MEDIA STATEMENT

1 October 2025

KZN COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE RAISES CONCERNS ON AMAKHOSI PENSION FUND

As Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Portfolio Committee, I recognise the vital role of Amakhosi in our communities and support efforts to ensure their dignity in retirement.

However, the approval of new Amakhosi Pension Fund comes at a time when CoGTA has lost its clean audit, failed to pay creditors on time, and municipalities across KZN are collapsing under financial strain and poor service delivery. Public dissatisfaction is growing as communities continue to face failing water, electricity, roads, and basic governance.

As a committee, we have continually called for greater oversight and stronger support to municipalities but have repeatedly been told that this was not possible due to budget constraints. It is therefore of great concern to us that resources are now being directed to a new initiative of this scale.

The approval of the new Amakhosi Pension Fund raises serious questions. The Committee will raise these matters with the MEC at a special portfolio committee meeting where he has committed to answer all questions relating to traditional leadership.

Our key concerns are as follows:

1. Where is the money coming from?

CoGTA is under austerity and has already taken budget cuts. We need clarity on how this pension and medical scheme will be funded.

2. Is it sustainable?

Traditional leadership wages were once an unfunded mandate, later covered by Treasury. We must not repeat this mistake with another unfunded commitment.

3.    What about municipalities?

Oversight, disaster management, and township rehabilitation are already under-funded. Municipalities are failing, service delivery is collapsing, and communities are increasingly dissatisfied with government’s inability to provide basic services.

4. Audit regression.

The Auditor-General has reported that CoGTA lost its clean audit because it failed to pay creditors within 30 days. If the department cannot manage existing obligations, how will it manage new financial commitments?

5. Transparency.

The Committee requires a full business case: scheme rules, contribution model, medical benefit costs, and the financial forecasts that show whether the fund is affordable in the long term.

The Committee stresses that while it respects Amakhosi and support their welfare, it cannot ignore the reality that municipalities are failing, and service delivery is at an all-time low. Supporting Amakhosi is important, but it cannot be done at the expense of fixing our municipalities, strengthening oversight, and restoring basic services to our people.

ISSUED BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTTEE, HONOURABLE MARLAINE NAIR

Honourable Nair can be reached on 0726928963

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
30 SEPTEMBER 2025

KZN LEGISLATURE TO HOST ITS ANNUAL SENIOR CITIZENS PARLIAMENT IN UMDONI MUNICIPALITY

In line with its Constitutional mandate of facilitating public involvement in the legislative and other processes of the Legislature as provided for in Section 118 of the Constitution, the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature will host its annual Senior Citizens Parliament in Umdoni Municipality under Ugu District to provide older persons with a platform to raise issues that affect them.

The Senior Citizens Parliament to be held on 02 October 2025 will take place after the United Nations International Day for Older Persons which is celebrated on 01 October the world over.

The Senior Citizens Parliament will be held under the theme “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-being and Our Rights”. Participants in the event are older persons who represent senior citizens from all districts of KZN including the Metro and representatives from all political parties that are represented in the Legislature.

The Senior Citizens Parliament will form commissions that will discuss the following issues that are of interest to older persons:

• Inadequate healthcare facilities for senior citizens.
• Inadequate housing facilities for senior citizens.
• Challenges that are brought by the Social Security Agency.
• How to bridge the gap to reduce the growing digital divide among senior citizens.

The event will be attended by Members of the Legislature, Premier and Members of the Executive Council (MECs) to engage with the delegates and listen to the issues that concern them. The Senior Citizens Parliament will finally adopt a set of resolutions that will be processed and overseen by the relevant Legislature committee and then forwarded to the provincial government for implementation.  

The event is scheduled to take place as follows:

Date:               Thursday, 02 October 2025

Venue:            Umzinto Town Hall, Umdoni Municipality

Time:              9h00

The media is invited to the event.

For more information, please contact Sina Nxumalo, Communications Manager

Cell: 0829060449

ENDS

Speaker of the KZN Legislature, Hon. Nontembeko Boyce, joined the TVET College Cook-Off Challenge grand finale at La Lucia Ridge.

This exciting event brought together talented culinary students from TVET colleges across South Africa, showcasing their skills and creativity in the kitchen.

Speaker Congratulated Nqolokazi Mciza from King Sabata Dalindyebo TVET College in the Eastern Cape, the overall winner of the Cook-Off Challenge beating contestants from other provinces. 

#KZNLegislature #kznmpls #TVETCookOffChallenge 

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Learners from across Ezinqoleni came out in numbers to attend the Speaker’s Social Responsibility Career Exhibition Expo, held at Dlovinga Community Hall. The event brought together government departments, tertiary institutions, private sector companies, and development agencies to provide career guidance and empower young people with knowledge that will help shape their futures.

Speaking at the event, the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Nontembeko Boyce, said: “This programme is critical in shaping the future of our learners. In many of the schools I have visited in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality through the Legislature’s Civic Education Programme, I have seen how some learners still struggle with subject choice — and how many end up choosing subjects that will not serve them when they finish school. Through this initiative, we aim to reach as many high schools as possible, and hopefully make a lasting difference in the lives of our young people.”

Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Hon. Zuko Godlimbi, emphasised the link between subject choices and career success. He said: “The choices you make today about which subjects to study will determine the doors that open for you tomorrow. We want you to be deliberate, to think about the future, and to take subjects that will place you in fields where South Africa needs you most. To encourage you further, I am committing to donate 10 laptops to learners who will submit essays explaining the work of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. I look forward to seeing your submissions.”

Also in attendance was Mr Walter Tebogo Letsie, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education in Parliament, who interacted with learners and addressed some of their questions.

The Expo was a collaboration, with institutions such as NSFAS,the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the National Youth Development Agency. Home Affairs also provided on-site services, assisting learners and community members with ID applications.

To close off the event, the Speaker hosted a Civic Education Quiz, where learners competed for prizes that included laptops, tablets, school bags and power banks, further reinforcing the link between knowledge, participation, and empowerment.

Through this programme, the Hon. Boyce continues to demonstrate her commitment to ensuring that rural learners, who often lack career guidance resources, have access to information, opportunities, and role models that can help them thrive in a changing economy. Working with sponsors and partners, the Career Exhibition Expo will be hosted annually, ensuring that learners continue to benefit from this important initiative.

Issued by the Office of the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

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MEDIA ADVISORY

September 2025

KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE TO HOST A HIGH-POWERED DELEGATION FROM ESWATINI PARLIAMENT THIS WEEK

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, under the leadership of Speaker Honourable Nontembeko Boyce, will be hosting eSwatini Parliament on a two-day visit. The two institutions will share parliamentary best practices under the auspices of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) that they are both members of.

The high-level delegation will comprise members of the Senate, the Deputy Speaker as well as members of Parliament and it will be in the province from the 4^th of September to the 5^th of September 2025.

The session is part of the resolutions adopted during CPA’s last session held in New South Wales, Australia last year under the theme ‘Engage, empower, sustain: charting the course for resilient democracy’. The engagements between KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and eSwatini Parliament are therefore designed to serve as a platform for sharing best practices in legislative governance and operations.

All formal sessions will take place at the legislature in Pietermaritzburg, and they will commence at 8am. For media enquiries contact Mr Bongani Tembe on 0823272600

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Media Statement
For Immediate Release
COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON RAISES ALARM OVER KZN MUNICIPALITIES’ FINANCES

The latest Section 71 fourth quarter report on municipal finances has confirmed what many communities in KwaZulu-Natal already know, while there are areas of progress, too many municipalities remain in deep financial trouble.

Municipalities collected R99.3 billion, equal to 98.6% of adjusted budgets. On the surface this appears strong, but the reality is stark: municipalities are still burdened by R67.1 billion in unpaid debt, of which 84% is overdue by more than 90 days. At the same time, they owe R9.3 billion to creditors, with more than half of that amount also overdue — mainly to Eskom and water boards. These arrears threaten electricity and water supply across the province.

Even more worrying is the under-expenditure of R9.9 billion. These are funds that were budgeted to build roads, repair infrastructure, and improve basic services — but they remain unspent due to delays, poor planning, and weak capacity.

The report also highlights the problem of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE). In the second and third quarters alone, municipalities detected more than R132 million in UIFWE. Detecting it is one thing, but the failure to prevent it shows that too many municipalities still lack proper financial controls. National Treasury has warned that if this continues, it may use its constitutional powers under Section 216(2) to withhold funds from repeat offenders — a move that would have direct consequences for service delivery.

As the CoGTA Portfolio Committee, we are clear: municipalities must urgently improve debt collection, honour their creditor payments, speed up infrastructure spending, and act firmly against financial misconduct. Provincial and National Treasury can provide support, but accountability lies squarely with municipal leaders.

The time for excuses has passed. Our municipalities are the frontline of service
delivery — and they must get their finances in order before more drastic action is taken.
ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATION’S UNIT ON BEHALF OF COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON, HONOURABLE MARLAINE NAIR

For Interviews: 0726928963

While addressing Hon Boyce said, “Our communities do not care which sphere of government delivers, they want clinics that work, roads that connect, water that runs, and leaders who listen. Women are not just filling spaces in governance; we are catalysts for ethical, accountable, and impactful leadership. When women lead, change becomes tangible.” #kznlegislature #kznmpls #salga #womensmonth2025