Durban City hall is the headquaters of eThekwini Municipality. Picture: Willem Phungula
AS PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa unleashed the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on the crisis-plagued eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS), political parties serving in council have welcomed his move, with some saying it was long overdue.
The municipality, which is the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal, is governed by the ANC-IFP and EFF coalition and boasts a budget of R67.2 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year.
The ANC Whip of the Executive Committee, Nkosenhle Madlala, said his party welcomed “any investigation that seeks to address allegations of maladministration, corruption, or irregularities.”
“As a movement committed to good governance, transparency, and service delivery, we welcome any investigation that seeks to address allegations of maladministration, corruption, or irregularities. The ANC-led eThekwini Municipality has always been clear in its stance that any wrongdoing must be dealt with decisively and that those found guilty of misconduct must be held accountable.”
Madlala, who is also chairperson of the Governance and Human Resources Committee, added: “We encourage the SIU to conduct its work thoroughly and without fear or favour so that the residents of eThekwini can have confidence in the integrity of their government institutions.”
He cautioned against premature conclusions “that may unfairly tarnish the hard work of many dedicated municipal officials who are striving to resolve the city’s water and sanitation challenges.”
Like Madlala, DA caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa gave the thumbs up to the proclamation, adding that it was long overdue.
“We welcome the proclamation by the president. It is long overdue. We have been saying as the DA that the water and sanitation department has been marred by maladministration, sabotage and the water tanker mafia. We hope this investigation will get to the bottom of the issues that have caused the ongoing water crisis in the city.”
The chairperson of the IFP in eThekwini, Mdu Nkosi, also gave the proclamation a nod, saying he hoped it would unravel the deep-seated corruption in the unit.
“We welcome this move because, as the IFP, we want to see taxpayers' money being used correctly. We need more such investigations in eThekwini,” said Nkosi.
Nkosi is also the chairperson of the Trade Services committee, which includes units like water, sanitation, cleansing and solid waste.
“People must see that the government is delivering services to them, especially water because this has been a long-running crisis in the city,” he said.
The EFF’s Themba Mvubu said: “We will wait for the investigation to be completed before we make a comprehensive comment on the matter because it would be the investigation that would unearth corruption if there is any in that department."
Mvubu is the chairperson of Human Settlements and Transport Authority Committee, a position he bagged as part of the power-sharing deal between his party, the EFF, the IFP and the ANC.
ActionSA’s provincial leader, Zwakele Mncwango, also a party councillor in eThekwini, welcomed the probe but called for the scope of the investigation to be broadened.
“We welcome the investigation. It is long overdue. But if it were up to us as ActionSA, the investigation scope would have also included the electricity department. That department has many allegations of corruption against it. So for that reason, I strongly believe that any form of investigation like the SIU proclamation should have included the electricity unit as well,” said Mncwango.
Asad Gaffer, chairperson of the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement, said the proclamation was clear evidence that “all is not well in eThekwini, especially the water and sanitation department”.
“The reckless behaviour of some officials has denied the constitutional rights of every resident of eThekwini. The proclamation, however, should have been a criminal investigation rather than a civil investigation.”
Amid the ongoing water crisis besetting many neighbourhoods within eThekwini, Gaffer said they were planning a mass protest against the administration of this city. The Daily News published a story about the Ndwedwe community, which was forced to share water with livestock.
Before that, the newspaper had reported about Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in uMlazi, which had gone for three weeks without water. The water was restored on Thursday.
Several communities in eThekwini, including Tongaat, have taken to the streets to express their anger at the lack of water.
eThekwini Municipality did not respond to questions.
DAILY NEWS