The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has encouraged the council of the Umlazi municipality to do “everything possible” to assist communities, by putting in “extra effort” to supply them with water, particularly since some problems date back to the damage caused by the 2023 floods.

The committee concluded the first day of its week-long municipal oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal, to assess performance on governance, service delivery and financial management issues.

On Tuesday, residents at the Umlazi meeting aired several concerns about service delivery in the area, such as sewerage leaks and water challenges. 

Another issue flagged was billing, where several residents told the committee they were still billed despite not having water for a month.

“Others said they do not understand the city’s calculations, as a household with one person and one with six people are billed the same amount,” said portfolio committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize.

He explained that regarding the six-kilolitre allowance that was given free to residents some years back and is now being charged again, the committee believed it was “unfair” as communities did not make any preparations for this kind of additional charge.

The committee feels that the municipality must review the matter with understanding for the plight of communities.

“Some community members suggested flat rates. The committee urged the municipality to address this and report on every individual’s case to the committee,” he said.

The committee will conduct monthly follow-ups and request progress reports from the municipality.

The committee noted concerns about vandalism of water infrastructure and the municipality having to resort to water tankers to supply water in some areas.

“We have encouraged the municipality to invest in its infrastructure. It is important to ensure communities get the water, but the municipality must continue to invest in maintenance of water infrastructure,” Mkhize stated.

The committee said some challenges would take a long time to resolve.

“We do understand that it is a lot of work to trace water leaks with about 7 000 pipes the municipality has to monitor for water leaks, but we believe the municipality must invest in technology to enable them to identify these leaks early and make refurbishments,” Mkhize said.

Meanwhile, the committee noted positive developments, with the eThekwini municipality having no outstanding debt to Eskom or the water boards, also noting the metro’s 93% revenue collection rate. 

Mkhize said President Cyril Ramaphosa's deployment of a team to eThekwini was indicative of a “serious deterioration” in the City’s impact on the region’s economy, with a loss in business confidence, declining tourism numbers and people no longer visiting Durban beaches.

The committee said it believed that it was important for this work to be done in a way that encouraged the City to ensure that when the Presidential working team exited, it did not deteriorate again.