eThekwini Municipality Secures R10 Billion Investment to Overhaul Water, Electricity, and Waste Infrastructure

The municipality has confirmed that trading services reforms will commence with a focus on water and electricity in the first year, beginning with the 2025/26 financial year.

The eThekwini Municipality has announced a significant investment of approximately R10 billion to rehabilitate and modernize its water, electricity, and solid waste management infrastructure. This extensive initiative is aimed at improving service delivery, addressing inefficiencies, and ensuring that trading services become financially self-sustaining in the long term.

The municipality's infrastructure upgrade plan follows the announcement by Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana of a R3.33 billion performance grant allocation over the next three years. The grant, a critical part of national funding efforts, is designated to support trading services reforms within the municipality, primarily focusing on water, sanitation, and electricity.

A Multi-Phase Infrastructure Revamp

The municipality has confirmed that trading services reforms will commence with a focus on water and electricity in the first year, beginning with the 2025/26 financial year. The reforms are structured under a comprehensive turnaround strategy that seeks to improve service efficiency, financial sustainability, and governance within the municipality’s essential services.

To achieve these objectives, eThekwini’s Water and Sanitation (EWS) Unit has adopted a Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy (TAS). This strategy, alongside a newly developed Business and Investment Plan and an Institutional and Governance Reform Roadmap, will guide the restructuring and modernization of the city’s essential services.

“The latter has six strategic pillars that underpin the reform of EWS into a ring-fenced commercial business unit, as echoed by Minister Godongwana in the recent budget speech,” the municipality stated.

Strategic Pillars of the Water and Sanitation Overhaul

The six core strategic pillars forming the foundation of the turnaround plan include:

• Institutionalisation of a Single Point of Accountability – Ensuring clear responsibility and oversight over service delivery.
• Acquisition of Management, Technical, and Change Leadership Expertise – Bringing in skilled professionals to lead the transformation.
• Governance Model Enhancement – Strengthening governance structures to improve efficiency and transparency.
• Financial Ring-Fencing of the Water and Sanitation Business Unit – Ensuring that revenues from these services are allocated directly to their improvement and expansion.
• Customer Service Enhancement – Improving response times, service quality, and customer support structures.
• Operational Efficiency and Infrastructure Investment – Upgrading existing infrastructure to reduce inefficiencies and prevent service disruptions.

As part of this strategic realignment, eThekwini Municipality aims to ramp up capital and operational investment in critical programs that will help stabilize water and sanitation services, improve customer satisfaction, and ensure sustainable financial performance.

Progress on Implementation

Since the adoption of the turnaround strategy, the municipality has reported that approximately 22% of its objectives have already been achieved. As the city realigns its budgetary priorities, additional funds will be directed towards key EWS TAS programs, including:

• Reducing water losses through improved metering and infrastructure upgrades.
• Enhancing customer service systems, particularly the call center and service response times.
• Addressing intermittent water supply issues to ensure reliable delivery.
• Minimizing inefficiencies and improving overall operational performance.

The city, through the Mayor’s Office, will maintain an ongoing engagement with key stakeholders to ensure that the implementation of the turnaround strategy delivers the intended results.

Economic and Developmental Impacts

The R3.33 billion incentive grant from the national government will provide much-needed financial support to bolster the city's resources and accelerate critical reforms. In addition to improving basic service delivery, these investments are expected to enhance the overall business environment within eThekwini, making the city more attractive to potential investors.

By addressing longstanding infrastructure challenges and modernizing service delivery, eThekwini Municipality hopes to reposition its trading services as reliable and financially sustainable entities. This, in turn, will contribute to the broader economic growth and development of the KwaZulu-Natal province.

Budgetary Approval and Next Steps

The municipality has expressed appreciation for the indicative funding allocations outlined in the recent national budget. It has also confirmed that these allocations will be integrated into the city's budget framework for final approval in May 2025.

As eThekwini embarks on this ambitious infrastructure overhaul, its leadership remains committed to ensuring that all resources are effectively utilized to deliver tangible improvements in service delivery and quality of life for residents. This investment marks a pivotal moment for the municipality as it seeks to create a more resilient and efficient infrastructure system to serve future generations.