Political stability essential for Durban's ambitious targets, says Mayor Xaba

eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has called for political stability at an administrative level; otherwise, the city will not be able to achieve its targets.
Image: Independent Media Archives
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has called for political stability at an administrative level; otherwise, the city will not be able to achieve its targets
Xaba was unpacking the budget for the 2025/2026 financial year at a business breakfast held in Durban on Wednesday.
The municipality has a R70 billion budget, which is made up of an operating budget of R63bn and a capital budget of R7bn.
Xaba also spoke of the water and sanitation turnaround strategy, which has been adopted by the council and approved by the National Treasury.
He said the electricity unit is also undergoing the same process, and will be followed by the Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit (CSW).
'The ultimate goal of these reforms is to have self-contained utilities that are able to render these basic services in the most effective and efficient manner,' Xaba said.
Xaba, who had outlined multimillion-rand investments in the city, called for a collective effort from all stakeholders for the city to reach its targets.
Addressing the guests and municipal management, and looking towards city manager Musa Mbhele, Xaba said: 'The city will not be able to achieve all of these things under the administration you lead, city manager (Musa Mbhele), there are upheavals.'
Looking towards Mbhele, Xaba added: 'We need your team to cooperate with you to deliver on these achievements, and for me as the political head, it is to ensure that there is political stability in the city.'
Xaba went on to say that politics and business are two sides of the same coin. He then used the French expression "tête-à-tête" which means "head to head", but in English, it refers to a private conversation between two people.
During the previous budget consultations, businesses raised concerns about the unaffordability of tariffs as they exceed inflation, which negatively impacts the cost of doing business in the city and service delivery.
Xaba said the consultative process was not just a box-ticking exercise, but a genuine effort to deliver a budget for all eThekwini residents.
The tariff increases for the 2025/2026 financial year are as follows: Domestic water tariff: +13%,
Water tariff for business: +14%.
The average property rates: +5.9%.
Domestic and business refuse removal: +9%
Electricity: +12.72%
Bishop Vusi Dube, of eThekwini Community Church (ECC), said the interfaith structures can play a role in the city with moral regeneration, which also seeks to address drug abuse and homelessness.
Other speakers were concerned about community health centres, crime, undocumented people in the inner city, and water issues.
Xaba acknowledged that a great deal must be done to revive the city centre and briefed guests about the implementation of the inner city regeneration programme.
'Through this bold initiative, we want to improve public safety, address the challenge of homelessness – eradicating bad buildings, upgrading public realms, patching potholes, and ensuring that streetlights are on.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

TimesLIVE

17 hours ago

• TimesLIVE

Senior Iranian official: European proposals in Geneva unrealistic

A senior Iranian official said on Saturday that proposals put forward by European powers at talks in Geneva about his country's nuclear programme were 'unrealistic', suggesting that if they stuck to them it would be difficult to reach an accord. There were few signs of progress on Friday after the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, plus the EU met their Iranian counterpart in a bid to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran from escalating. 'The discussions and proposals made by the Europeans in Geneva were unrealistic. Insisting on these positions will not bring Iran and Europe closer to an agreement,' the senior official told Reuters, while speaking on condition of anonymity. 'In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,' the official said. Both sides signalled on Friday their readiness to keep talking, though no new date was set. European diplomats said Friday's talks had been aimed at testing Tehran's willingness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite there being no obvious prospect of Israel halting its attacks soon. While neither side disclosed details of what was put forward, two European diplomats said the E3 did not believe that Israel would accept a ceasefire in the near term and that it would be difficult for Iran and the US to resume negotiations. They said the idea was to begin a parallel negotiating track, initially without the US, on a new deal that would involve tougher inspections, including potentially of Iran's ballistic missile programme, while allowing Tehran some notional uranium enrichment capacity. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday spoke with his Iranian counterpart and said the two sides had agreed to accelerate negotiations, though he insisted it was up to Iran 'to provide every assurance that its intentions are peaceful'. Despite some European ministers suggesting on Friday that Iran was more ready to talk about issues beyond the nuclear programme, the senior official dismissed the possibility of negotiating its defensive capabilities, including its missile programme, and repeated that the idea of zero enrichment of uranium was a dead end. 'Iran welcomes diplomacy but not under the shadow of war,' the official said.

eNCA

a day ago

• eNCA

Sahel juntas pile pressure on foreign mining firms

ABIDJAN - Army strongmen who have seized power in coups across Africa's Sahel region since 2020 have ramped up pressure on foreign mining companies in the name of greater control over their countries' riches. Niger's nationalisation of the local branch of French uranium giant Orano on Thursday is the latest such measure by the junta and its allies in Burkina Faso and Mali. In particular the coup-hit trio, which have all turned their backs on their shared former colonial master France in favour of stronger ties with Russia, have placed Western firms firmly in their sights. - Tug-of-war - Niger's nationalisation of Orano's local branch Somair has brought a months-long struggle with the French firm to a peak. Orano, which is 90-percent owned by the French state, had already admitted to having lost operational control of its subsidiary months ago. Meanwhile in Mali, Canadian giant Barrick Mining is locked in a tug-of-war with the army over a mining code that came into force in 2023. The military is demanding hundreds of millions of dollars of back taxes from the firm. Barrick has since lost control of Loulo-Gounkoto, the country's largest gold mine, in which the Canadian firm holds a majority stake. In November 2024, Malian soldiers arrested the director of Australia's Resolute Mining, along with two employees. All were subsequently released after Resolute agreed to pay the junta $160 million in exchange. Other mine companies such as Canada's allied Gold, B2Gold and Robex had previously agreed to review their activities and pay to settle their tax or customs dispute. And in 2023 Burkina Faso seized 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of gold produced by a branch of Canada's Endeavour Mining on "public necessity" grounds. - End of resource sell-out - For the juntas, the point of the push against foreign mining companies is to reestablish sovereignty and control over their national resources. Where they believed the Sahel's resource riches were previously sold out to foreigners, and to the West in particular, today the army leaders promise their people that ordinary citizen will receive a greater share of the profits from the wealth under their feet. Niger produces nearly five percent of the world's uranium. Gold makes up a quarter of Mali's national budget. And Burkina Faso's gold production contributes around 14 percent of the country's revenues, according to official statistics. "The population sees this as a push to free states which were previously, according to the new authorities, subservient to Westerners and therefore foreign interests," said Jeremie Taieb, director of consulting firm Tikva Partners. This rejection therefore "helps to satisfy public opinion and nurtures a narrative that allows those in power to keep it", Taieb added. All three countries are plagued by jihadist violence, which has claimed thousands of lives across the region. Besides economic sanctions imposed on the juntas in the wake of the coups, "the pressures exerted to fund the fight against terrorism" provide as good a reason as any "to extract more income from the sector", said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks. - International arbitration attempts - To fight back against the juntas, the mining industry has looked to international arbitration. Barrick has turned to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), part of the Washington-based World Bank. France's Orano has launched various lawsuits against the state of Niger, accusing the junta of a "systematic policy of stripping mining assets". In a statement Friday evening, the day after Niger announced its intention to nationalise its subsidiary, the firm said it "intends to claim compensation for all of its damages and assert its rights over the stock corresponding to Somair's production to date". - Russians, Chinese gain upper hand - For Taieb, this "legal instability" in the Sahel could drive investors towards countries with a more reliable business backdrop. But for Control Risks' Ochieng, "foreign firms will probably continue to engage with administrations in the Sahel... as mining assets represent a hefty and long-term investment". In any case the countries that stand to gain most from the current climate are Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso's so-called "security partners" -- especially Turkey, China and Russia. On Monday, Mali and Russia began construction work on a new gold refinery in the Malian capital Bamako. Moscow has also sent mercenaries from its paramilitary Africa Corps to the Sahel country to help fight jihadists. For the Russians, the deal is "minerals for weapons, in the same way that for the Chinese, it's minerals for infrastructure", said Taieb.

eNCA

a day ago

• eNCA

Language row erupts during Kouga council meeting

JEFFREYS BAY - The Kouga Municipality in the Eastern Cape is embroiled in a language controversy. Opposition parties allege that isiXhosa-speaking councillors are being silenced for speaking their mother tongue during council meetings. The Speaker, who reportedly does not speak isiXhosa, is accused of insisting that councillors use only English or Afrikaans, threatening action for non-compliance. The Speaker maintains, however, that English has always been the primary language of council proceedings. The caucus leader for the DA in the Kouga Municipality has dismissed the language bias claims. Bornman Hattingh, who is also the mayor, says they've always used English and Afrikaans.