The eThekwini Municipality's draft budget proposes hefty tariff hikes for electricity, water and sanitation which the City said was in line with increases proposed by the uMngeni-uThukela Water and Eskom.

Mayor Cyril Xaba said the City was aware of the impact the tariff hikes might have on residents, adding that they are working to try and reduce some of them.

Xaba voiced these concerns while presenting the city’s draft budget for the 2025-2026 financial year during a council meeting on Monday.

The total proposed budget for 2025/2026 is R71.3 billion (including entities), which comprises an operating budget of R64.2 billion and a capital budget of R7.1 billion. If approved after the public consultation process, the draft budget will come into effect at the start of the financial year in July.

During the council meeting, Xaba stated: "I must indicate that as the leadership of the city, we are concerned about some of these tariff increases, particularly on electricity and water, because they will adversely affect our consumers who are already struggling to meet their monthly financial obligations. For this reason, we are directing the City Manager to engage uMngeni-uThukela Water Board to revise their tariffs."

The draft budget proposes a 12.72% increase in the electricity tariff for both businesses and residential consumers. The city said the Eskom increase was 11.32%, which translates to a 1.4% increase by the municipality.

The proposed water tariff increase is 15% for residential consumers and 16% for businesses. The proposed uMngeni-uThukela Water Board increase is 13.5%, which translates to an increase of 1.5% by the municipality for residential consumers and 2.5% for businesses.

The proposed sanitation tariff increase is 13% for residential customers and 14% for business consumers, in line with the proposed uMngeni-uThukela Water Board increase of 13.5%. The proposed refuse tariff increase is 9.9% for residential customers and 9% for business consumers. The proposed property rate increase is 6.5%.

DA councillor Andre Beetge stated that the tariffs are not realistic.

"As much as the Democratic Alliance agrees that water and electricity should enjoy top priority, it shouldn't be achieved on the back of increases that do not align with the reality of inflation, which serves little more than to disadvantage the ratepayers of this city. As it stands, the DA does not support this draft budget and encourages citizens to actively interrogate the content and contribute towards the final budget during the budget roadshows in April and May."

ActionSA's Zwakele Mncwango also expressed opposition to the increases. "ActionSA strongly condemns the eThekwini Metro Municipality’s blatant disregard for its residents by pushing forward exorbitant tariff increases that will further burden struggling households and businesses."

Mncwango said: "It is of great concern that the draft budget, which includes these excessive increases, was only brought to councillors’ attention today during the council meeting. This sneaky and deceitful tactic is designed to force councillors into voting on a draft budget without affording them the proper time to scrutinise and study it in detail."

He added that the tariff increases will pose a serious threat to the financial stability of eThekwini residents, who are already burdened with some of the highest tariffs in the country, unreliable service delivery, frequent power outages, erratic water supply, and crumbling infrastructure.

THE MERCURY