From left to right: Themba Mavundla; HOD Community Safety and Liaison, Zazile Mkhwanazi: home owner, Induna Mthethwa, Sphamandla Mthethwa; Ward 11 councillor and MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works Ravi Pillay
MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay on Wednesday, 30 August 2017 visited the area of Cinci under uMfolozi Municipality. The visit was part of Operation Sukuma Sakhe with the aim of addressing service delivery issues in line with government’s target to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality.
It was a day to remember for Zazile Mkhwanazi and her grandchildren as she received an electricity connection for the first time in her home. Unemployed Zazile who lives with her 10 grandchildren could not contain her excitement when MEC Pillay switched on the electricity switch at her home. “It is the very first time in my life that I will be living in a home with electricity, thank you for bringing light and hope into my home,” Mkhwanazi said. She says her life will now be made easier since she has been struggling without electricity whilst she watched her neighbours receive electricity connections over the past few years. “I would always ask myself why my house hasn’t been connected yet and wondered when my turn would come,” she said.
Left: MEC Pillay addressing the constriction workers at Mawombe Sports field.
Right: MEC Pillay planting seedlings at Cinci Clinic
The landscape of uMfolozi Municipality is predominantly a rural area consisting of an impoverished population which depends on traditional forms of living such as subsistence farming and burning of fossil fuels to make ends meet. One of the major projects visited by the MEC was the Mawombe Sports field currently under construction. The sports field will be good for the youth in the area who will now have access to a clean and well-maintained field. According to the engineer on site, Mr Mthoko Khoza, the project was launched in December 2016 and due for completion at the end of September 2017.
MEC Pillay also paid a visit to the Cinci Clinic where he planted trees and vegetable seedlings. The clinic has a well-maintained vegetable garden solely for the purpose of providing some form of nutrition to the poorest of the poor patients. “Some of our patients are so poor that they do not have food to eat before taking their medication, so we decided to start a garden so that we can provide vegetables to those who need them the most,” said Sister Gumede who is the clinic’s Operational Manager.
MEC Pillay addressing the Community of Cinci, Ward 11 under uMfolozi Municipality
The day ended with a community engagement at Cinci Hall where MEC Pillay addressed the people of ward 11. He expressed his gratitude for the warm reception from the people of Cinci and encouraged them to teach their children the importance of education. “If in every family, one child got educated and got a qualification, that child will make sure that his/her family is taken out of poverty,” he said.
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