The Newcastle Municipality has outrightly rejected claims, made by Ratings Afrika, that it has been named the worst municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
The municipality is also aware of the misleading headline by an online Newcastle-based publication which astates that the municipality is the worst in KwaZulu-Natal. According to findings by Ratings Afrika, they clearly and categorically assert that the municipality was among the lowest-scoring municipalities in their index for 2020. The agency says various factors attributed to the outcome of the rating. Head of Communications, Mlungisi Khumalo, says that this is misleading and is seen as a desperate ploy to attract readers. “The municipality is appalled and dismisses it with the contempt it deserves. The desperation of the online news outlet borders on sensationalism and is a desperate ploy to attract readers. We call upon news publications to refrain from misleading the public and practise responsible journalism. We strongly feel that it was grossly disingenuous for the publication to tamper and misconstrue the actual wording by Ratings Afrika,” said Khumalo.
Khumalo further stated that the situation is worrisome. “It is deeply worrisome and concerning that the outcome of this rating is a sharp contrast to the municipality’s latest spate of achievements. Last year the municipality was recognised for producing one of the best Intergrated Development Plans (IDP) and rated as having one of the most improved IDPs in the province. Early this year we were also applauded by Eskom for being among the municipalities that had religiously honoured its financial commitment to settle a long outstanding debt with the power utility,” said Khumalo. He says that to date, the municipality has never been put under administration, as this is the outcome for any municipality which performs poorly.
The institution’s healthy and improving financial situation also indicates that there are no plans to place the municipality under the watchful eye of an administrator. “The municipality remains consistently transparent with its financial affairs and will continue to dispense basic services to its residents without hindrances. The ratings agency is also yet to honour an invitation by the municipality to discuss the criteria and analogy to determine the outcome of their research. The Municipality’s Budget and Treasury Unit can also confirm that Ratings Afrika have never sought audience with the department to discuss or solicit financial records of the municipality,” concluded Khumalo. Acting Municipal Manager, Vish Govender, said that he would comment further at a later stage. “We have arranged a meeting with the growth coalition and Ratings Afrika so as to ascertain where they have gotten their facts from. Once the meeting is concluded we will then comment further,” said Govender.
