SINCE its establishment in April this year, the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) has achieved progress towards its goal of positioning eThekwini Municipality as an investment and tourism hub, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The PeWG is a multi-stakeholder mechanism to address critical service delivery, infrastructure, and socio-economic challenges within the eThekwini Municipality.
The working group operates across three spheres of government and includes representatives from the private sector and labour.
Significant developments
Some of the significant developments include the city’s water and sanitation turnaround plan, including the finalisation of water supply agreements for the Mkhomazi Water Project which is expected to increase water supply to more than 600 million cubic meters per annum when completed in 2032.
Crucial repairs to address water shortages have been accelerated, including the completion of the KwaXimba bulk water project to increase portable water in the outer-west region, the rehabilitation of the Nagle Aqueducts damaged in the 2022 floods, and replacement of pipelines in the North of eThekwini.
An additional grant of R189.5 million funding has been unlocked from National Treasury to support the turnaround plan to repair critical water and sanitation infrastructure and reduce non-revenue water.
Management of effluence compliance has seen a 19% improvement in recent months as a result of critical interventions by uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) in ten of the largest wastewater treatment works in eThekwini.
Preparation for the summer holiday period is showing positive results, including the reopening of the Hilton Hotel and the renewal of leases by Southern Sun of the Maharani and Elangeni Hotel, paving the way for R1 billion worth of investment.
In recent months, over 22,000 members of law enforcement have been deployed to eThekwini through Operation Shanela which has resulted in over 2,000 arrests and increased police visibility following the successful deployment of over 5,000 members of law enforcement during the election period.
President Ramaphosa welcomed this progress and appreciated the efforts from both business and labour in supporting the work of the PeWG.
Whilst acknowledging the progress, President Ramaphosa also noted that challenges still persist including the recently announced water curtailment measures and flooding risks being faced by communities and businesses in the South Durban Basin as a result of the damage to the Umlaas Canal.
The President called on social partners to support the ‘Water Secure eThekwini’ Campaign to reduce per capita water consumption in the city by 8% in the short term.
President Ramaphosa also reflected on the continued closure of some of the city’s beaches, which have been reduced from six beach closures in October to only two in November 2024. The President tasked the city with accelerating its plans to reduce beach closures to zero for the upcoming holiday period.
President Ramaphosa reaffirmed government’s continued commitment to working with social partners to address challenges and announced the intention to establish an Investment Facilitation Team to support private sector investments into catalytic projects in eThekwini by reducing red tape and fast-tracking approvals.
President Ramaphosa was supported by Ministers in the Presidency, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Finance, Police, Public Works and Infrastructure, Tourism, Transport, and Water and Sanitation.
