By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the accomplishments of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) since its inception in April 2024, highlighting improvements in service delivery, water infrastructure, tourism, and law enforcement in eThekwini.
Speaking on Thursday evening, Ramaphosa acknowledged the collaborative work led by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba, and various government stakeholders, calling it a positive stride toward positioning the city as a key investment and tourism hub.
Some of the significant developments include the city’s water and sanitation turnaround plan, including the finalisation of water supply agreements for the Mkhomazi Water Project which is expected to increase water supply to more than 600 million cubic meters per annum when completed in 2032.
An additional grant of R189.5 million funding has been unlocked from National Treasury to support the turnaround plan to repair critical water and sanitation infrastructure and reduce non-revenue water.
In recent months, over 22 000 members of law enforcement have been deployed to eThekwini through Operational Shanela which has resulted in over 2 000 arrests and increased police visibility following the successful deployment of over 5 000 members of law enforcement during the election period.
Whilst acknowledging the progress, Ramaphosa also noted that challenges still persist including the recently announced water curtailment measures and flooding risks being faced by communities and businesses in the South Durban Basin as a result of the damage to the Umlaas Canal.
The President called on social partners to support the ‘Water Secure eThekwini’ Campaign to reduce per capital water consumption in the city by 8% in the short term.
Ramaphosa also reflected on the continued closure of some of the city’s beaches, which have been reduced from six beach closures in October to only two in November 2024. The President tasked the city with accelerating its plans to reduce beach closures to zero for the upcoming holiday period.
The president reaffirmed government’s continued commitment to working with social partners to address challenges and announced the intention to establish an Investment Facilitation Team to support private sector investments into catalytic projects in eThekwini by reducing red tape and fast-tracking approvals.