STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS His Worship the Mayor of the City of uMhlathuze, Councillor Zakhele, introduced "The Dawn of a New Era" at his first State of the City Address on Friday, 27 June 2008.  The landmark event was well received and attended. Click here for the full speech as presented by His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Zakhele Mnqayi.

LOAD SHEDDING  There will be NO Load Shedding with effect from 1 May 2008 until further notice.  Should load shedding be required then the new schedule will apply and will commence with the corresponding time and Block no.  Emergency load shedding, if required, will be at the discretion of the City Electrical Engineer and where practically possible, advance notice will be given. Click Here For the New Schedule and for More Detail

POWER OUTAGES ENVISAGED TO UPGRADE ELECTRICITY NETWORK FOR CITY The uMhlathuze Municipality is currently constructing a new high voltage substation named Neptune, within the Port of Richards Bay.  The new Neptune substation is being constructed to reinforce the entire electricity network for the city as a whole and will ultimately provide the future electricity needs of the Port. In order to connect this new substation onto the existing network, it is necessary to isolate an entire portion of the high voltage backbone system to undertake the connection in a safe manner. The implications are that the entire areas of Meerensee, Mzingazi, Small Craft Harbour and a portion of the Port, which is supplied by Carina substation located near Small Craft Harbour, will be without electricity once a week for a full day spread over 4 weeks. Full particulars of the times that the power outages will occur are available by clicking here.

DRAFT BUDGET 2008/2009 The draft 2008/2009 budget for the City of uMhlathuze is the biggest ever, totalling R1.6 Billion. Click Here to view full details

DRAFT RATES POLICY The purpose of this notice is to invite the submission of public comment and representations to the Municipality in respect of the proposed Draft Rates Policy for submission to Council.  Full particulars of the advertisement may be found under Tenders/Notices on the main menu, then click on Notices.

SECOND SUPPLEMENTARY VALUATION ROLL AND LODGING OF OBJECTIONS The second Supplementary Valuation Roll for the period July 2008 to June 2012 is open for public inspection at the office of the Director Corporate Services, Room C137 (First Floor), uMhlathuze Municipality, 5 Mark Strasse, Central Business District, Richards Bay as well as the offices at Empangeni Civic Centre, Township Manager’s offices at eSikhaleni, eNseleni and Ngwelezane, until 30 June 2008 during office hours.    Adv S C Erasmus Director Corporate Services SECOND SUPPLEMENTARY VALUATION ROLL AND LODGING OF OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE VALUATION OF A PROPERTY

SMALL CONTRACTORS TO CHECK NOTICE BOARDS Small contractors are advised that all municipal work under R200 000,00 is advertised on the notice boards at the stores and procurement offices at the end of Betastraal in Alton as well as at the Civic Centre in Richards Bay.  For more information contact (035)9075771.

CITY INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC COMPLAINTS SYSTEM Residents are now able to register street light complaints electronically by calling 035-9075566 or via email to streetlights@richemp.org.za.   The number and email address records the complaints 24 hours a day.

NEW CREDIT CONTROL POLICY A new credit control policy will come into effect from 1 August 2007 and may be viewed by clicking here.

SUBURB NAME CHANGE The spelling of the suburb names Nseleni and Esikhawini will change following recommendations to the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism.  The committee proposed that Nseleni be spelt as "eNseleni" and Esikhawini as "eSikhaleni".  In the meantime the Council has undertaken to use the correct spelling as and when required.

24 HOUR PREPAYMENT VENDORS AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTS The following 24hr prepayment electricity vending outlets are available to all residents: Richards Bay Engen Garage (24 hrs) .......Veldenvlei Shell Garage (24 hrs) .........Bullion Boulevard Empangeni Shell Garage (24 hrs)..........Rex Henderson Street In addition to the 24hr prepayment service, residents can also make use of third party prepayment options at the following venues: Meerensee Spar ..................................LAC Centre Pick ‘n Pay ........................Meerensee Mall Richards Bay Boxer ................................Taxi City, Bullion Boulevard PA Moodley........................Shop 4, Brackenham Supermarket, 14-16 Daisy Leaf Essenwood Spar ................43 Essenwood Way, Arboretum Lakeside Spar ....................Lakeside Mall Pick ‘n Pay ........................Boardwalk Shopping Centre, CBD Shoprite Checkers..............Checkers Centre, CBD Nseleni T.S. Supermarket ..............Nseleni Empangeni Boxer ...............................45 Maxwell Street Boxer ...............................4 Weightman Avenue Pick ‘n Pay .......................Biyela Street Shoprite Checkers..............Sanlam Centre Central Park Spar (Andrews) ..............Central Park  Ngwelezane Mary Liza Supermarket ......Shop a905, Ngwelezane Shopping Centre Esikhawini Intokozo Supermarket........ Lot H1835, Esikhawini Pixies Takeaway ...............H Section Phelindaba Tavern / takeaway ... J Section   Please note that your Pre Payment card must be programmed at the Civic Centre in order to purchase tokens at the above outlets.   Internet vending Customers can purchase electricity on the Internet site www.ipay.co.za where payment is secured by credit card.  The numbers will appear on your computer screen, which can be written down or printed. Customer requirements: • Internet access • A Debit/Credit card with your bank.   Cell phone Vending Customers can purchase electricity on their cell phone after a once off registeration on the Internet site www.ipay.co.za.  The token is delivered via SMS to the registered customer. Customer requirements: • Your own cell phone • A Debit/Credit card with your bank