City of Choice

This is what the City states on its website.
"Welcome to the Msunduzi Municipality's official website. The city of Pietermaritzburg, situated in the Msunduzi Municipality, is the capital city of the Kwa-Zulu Natal province. Pietermaritzburg has come a long way from the quiet, colonial outpost it once was. Today, it is a modern South African city that is home to over 600 000 people of diverse cultures.
Pietermaritzburg is the "City of Choice" because:

we are only 45 minutes by road from Durban, Africa’s Busiest port;
we are one hour by air from Pietermaritzburg Airport to OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg) ;
we are only 90 minutes from the central Drakensberg resorts ;
we are the new capital of South Africa’s most popular province, KwaZulu-Natal;
our city’s economy grew by an incredible 30% in 2003-2004 and continues to grow at an exceptional rate;
we are an educational centre of excellence;
we are home to great international events, such as the Comrades Marathon, the Duzi Marathon, the Midmar Mile, the Royal & Garden Show, Art & Cars in the Park and International cycling events;
here one can walk in the footsteps of Gandhi, Mandela and Paton, and many other truly great South Africans and
the generous and flexible incentives offered by the Municipality to investorsIt's simply because this is a great city in which to live, raise a family, and do business.Msunduzi Muncipality"

The following story published in the Witness on 17 September shows the harsh realities of living in this City of Filth with an exposed and crumbling infrastructure and a totally incompetent Council.

SABOTAGE
17 Sep 2008
Thando Mgaga and Nalini Naidoo

Municipal workers held Pietermaritzburg to ransom yesterday with an illegal strike that included sabotage, which affected the delivery of essential services and left some suburbs without water and electricity for most of yesterday and last night.

The Msunduzi Municipality secured an interdict from the Pietermaritzburg High Court late yesterday afternoon to stop workers from damaging municipal property. They plan to approach the labour courts today to halt the illegal strike. Criminal charges have been laid with the police.

The electricity blackouts affected the Pietermaritzburg CBD, suburbs such as Cleland, parts of Scottsville, Montrose, Prestbury and Hilton, while water outages affected many parts of the city.

Some areas were still without water and electricity yesterday evening. Electricity was cut at around 8.30 am and restored to some places after lunch time.

Most robots in the CBD weren’t working, resulting in traffic gridlocks without any relief as traffic officers took part in the strike in a show of solidarity.

The striking employees were described as aggressive as they barricaded entrances to the Msunduzi market, preventing buyers and agents from entering and leaving. There were allegations that some buyers were manhandled and told to leave the premises or face having their tyres punctured.

The tyres of municipal vehicles at the electricity department were slashed so they could not be used by technicians who wanted to restore power. Most departments operated with skeleton staff. Parks and recreation staff also downed tools and refuse collection came to a halt. Late in the afternoon, people who claimed they work for the municipality threw rubbish on Church Street near the A.S. Chetty Building and the Pietermaritzburg courts.

Earlier in the day, some employees in the electricity and fire department were locked in by the protesters and those who wanted to work were locked out. Strikers were also reported to have been “banging on doors”. Police were called to intervene at the electricity department in Doull Road where employees and residents were being intimidated by striking staff and the services of private security companies were engaged to protect those who were not striking.

The Witness established that the reasons for the strike have many facets, the main one being the demand for pay increases. Some sources within the municipality believe that the strike is aimed at ousting Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo; that it is a way to discredit her and to show that she is not in control. Others believe the strike was aimed at getting rid of senior officials. In earlier action, workers indicated they wanted strategic executive manager Phil Mashoko out.

However, more cynical staff members dismissed these theories, saying it was an ordinary strike for basic demands that was so badly handled that it got out of hand. They blame acting municipal manager Zwe Hulane and the mayor for closing all doors to negotiation and then presenting workers with an ultimatum.

This is like a red rag to a bull, said a worker, and a crisis waiting to happen.