Municipal demarcations and boundaries were of concern to several KwaZulu-Natal communities requiring service delivery.
The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Portfolio Committee held several meetings to explain the Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority Bill (IMDA Bill).
The committee visited Creighton, Amajuba District, and Ntzuma this week. Next week, it is expected to be in Uphongola on Wednesday.
In Ntuzuma, the Deputy Chairperson of the Governance and Human Capital committee in eThekwini Municipality, Nthando Khuzwayo, said that some of the demarcation processes caused problems with ward-based project implementation.
“These meetings talk to the needs of the communities. There are many wards in eThekwini and you find the demarcation line sometimes leaves a house split between them. The kitchen is in one ward and the bathroom in another. These are the issues that need to be corrected,” he said.
Inanda Ward 52 resident Sthembiso Zulu said the community needed more understanding of what the Bill was about in layman's language.
Another resident, Thandeka, said it should not be a tick-box exercise. Her concern was having to board two minibus taxis to get a letter from the councillor.
Bonginkosi Ngcobo was concerned if the Bill was being discussed because of the 2026 local government elections.
“We need to go back and tell our neighbours we will be moving to other wards. A lot happens on the ground. It will affect us greatly,” he said.
Committee chairperson and MPL Marlaine Nair said that in eThekwini, there was pushback as many confused the ward delimitation process with the Bill hearings.
Nair said there was some hostility, but after clarity was brought, there appeared to be understanding but residents still remained cautious.
She stated that the lack of trust in the government was clear.
Nair said there was also a virtual presentation to the KZN House of Traditional and Khoi-San leadership, which was good.
She added that they were in support of the bill and also committed to spreading the news to residents in their respective areas to participate in the hearings.
“We assured them that going forward we would make the time to engage with them to build a good relationship between Traditional leaders and the Cogta portfolio committee.”
The IMDA Bill is about fixing issues the government had with municipal boundary changes.
Nair said the law currently being used — the Municipal Demarcation Act of 1998 — has some serious flaws, which need to be addressed.
“One major problem is that municipal boundaries can be changed too often, which leads to instability, confusion, and sometimes even protests. Imagine waking up one day and finding out your municipality has changed, because of demarcation changes — maybe you now fall under a different local government, and suddenly, the services you used to get aren’t as reliable. That would be very distressing, but it has been happening,” she explained.
Nair said that in 2005, the Matatiele Local Municipality was moved from KZN to the Eastern Cape. Also in 2005, the Umzimkhulu area was transferred from the Eastern Cape to KZN.
“You can imagine how distressed residents were and the change was met with a lot of resistance.”
The deadline for input and submissions on the Bill is April 3. The Bill was published in the Government Gazette on June 17, 2020, for public comments.
This Bill provides for setting a fixed 10-year review cycle — so boundaries don’t keep shifting unpredictably. Boundaries are very important when it comes to your municipal IDP (integrated development plan). The Assurance of Independence — by renaming the Municipal Demarcation Board to the Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority it reinforces its autonomy.
Nair said that last year's community concerns were transparency on how decisions are made, board members qualifications, and ward mergers.
“People worried that merging wards without proper planning could negatively affect service delivery and local businesses. All of the concerns were documented and submitted. Some of them have already influenced changes in the Bill. And now, we’re back to gather even more feedback before the final version is passed,” Nair said.