The MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms. Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa led government officials in the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet Day initiative through Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) at Nkwenkwe, uMthonjaneni Local Municipality Ward 09 on the 30th of July 2025. OSS serves as a strategic platform for direct engagement between government leadership and communities, empowering communities to voice their concerns and guide government initiatives while receiving progress reports on service delivery matters. This includes inspections of community functionality and war-rooms.

During an early morning briefing attended by Government officials from various Departments, locals highlighted service delivery challenges and commended the Departments of Agriculture, Social Development's South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), and Home Affairs for addressing bottlenecks impeding service delivery in their areas.

Responding to concerns, including poor roads, MEC kaMadlopha-Mthethwa directed officials to address the challenges, particularly focusing on a gravel road connecting communities that was deemed unroadworthy. She said, "I understand that this community has a problem pertaining to the Ward committee and the war-room. There shouldn't be any tensions between the two. We also noted a concern raised by the community in connection with the learner transport. A special thanks to my Department for receiving plaudits from the community. I urge my extension officers and other officials to continue in their efforts to support their communities. I encourage our extension officers to maintain their presence in the war-rooms and assist farming communities by ensuring the establishment of cooperatives, agribusiness development, and guiding our communities through the application process for funding opportunities when that window opens."

"Your contributions to transforming certain Wards, such as Ward 9, into thriving areas is commendable. Having visited the Masibumbane Poverty Alleviation project, a shining example of a successful initiative with vegetable production, I am pleased to see that our extension officials are on the ground with our cooperatives, providing them with necessary support."

At the main event held at the uMthonjaneni Indoor Sports Centre in Melmoth Town, Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli announced that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has provided 5,000 seedlings for farming cooperatives and the One Home One Garden programmes for uMthonjaneni communities.