The Municipal Demarcation Board (MBD) has denied allegations that it has completely dropped the proposal to form a new municipality anchored in Pomeroy near uMsinga in KwaZulu-Natal.
The board's assurances come after some community leaders in Pomeroy announced that they would stage a picket later this week to pressure the board to speed up the process. This will free them from uMsinga Local Municipality, which faces service delivery challenges.
Should the proposal get all the required legal nods, certain wards will be taken from the Inkatha Freedom Party-led uMsinga and Nkandla local municipalities and incorporated into the new municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
NEWS: KwaZulu-Natal could have a new municipality when it goes to the 2026 local government elections. The municipality could be anchored in Pomeroy near Umsinga in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. If the proposal gets the required legal nods,
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) April 5, 2023
The other wards would come from the nearby Umvoti (Greytown) Local Municipality, which is led by a coalition of the ANC and the ABC (Abantu Batho Congress) of Philani Mavundla.
The proposal is one of many before the board as municipal boundaries are redetermined ahead of the next local government elections due in 2026.
The municipality will be part of the uMzinyathi District Municipality, which is anchored in Dundee, joining Endumeni, Nquthu, uMsinga, and Umvoti local municipalities.
The convenor, Andrew Jhilmeet, said they had not heard from the board ever since it was proposed that Pomeroy break away and form a municipality named Solomon Linda Local Municipality.
“The Pomeroy (Solomon Linda) Community will be engaging in a march to petition the Municipal Demarcation Board to make (a) decision on the Proposal submitted to it for the establishment of Pomeroy (Solomon Linda) Local Municipality, breaking off from uMsinga Local Municipality involving the following Msinga Wards: 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.
“Such march has been necessitated by the MDB’s (Municipal Demarcation Board) inability to make (a) decision on this matter as per its Circular 2 of 2023, yet no word nor firm commitment to ever finalise its deliberation on the matter yet proceeding to the next stage of Public Hearings with others,” Jhilmeet said.
The march will take place on July 28 from Pomeroy Stadium to Nhlanhleni SAPS, where a list of demands from the community will be tabled.
However, the spokesperson of the municipal demarcation board, Barileng Dichabe, said they had not dropped the proposal and it had to undergo several stages.
"The remaining proposals, not listed as part of Annexure A on the Circular (due for public consultations), are receiving further consideration by the board and outcomes thereof will be communicated in due course,” Dichabe told IOL about the Pomeroy proposal.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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