Durban — EThekwini mayor councillor Mxolisi Kaunda has told councillors that the City has a clean bill of health and is stable after the opposition parties labelled it as “a city with a collapsing infrastructure”.
Kaunda was addressing the councillors during his closing words after the State of the City Address debate, held at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday.
He said eThekwini did not owe money to Eskom and Umgeni for the services that they provided, and those who said eThekwini was unstable were wrong.
“Our city has continued receiving clean audits, which proves that we are on the right track. Yes, we do have challenges such as water, which was caused by the floods. The positive thing is that all our infrastructure is on the brink of being fixed, thus ensuring proper service delivery for our people.
“We are happy with the assistance provided to us by the Department of Water and Sanitation, which has helped us to ensure that we provide our citizens who were affected by the floods with water and sanitation.
“We understand the pressure that we have to move with speed to maintain our infrastructure,” Kaunda said.
eThekwini Municipality was branded by the opposition as a city with a collapsing infrastructure. The opposition accused the governing party of a continued failure to provide services to the poor, especially those who live in townships.
“The poor continue to be left in a state of poverty by the governing party,” DA councillor Mzamo Billy said.
The EFF criticised the municipality for its failure to open clinics for 24 hours a day, which it said put the lives of those who desperately needed medical help at risk.
They also criticised the governing party for the failure to create jobs for the youth of eThekwini, for the failure to deliver quality water for residents on time and for the failure to provide citizens with safety where they live.
EFF councillor Themba Mvubu stressed the importance of exploring other energy sources, such as wind, solar and water, instead of relying on Eskom for electricity provision.
“Water supply and other emergency services should never be subjected to power supply because when there is load shedding, the residents suffer and may not receive these services.
“The eThekwini Municipality workforce must be empowered with the necessary skills to perform municipal tasks,” Mvubu said.
The City must do an audit check of all those municipal officials who are suspected of having fraudulent qualifications, Mvubu added.
IFP councillor Jonathan Annipen said the citizens of Verulam and Tongaat had endured long periods of life without electricity and water, and blamed the City for it.
“The residents of Phoenix have been struggling to get water and other services. Inanda, Mount Moria and other townships in the north lack services such as the clearing of verges, sports fields, recreation parks and other municipal facilities that the community are in dire need of.”
ActionSA provincial chairperson Zwakele Mncwango said the real state of the city meant that it must get rid of illegal connections that have sprung up all over it, straining the power grid.
“The city must investigate and charge all those City officials who are alleged to lack proper qualifications and skills for the work they are employed for. “Poor infrastructure: the city is facing rampant water shortages, where roads are collapsing, buildings have been invaded by illegal occupants, and nothing gets done about it.
“The city has become a sea of sewage that spills into rivers, putting the lives of innocent citizens in jeopardy.
“Fun World, at the Durban beachfront, is closing down because of the City’s failures,” Mncwango stressed.
ANC councillor Sbusiso Ngcongo said that eThekwini must be applauded for ensuring that the residents were provided with electricity, even though the rest of the country had been facing hours of load shedding.
“Our residents are guaranteed less load-shedding hours as we enter into new load-shedding schedules, which shows the City cares about its people.
“We advise the City’s electricity department to explore other energy sources, and not only rely on Eskom for electricity provisions for the residents of eThekwini.”
DA councillor Ernest Smith said the leaks all over the city should be dealt with, otherwise the city would continue to lose thousands of litres of water.
“The ratepayers are not happy about the poor service delivery in eThekwini. The electricity supplied by Eskom has caused a lot of challenges for the residents of this country, therefore eThekwini must look into other means of power sources.
“The people of eThekwini are throwing their money down the drain by paying for the services, such as this load shedding that is collapsing the economy of the city,” Smith said.
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