DURING his visit to eThekwini last week, President Ramaphosa assured residents and the business community of the revival of the city and its restoration to its former glory. While meeting various stakeholders at Coastlands, Musgrave, the president’s meeting was aimed to receive a report from the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) on work done since the group’s formation in April.

Not to be marred by a SADTU picket outside the hotel (seeking removal of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube), Ramaphosa shared his sentiments about the city and its potential to remain the country’s economic hub amidst challenges.

The president was accompanied by cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and the province’s MECs.

He shared, “I am pleased with an additional grant of R189.5 million funding which has been unlocked by the National Treasury to support the turnaround plan to repair critical water and sanitation infrastructure and reduce non-revenue water.

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“Preparation for the summer holiday period is showing positive results, including the re-opening of the Hilton Hotel and the renewal of leases by Southern Sun of the Maharani and Elangeni hotels, paving the way for R1-billion worth of investment.” He further noted the deployment of over 22 000 members of law enforcement which has resulted in over 2 000 arrests and increased police visibility.

Ramaphosa welcomed this progress and appreciated the efforts from both business and labour in supporting the work of the PeWG. While acknowledging the progress, Ramaphosa also noted that challenges still persist, including the recently announced water curtailment measures and flooding risks being faced by communities and businesses. He 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.

He reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to working with social partners to address challenges. Established in February 2024, the PeWG is a multi-stakeholder mechanism to address critical service-delivery, infrastructure and socio-economic challenges within eThekwini with the goal of positioning the city as an investment and tourism hub. The group operates across three spheres of government and includes representatives from the private sector and labour.

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