Protest marks start of important eThekwini council meeting

The DA wants uMngeni-uThukela Water to take over the role of water delivery to communities from eThekwini municipality.

Speaking before the council meeting at the Durban ICC on Wednesday, provincial DA leader Francois Rodgers said the city’s failure to maintain infrastructure, leading to huge water losses before reaching households, was to blame for the ongoing water crisis in Durban.

“There’s more water than eThekwini needs but 40% of it disappears or is lost to the ground and a total of 57% is unaccounted for, so clearly the city and its officials do not have the capacity to do the job of water reticulation.”

He was leading a protest by DA-aligned residents from regions in the city who were picketing outside the council venue in support of the party's motion to dissolve the municipality.

They said the ongoing water crisis was more evidence the council should be dissolved so fresh elections could take place.

Rodgers said their meeting with the uMngeni water board suggested the situation may get worse as uMngeni-uThukela water has to start restricting its allocation to the city to meet its water licence.

As a result, the party will push for the water entity, through portfolio committees and parliament, to take over responsibility of water delivery in the city.

“We raised it with the board whether they have the capacity and would be willing to do that and they indicated they would. Obviously there is a process but that’s what we’re going to be driving to ensure there is a service provider other than the municipality that can do the job and rescue what is becoming a humanitarian crisis.”

The DA also indicated it would support the IFP’s vote of no confidence against mayor Mxolisi Kaunda which will be heard today.

“We will support the motion because we believe Kaunda has not been doing justice to the position. He’s failed to provide the right sort of leadership and resolve the issues we’re facing,” said Mzamo Billy, DA deputy caucus leader in eThekwini.

Billy said they are taking the motion a step further by trying to lobby council speaker Thabani Nyawose to agree for the vote to be through a secret ballot.

“That will allow other councillors, even from the ANC, who want to be on the side of the residents to be able to vote secretly.”

Rodgers said he was confident ahead of a potentially “interesting day in the history of Mxolisi Kaunda”.

Kaunda survived a similar motion in 2023 when the EFF and NFP joined the ANC in opposing it.

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