City manager joins efforts to tackle Durban's water crisis

Former Ethekwini municipality city manager Sibusiso Sithole has been roped in to assist with the Durban water crisis.

Sithole was the city manager between 2011 and 2016. Sithole, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba and municipal officials held a robust discussion with ratepayers over the water crises, on Thursday.

The objective of the meeting was to consult with all relevant stakeholders about the recently developed Implementation Plan/Action Plan of the city's water turnaround strategy. The strategy was created in April 2023 and after deliberations was approved by the city executive committee last month. The strategy is a five-year plan. Last week the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) handed the municipality a memorandum of grievances. 

Xaba said figures for the budget will be confirmed once the national and provincial budget are presented.   

"We must be need-driven, not budget-driven. You must know where your money is going and what it is achieving," Xaba said. 

Xaba said he was concerned about the 56% non-revenue water which was unacceptable. Xaba said the city would commit to reducing it to a benchmark of 25%. He said the water loss amounted to R2 billion.

Xaba said a meeting was held at EWS on Wednesday to discuss the strategy. Xaba said he was inundated with calls, emails and SMS from ratepayers. He advised residents to first call their area councillor. 

Councillor Mdu Nkosi, eThekwini Municipality chairperson of the trading services cluster, said they were committed to resolving the issue. Nkosi said consequence management must apply and urged ratepayers to look out for improvement in services. 

Sithole said he hoped these interventions would return Durban to its number 1 status in South Africa in terms of water. Sithole said the eThekwini water unit was struggling financially with a low profit margin and an R18 billion overdraft. Sithole said they will deal with illegal water connections with teams already equipped with the necessary resources. 

Sithole said plumbers will be closely monitored and the reliance on external plumbers could be phased out. 

“There are people building mansions on trust land. In these areas that can afford the water bill. We are working around it. Meters will be placed and revenue collected,” he said.  

Sithole said a proposed eThekwini Water business unit on its own has been envisioned to address poor levels of governance. 

“There are intentions to make this unit efficient with changes in staffing and management. We need to change the mindset of staff with the I don't care attitude and those not progressing. We will monitor the bid adjudication committee (BAC). Consequence management will take place and bad apples will be removed from the city. Some of the informal settlements are here to stay and we are rethinking about water and sanitation solutions for them,” he said.

Saul Basckin, of ward 35 in Umhlanga, said residents live with the inconvenience on a daily basis. Basckin requested that the city update residents on daily reservoir levels and planned water shutdowns. 

“As ratepayers we should have some input on daily scheduled repairs in our areas. We have lists of water issues not being addressed. Last year we brought a number of experts and ex municipal employees expressing their intention to volunteer their skills and time. They know how to fix them. We want to work with the municipality. We are on the ground. We see what is going on daily,” Basckin said. 

Ethekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association (ERRA) Ish Prahladh said ratepayers were complaining about the proliferation of car washes on vacant plots and side streets in communities.

The ERPM chairperson Asad Gaffar called for oversight on the plan by ratepayers. Gaffar claimed that ratepayers input was included in the plan. 

The draft water turnaround strategy (TAS) is expected to address, among other issues, curbing water losses by detecting and repairing water leaks, replacement, and installation of meters so that the city is able to account for every drop of water provided to residents. The eThekwini Water Services (EWS) intends to invest R25 billion in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives.

In five years, the EWS intends to replace 160 000 water meters at a cost of R1.1 billion. Additionally, R2.6 billion will be spent over five years to replace 890 kilometres of water pipes. Over the next five years, the EWS plans to invest R15 billion in capital expenditures. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za