Mayor says eThekwini 'on road to recovery' as investors return

eThekwini is shedding the dark shadow cast by the July 2021 unrest and is once again attracting billions in investment projects, says newly elected mayor Cyril Xaba. 

On Wednesday, Xaba visited several construction developments across the city, including private, industrial, warehousing and logistics sites, and inner-city regeneration programmes.

Dubbed as catalytic projects, Xaba said the emphasis was on investment, construction and infrastructure development as key drivers of economic recovery.

“The investment value involved is R217bn [so] you can see that indeed eThekwini has been converted into a construction site — this is for the province, for the economy, for job creation and to grow the rate base,” he said. 

One such project is the R1.9bn Giba Business Estate for industrial, warehousing and logistics situated in the upper highway. It has created 82 construction jobs to date and thousands more are expected upon completion. The city has invested R63m in the project.

A Durban film studio with an estimated investment value of R7.5bn and expected to create about 4,300 jobs, is set to begin its first phase of construction this year. 

Another inner-city development entailing a mixed-use precinct including an hotel, retail space and commercial development valued at R11.5bn, is expected to begin next year.

Meanwhile, the municipality has undertaken inner city regeneration aiming to facilitate a successful revitalisation of the city’s infrastructure, with a focus on secure shelter, ablution services, transport and effective use of underutilised buildings.

We should not only focus on expenditure but also revenue generation to ensure that we improve collection, by ensuring that the customers who pay are satisfied with our services

—  Cyril Xaba, eThekwini mayor 

“We still have to spend R10.5m to provide infrastructure [and] the idea is for these projects to attract more investment into the city. These are people who could have chosen to go anywhere but opted for eThekwini,” he said. 

Fourteen projects spread across the city, in the north corridor, uMhlanga, central, inner city, west and south corridors are estimated to create 17,450 construction jobs, with 26,000 after completion. 

“When investors saw what happened in 2021 some got discouraged — I hope the people of eThekwini see these projects as investments that must be protected and we must not see the things we have seen in the past that nearly discouraged the investors,” the mayor said.

Asked about the general decline of the city, including water shortages and problems with refuse collection, Xaba said they were being looked into. 

In addition to plans to beef up water capacity and ensure the city is cleaner, Xaba said, he was also putting a strong focus on billing issues. 

“There have been many complaints about highly unusual bills from our paying customers and in order for them to generate revenue for the city they must be happy those issues are being looked into urgently.

“As a father of the city, I will ensure that the revenue of the city comes because we should not only focus on expenditure but also revenue generation to ensure that we improve collection, by ensuring that the customers who pay are satisfied with our services.”