EFFECTIVELY TACKLING FRAUD AND CORRUPTION IN ETHEKWINI. ETHEKWINI Mayor Zandile Gumede is serious about rooting out corruption in the City, as is evident by the dismissal of staff members found to be flouting the law.

1. ETHEKWINI
WEEKLY BULLETIN
www.durban.gov.za
By 2030 eThekwini will be Africa’s most caring and liveable city
“KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW”
EFFECTIVELY TACKLING FRAUD AND
CORRUPTION IN ETHEKWINI
E
THEKWINI Mayor
Zandile Gumede is
serious about rooting out
corruption in the City,
as is evident by the dismissal
of staff members found to be
flouting the law.
All suspected cases of fraud or
corruption reported to the City
are also thoroughly investigated.
Gumede reiterated her
commitment to rooting out
corruption and ensuring good
governance in eThekwini during
her weekly report back to the
Executive Committee on, 19
October.
She urged Municipal officials
and the public to report any
suspicions they may have of
corrupt behaviour immediately
to the City’s Integrity and
Investigations Unit to be
thoroughly investigated.
“As I said in my inaugural
speech, I am serious about
tackling corruption in the City.
This cannot be done overnight
as processes have to be
followed. I will report back to
this committee on progress
made in this regard,” she said.
Her commitment that the City
means business and can be
trusted to efficiently manage
the public purse is evident in
the Back to Basics Report for
August 2016. The report states
that 219 fraud and corruption
instances were reported
in August, with forensic
investigations initiated for all
the cases.
There were 45 disciplinary
cases instituted on fraud and
corruption during August with
seven dismissals for fraud and
corruption during the same
month.
Furthermore, sanctions have
been made against perpetrators
of fraud, corruption and
maladministration.
Meanwhile, since her election
to office, Gumede has led
a number of initiatives to
empower residents in the City to
show that eThekwini was indeed
a caring City.
This includes the Essence
Festival Durban to showcase
local talent.
Gumede said to further
promote the festival, which
will be taking place in the City
from 8 to 13 November 2016
at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli
International Convention Centre
and Moses Mabhida Stadium,
a social media campaign was
launched outside the Durban
City Hall during the Rhythm of
the City “lunch hour” Concert.
“These lunch hour concerts
provide a platform for youth
to showcase their talent to a
wider audience. There is also
a lot of hype surrounding the
Essence Festival being hosted
in eThekwini next month,” she
said.
The festival will include music,
concerts, business seminars,
craft and arts, a technology
village, fashion as well as youth
and women empowerment
conferences.
Another initiative was the
White Cane Safety Day walk to
raise awareness about blindness
and visual impairment.
Gumede said the walk,
through the City centre, was a
resounding success.
Municipal leadership and
City officials joined blind and
visually impaired people from
all walks of life during the walk
from King Dinuzulu Park to
the Durban City Hall holding
banners and placards which
carried educational messages
on the role and use of white
canes.
Gumede also held the first of
a series of Mayoral stakeholder
engagements on 13 October at
the Durban City Hall.
“Over 2 000 delegates
attended the meeting where
I shared my vision for the
City and what I wanted to
achieve during my tenure. It
was also an opportunity to
let the delegates know about
the various interventions we
are implementing to ensure
efficient service delivery,” she
said.
21 October 2016 [Issue 55]
In staying true to her oath of office, eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede has reiterated her commitment to tackling corruption to ensure
residents that the City leadership can be trusted to prudently handle the public purse.

2. www.durban.gov.za
2 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN ISSUE 55
THROUGH the successful
implementation of eThekwini’s
Problem Buildings By-law, a
derelict building on Umngeni
Road, that had been illegally
occupied by squatters
and vagrants will soon be
renovated by the owner.
The City’s persistent efforts,
with the assistance of the
property owner and the court
of law, led to the successful
removal of the illegal
squatters.
The building is now vacant
and ready for rehabilitation.
The privately owned
building was one of the
top 20 buildings that the
City’s iTrump Unit, with the
assistance of Metro Police
had identified during a
profiling exercise of rundown
buildings.
One of the successes from
the profiling exercise of the
derelict buildings includes
court action taken against
owners or illegal occupants of
buildings that pose a health,
safety and security risk.
The multi-disciplinary task
teams which regularly conduct
building raids include various
City Units and other agencies
such as the South African
Police Services and Home
Affairs Department.
ITrump Senior Manager
Hoosen Moolla said the
Umn geni Road building had
been turned into an informal
settlement.
“The owner reported the
matter to the City, however
we could not just remove the
occupants, as there are laws
and processes to be followed.
A decision was then taken
to approach the court for
intervention,” he said.
Moolla said after a long and
daunting court battle the
High Court ruled in favour of
the property owner and the
illegal occupants were evicted
and they all evacuated the
building this week.
“EThekwini Municipality
being the respondent had a
big role to play in winning
the case. The advocate
who handled the case even
commended eThekwini for the
information provided which
played an instrumental role in
the court victory,” he said.
The Problem Buildings
By-law became operational
in March 2016 and outlines
steps to identify and label
a building as a problem
building.
This includes buildings
that are derelict or showing
signs of becoming unhealthy,
unsanitary or unsightly.
The building may also be,
or appear, to have been
abandoned by the owner
regardless of whether or not
rates are being paid.
A problem building is also
one that is overcrowded or
illegally occupied.
The By-law further stipulates
steps to be taken to
rehabilitate the building and
ensure compliance by owners.
This includes issuing a notice
of intention to it as a problem
building to the owner and
specifying what aspects of the
building are in contravention
of the By-law and pose safety
risks to occupants.
CITY HELPS HOME OWNER
TAKE BACK INVADED BUILDING
The City will continue enforcing the Problem Building By-law and fighting the scourge of illegally occupied buildings through
vigorous multi-disciplinary law enforcement raids.

3. www.durban.gov.za
ISSUE 55 ETHEKWINI WEEKLY BULLETIN 3
IMPROVING SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC
THROUGH PUBLIC SERVICE WEEK
A HIGH-level delegation
comprising senior political
leadership and officials will
visit various service delivery
sites in eThekwini to assess
the working environment of
staff and evaluate the level of
service rendered to the public.
These visits will be rolled
out from October and are
aimed at inculcating a
culture of excellence in the
public service, instilling and
rebuilding good ethics, morale
and professionalism.
Public Service Month is a
reminder of what it means
to serve the community in
rendering efficient service
delivery to the public. It is an
opportunity for public servants,
through this national initiative,
to unlock the bottlenecks
and red-tape in the delivery
of services and recommit
themselves to serving the
public with honour and dignity.
A report tabled before the
Executive Committee on, 19
October outlined the roll-out
in eThekwini which has been
divided into five regions that
will be visited by teams during
Public Service Week.
Public Service Week forms
part of Public Service Month
which is an important national
Batho Pele vehicle. The roll-
out will be from October to
December. Councillors from
each sub-committee in the City
will be assigned to the teams.
Public Service Month is a
service delivery mechanism
aimed at strengthening
visibility and access by taking
quality services closer to
where people live. It is an
annual service delivery event
embraced by all spheres of
government.
As part of the visits, there
will be engagement sessions
with ratepayers as well as
exhibitions, educational
campaigns and interventions.
This is an opportunity to
take services to the people
and assess the progress of
implemented programmes.
Teams will visit service
centres in five regions such
as Sizakala Customer Service
Centres, libraries and clinics
to assess the service offered to
the public and how it can be
improved.
A number of service delivery driven
initiatives are planned by the City as
part of Public Service Month. A teams
comprising of high-level leadership and
officials will visit five regions throughout
eThekwini to evaluate the level of
service offered to the public, including
healthcare.

4. www.durban.gov.za
Email: gugu.mbonambi@durban.gov.za
If you would like to submit feedback or
contribute to eThekwini Weekly Bulletin
EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITOR: Tozi Mthethwa, Head of Communications • CONTENT EDITOR: Gugu Sisilana
SUB-EDITOR: Nondumiso Mathomane • WRITERS: Princess Nkabane, Charmel Payet,
Romita Hanuman and Jessie Singh.
DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Sandile Sokhela
BRITISH DELEGATION VISIT
DURBAN TO IMPART KNOWLEDGE
YOUTH empowerment,
education and skills
development were among the
key issues discussed when
British High Commissioner
Judith Macgregor met with
eThekwini Deputy Mayor
Fawzia Peer at the Durban City
Hall on, 20 October.
The visiting delegation also
presented the “Prosperity
Project” concept to Peer,
which is a project linked to the
2022 Commonwealth Games
being hosted in Durban.
The project will include
a toolkit that will provide
valuable advice and lessons
that the eThekwini team can
incorporate in their future
plans. A team from Britain will
also work with Durban officials
to discuss various aspects of
the staging Games, including
the City’s transport plan and
other logistics.
South Africa and the United
Kingdom, have a long-
standing trade and investment
partnership, and the British
delegation expressed keen
interest to support investment
THE MUNICIPAL Public
Accounts Committee (MPAC)
will continue to serve as a
watchdog holding the City’s
administration accountable
for the implementation of
Municipal policies and budget
spending.
This was the commitment
made by the chairperson of
the committee, Councillor
Thabane Jacques Luthuli
during the committee’s first
meeting on, 20 October at the
Durban City Hall.
The independent body was
set up in 2010 to scrutinise
Municipal spending.
After a brief round of
introductions the multi-party
committee, consisting of
11 members, got down to
business and agreed to put
their political differences
aside and work together to
ensure the proper use of
public resources.
The City Integrity and
Investigations Unit (CIIU), the
Legal Unit and the Audit Unit
were in attendance to provide
input and support to the newly
elected councillors who serve
on the committee.
CIIU Deputy Head, Dumisani
Cele assured the committee
that thorough investigations
are conducted relating to
maladministration, fraud and
corruption.
He also said cases related
to the procurement of goods
and services were scrutinised
if there were brought to their
attention for investigation.
Cele encouraged the
public and Municipal staff
to report any incidence
of fraud, corruption and
maladministration to the toll
free hotline on 0800 202020
or email ombuds@durban.gov.
za. All cases are treated with
confidentiality.
opportunities that would
benefit eThekwini residents.
Peer said the empowerment
of youth is a great necessity
especially in the field of maths
and science.
“Children with special needs
must not be forgotten. There
is a large number of children
that require special care and
we are looking at establishing
partnerships to assist them so
that they are not left out,” Peer
added.
Head of International and
Governance Relations, Eric
Apelgren informed the
British High Commissioner
about various projects and
programmes that the City is
looking at, including major
infrastructure projects that will
have long-term benefit. Some
of the projects highlighted
included the Northern and
Western Aqueduct, dig out
port and the developments
around the Dube Tradeport.
Macgregor said she would
liaise with the relevant
officials from eThekwini
Municipality and will look at
the possibility of partnering
with the City to improve the
lives of residents.
Macgregor also extended
an invitation to Peer to
attend a host city conference
in Glasgow, Scotland next
month which will focus on
how previous Commonwealth
Games host cities used the
event to revamp and improve
their areas.
British High
Commissioner
Judith
Macgregor
receives an
appreciation
gift from
Deputy Mayor
Fawzia Peer.
Macgregor
visited the
City to discuss
critical issues
related to the
economic
growth and
sustainability
of the City.
MUNICIPAL PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
COMMITTE GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS