O.R Tambo District Municipality

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O.R Tambo District Municipality O.R. Tambo is one of the 7 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of O.R. Tambo is Mthatha.

It has 5 Local Municipalities namely: King Sabata Dalindyebo, Kumkani Mhlontlo, Nyandeni, Port St Johns and Ingquza Hill Local Municipality.

WINNERS OF O.R. TAMBO DISTRICT CHORAL MUSIC ELIMINATIONS 2026 ANNOUNCEDThe O.R. Tambo District Municipality is proud to ...
26/10/2026

WINNERS OF O.R. TAMBO DISTRICT CHORAL MUSIC ELIMINATIONS 2026 ANNOUNCED

The O.R. Tambo District Municipality is proud to announce the winners of the O.R. Tambo District Choral Music Eliminations 2026, held on 25 October 2026 at Lusikisiki College of Education, Ingquza Hill LM.

The eliminations formed part of the O.R. Tambo Month Activities, aimed at preserving cultural heritage and promoting choral music excellence in the district.

WINNERS:
1. Mellowdius - Lusikisiki
2. Zingisa - Lusikisiki
3. Wild Coast - Flagstaff

The Municipality congratulates all the winning choirs for their outstanding performances, discipline and passion. These choirs will proceed to represent the O.R. Tambo District at the next level of competition.

The District Municipality further extends its sincere gratitude to all participating choirs, adjudicators, partners - DSRAC, Ingquza Hill LM, Cultural and Creative Industries of South Africa, Eastern Cape Choral Music Association and Guild of Choral Music Practitioners of Eastern Cape - for making the event a resounding success.

MEDIA STATEMENTORTDM WELCOMES INFRASTRUCTURE-THEFT ARRESTS: WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS STOLEN, SERVICE DELIVERY PAYS THE PRI...
26/10/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT

ORTDM WELCOMES INFRASTRUCTURE-THEFT ARRESTS: WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS STOLEN, SERVICE DELIVERY PAYS THE PRICE

26 October 2026 | Mthatha

The O.R. Tambo District Municipality welcomes and commends the intervention by law-enforcement authorities that resulted in the arrest of suspects allegedly linked to the theft of municipal infrastructure at an old sewer pump station in Mthatha.

Every breakthrough against infrastructure theft matters because when public infrastructure is stolen, it is not only metal that disappears, public resources meant to sustain service delivery disappear with it.

The Municipality wishes to clarify that the facility involved in this incident is not the Mthatha Wastewater Treatment Works that was recently vandalised. These are separate facilities and separate incidents.

The facility concerned is an old sewer pump station that is no longer operational and is awaiting formal decommissioning. However, non-operational does not mean abandoned, and it does not mean valueless.

Decommissioning is a controlled municipal process. Until that process has been concluded and municipal assets have been appropriately accounted for, recovered or disposed of, they remain public property.

Serviceable components from infrastructure being decommissioned may be recovered and retained in municipal stores for possible reuse in maintenance and repairs elsewhere in the system. When these components are stolen, the Municipality potentially loses assets that could have supported repairs and is exposed to additional replacement costs.

That is the real cost of infrastructure theft: it takes service delivery backwards.

The copper allegedly recovered in connection with the incident has been taken for weighing and assessment to establish its quantity and estimated value. The Municipality will not speculate on its financial value before that process has been concluded.

The Municipality continues to strengthen measures aimed at protecting public infrastructure. CCTV installation forms part of planned infrastructure-protection interventions, although procurement has not yet taken place. There was no dedicated security guard stationed at this particular facility as it is no longer operational and is awaiting formal decommissioning.

However, protecting public infrastructure cannot be the responsibility of government and law enforcement alone. Communities are critical partners because they are often the first to see when something is wrong.

The Municipality therefore urges residents to report any suspicious activity around municipal infrastructure immediately to the Police. Residents should not confront suspected perpetrators or place themselves in danger. Where it is safe to do so, details such as the exact location, vehicle registration and descriptions of persons involved can assist law-enforcement authorities.

A person tampering with municipal infrastructure is not simply taking metal. They may be taking away a component that could have been used to support a repair somewhere else tomorrow.

We welcome the arrests. But the greater victory is preventing the theft before the damage is done.

When infrastructure is stolen, service delivery pays the price. Protecting public infrastructure is protecting public money and protecting the services our communities depend on.

ENDS

26/10/2026

💧 WE ARE CLOSING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN A DRY TAP AND WATER.

Across O.R. Tambo, the water battle is not over. But we are gaining ground.

Executive Mayor Cllr Mesuli Ngqondwana recently went on the ground to monitor Phase 2 of the Lukwethu Regional Water Supply Scheme in Ward 28, KSD Municipality.

In kuBomvu, Blekana/Matyeni, kuHlophe, Nyandeni, Lubalekeni, Ngqumane, Manqabeni, Ngwevane and Makhumsheni, 1,108 households are being brought closer to water through approximately 72 km of pipeline and 263 communal standpipes.

The three contracts are already at 96%, 79% and 97% completion.

Nine villages. 1,108 households. Water getting closer.

We know there are still communities waiting.

But this is how we conquer the water challenge, village by village, pipeline by pipeline, until the story of O.R. Tambo is no longer the dry tap…

but the sound of water flowing from it. 🚰💦

26/10/2026

O.R Tambo District Weather for this week

Mthatha 14/19 10/17 10/25 12/27 15/32

Mqanduli 14/17 12/16 12/21 13/24 16/28

Qumbu 14/19 12/17 12/22 13/25 16/31

Tsolo 14/18 12/16 12/22 12/25 15/31

Libode 14/16 12/16 12/21 12/24 16/28

Ngqeleni 15/17 12/16 12/21 13/23 16/27

Port St Johns 19/21 17/20 16/23 18/24 19/27

Lusikisiki 16/17 13/17 13/20 14/22 17/25

Flagstaff 14/18 11/17 9/24 12/25 15/29


O.R. TAMBO DISTRICT CHORAL MUSIC ELIMINATIONS 2026 SUCCESSFULLY HELDThe O.R. Tambo District Municipality, in partnership...
25/10/2026

O.R. TAMBO DISTRICT CHORAL MUSIC ELIMINATIONS 2026 SUCCESSFULLY HELD

The O.R. Tambo District Municipality, in partnership with the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC), Ingquza Hill Local Municipality, Cultural and Creative Industries of South Africa, Eastern Cape Choral Music Association and the Guild of Choral Music Practitioners of Eastern Cape, successfully hosted the O.R. Tambo District Choral Music Eliminations 2026.

The eliminations, held on 25 October 2026 at Lusikisiki College of Education in Ingquza Hill LM, formed part of the O.R. Tambo Month Activities aimed at preserving cultural heritage, nurturing local talent and promoting choral music excellence within the district.

Choirs from across the district showcased exceptional talent, discipline and passion for choral music, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the O.R. Tambo region.

The Municipality expresses its sincere gratitude to all partners, adjudicators, participating choirs, and community members who contributed to the success of the event. The winning choirs will proceed to represent the district at the next level of competition.

25/10/2026

💧 THE EVIDENCE IS BEGINNING TO FLOW FROM THE TAP.

This is the water story we are working to multiply across O.R. Tambo District.

Not merely infrastructure built.
Not kilometres of pipe reported.
But water reaching people.

Across the District, we are strengthening the water provision system, rehabilitating struggling schemes, restoring treatment plants, upgrading bulk infrastructure and fixing the weak links between the source and the household tap.

This week, Executive Mayor Cllr Mesuli Ngqondwana took oversight to the ground, checking progress, confronting delays and pushing water interventions towards completion.

And already, some communities can testify.

At Ngqongweni, even while rehabilitation of the Water Treatment Plant continues, restored capacity is already supplying Ntsonyeni 1, 2 and 3, Nodusha and Ngqongweni.

In Ludiwane, Baleni, Nyathi and Skitini, communities are also beginning to experience the difference as water infrastructure is restored and brought back into operation.

We are not declaring victory. There are still communities waiting, and there is still hard work ahead.

But every system restored, every blockage removed and every tap that begins to run tells us that the work is moving from infrastructure to impact.

Because communities do not drink project reports.

They drink water.

Not water on paper.
Not water in promises.
WATER FROM THE TAP. 💧

That is the standard. And until more taps tell this story, the work continues.

24/10/2026

💧 FOR YEARS, THEY OPENED THE TAP AND HEARD NOTHING. NOW, SOME ARE HEARING WATER RUN AGAIN.

For communities that have lived with dry taps, there is no progress report more convincing than the sound of water running again.

This week, Executive Mayor Cllr Mesuli Ngqondwana together with Cllr Ndabeni, MMC Infrastructure, visited the Ludiwane Water Scheme, a major water supply system that was vandalised and is now being brought back to life.

And communities are already beginning to experience the difference.

Contractors remain on site. Water is now being pumped from the Water Treatment Works to the Mphumaze command reservoirs in Ward 7, from where it gravitates to smaller reservoirs supplying surrounding villages.

Already, communities in Ludiwane, Baleni, Nyathi and Skitini, particularly those closer to the treatment works, are receiving water.

🚰 A running tap after years of waiting is not just infrastructure working. It is relief entering a home. It is dignity returning.

But we are not declaring victory yet.

Many communities are still waiting. The refurbishment is still underway. And that is precisely why the work continues.

Once fully restored, the Ludiwane Water Scheme will serve communities across Wards 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, including Flagstaff town.

This is the water provision story taking shape across O.R. Tambo: damaged infrastructure being restored, water beginning to move through the system, and communities starting to experience the difference.

We will not ask communities to believe that the water story is changing.

The taps must tell them. 💧

24/10/2026

💧 FOR YEARS, THEY OPENED THE TAP AND HEARD NOTHING. NOW, SOME ARE HEARING WATER RUN AGAIN.

For communities that have lived with dry taps, there is no progress report more convincing than the sound of water running again.

This week, Executive Mayor Cllr Mesuli Ngqondwana visited the Ludiwane Water Scheme, a major water supply system that was vandalised and is now being brought back to life.

And communities are already beginning to experience the difference.

Contractors remain on site. Water is now being pumped from the Water Treatment Works to the Mphumaze command reservoirs in Ward 7, from where it gravitates to smaller reservoirs supplying surrounding villages.

Already, communities in Ludiwane, Baleni, Nyathi and Skitini, particularly those closer to the treatment works, are receiving water.

🚰 A running tap after years of waiting is not just infrastructure working. It is relief entering a home. It is dignity returning.

But we are not declaring victory yet.

Many communities are still waiting. The refurbishment is still underway. And that is precisely why the work continues.

Once fully restored, the Ludiwane Water Scheme will serve communities across Wards 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, including Flagstaff town.

This is the water provision story taking shape across O.R. Tambo: damaged infrastructure being restored, water beginning to move through the system, and communities starting to experience the difference.

We will not ask communities to believe that the water story is changing.

The taps must tell them.💦💦💦💦💦💦🚰

24/10/2026

THE HEARTBEAT OF MTHATHA’S BULK WATER SUPPLY IS NEARING COMPLETION. 💧

At Highbury, the structure that will help move bulk water through the greater Mthatha system is now standing complete.

The pump station building is complete. The Highbury rising main is complete. The Thornhill booster line is complete. Valve and isolation chambers, stormwater infrastructure, internal access works and retaining structures have also been completed.

Now, the project is moving into the phase that will bring this infrastructure to life.

The installation of the pumps that will feed Highbury and Thornhill is already out on tender, and the Municipality is progressing towards appointment.

For communities, this is the part that matters most.

Concrete does not quench thirst.
Pipelines do not change lives until water moves through them.

That is why the Executive Mayor continues to conduct oversight visits, to make sure completed infrastructure does not simply stand, but moves steadily towards operation.

The structure is ready. The procurement process is moving. The heartbeat of Mthatha’s bulk water supply is getting closer to pumping water to the people.

LAUNCH OF PROVINCIAL SAFETY MONTH AND SAFER FESTIVE SEASONThe Executive Mayor of O.R. Tambo District Municipality, Cllr....
23/10/2026

LAUNCH OF PROVINCIAL SAFETY MONTH AND SAFER FESTIVE SEASON

The Executive Mayor of O.R. Tambo District Municipality, Cllr. Mesuli Ngqondwana joined the South African Police Service top brass in the Eastern Cape led by Police National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola for the official launch of Provincial Safety Month and the Safer Festive Season campaign.

The event featured a police ceremonial parade, the handover of 17 vehicles to SAPS stations in the district with 139 across the province and the presentation of certificates to community safety volunteers in recognition of their role in promoting safety within their communities.

The launch underscores the importance of strengthening law enforcement, enhancing police visibility, and fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies, and communities to ensure a safer festive season for all.

Speaking during his keynote address MEC for Community Safety and Transport Xolile Nqatha, said as we prepare for the festive season everyone has a role to play in keeping our communities safe.

We urge residents to remain vigilant, report criminal activities to the police, work closely with law enforcement agencies, and promote responsible behaviour. Let us stand together against crime, protect our children and vulnerable members of our communities.




Address

Magwa House. Nelson Mandela Drive. Myezo Park
Umtata
5099

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:30
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:30
Thursday 08:00 - 16:30
Friday 07:45 - 16:15

Telephone

+27475016400

Website

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