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 AND THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS

20 February 2023

Programme Director

The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Richard Themba Mthembu

The Secretary of the legislature, Ms. Nerusha Naidoo

Members of the media

We would like to start by thanking each one of you for responding so positively to our invitation to this morning’s press briefing wherein we seek to update you on key developments in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.

Ladies and gentlemen, over the past weeks, the leadership of the legislature has been conducting consultations with all key stakeholders regarding the Official Opening of the KZN Legislature as well as the State of the Province Address (SOPA).

Among the stakeholders were consulted were King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube and leaders of all political parties represented in the Legislature.

During our media briefing last year, we reported that, although over the years the official opening of the legislature, had been a two-legged occasion that commences with the address by His Majesty and culminates in the State of the Province Address (SOPA) by the Premier, His Majesty was not going to address the house pending the conclusion of government processes in respect of certification of the King.

We are happy to announce that following the Coronation of the King in October last year, we will commence with the Address by the Monarch which will be followed by the State of the Province.

In line with Standing Rule 10, of the Standing Rules of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, the Zulu Monarch will deliver His inaugural address on Thursday, 23 February and subsequently the Premier will deliver her State of the Province Address the following day, on Friday, 24 February 2023 at the Oval Cricket Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

Members of the Media will recall that in the past, the KZN Legislature has made use of the Royal Showgrounds as a preferred venue for the King Address as well as SOPA. However, we are aware that this facility has been sold for a mixed use development and from 2024, it will no longer be available. We therefore felt it prudent that we must begin to cast our net wider in terms of the facilities within uMsunduzi that could host an event of this magnitude. We are therefore convinced that the Oval Cricket Stadium is one of the suitable venues that the Legislature can utilise until such time that the new legislature precinct comes into fruition.

May I advise members of the Media that the Kings Address and SOPA will be attended by 2500 people. The Official Opening will comprise of 1200 invited guests, 700 members of the public, 500 Amabutho, 100 members of Omama besiphithiphithi group and maidens.

We have taken a decision that the Address by His Majesty should be a vastly dignified  and distinguished ceremony hence we have increased the number of attendees from 1000 last year to 2500 this year as we take advantage of the fact that the King will be delivering his maiden address and also recognising that the 2021 and 2022 Official opening has limited attendance due to Covid 19 restrictions. This move has been fully supported by political parties represented in the legislature.

We anticipate a dignified and colourful ceremony that posterity would be proud of with Amabutho and amakhosi receiving His Majesty before the formal programme.

The 1200 invited guests have been sourced from diverse sectors and different parts of the country including, the diplomatic corps,  civil society, cultural groups, interfaith, the interfaith, the judiciary, NCOP delegates and former Members of the Legislature.

We are therefore confident that we will have a highly dignified and cost-effective inaugural address by His Majesty whom we regard as a source wisdom and many important issues ranging from development, social, economic and cultural in the province.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me I want to assure you that the Legislature is alive to the socio-economic challenges facing the country. To this end we have ensured that there are no frills that would characterize our opening. Only those amenities that are necessary for the event of this magnitude have been secured.

Ladies and gentlemen,

SOPA is critical in that it serves to set out the province’s key policy objectives and deliverables for the year. This is essential for the legislature to commence its oversight process for the year in that it can have a clear picture of the Executive’s plans and intentions for the year.

During SOPA, Honourable Premier Dube – Ncube will expand on practical steps to be taken by our government to address challenges faced by the province. The SOPA will, among other things focus on how the provincial government will deal with the effects of the recent floods and the July 2021 unrest which affected the lives of thousands of people and wrecked the economy.

This address by the Premier, follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation and serves as an opportunity for Members of the Legislature to consider the issues of accountability and oversee whether commitments of previous years have been achieved or are on track. 

The proceedings for both the official opening and SOPA will be available live on all KwaZulu-Natal Legislature social media pages on reverse billing or data-free meaning members of the public can stream for free on youtube. This address is also available on our website and social media pages.

The State of the Province Address will be followed by the Provincial Budget which will also be followed by Budget Policy Speeches of all provincial governments, including the Legislature.

Among the highlights of our budget speech will be the achievements we have scored as the institution including the fact that we are currently sitting with two consecutive clean audits. This, ladies and gentlemen, shows that we are not only keeping a watchful eye on how government entities handle the public purse but we are also leading by example.

We are also proud that our institution was the first among its peers to effectively use digital platforms to run its business online with house sittings and administration meetings now being conducted online.

Our public participation programmes, sectoral engagements and oversight programmes continue to have positive impact on people’s lives. We therefore humbly request the media to continue supporting our activities such as the LGBTQI+ Symposium, Sex Work Symposium, International Women’s Day, the Interfaith Symposium, the Workers’ Parliament, the Youth Parliament, Women’s Parliament, Senior Citizens’ Parliament, TLTP, Disability Parliament, Young Women’s Symposium.

All the Programmes mentioned above will take place against the backdrop of the Legislature finalising its closeout report for the sixth term as we prepare for the 2024 Elections. As the serving leadership we want to believe that we have built on the solid foundation laid by those leaders who came before us. It is our conviction that when we hand over the baton to the seventh political administration, our contribution during this term will not go unnoticed.

I thank you

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE

For more information contact:

Nomusa Phungula

071 851 0085

SCHOOLS FUNCTIONALITY MONITORING PROGRAMMME TACKLES NON-VIABLE SCHOOLS IN THE PROVINCE

From the 1^st to the 3^rd February 2023, all Members of the Legislature embarked on the Schools Functionality Monitoring Programme which targeted non-viable schools in KwaZulu-Natal with an aim of addressing the challenges faced by these schools particularly in rural areas.

The Schools Functionality Monitoring Programme forms part of the Legislature’s oversight responsibility which takes place at the beginning of every academic year and during the middle of the year to monitor the functioning of our public schools to ensure the delivery of quality basic education in KwaZulu-Natal.

The programme was introduced during the third term of the Legislature, aims to improve teaching and learning in our public schools by ensuring that schooling in all public schools takes place on the first day of each academic year. It involves various stakeholders such as School Governing Bodies, Teacher Unions, Councillors, Government Departments, Community Leaders and Religious Leaders. 

Since its inception, this intervention programme has yielded remarkable outcomes in our education system in the province with sustained improvement in the delivery of quality basic education from the foundation phase right up to the high school phase. This has been demonstrated by sustained and remarkable improvement in our senior certificate examination results over the past decade. The 2022 KZN matric results are a case in point.

Various Legislature teams were deployed in all Districts of KwaZulu-Natal to monitor non-viable schools with challenges ranging from low enrolment numbers, severe staff shortages, poor physical school infrastructure, crime, poverty and other social challenges.  

In Ugu District, the team started the schools functionality monitoring programme by visiting schools which were identified as non-viable in Umdoni Municipality on Wednesday the 1^st February 2023. The visit started at Sithuthukile Secondary School in Ward 2 which was later followed by the visit to Ikhamana Primary School in the same Ward.

The challenges that were discovered in both schools in Umdoni Municipality are enormous. The physical conditions of the schools are an eyesore. Members urged the Department to come up with an immediate intervention to improve the physical condition of the schools particularly by providing suitable classrooms and resources which make teaching and learning to take place in a conducive environment. This also includes the provision of suitable ablution facilities for both teachers and learners which were found to be posing serious health hazards.

The team also discovered shocking low levels of pupil enrolment coupled with teacher provision norms in both these schools. It was shocking to discover that both schools have less than 100 pupils and two educators including principals who teach in these schools.  

On the second day, the team visited Ray Nkonyeni Municipality in uMzumbe Circuit Management. The day started at Mashaba Primary School which is a non-viable school with the current enrolment of less than 100 pupils with only 3 educators including the principal. The physical condition of the school also needs an urgent intervention by the Department. Of particular concern was a lack of proper classrooms and ablution facilities as well as shoddy fencing of the school which must be attended to as a matter of urgency. Like all other non-viable schools, the school is severely under-staffed which makes effective teaching impossible.

The team then moved to Mntwana Ngamizizwe High School in the same Circuit Management. The school has proper and excellent physical infrastructure with modern teaching and learning tools such as overhead screens and projectors and a functional laboratory. However, the school has a challenge of fewer pupil enrolment which places it in the same category as a non-viable school.

As a result of this enrolment challenge, the school has been affected by the Post Provision Norm (PPN). Currently, there is a severe shortage of teachers to teach critical subjects such as maths, science and accounting. Even the school principal teaches subjects from grade 10 to 12 with more than 20 teaching periods per week. That compromises the principal’s administrative responsibilities.

On the last day of the programme, Ugu team visited Sibhaqa Primary School in Izingolweni which is another non-viable school. Like all other non-viable schools visited during the Schools Functionality progamme, the school suffers from the same challenges of poor enrolment and inadequate teaching staff.

A consolidated report including reports from other teams that visited other Districts is being compiled for submission to the Chairperson of Committees for processing and subsequently to the Office of the Speaker for tabling in the House.

The report will be tabled in the House for debate and adoption. After the adoption of the report, the Legislature, through its Portfolio Committee on Education, will play its oversight role on the implementation of the report by the Department of Education as adopted by the House.

Media Statement

25 January 2023

JOINT OVERSIGHT EXERCISE BY KZN AND GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s Public Works Portfolio Committee together with the Gauteng Legislature’s Infrastructure Development and Property Management Portfolio Committee this week visited King Dinuzulu Hospital in Durban and Tongaat Special School to conduct oversight as mandated by the constitution.

The Gauteng Legislature MPLs were in KwaZulu-Natal as part of the Inter-Provincial Legislature visit to exchange best practices on strengthening oversight and public participation within the legislative sector.

On Tuesday Gauteng MPLs joined KZN Legislature’s Public Works Portfolio Committee in Ixopo’s Peace Initiative Hall where the Public Works Committee had a Stakeholders Engagement with the people of Harry Gwala District.

Stakeholders Engagement is a legislature initiative which seeks to enable communities to actively participate in the governance of the province and to influence how resources are allocated and prioritised.

Officials from the Department of Public Works also attended the meeting and were able to report on the department’s projects in the province and also in the Harry Gwala District.

Dozens of people including councillors, traditional leaders, contractors and members of the community attended the stakeholders’ engagement.

During the visit to King Dinuzulu Hospital Public Works Department officials reported on frustrations experienced by the department as a result of business forums which disrupt developmental projects demanding to be appointed as service providers.

Honourable Mpho Modise, whp chairs Gauteng Legislature’s Infrastructure Development and Property Management Portfolio Committee, said this problem is not only experienced in KZN but is also prevalent in Gauteng.

“The painful thing about this is that these forums sometimes do not have the required skills and once they are given an opportunity to sub-contract, they sell that to a service provider who has required skills and attributes,” said Modise.

The two committees then proceeded to Tongaat Special School which has been rebuilt to do the walk-about and inspect the progress on the construction of the school.

Ends

SCHOOL FUNCTIONALITY AND MONITORING PROGRAMME

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker Honourable Nontembeko Boyce has postponed the Schools Functionality Monitoring Programme which was scheduled to take place between 25-27 January 2023 until further notice.

09 November 2022
Embargo: For Immediate Release
Attention: News/Assignment Editors, Political Reporters, Reporters

WAR-ROOMS FUNCTIONALITY MONITORING REVEAL UNRESOLVED CHALLENGES IN MOST WARDS

Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature this week (8-9 November) were deployed throughout the province to assess the functioning of War-Rooms which were established to facilitate a well-co-ordinated, collaborative and inclusive service delivery to communities.

This is part of the legislature’s mandate to ensure that service delivery indeed takes part in our province.

The legislature adopted the War Rooms Functionality Programme in 2018 as part of its constitutional mandate to exercise oversight over the executive arm of government.
Whilst a lot of good work was observed in a number of War-Rooms throughout the province Honourable Members also noted a number of challenges including the following:
• Lack of infrastructure such as office space, computers and other tools to support War- Rooms to function optimally.
• Lack of co-operation from a number of government departments who are almost always unavailable to attend War-Room meetings and report or listen to issues affecting communities in that specific ward.

• A need to improve working relationship between War-Rooms and institutions of traditional leadership especially in rural areas to tackle developmental issues and criminality including gender based violence.
The fact that almost all wards have War-Rooms was noted as a positive development from which the province needs to build on strengthen the work of War-Rooms.
Eleven teams were deployed in all districts and Ethekwini Metro to assess the work of the War-Rooms and each team visited about six war rooms in each district.
All spheres of government, national, provincial and local, as well as civil society players participate in war rooms to deal with issues affecting communities that need government intervention.
Ends

Issued by KZN Legislature Communications Unit

For more information please contact Wonder Hlongwa at 0829083532

31 October 2022
Media Advisory

As part of its Public Participation programme, KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, will engage the people of Harry Gwala District in a two-day sitting known as Taking Legislature to the People.

This programme is part of the institution’s efforts to facilitate participation of the public in the governance of the province.

The two-day sitting in the Greater Kokstad Municipality follows the multiparty visits by Members of the Legislature in July to all local municipalities under Harry Gwala District where they met with communities to listen to their service delivery issues which need government intervention.

The two-day sitting takes place as follows:

• Dates: 3 – 4 November 2022
• Venue: Bhongweni Youth Centre, Greater Kokstad Municipality, Harry Gwala District
• Time: 9h00

The media is invited to attend and cover the event or follow the proceedings on the KZN Legislature social media platforms.

Ends
Issued by KZN Legislature Communications Unit
For more information please contact Sina Nxumalo at 0829083532

The KZN Legislature Social Development Portfolio Committee invites the public and other relevant stakeholders to attend public hearings of the Children’s Amendment Bill (B18B-2020).

The Children’s Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Children’s Act, 2005, so as to amend and insert certain definitions; to extend the children’s court jurisdiction; to further provide for the care of abandoned or orphaned children and additional matters that may be regulated; to provide for additional matters relating to children in alternative care; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Details of the Public Hearings are as follows:

11 OCTOBER 2022
Mbazwane Multipurpose Centre UMkhanyakude District
10:00

18 OCTOBER 2022
Osizweni Community Hall
Amajuba District 10:00

19 OCTOBER 2022
Umkhumbane Community Hall
eThekwini Metro 10:00

21 OCTOBER 2022
Greytown Town Hall
UMzinyathi District 10:00

25 OCTOBER 2022
Kokstad City Hall
Harry Gwala District 10:00

The closing date for written submissions: 27 October 2022. Written submissions must be addressed to:

Mr Thembelani Ngubane
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
P/Bag x 9112
PIETERMARITZBURG
3200

Or: – WhatsAPP Number 0605032194

Or: – post your comments to KZN Social Development Portfolio Committee Facebook page https://web.facebook.com/SocialDevelopmentCommittee

Copies of the Bill are available on the KZN Legislature’s website: https://kznlegislature.gov.za/acts-bills/ and all District Municipalities as well as eThekwini Metro: For further details, please contact Thembelani Ngubane on Tel: 033 3557087 or email: ngubanet@kznlegislature.gov.za

The 2022 Young Women’s Symposium was held at Sibusisiwe Hall, Mandeni Municipality on Friday 07 October 2022, under the theme : “Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on Young Women in KwaZulu-Natal”.

A panel discussion of young women from various professions facilitated by Ms Sunshine Myede which consisted of:
Hon. Kayanga Baroda who’s a Member of the Ugandan Parliament, Dr L Zwane from the KwaZulu-Natal Dept. of Health, Ms S Nzuza whom is an entrepreneur and owner of Eyesihlahla Farm, as well as Ms Z Mncube who’s an academic.

Together the ladies discussed the effects of Covid-19 and how it has negatively affected the various fields they’re in, with their subject matter consisting of :

1 – Covid-19 experiences as a young woman and how the continent can respond to the effects of pandemics in future.
2 – lived experience in dealing with the deadly virus as a young female doctor.
3 – The effects of Covid-19 on women entrepreneurs and lessons learned.
4 – Covid-19 academic experience.

Later the Speaker of the Legislature Hon. NN Boyce gave each of the ladies a token of appreciation for sharing their experiences of how the pandemic and hard lockdowns affected their day-to-day lives, and further encouraged young women to keep going no matter how hard or tough life gets, and although it is inevitable that they might stumble and fall along the way, but should gather their strength and pick themselves up and continue their walk in becoming empowering, strong, innovative, resourceful and diligent young women.

A special thanks to Ms Hlengiwe Mhlanga for her performance at the end of the event.