The eThekwini Municipality's R2.7 billion budget adjustment focused on key allocations for housing, sanitation, and the challenges of water supply.
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There was mixed reaction to the eThekwini Municipality R2.7 billion adjustment budget tabled at the eThekwini Council on Thursday.
The departments set to benefit from the adjustments were housing (R144 million) and sanitation (R634 million).
A total of R409 million is included in this budget which is a grant from the Metro Trading Services Reform Programme.
Mdu Nkosi, the chairperson of the municipality’s Trading Services Committee stated that a large part of this funding will be going to the Water and Sanitation Directorate and will focus on dealing, in the main, with the challenge of non-revenue water.
Nkosi explained that the municipality does not have enough raw water resources to meet its water demand.
He said that the delayed development of bulk water infrastructure, namely Upper Umkhomazi Dam, means the city will be required to reduce water demand and also exploit alternative water sources to align its growing demand to the available resources in the short term.
“It is for this reason that a significant portion of the budget allocated to water and sanitation will be used for non-revenue water initiatives such as pipe replacement and installation of new and replacement of old water meters.”
Nkosi said that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives are already under way and to transition the business unit into structured digitisation and develop much needed water resilience against the flooding and other disasters associated with the coastal area.
The city suffered severe storm damage in April 2023. He explained that work has been done to restore infrastructure that was damaged.
The following are some of the projects implemented:
A further R300 million is allocated through this budget adjustment to continue this work. Nkosi said that for electricity, the budget adjustment makes available some funding to continue the good work this directorate is doing in dealing with maintenance. He also touched on the cleansing and solid waste services fleet and also landfill sites.
Andre Beetge, an eThekwini Exco member, stated that residents are not asking for luxuries but for roads that are drivable, functional recreation facilities, sanitation that works, reliable water supply, and stable electricity.
“These are projects that are simply not being implemented whether due to delays, incompetence, or lack of capacity, and the funds are then redirected. That is reprioritisation, not savings. Funds earmarked to stabilise electricity supply are being recommitted elsewhere, meaning prolonged outages will continue.
“This adjustment budget is not a reflection of strategic governance. It is a reflection of reactive governance compelled by court orders, by crisis, and by consequence,” Beetge said.
Themba Mvubu, an EFF councillor, said the budget allocated for housing will assist the poor who require homes.
He also commended the money allocated to engineering, which he said will help maintain the roads.
Zwakele Mncwango, an ActionSA councillor, is concerned about R12 million allocated for litigation costs.
“This is a reflection of failure and consistently losing cases. Residents are not only paying for poor decisions, but also pay for the consequences of those poor decisions. The legal team must be held accountable,” he said.
The Deputy Mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Myeni, stated that the grants will help accelerate service delivery.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za