Cyril Xaba, the mayor of EThekwini, has lowered water tariff increases but had trouble adjusting electricity tariffs in response to the original budget.
He pledged to address the city’s escalating water service issues by allocating this year’s municipal budget primarily to infrastructure repairs and water delivery system enhancements.
“Among the key issues you raised with us during the consultations is the unaffordability of tariffs, as they exceed inflation, which negatively impacts the cost of doing business in the city,” said Xaba.
Speaking at a post-budget business breakfast in Durban on Wednesday, Xaba said that during public consultations, a number of locals and business owners expressed concerns regarding exorbitant tariffs and subpar service delivery.
In response, he confirmed that the city has reduced proposed increases in water tariffs.
Turnaround plan approved
Domestic and business water tariffs have been raised by 13% and 14%, respectively, and have been lowered by 2%. Tariffs on sanitation have also been lowered by 2%.
These adjustments come after an agreement with Umgeni-uThukela Water, which lowered its own tariff hike from 13% to 11%, according to Xaba.
According to him, a water and sanitation turnaround plan approved by the council and National Treasury calls for replacing 40,000 outdated water metres annually, repairing burst pipes within 24 hours, and cutting non-revenue water by 5% annually.
“We have also met the deadline for the submission of documents on institutional, governance, and management capacity,” Xaba said.
“Our business and investment plan, as well as the governance roadmap, have also been approved by National Treasury.”
Along with employing local plumbers and leveraging new technology for leak detection, the plan also aims to improve financial controls within the water unit, eliminate fraud, and increase metre-based billing accuracy to 98%.
Rebate on vacant land
However, Xaba stated that despite Eskom’s higher generation and infrastructure maintenance costs, the proposed 12.72% increase in electricity tariffs is still in place.
“In addition to the reduction in the tariff increases, we increased the rebate on vacant land to 30% from 10%.
“Additionally, land that was formerly classified as agricultural as of July 1, 2025, is being developed.
“It will be reclassified as vacant land, and a rebate of 50% will be granted to the developer upon application and approval for a maximum period of 36 months as a once-off relief.”
The city revised its R70.9-billion budget, which also focuses on fixing ageing infrastructure. Of this, R7.3-billion has been set aside for capital projects and R4.3-billion for repairs and maintenance.
A larger R217-billion investment drive that is anticipated to generate up to 300,000 jobs is part of Xaba’s plans to strengthen the local economy, which also includes R600-million for key development zones.
Initiatives like inner-city regeneration and the beachfront redevelopment in Durban are already underway.
