eThekwini mayor says tariff hikes for water, refuse removal and rates revised after communities' pleas
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the City had listened to the concerns raised by communities during public meetings on the budget and had revised tariff hikes.
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EThekwini Municipality mayor Cyril Xaba says that the City is committed to addressing service delivery challenges that are plaguing the municipality.
Xaba acknowledged systemic weaknesses that continue to frustrate residents while he presented the 2025/26 budget at a council meeting yesterday. Xaba said that the municipality will be rolling out a bold new approach to boost service delivery that hinges on real-time accountability, regional management and technology-driven innovation.
The total budget for 2025/2026 financial year is R70.9 billion which is made up of an operating budget of R63.6 billion (or 89,7% of the total budget) and a capital budget of R7.3 billion (or 10,3% of the total budget).
He added that the City had listened to concerns raised by communities about proposed tariff increases for the 2025/26 financial year and had made adjustments.
He said during budget public meetings residents had raised issues affecting them including the tough economic climate, unemployment, the high cost of living and concerns about service delivery.
"To demonstrate that these consultations were not a box-ticking exercise, we have listened to all the inputs and considered the concerns raised by the residents. In this regard, we are happy to announce that the tariffs have been critically reviewed and revised."
The adjusted tariffs are:
- The proposed domestic water tariff increase has been reduced from 15% to 13%, the water tariff increase for business has been reduced from the proposed 16% to 14%.
- The proposed domestic sanitation tariff increase of 13% has been reduced to 11%, whilst the proposed sanitation tariff increase for business has been reduced from 14% to 12%.
- The average property rates increase has been reduced from 6.5% to 5.9%.
- The proposed refuse tariff increase for domestic households has been reduced from 9.9% to 9% in line with the tariff increase for business.
- The proposed tariff increase for electricity of 12.72% remains unchanged.
The mayor added that the rebate on vacant land will be increased to 30% in 2025/2026 from 10% in 2024/2025 upon application and approval.
The main focus of the budget is the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure and the implementation of the trading services turnaround strategies to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.
Xaba said this is not just a promise, but a commitment that has come to define the posture of the leadership and indeed the entire management of the city.
Speaking on the issue of water supply, Xaba said the municipality had taken note of all the water-related issues that were raised during the budget hearings which include water meters being out of stock, water outages, water leaks, aging infrastructure as well as flood damaged infrastructure that has not yet been repaired.
He said the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy, approved in April 2023, had seen achievements including a 30% reduction in repair backlogs, increased operational resources and major partnerships with the Department of Water and Sanitation, the World Bank and uMngeni-uThukela Water.
"To secure consistent water supply across the municipality, we have completed several critical infrastructure projects. These include the Northern Aqueduct which has improved water supply in Phoenix, Amaoti and Verulam, new rising mains from Hazelmere to Grange and the recommissioning of the Grange-to-Mt. View pumping main.
"We are also making progress on the replacement of the Southern Aqueduct, a pipeline that supplies water to Umlazi, Chatsworth, Shallcross, Folweni, KwaMakhutha and many other communities in the south. This R1.2 billion project, will be completed by August next year," Xaba said.
The budget will be debated in council on Thursday.