30 November 2021

TO    ALL MEDIA

2021 PARLIAMENT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES -KING CETSHWAYO DISTRICT

As we celebrate the International Day for People with Disabilities, the KZN Legislature, will hold its annual Parliament for People with Disabilities, from 1 to 2 December 2021, at the Indoor Centre in Melmoth, under Mthonjaneni Municipality.

The event is held every year to allow people with disabilities to engage and discuss issues that affect them in their daily lives. This is also a platform for the Legislature to involve various sectors in its legislative processes as part of its constitutional responsibility.   

“With this parliament we hope to address many barriers that people with disabilities face including socio economic barriers which continue to exclude people of this sector from participating in the mainstream economy”, Hon Phumzile Mbatha Cele, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Quality of life commented.

Expected in this parliament is the debate by the disability sector around the theme, “Leadership and Participation of Persons with Disabilities Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable post COVID19”.

The discussions will ultimately lead to the adoption of resolutions that will be forwarded to the Legislature for further consideration and processing, and ultimately to the Members of the Executive Council for implementation.

Media is invited to cover the event.

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For more information, contact:

Wesley Canham                                          Nomusa Phungula

0833767299                                                  0722 94 7237

Media Liaison and PR                                 Media Liaison: Speaker’s Office

24 November 2021

MEDIA STATEMENT

KZN LEGISLATURE TO OBSERVE 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM FOR NO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The 25^th of November marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. The day is also celebrated as the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Members of the KZN Legislature, led by Hon Speaker Nontembeko Boyce, will observe this period through a series of activities in their constituencies monitoring this scourge and encouraging communities to report acts of gender-based violence (GBV) to law enforcement agencies and to the committees of the KZN Legislature.

This year’s campaign is themed: “The Year of Charlotte Maxeke –16 Days of Activism – moving from awareness to accountability”. It is the government’s effort to fight and ultimately conquer the scourge of violence directed at women and children.

This will see Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature joining members of the civil society, grassroots organisations, LGBTQI, non-governmental organisations and government departments to demand accountability for the protection of women and girls over the next two-weeks.

During the year, Legislature has already had a number of programmes and symposia, working with LGBTQI sector, traditional leaders, rural women, senior citizens and sex workers to intensify awareness in communities about the gravity of Gender Based Violence.

The Legislature urges all those who experience or witness acts of gender based violence to report these to law enforcement officers.

The institution, through its portfolio committees, will monitor the incidents of gender based violence and how relevant government departments and law enforcement agencies respond to these.

The Legislature will be issuing media alerts to inform media houses of several planned 16 Days of Activism activities to be undertaken by the Legislature during the next two weeks.

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Issued by

Communications Unit of KZN Legislature For more information:

TO ALL MEDIA

KZN LEGISLATURE INTENSIFIES VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN IN THE PROVINCE

Tomorrow, 1 September 2021, the Legislature will continue with its voter education campaign to encourage citizens to participate in the upcoming local government elections next year. The campaign is planned as follows:

Ilembe District Municipality

King Cetshwayo Local Municipality

There will be briefing meetings with political leadership of the Legislature and local municipalities before the voter education campaign kicks off in the two districts. The briefings will take place in municipal council chambers. Home Affairs and IEC will be present to assist citizens as they prepare for registration, ID applications and other services as provided by these institutions.
The Legislature is the custodian of democracy and with this programme, the institution aims to strengthen participatory democracy by ensuring that all eligible voters participate in the local government elections to elect their public representatives where they live.

Media is invited to cover the event.

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For more information for, contact:
Wesley Canham
0833767299
Media Liaison and PR

From today 27 to 28 July 2021, KZN Legislature MPLs including MECs are conducting mid-year oversight visits in schools throughout the province to inspect their readiness to resume teaching and learning after the winter break.

The schools functionality monitoring programme which is conducted in the beginning of the year when schools open and in the middle of the year when schools reopen after the mid-year break aims to ensure that teaching and learning take place in a conducive environment in our public schools.

The visits include various stakeholders such as SGBs, Teacher Unions, Councilors, Community Leadership and various government departments.

MEDIA ALERT
DATE: 24 JUNE 2021
ATTENTION: REPORTERS, NEWS AND ASSIGNMENT EDITORS

KZN LEGISLATURE MULTIPARTY DELEGATION EMBARK ON OVERSIGHT VISITS IN UMKHANYAKUDE LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES

A high powered multiparty delegation of Members of the Provincial Legislature will be deployed in all local municipalities in uMkhanyakude to hold meetings with various stakeholders with a view to understand their service delivery challenges. The visits start on Friday the 25th and end on Saturday the 26th June 2021.

On 25 June, various teams will start the programme by visiting various projects that have been implemented by local, provincial and national government to bring service delivery in uMkhanyakude District.

Due to the outbreak of the 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s move to Alert Level 3 Lockdown Regulations, public meetings, which will be held on Saturday the 26th June, will only be limited to 50 people in each venue. People are encouraged to participate in these meetings by raising service delivery challenges in their wards by using the Legislature’s social media pages, Twitter: @KznLegislature, Facebook: KZN legislature.

The media is invited to attend the meetings which will also be streamed live on our social media pages.

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For more information contact:
Sina Nxumalo
Communications Manager
Cell: 0829060449
E-mail: nxumalow@kznleg.gov.za

Media Alert
For Immediate Release
24 May 2021

SPEAKER NONTEMBEKO BOYCE TO DELIVER KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE BUDGET SPEECH TOMORROW 25 MAY 2021

The Speaker of KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Honourable Nontembeko Boyce will present the Budget Speech for the KZN Legislature (Vote 2) for 2021/2022 financial year in the Legislature Chamber on the 25th May 2021 at 9h00.

The Speaker will unveil the Legislature’s ground-breaking programmes and initiatives which are set to change the way the Legislature operates during the 6th term.

Necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the regulations put in place to curb the further spread of the virus, the Legislature continues to perform its core business of law-making, oversight, and public participation through various digital platforms.

The adoption of digital platforms aims to ensure that the business of the legislature remains in full force and that we continue to execute our constitutional mandate and place the citizen’s views at the centre of our work

The Speaker will deliver the budget speech in a hybrid sitting where Members of the Legislature (MPLs) will attend physically while others will participate in the sitting virtually. It will be streamed live on the Legislature’s social media platforms and YouTube channel.

Date – 25 May 2021
Time – 09:00
Members of the media are invited to cover the budget speech.

A limited number of media houses will be allowed in the chamber, kindly RSVP by 3pm today

ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER

Enquiries
Nomusa Phungula – 071 851 0085/ 072 294 7237

Voter Education Campaign got off to a good start at the weekend

The Legislature’s voter education campaign was launched successfully at the weekend in Zululand and uMkhanyakude Districts where Members of the Legislature (MPLs) conducted roadshows educating the public on the importance of voting in the upcoming local government elections to be held on the 27th October 2021.

The voter education campaign which was led by the top leadership of the Legislature including the Deputy Speaker, Hon Themba Mthembu, Deputy Chair of Chairs, Hon Makhosazana Zungu, and Deputy Chief Whip, Hon Vuyiswa Caluza aims to educate and encourage the citizens to participate effectively in the upcoming municipal elections.

The campaign is focusing on the following important areas:

• Who can register as a voter?
• Where can you register?
• Why should you register?
• How do you check if you are registered?
• How to vote in municipal elections?

The KZN Legislature has a duty to conduct public education as part of its mandate of enhancing public involvement in the democratic processes. Voting is a democratic right and a civic duty which requires all eligible citizens to participate in it.

Members of the public who came out in large numbers during the campaign had shown enthusiasm and their readiness to vote in the upcoming local government elections. The Legislature will conduct the voter education campaign until the end of September.

13 May 2021
For Immediate Release
Attention: News/Assignment Editors, Political Reporters

SUBJECT: KZN LEGISLATURE EMBARKS ON VOTER EDUCATON CAMPAIGN TO ENHANCE DEMOCRACY AHEAD OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Following the announcement by the Presidency of the date of the local government elections to be held on 27 October 2021, the KZN Legislature will be conducting a series of voter education campaigns to encourage the citizens to take part in the upcoming local government elections. The voter education campaign kicks off this Saturday, 15 May 2021 and will run until September.

The Legislature will conduct the first phase of the campaign at the following areas:

Umkhanyakude District: 15 May 2021 from 9h00
Umhlabuyalingana Local Municipality,
* Ward 1 (Manguzi Town)
* Ward 4
Route: Thengani Evangelic Church, Mnyayiza, Mashalaza, Manguzi Shopping Centre
Umtubatuba Local Municipality,
* Mtubatuba Town
* Ward 3
*Ward 20
Route: Bhoboza, Msane, Mbatsheni, Delunina Low Cost Housing Settlements

Zululand District: 15 May 2021 from 9h00
Pongola Local Municipality
*Ward 2
*Ward 5 (Belgrade)
*Ward 10
Route: Ncotshane Township (Ward 10 and 2), Town

Abaqulusi Local Municipality
*Ward 18 – Vryheid
Route: Mondlo Township, Garage next to the Rank

The Legislature views the citizens’ participation in our democratic processes as essential to sustaining and enhancing constitutional democracy in our country. Elections are part of public involvement in our democracy and they allow the citizens to choose the government they want where they live.
“Our institution, through this campaign, aims to ensure that we approach the upcoming local government elections with well-informed citizens who are able to participate effectively, and that we strengthen our commitment with the voters to fundamental values and principles of constitutional democracy”, said the Deputy Speaker of the Legislature, Hon Themba Mthembu.

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For more information

Wesley Canham
Senior Practitioner: Media Liaison and PR
canhamw@kznleg.gov.za
0833767299,

Nomusa Phungula
Media Liaison in the Office of the Speaker
Phungulas@kznlegov.za
0722 94 7237
071 851 0085

Sina Nxumalo
Communications Manager
0829060449
nxumalow@kznleg.gov.za