A search and rescue team from the eThekwini Municipality has teamed up with the Umdoni Local Municipality search efforts for three drowned swimmers. The search had escalated when eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba approached Umdoni Mayor Mbali Cele-Luthuli with an offer of assistance. The hope is to find three potential survivors who are still missing.
“The initial incident saw a large group of people caught in rip currents near the tidal pool at approximately 6.20pm. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Station 39 Rocky Bay, along with Police Search and Rescue, Umdoni lifeguards, and IPSS medical rescue, responded to the alarm,” said Lambinon. He said after the search, a 21-year-old man was declared deceased on the scene by paramedics, however, the tragedy deepened later that night when, at approximately 9.30pm police recovered the body of a second man, also aged 21, nearby on the beach. The third victim, an 18-year-old woman, was found on Friday.
It is not unusual for there to be a risk of holiday-makers such as bathers and swimmers to go missing around summer time. Caution needs to be applied when out in the water. With the deaths of three people already and the involvement of the two municipalities the search for three remaining people intensifies. The sea tide can prove to be relentless but so can this joint rescue mission between Umdoni and eThekwini Municipalities. The deaths of the two twenty-one-year-old men and eighteen-year-old women are still tragic but at least their loved ones will be able to have closure. Hopefully the missing three will be found.
The Municipality of eThekwini region will set up a new billing system – Customer to Meter (C2M) – for rate payers by July of this year. This is due to inconsistencies and misconduct in the current system of billing. This has caused hardship for rate payers.
The city stated recently that in a strategic move to enhance operational efficiency, embrace technological innovation, and foster a customer-focused service environment, the municipality will replace its Revenue Management System (RMS). The Mercury reported in 2023 that a controversial billing system, which was installed at a cost of more than R1 billion, faces the chop as it is not compatible with some of the “financial control tools” that are to be implemented by the municipality. The Revenue Management System (RMS), which was implemented in 2016, was a source of endless problems for ratepayers who complained of inflated bills. Billing problems have persisted with ratepayers and councillors also recently raising concerns. The system also came with a price tag of more than R1 billion after costs had ballooned from an initial amount of R150 million.
The new billing system can be seen as a means to modernise municipal infrastructure and create a more transparent system that is more accountable to the citizens of eThekwini region. The solution has to be to improve Impartial over sight of financial institutions as well as introduce the digitalization of municipal records. The fact that unnecessary costs of R150 million were accumulated shows that more needed to be done to focus on keeping track of fiscal records. This is not just a job for artificial intelligence (AI) but also for impartial regulators and accountants. Decentralization of local governance institution is the key. The Inflation of rates on the income of residents in the municipality can no longer be the status quo. The failure of the RMS to keep track of monitoring the collection of said rates to the local treasury cannot be allowed to continue under the new system.
Municipal power needs to be decentralized so that the people can monitor the finaces.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
