Under-fire King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal bosses have admitted that 50% of the buildings in Mthatha were not compliant with health and safety regulations and standards. And despite several buildings going up in smoke under mysterious circumstances since 2021, the municipality has also admitted it does not have a bylaw on fire prevention.
Fire swept through three buildings and four police vehicles in Mthatha at the weekend, destroying the offices of several law firms, part of the Madeira police station and a string of shops. The Elphil Properties building which houses Home City China Best Price and Dunns Clothing Store as well as the neighbouring five-story Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) building at York Road were affected.
The King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality, the third-largest economy in the Eastern Cape, might have failed to become a metro, but municipal bosses this week announced grand plans to further bolster the local authority’s economy. Giving an administrative overview of the municipality during the first day of KSD’s mega strategic planning session at the Savoy Hotel and Conference Centre in Mthatha on Monday, municipal manager Ngamela Pakade revealed ambitious plans to revive a railway line betwee.
In a bid to ignite economic activities in Mthatha and surrounding areas, the Eastern Cape government has announced it is forging ahead with the establishment of a Wild Coast special economic zone.
UDM councillor Zakheni Nondaka, who has become a fierce voice against the alleged looting of resources in the ANC-led Mhlontlo municipal council, has escalated his fight against corruption to co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Thembi Nkadimeng. Over the years, Nondaka, has accused those in power of systematic looting and has on several occasions written to the office of the Eastern Cape co-operative governance MEC to intervene.