THE MAYOR of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Local Municipality, councillor Nyaniso Nelani, confirmed that they were still worried about agriculture as it is sitting on one percent in this municipality.
This means there are still few people using it as one of the weapons that could fight poverty.
Nelani said this in an interview with reporters after he presented the Draft Annual Report for the 2021/2022 financial year at the Mthatha Town Hall in Mthatha, last week. He said that even though it is not in their mandate as the municipality, they assist where they can. He said that they had to prepare their Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) that are farmers involved in agriculture.
“We have a relationship with the Dicla company in Queenstown that specialises in developing farmers in different areas. We are targeting about 700 youths to participate and be trained in agriculture,” said Nelani.
He added that they had visited this company and they are confident that it will turn things around for them. According to Nelani, they are not happy because the community members from KSD have everything that they need for ploughing.
“We have land, good temperatures and water here at KSD; it is only the participation and contribution that are needed in order to improve.”
According to him, among the things that were in this Draft Annual Report, was the record of activities of the municipality for the reported period, a report on service delivery performance against the municipal budget, information that supports the revenue and expenditure decisions made, and also promotes accountability to the local community for decisions made.
“The municipality is conducting public hearings on this report, to solicit final comments towards finalisation of the report to be tabled on March 30, 2023. After the report is tabled, community members are requested to ask questions based on it.
One resident, Ntombifikile Fiki, said they were happy about it. She said it was in their interest to see the economy of KSD growing.
“It is painful when we are still sitting at one percent in agriculture; it means we need to do more. We are also worried about the rubbish that is not taken by the municipality in our areas, sometimes. We also appeal to the municipality that when you are hosting roadshows, make sure that you teach people about by-laws,” said Fiki.
