Plans are afoot to restore eThekwini municipality to its former glory, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said in his speech to the nation on Thursday.
Speaking at the Opening of Parliament on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa made special note of measures put in place to tackle ongoing issues plaguing the metro.
“As an immediate priority, we will bring stability to governance in our metros and restore the delivery of services. We have already begun this work. When I visited eThekwini earlier this year, I met with residents of the city, with local business leaders and municipal officials,” Ramaphosa said.
He said that he was informed of stakeholders’ plans to build a city that they could be proud of again.
“We have since put in place the eThekwini Presidential Working Group to enhance support from national and provincial government to turn the metro administration around, to fix the problems in water and sanitation and attract new investment,” Ramaphosa said.
He said that the same approach will be extended to other metros that face serious challenges so that cities can be engines of growth and dynamic centres of opportunity.
Ramaphosa said the administration will, in the next five years, work together to draw on collective capabilities to forge a new inclusive growth path for South Africa by pursuing a massive investment in infrastructure.
He said significant projects are under way around the country in areas such as transport, roads, water, energy and human settlements.
Earlier this week, eThekwini municipality mayor Cyril Xaba welcomed the Durban Business Confidence report of the second quarter, which indicates that business confidence in the city has improved.
Compiled by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry and eThekwini municipality, the report noted that business confidence index increased from 38.42 percent in quarter one to 55.49 percent in quarter two.
According to the report, the rise in business confidence in various sectors such as manufacturing, construction and community services can be ascribed to, among other factors, improved electricity supply.
Commenting on the report, Xaba said the milestone was achieved through collaborative efforts by all social partners.
IOL Politics