Durban — Three KZN municipalities are going to spend millions on the annual Nazareth Baptist Church “Shembe” pilgrimage.
eThekwini will spend R5.8 million, Ndwedwe Municipality will spend R1.5m and Ilembe District Municipality will spend R1.4m.
This was revealed during a joint media briefing at the Durban City Hall on Tuesday.
eThekwini Municipality Acting Mayor Nkosenhle Madlala said the City was going to spend R5.8m to refurbish communal ablution facilities in eBuhleni to support the Nazareth Baptist Church as they embark on their annual pilgrimage to Nhlangakazi and Khenani.
“As the leadership of the three municipalities, which are eThekwini, Ilembe and Ndwedwe, we are gathered here today (Tuesday) to outline the plans we have put in place to support the Nazareth Baptist Church during their holy pilgrimage which begins this week,” Madlala said.
“During last year’s pilgrimage the City provided R3m for sanitation services and R1m for waste removal – and again this year the City has approved R5.8m to refurbish communal ablution facilities in eBuhleni.
“However, for us to adequately address the challenge of sanitation infrastructure for the church, we will require funding of over R60m.”
Madlala added that the R5.8m allocation would be spent on basic refurbishments and the contractor had already established a site to carry out this work.
“These interventions are made because of public health considerations, given the large number of people who attend the holy pilgrimage.”
Madlala said eThekwini would assist with the provision of four ambulances, with mobile clinics to be provided by the provincial government, 20 000 waste plastic bags, 10 water tankers, five static water tanks, 200 mobile ablution facilities, and eight waste skips which would be placed along the route to the two holy mountains.
Some 100 waste collectors would keep the area of worship clean, and metro police would be deployed to ensure traffic safety and control en route to the holy grounds.
eThekwini Ratepayers and Civic Bodies chairperson Ish Prahladh said as an association they understood that the municipality was doing good by helping the Shembe church devotees, but asked; “Where will the money to fund this church pilgrimage come from? Is the ratepayers’ money going to be used properly?
“The City has many infrastructure problems. The roads, sewer, dirt and filth around the city, the dirty water, poor electricity provision – all these challenges are facing eThekwini Municipality – yet they have the money to give to the Shembe church. Why don’t they fund the failing and almost dead infrastructure in eThekwini?”
Madlala said their partnership with AmaNazaretha went back many years.
“We recognise the central spiritual, cultural and leadership role the church plays in our communities. Over the years we have done our part to ensure that previous pilgrimages were successful, safe and incident-free.
“Since its founding in 1910, the church has played a key role in the liberation Struggle. It has also been instrumental in advocating for the building of strong family structures and the preservation of our cultural heritage.
“It is for this reason that as part of our effort to promote tourism in the city, we have established the Inanda Heritage Route which incorporates historical sites of Durban, including the Shembe Church.
“On behalf of the people of eThekwini, we wish the congregants of the Nazareth Baptist Church a safe and peaceful pilgrimage,” Madlala said.
Ndwedwe Municipality Mayor Mzamo Mfeka said the municipality had put aside R1.5m for assistance with the pilgrimage.
“As Ndwedwe Municipality we will be providing them with three Jojo tanks for Nhlangakazi Holy Mountain to be filled every two days, and three water tankers that will be filled every day for Khenani Holy Mountain. In addition the municipality has a fire and disaster unit on standby in case of an emergency, and established a team to look at road safety for the devotees.”
Mfeka added that there would be waste pickers to ensure cleanliness in the area. Ilembe District Municipality Mayor Thobani Shandu said the district had put aside R1.4m to cater for the event.
“Our municipality will therefore be making provisions for four water tankers for each mountain.
“We will also be providing them with 10 standpipes, 30 water points to the Ozwathini area, and 45 mobile ablution facilities at Ozwathini and Nhlangakazi Mountains,” Shandu said.
Thokozani Mncwabe of Ebuhleni thanked the municipalities for helping the church and appealed to men to stop GBV.
The pilgrims, from all corners of the KZN and the country, make their arduous pilgrimage to the Khenani and Nhlangakazi holy mountains where they will gather for three weeks of mass worship and prayer. The pilgrimage is currently under way.
Daily News