mark the beginning of the Second Session of the Seventh KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. This is the second official address by His Majesty under the government of provincial unity and we consider this address as crucial in building and strengthening unity and cohesion in the province.

In terms of Rule 10 (2) of our Standing Rules, the head of the Zulu Monarchy plays an annual role in the opening of the House. We are the only Legislature in the country that has openly embraced and respected at this level, the valuable role of Traditional Leadership and cultural traditions within the province. We are grateful to His Majesty, King Misuzulu who will once again grace this term by delivering his address to the House to mark the official opening of the Second Session of the 7^th KZN Legislature.

The Address by His Majesty as well as the State of the Province Address by Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli will run over a period of two days: the 27^th and 28^th February 2025. His Majesty has confirmed his attendance and will address the House. We value the crucial role played by His Majesty and recognize that the guidance and counsel he provides to the Legislature and government is invaluable. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude towards His Majesty for availing himself for this prestigious occasion.

As we are preparing for this important event in our legislative calendar, we have invited all our key stakeholders who are always part of this auspicious event. We are happy to announce that all our stakeholders are now fully on board and have accepted our invitations.  We are ready to officially commence with the annual programme of our Legislature.

This year’s two-day event will be held at the Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg. The decision to hold this session away from the Legislature precinct in the Pietermaritzburg CBD is primarily informed by space constraints in our chamber which cannot accommodate all the guests and the public. The current Legislature chamber can only accommodate 120 people in the public gallery, which will not cover the number of guests that attend the Official Opening of the Legislature.

The Oval Cricket Stadium, which we have utilized for the past two years, is not available due to cricket fixtures which are scheduled on the dates we will be holding the Official Opening. Due to the reasons mentioned above, we had to find alternative cost-effective venue which can accommodate the number of guests we have invited including the public. After careful consideration, we agreed together with the strategic leadership to utilise Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

Woodburn Stadium can accommodate over 3000 people and has all the facilities we need, which also includes sufficient parking. Woodburn Stadium is not new to hosting events. Previously, it has been used for the Inauguration of the Premier, on two prior occasions.

Attendance for this year’s Official Opening and SOPA will include 2000 people who will be attending over two days, comprising of the following different categories.

• VIPs: 1000 inclusive of MPLS and other categories
• Members of the Public: 200
• Officials including Media and SAPS: 500
• Amabutho, Omama and Izintombi: 190

The State of the Province Address by the Premier which is integral to the Official Opening of the Legislature is equally critical in that, it is a government policy speech which sets out the province’s key policy objectives and priorities for the year. The theme for this year’s SOPA is “Inspiring New Hope Through Fast-tracking Service delivery and Ensuring Safety for All KZN Citizens.”

This address by the Premier follows the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 06 February which provided clear priorities, programmes and policy direction for the country to be implemented during the current year.  The President’s address provides Members of the Legislature with an instrument to be able to exercise oversight over the provincial government to oversee whether government commitments made in SONA and SOPA are indeed implemented fully within allocated resources.  

At the beginning of the year, we kicked off our annual programme with the School Functionality and Monitoring Programme, which is a critical intervention by the Legislature to ensure delivery of quality education in all our public schools. We will continue with our oversight activities throughout the year to hold the executive accountable.  

The Legislature continues to conduct its work on a hybrid mode to ensure maximum participation of the people of KwaZulu-Natal. This event will be streamed live on all our social media platforms on reverse billing or data-free (meaning members of the public can stream all proceedings for free). The address will also be live on community radio stations and TV channels.

Ladies and Gentlemen, while planning the Official Opening of the Legislature, we were mindful of budget constraints and have tried to stay within budget. As an arm of government, that is responsible for overseeing the spending and value add of departments, we are mindful of wasteful expenditure. We are constantly looking at avenues and interventions to reduce the costs. Accordingly, we have budgeted for the King’s Address and SOPA to the tune of R4 million which falls within the constitutional mandate of the Legislature.

The costs entail audio visual setup, transport, catering, infrastructure setup and publicity. By maintaining 2000 guests, we will be able to minimize the costs and still align them to the constitutional mandate of the Legislature which requires us to conduct the business of the Legislature in public and facilitate public involvement.  

Ladies and gentlemen, over and above the two events mentioned above, the House will debate SOPA on the 04 March 2025 wherein all political parties will take part in the debate. The debate will take place in the Legislature Chamber at Langalibalele Street in Pietermaritzburg.

As I conclude, let me reiterate our unwavering commitment as the Legislature to the full exercise of our constitutional mandate of maintaining robust oversight over the provincial government to ensure prudent spending of public resources including the provincial budget by all departments and public entities to ensure visible delivery of services to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. Our oversight tools are in place to monitor the provincial government in the form of committees and other institutions such as the Auditor-General of South Africa.

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE

For more information contact:

Office of the Speaker Media Liaison, Phathisa Mfuyo on 081 021 5111

KwaZulu-Natal Speaker Hon. Nontembeko Boyce received a warm welcome at Ezinqoleni Secondary School in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality where she spent time with pupils as part of civic education programme. 

Hon. Boyce stressed the importance of career guidance especially to the class of 2025. Students from all grades then participated in a quiz where Hon. Boyce questioned them on general knowledge about South Africa and KZN. 

“Hon. Boyce said, “it is import for us as the legislature to visit our schools such as Ezinqoleni Secondary as part of civic education. What’s more encouraging is that even though the school has a high enrolment, but they were able to get 95,8 % during the 2024 NSC. 

Owethu Nxumalo, Grade 12 pupil who participated in the quiz received a laptop said, “She is grateful for the Speakers visit and thanked the Speaker for visiting eZinqoleni Secondary School and says the laptop will come handy when she goes to university next year.”

Media Advisory

17 February 2025

KWAZULU-NATAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND ENTITIES TO ACCOUNT TO SCOPA ON HOW THEY HANDLE THE PUBLIC PURSE

KwaZulu-Natal provincial government departments and state entities will appear before the Legislature’s Standing Committee of Public Accounts (SCOPA), to report on how they have implemented legislature resolutions relating to how they handle public funds.

Commenting ahead of the hearings scheduled for this week and next week, SCOPA Chair, Hon Tim Brauteseth, said his committee was determined to hold government officials accountable for the expenditure of the public purse and to ensure that funds are not used for self-enrichment.

“Tomorrow we will begin with our follow up hearings with various departments and state entities, and we will conclude these hearings week. SCOPA met with the departments in October 2024, and they were asked to provide concrete responses to an avalanche of concerns raised relating to public expenditure within their departments.” said Hon Brauteseth.

This week’s hearings will take place as follows:

TUESDAY, 18 February 2025

Venue: Ingcuce committee room

09:00 – 09:45    :  Social Development

THURSDAY, 20 February 2025

Venue: Ingcuce committee room

09:00 – 10:30    :  Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

10:30 – 14:15    :  Ithala SOC

FRIDAY, 21 February 2025

Venue: Ingcuce committee room

09:00 – 11:30    :  Education

11:45 – 13:00    :  Public Works

13:40 – 16:00    : Transport

Members of the media are invited to cover the hearings and to indicate if they want to cover the proceedings virtually.

For enquiries: Mr Bongani Tembe 0823272600

For interviews: SCOPA Chair, Hon Tim Brauteseth 0837664657

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE

KZN Speaker Hon. Nontembeko Boyce who is a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Africa Region Budget Committee joined the CPA meeting held in Durban on Thursday, 13 February 2025. 

Deputy Speaker Hon. Mmabatho Tembe joined the delegation for the gala dinner where she welcomed the CPA Africa to KZN. While giving her address she said, “ We appreciate the efforts by the CPA of championingand promoting gender equality, and emancipation of women whilst promoting good governance. We as women leading in legislature across the African Region, we appreciate the strides that have been made to push for gender equality and the drive to have women in leadership positions. It is encouraging to see these efforts not only happening in legislatures but also ensuring there is women representation in forums such as the CPA Africa Region.”

MEDIA ADVISORY

11 February 2025

KWAZULU-NATAL GOVERNMENT PRAISED FOR REDUCING BUDGET DEFICIT BY OVER R4 BILLION IN LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s Finance Portfolio Committee has heaped praises on the provincial government for managing to reduce the projected over expenditure from R9 billion to R5 billion in a short space of time.

Briefing the Finance Portfolio Committee at the legislature today, Finance MEC Francois Rodgers announced that the cost cutting measures implemented by the provincial government at the end of last year had produced handsome dividends.

“When we implemented the cost curtailment measures in November last year our projected over expenditure was R9 billion and we are happy to announce that we have reduced it by R4 billion. We have achieved this by implementing significant reductions in travel expenses, vehicle rentals, catering and functions. We will continue to ensure that we reduce it even further,” said Rodgers.

Members of the committee commended the provincial government and urged it to continue implementing measures aimed at closing the budget shortfall. “This is a major achievement over a short period of time. We know that this is not easy to achieve,” said Finance Portfolio Committee Chair, Hon Mthandeni Dlungwana.

The Finance department also presented its 2025/2026 draft budget, the 2024/2025 third quarter financial, non-financial reports as well as the draft 2025/2026 annual performance plan.

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE

For enquiries : Mr Bongani Tembe 0823272600             

For interviews: Committee Chair, Hon Mthandeni Dlungwana 0823290354

MEDIA ADVISORY

10 February 2025 

ESKOM TO APPEAR BEFORE THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE TOMORROW

Eskom senior managers will tomorrow appear before the COGTA Portfolio Committee to provide feedback on progress made in addressing challenges faced by the power utility in KwaZulu-Natal. “We have requested Eskom to brief us on the thorny issue of damaged electricity transformers that remain stubbornly high and leave communities without power. Eskom will also share a detailed report on electricity debt owed by municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and how they plan to remedy the situation. We will also share with Eskom issues raised by the public and councilors to get feedback and work towards overall improvement,” said COGTA Chairperson, Hon Marlaine Nair ahead of the meeting.

 The meeting will also be attended by the COGTA department which will, among other things, provide an update on the outstanding backpay for izinduna, Members of the media are invited to cover the meeting which is scheduled as follows:

Date  : 11 February 2025

Time  : 11:30 am

Venue: Chamber, Pietermaritzburg

Link:

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE

For enquiries: Mr Bongani Tembe 0823272600

For interviews: COGTA Chairperson, Hon Marlaine Nair 0726928963

MEDIA ADVISORY

10 February 2025

KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE’S FINANCE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS KEY REPORTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY

The provincial Department of Treasury’s crucial reports, including the 2025/2026 draft budget, will be presented during the KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s finance portfolio committee meeting tomorrow. The department will also present its 2024/2025 third quarter financial and non-financial reports as well as the draft 2025/2026 annual performance plan. “We are in a very important period on our calendar where we process issues of budget and the annual performance plan which are crucial in ensuring that the department executes its mandate of mobilizing and disbursing funds to all provincial government departments,” said Finance Portfolio Committee Chair, Hon Mthandeni Dlungwana.

Members of the media are invited to cover the meeting which is scheduled as follows:

Date  : 11 February 2025

Time  : 8:30 am

Venue: Ingcuce Committee Room

Link: Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 323 637 094 152, Passcode: mg78oc2g

ISSUED BY THE LEGISLATURE

For enquiries  : Mr Bongani Tembe 0823272600             

For interviews: Committee Chair, Hon Mthandeni Dlungwana 0823290354

Media Statement

Date: 30 January 2025

KZN LEGISLATURE’S HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE HOLDS STAKEHOLDERS SESSION IN UTHUKELA DISTRICT

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s Human Settlements Portfolio Committee held its annual Stakeholders Engagement Session session in Okhahlamba Local Municipality under the Uthukela District on the 30^th of January.

Hundreds of stakeholders including traditional leaders, local councillors, non-governmental organisations etc attended the engagement session. Senior officials from the Departmetn of Human Settlements made presentations which were later interrogated by members of the portfolio committee led by Hon Dr Andile Biyela.

Members of the public were later given an opportunity raise service delivery matters that affecting their respective areas. A number of issues such as unfinished low cost houses, alleged corruption in the allocation of low cost houses and other issues such as lack of basic services were raised by various stakeholders.

Committee Chairperson Hon Biyela said the committee will follow up on some of the issues raised by the locals to ensure that the department makes necessary interventions.

Ends

Issued by the KZN Legislature Communications Unit

MEDIA STATEMENT
28 JANUARY 2025

KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE HOSTS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT SESSION IN ILEMBE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

The KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s Economic Development and Tourism Portfolio committee today hosted a highly successful engagement with business leaders, emerging entrepreneurs and government entities in Ilembe District Municipality.

The legislature created the platform to solicit views from key stakeholders on opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs, funding initiatives, mentorship programme’s as well as the planned investment initiatives in the district.

The session was also attended by Mayors of KwaDukuza municipality, Maphumulo Municipality and CEOs of all entities that fall under the provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism.

“We have just concluded a highly successful session with several sectors in Ilembe District Municipality. Government entities did not only share economic projects and programme’s that they have but, members of the community and businesspeople were able to make their contributions. Today’s session was part of what we do as the committee before both the budget and the Annual Performance Plan are approved,” said Hon Mafika Mndebele.

Among the opportunities presented today were those found in the Durban Aerotropolis which includes the building of a 21st Century airport city around the King Shaka International Airport. Also shared were opportunities in the tourism sector which are expected to turn KZN into a bustling hub of economic activity.

Aspirant entrepreneurs implored on the department and the portfolio committee to ensure that Operation Vula Fund was accelerated. The fund was initiated by the provincial government to provide adequate financial support towards the development of emerging enterprises.

ISSUED BY THE LEGISLATURE
For interviews: Hon Mafika Mndebele +27 (83) 783-5164

For enquiries: Mr Bongani Tembe (Legislature) 0823272600

23 January 2025

Media statement

Attention all media:

KZN SPEAKER VISITS SCHOOLS IN ZULULAND DISTRICT AS PART OF THE SCHOOLS AND MONITORING PROGRAMME

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker Hon. NontembekoBoyce and Zululand District champion and MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane have led a delegation that has visited Zamimpilo Special School and Ivungu High School in ward 2 KwaCeza, under uLundi Municipality,as part of the School Functionality and Monitoring Programme.

Hon, Boyce says, “Part of the objectives of the school functionality is to identify and address functionality challenges facing our schooling system; and provide support in addressing the challenges facing specifically poor-performing schools.”

Having listened to various presentations from management of both schools, as well as various other officials, MEC Simelane added that the relationship between the schools and the Department of Health would need to be strengthened, so that the learners’ needs can be better attended to. 

The two-day School Functionality and MonitoringProgramme focuses on monitoring, evaluating and enabling the effective start of teaching and learningsince the first day of schooling. 

Over the years, the concept has evolved broadened its scope and effectiveness. It now incorporates a number of elements, such as school performance, governance and management, parental involvement, scholar transport, school nutrition, health and social development services, infrastructure development and addressing various social ills. It also ropes in officials from various Government Departments, particularly the social cluster, which is made up of Education, Health, and Social Development.

The programme will continue in earnest tomorrow,where members of the Legislature will visit two more schools in Pongola. 

Ends

For more information please contact:

KZN Legislature Media Liaison Officer, Phathisa Mfuyo

Cell: 0731293378/ 0810215111

Email: mfuyop@kznleg.gov.za