President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged the progress made by the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) since its formation in April 2024.
Addressing the PeWG on Thursday evening, President Ramaphosa said despite ongoing challenges, tangible progress is being made with the support of all stakeholders, and through the leadership of Premier Thami Ntuli, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba and their respective teams.
The PeWG is a multistakeholder mechanism to address critical service delivery, infrastructure and socio-economic challenges within the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, with the goal of positioning the city as an investment and tourism hub.
The PeWG operates across three spheres of government and includes representatives from the private sector and labour.
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.
“There have been significant milestones achieved in the implementation of the Water and Sanitation Turnaround Plan. These include the finalisation of water supply agreements for the Upper Mkhomazi Water Project, which will provide 200 million cubic meters of water by 2026, and begin coming online in 2027.
“In the short-term, improvements in water supply will be gained through interventions on non-revenue water and the roll out of a citywide water reduction campaign,” the President said.
Crucial repairs to address water shortages have been accelerated, including the completion of the KwaXimba bulk water project to increase the availability of potable water in the outer-west region; the rehabilitation of the Nagle Aqueducts damaged in the 2022 floods, and replacement of pipelines in the north of eThekwini.
An additional grant of R189.5 million has been unlocked from National Treasury to support the turnaround plan.
“In the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, the Minister of Finance announced that eThekwini will receive funds for the rehabilitation of water infrastructure, including pipelines, water pumps, wastewater treatment works and aqueducts.
“We have seen signs of improvement in the number of tourists visiting eThekwini and KwaZulu-Natal in the first two quarters of 2024,” the President said.
Management of effluence compliance has seen a 19% improvement in recent months as a result of critical interventions by uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) in 10 of the largest wastewater treatment works in eThekwini.
Outlook on festive season
Turning to the preparations for the summer holiday period, President Ramaphosa said that under the leadership of Mayor Xaba, the holiday campaign has been launched.
Preparations are showing positive results, including the reopening of the Hilton Hotel and the renewal of the leases for the Maharani and Elangeni Hotels by Southern Sun, paving the way for R1 billion worth of investment.
“To ensure a successful holiday period, we must get the basics right. This includes cleaning and rehabilitating tourism hotspots, continuing efforts to improve police visibility and addressing beach closures,” he said.
The President said the relevant Ministers will be closely monitoring the city’s preparedness for the upcoming holiday period.
He called on stakeholders to support this effort and continue to shine a positive light on eThekwini as a tourism destination of choice.
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. This follows the successful deployment of over 5 000 members of law enforcement during the election period earlier this year.
President Ramaphosa welcomed this progress and appreciated the efforts from both business and labour in supporting the work of the PeWG.
Addressing water infrastructure
While acknowledging the progress made, President 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.
“While this partnership is making good strides, we must acknowledge that much more still needs to be done. Water supply and sanitation concerns are still prevalent.
“Damaged infrastructure, including the Umlaas Canal, continues to threaten the operations and viability of major industrial players in the city. It is therefore critical that we accelerate our efforts and have a frank reflection on areas where progress can be improved. We will be urgently exploring options to classify the canal as a Strategic Integrated Project,” the President said.
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.
President 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.
President Ramaphosa 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 in catalytic projects in eThekwini by reducing red tape and fast-tracking approvals.
“We have a lot of work to do. However, by using our collective experience and expertise, we can accelerate implementation and write a new chapter for eThekwini and KwaZulu-Natal. The tide is turning. Confidence in our collective ability to get things done is improving,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa is in Durban, where he will lead the second District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo under the Government of National Unity (GNU). The imbizo will take place at the Umnini Sportsfield today.
The President commenced his visit on Thursday with the unveiling of a statue of King Shaka Zulu at the King Shaka International Airport. Later in the day, he held a meeting with the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive.
The President was supported by Ministers in the Presidency, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Finance, Police, Public Works and Infrastructure, Tourism, Transport, Water and Sanitation. – SAnews.gov.za
