Durban's uShaka Marine World gets R134 million operating budget

Durban Marine Theme Park (DMTP), trading as uShaka Marine World, had its R134 million operating budget approved at a council meeting on Wednesday. 

According to the municipality, the objectives for the creation of uShaka Marine World were to serve as a catalyst for urban renewal around the Point Precinct and become a strategic tourism facility for the city of Durban as well as the province of KwaZulu-Natal as a whole.

The municipality entered into an agreement with the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), a non-profit organisation, in which SAAMBR is responsible for the operations of Sea World. 

In return and provided for in the heads of agreement, the municipal entity is responsible for providing funding for its operations. The annual amount is provided for by the eThekwini Municipality as a grant to the municipal entity.

uShaka Marine World consists of the following offerings:

• Sea World
• Wet n Wild
• uShaka Kids World 
• Sea Animal Encounter Island 
• Dangerous creatures 
• In-house food and beverage operations (including Cargo Hold and Wahooz Restaurants) 

The grant funding in the amount of R134 million was approved for the 2025 and 2026 municipal operating budget: 

• SAAMBR - R79.4 million
• Repairs and maintenance (SAAMBR) - R7 million
• Capital grant- R14.4 million
• Repairs and maintenance (DMTP)- R10.6 million 
• Operating grant- R22.5 million

The municipality explained that the grant to SAAMBR is paid on a quarterly basis, while the repairs and maintenance grant to SAAMBR is paid on a reimbursable basis. The grant to SAAMBR will be paid as follows:

• R18.9 million - August 2025
• R22.7 million - October 2025
• R18.9 million- January 2026
• R18.8 million - April 2025

The capital grant of R14.4 million and the repairs and maintenance grant of R10.6 million to DMTP will be paid on a reimbursable basis.  The grant will be reprioritised as: 

• Supply and installation of emergency and evacuation, and sound system - R2.9 million
• VSD Energy saving project - R1 million
• Fire line removal and Installation - R3.2 million 

The operating grant will be disbursed as follows:  

• R12 million - August 2025
• R6.5 million - September 2025
• R4 million - March 2026

DA Councillor Andre Beetge, suggested that a shuttle service between the cruise terminal and uShaka should be provided for tourists and for the city to make uShaka affordable to the general public, especially those entering with large families. He also suggested that the DTMP should be privatised.

“We support the operating budget in the interests of sea life,” he said. 

Jay Singh, United Independent Movement (UIM) councillor, said the grant request comes with a serious contradiction and called for more accountability.

“We are being asked to note a R1.6 million loss through irregular expenditure, and then immediately approve a R134 million grant. This is fiscally irresponsible. We cannot, in good conscience, pour public money into a leaking bucket. Our residents demand accountability. They face service delivery challenges daily and expect us to be ruthless guardians of their funds,” Singh said. 

Saneli Zuma, ActionSA councillor, said the city continued to inject funds into the entity without addressing the real and urgent issues that keep tourists and investors away. 

“These are the issues within the direct control of this municipality – the persistent sewerage contaminating our beaches, rising crime levels, and the lack of cleanliness across our city. Until these are fixed, no theme park can reach its full potential, because the environment around it will remain unattractive,” she said. 

Zuma said the entity must also find ways to become self-sustainable, rather than surviving on bailouts year after year. She said the park must take responsibility, implement sound management, and work towards sustainability.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za