Stanger Weekly

Muso mourned

AARON “Maqhude” Mkhize, a beloved local Maskandi artist, has passed away.
The community of Maphumulo together with the people of KZN mourn the loss of such a talented and cherished member of our community, Maphumulo Mayor Zibuyisile Khuzwayo-Dlamini said.
Maqhude also known as “Ndlala beyiduba beyithengela amasaka bethi izophela” was known for his unique bass guitar style and powerful lyrics, which touched the hearts of many of his fans.
Maqhude has over the years played the guitar for top Maskandi artists including Ntencane, Khuzani Mpungose, Mthandeni Manqele, Izingane Zoma, Amageza Amahle and many more.
"He was among the many artists who have dominated the music industry in the Maskandi genre and has raised the Maphumulo flag high. His music will continue to inspire and uplift the people of Maphumulo and the whole country for years to come.
We extend our deepest condolences to Maqhude's family, friends, and fans during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they navigate this painful loss.
Maqhude's contributions to the local Maskandi music will never be forgotten. He will always hold a special place in the hearts of his community and fans. We ask that the public and Maskandi fans give full support to Maqhude Mkhize's loved ones during this time of mourning," she said.

Bumper Easter weekend for North Coast

THE Easter weekend brought with it a much needed tourism boost to the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.
It was a weekend of festivity and the North Coast welcomed visitors to explore what the destination had to offer from unique restaurants, extreme adventure, fun boat ride, game reserves, warm beaches, and plenty more to see and do.
The North Coast region had an average occupancy of between 80 to 90% which is much higher than 2022.
CEO of Enterprise iLembe Linda Mncube said the Easter weekend was certainly one of the busiest periods for the region, where travellers were taking local trips to enjoy quality time with their loved loves and making new memories.
Most properties in the region achieved occupancy levels above 50% with some reporting 100% occupancies and were fully booked for the duration of the Easter weekend. Some establishments reported that this was their best and busiest weekend post the Covid-19 pandemic which took a massive toll on the tourism sector on the North Coast. "There were some establishments that struggled to fill up rooms mainly because people wanted cheaper and discounted rates, which is clearly an indication that the current economic situation is impacting travel decisions," Mncube said.
Mncube thanked visitors for supporting local businesses and growing the market share of domestic tourism.
"The positive accommodation occupancy figures indicate a growth trajectory, and we are confident that this will continue for the remainder of the year. This growth is largely attributed to the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to market and promote the destination and to our trade for the excellent standards in the product offering."
Following the Easter weekend rush, establishments are hopeful for the upcoming Freedom Day long weekend.
Speaking to the Weekly, one restaurant manager said they were filled to capacity on most days during the Easter weekend and were sure that the coming Freedom Day long weekend will be the same.
"We had lots of locals in during the Easter weekend and I am sure it will be mush the same for the coming long weekend. People locally also just want to relax during a long weekend and we as local businesses benefit from this. Also that weekend is right after most peoples pay day so that is another positive because people are more likely to spend money when they have money. I think it will be a good one. Definitely a very positive outlook for the festive season indeed."

The Stanger Weekly hosted a CANSA Shavathon at the KwaDukuza Mall on Friday. Thank you to all those who supported the very important initiative. Watch what we got up to here:

Cansa Shavathon @ KwaDukuza Mall || Stanger Weekly || Charity event on the North Coast Hi guys, it was really an honour to partner with the KwaDukuza Mall and Cansa together with the Stanger Weekly newspaper for this event. We were grateful to ...

We have done our first shave! Come and support us! Support Cansa!

The time has come! Please come through and support Cansa at the KwaDukuza Mall

Water struggles hit Blythedale

HUNDREDS of Blythedale residents were left without water for two full weeks as a result of multiple supply issues which they say were poorly handled by the district municipality.
The outage which began on Saturday, March 11 persisted until this past weekend when the full supply was finally restored in all households and establishments in the area by the iLembe District Municipality.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said the most frustrating thing about going those 14 days without water, was that the reasons for the outage changed on a daily basis.
By Thursday of the some 250 houses affected, only about 30% received low pressure water, but the rest remained dry well until the weekend, she said.
"We were told the TLB they were using broke, then they ran out of spares, then the Umgeni shutdown, then a pipe on a bend that needed special welding then the repair failed, and by then people were gatvol. The water only really came back this past Sunday morning."
She said overall the lack of communication was terribly frustrating because they had to constantly ask for explanations and the call centre was consistently unhelpful or unreachable.
"If they were just honest and said this is what is wrong and this is how long it would be we could have prepared and dealt with that. It's bad enough not having water, but not knowing why or when it was coming back, that is ridiculous."
In an effort to explain the situation, iLembe operations manager for the KwaDukuza area, Elias Bhengu said a 400-dimeter pipe supplying water to the area burst due to surges caused by stopping and starting of the supply by bulk supplier Umgeni Water that was experiencing interruptions, as a result of failures, on its raw water pumps.
“These failures on the raw water supply resulted in Umgeni Lower Thukela pipeline developing more leaks, and also the existing leaks getting worse. This forced Umgeni to stop supply completely in order to deal with those repairs. The initial request for the shutdown was from 6am to 9pm, but this was extended beyond the 9pm to 5am the following morning. The intermittent supply caused surges onto the district municipality’s pipelines which ended up breaking the pipes at a certain point,” said Bhengu.
He said the district made attempts to carry out repairs within a short space of time were not successful resulting in delays on the reinstatement of water supply.
Umgeni conducted repairs on its raw pumps concluding them on the same day as iLembe completed its own repairs on the pipe last Saturday, March 18.
“Unfortunately, the district’s repairs failed and a decision was taken to carry out repairs in parallel with us reinstating the redundant old supply system to Blythedale. We managed to bring the supply to operation on the evening of the 19th,” said Bhengu.
This old system is currently operational and is supplying the Blythedale village, he said.
The shortcomings on the system is that it has not caught up with the demand as a result the high lying areas were still compromised by Thursday.
iLembe is currently supplying Blythedale through the old pipeline whilst repairing the 400-diameter line, he said on Thursday, and repairs on the 400-diameter pipeline were at an advanced stage.
He said they anticipated bringing it on line this past Saturday, which appeared to have been successful.
He said a water tanker had been deployed to the area to supply water daily, and one tanker was enough since there was some supply from the old line and what the truck was doing was to augment especially to areas that did not receive supply.
"iLembe District Municipality is committed to providing continued water supply to its consumers and apologises profusely for the inconvenience that this interruption has caused," Bhengu said.