From Chatsworth to city hall: DA's Hoosen pledges to transform eThekwini

AFTER a 30-year career in politics and a brief hiatus, Haniff Hoosen returns as the Democratic Alliance's (DA) mayoral candidate for eThekwini with bold promises to end corruption, fix the water crisis, and transform a city he believes has been destroyed by mismanagement.

“If voters had supported me in 2016, we would not have had the water and sewer crises we find in our city today,” he told the POST. 

Last week, the DA announced that the 53-year-old who was born in Chatsworth, as the party’s mayoral candidate for eThekwini in the 2026 local government elections. 

The POST reporter, Nadia Khan, spoke to Hoosen about his return to politics, his vision for eThekwini and plans to improve the lives of citizens if he is elected as mayor. 

POST: Once a prominent voice in the DA, you seemed to have vanished from South Africa's political landscape. What happened to you and what have you been doing since stepping away from the public eye?

Hoosen: I retired from active politics for a short period to concentrate on my business interests. During this period, I travelled outside the country. However, I remained active as a DA member and member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the party in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Although I may have been absent from the political scene for a short period, my commitment towards fighting for change in South Africa did not stop. 

POST: Why did you accept the nomination as the DA's mayoral candidate for eThekwini? What changes do you think your leadership will bring to the residents of eThekwini, who are bearing the brunt of service delivery challenges and infrastructure failures?

Hoosen: As an active leader of the DA for more than 20 years, we have been working hard to bring change to our city, and we did whatever we could to stop the massive corruption in the eThekwini Municipality. That is why I stood for mayor in 2016, unfortunately most residents voted for the ANC. Zandile Gumede was elected as the mayor for the ANC and she is now charged for R320m tender fraud. I am still here fighting for the residents and not for myself. 

If voters supported me and the DA in 2016, we would have been able to save this city from the massive corruption under this leadership. We would not have had the water and sewer crises that we find in our city today.

Since 2016 our city has deteriorated to the extent that communities go without water for weeks on end. This is due to the city’s poor maintenance record and high levels of corruption and mismanagement.

So, when the opportunity arose for me to stand as mayor again, and have a chance to change the direction of our city, I had to raise my hand.

I have worked for almost 30 years to bring change to the residents of Durban. I could not in good conscience give up the fight. It is even more important now as millions of South Africans are turning their backs on this government because of their poor track record.

Under my leadership, I will not tolerate corruption, mismanagement and mediocrity.

I plan to clean up the mess left by our current government and I plan to do this as quickly as possible. I want to build a city where things work and where the city works for the people it serves.

POST: Reflecting on your political career, what have you achieved for the residents of eThekwini? 

Hoosen: During the time when I worked as a councillor in the municipality, I assisted hundreds of poor families in my community to get decent and affordable access to electricity and water.

At the municipal level I always advocated for affordable access to basic services. I raised my voice on every occasion when corruption was identified and always called for accountability and consequences for crooked officials who stole from the poor.

During my term as a member of parliament in the National Assembly, I played an active role exposing mismanagement and corrupt activities.

I led the parliamentary investigation on behalf of the DA, on state capture in home affairs which later exposed the former Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba’s questionable conduct regarding the granting of citizenship for the Gupta family.

POST: The Special Investigation Unit’s investigation into the eThekwini Municipality's housing programme recently uncovered serious irregularities and potential corruption involving the sale and purchase of 29 sites, including community parks and sport grounds in Phoenix. There are also incidents where former and current office bearers have been, and are, before the courts on allegations of corruption. How will you institutionalise transparency and accountability into municipal work among public office bearers?  

Hoosen: Local government has sufficient measures to prevent maladministration and mismanagement. The problem lies with the strict implementation of the rules and legislations.  Officials who are responsible for ensuring compliance with the law often turn a blind eye to corrupt practices because they are often the beneficiaries of the corrupt activities. I have always been a fierce critic of weak management and corruption.

Those who know me, know that I have a no-nonsense approach towards any official who fails to apply the rules and laws and will not hesitate to take firm action against corrupt officials. Local government is where the greatest change can be effected to build a better future for families and I plan to make sure that officials do what they are paid for and behave like real servants of the people.

POST: If you are elected, what would be your budget priorities, and what do you think is the key to successfully managing such in the public sector?

Hoosen: My first priority will be to redesign the budget in a manner that reduces wastage and eradicate all expenses that are not a priority for local government.

Sponsorships of fashion shows and picnics will no longer exist under my leadership and every rand spent will be done in a manner that brings a return on that investment.

Once the wastage and unnecessary budgeted items are identified, those funds will be redirected towards fixing the water infrastructure in the city to ensure a more reliable supply of water to households.

I will ensure that we begin investing immediately in new infrastructure to reduce the overflows of sewer into our rivers and ocean.

 Our city residents are also struggling to keep up with the high municipal bills every month. I want to find ways that will make it easier for more people to afford their monthly expenses to the municipality, and this is possible.

Currently residents are paying far too much for water in this city and the main contributor is the 60% of water which is wasted, mainly due to leaking pipes. The residents are paying for this waste and if we can fix the pipes, we will save more water, and it will become cheaper for everyone.

POST: What would you do to ensure that every person in KZN can realise their human rights and live with dignity?

Hoosen: Every action and investment we make will be done in a manner that respects the rights of our city residents. It is simply not acceptable that so many communities go without water for weeks and this is where I intend to start.

Durban has also become home to about 600 informal settlements throughout the city.

Our current government has ignored and neglected these poor communities and I intend seeking the assistance of the Provincial and National Government to expand the housing development projects in the city.

At the current rate of development, this city will take 90 years to eradicate informal settlements. I choose to work towards eradicating informal settlements in the city in a much faster period and believe it is possible if we can reduce corruption and wasteful expenditure. 

There are also so many families who dream of having their own homes and have no choice but to rent in outbuildings because they don’t have the means to own their own homes.

I want to change that by creating opportunities for them to invest in their own homes. This can be done through public private partnerships where businesses and finance institutions partner with the city to develop decent homes for families. It is possible if this city has a committed leadership who cares for its residents.

POST: What is your favourite part of public service and what is your least favourite? 

Hoosen: My favourite part of public service is building systems that work effectively for the benefit of the people it serves. If you call the eThekwini call centre now, they either take forever to answer the phone or don’t even bother to answer at all.

Emails to officials are often ignored and even when residents report service delivery failures, there is little to no response. My favourite part is firing useless officials who don’t have an interest or passion for the people they serve.

POST: What is your overall vision for eThekwini?

Hoosen: My vision for eThekwini is to see the city working again, where our beaches get the Blue Flag status reinstated. I see a city where thousands of tourists return, where people have water and homelessness is completely eradicated. A place where people run TO our city for jobs and not run away from us. We have lost thousands of qualified people to other cities and other countries because of limited opportunities in eThekwini and the country. I want to change that and build a city where investors flock in, more jobs are created, and people have dignity.

THE POST