Nhlanhla Mabaso10 October 2024 | 8:58

KZN COGTA supports proposal for Msunduzi to be second metro in province - Buthelezi

The municipality wants to be granted metro status and be merged with other municipalities, including Richmond.

KZN COGTA supports proposal for Msunduzi to be second metro in province - Buthelezi

Thulasizwe Buthelezi. Picture: X/Kzncogta

DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi said his department supported the proposal for a second metro municipality in the province.

The Msunduzi Local Municipality has approached the Demarcation Board in this regard.

The municipality wants to be granted metro status and be merged with other municipalities, including Richmond.

Out of its 54 municipalities, KwaZulu-Natal currently has only one metro – eThekwini.

But this may soon change if the Msunduzi Local Municipality’s attempts to be granted metro status by the Demarcation Board succeed.

On Wednesday, Buthelezi met the municipal officials, saying that he had also sent correspondence to the board in support of the municipality’s stance.

"Well, as KZN COGTA, we support Msunduzi to become a metro. We believe that they are financially stable, government structures are in place, and we think that they’ve done a lot of improvement in attaining clean governance."

The department says if this is granted, Msunduzi will have more resources to address service delivery challenges.