THE eThekwini Municipality executive council’s approval of an extension of an infrastructure surcharge for a period of two years has been slammed by ratepayers’ bodies and the opposition party.

The City says this move is an effort to continue addressing water and sanitation service delivery matters, including ageing infrastructure. This applies to potable water and sewer tariffs.

The extended infrastructure surcharge will, according to the council, provide for a further investment of approximately R490m.

Abdool Valodia, chairman of the Overport Ratepayers Association, shared the ratepayers’ displeasure. “While the intention behind the surcharge, to fund critical water and sanitation infrastructure, is undeniably necessary, the decision to extend it is deeply problematic and places an unfair burden on residents. The City is essentially asking residents to pay an additional fee to fix a system whose failures they are already disproportionately suffering from,” he said.

Also read: Ratepayers threaten to withhold payments to municipality

Valodia continued, “Many communities, particularly in historically disadvantaged areas, continue to battle with persistent water outages, sewage spills, and a lack of basic services. Charging them more for the promise of future repairs, while they endure current failures, erodes public trust and punishes those already hardest hit.”

The ratepayers’ association recommends alternative income generation. “Instead of consistently reverting to raising tariffs on residents, the City must explore more creative and equitable ways to generate revenue, e.g. debt collection and revenue enhancement, public-private partnerships, targeted grant funding, and a demonstrable effort to cut frivolous expenditure within the municipality and root out corruption in tender processes.”

The DA has opposed the council’s decision.

Also read: Opposition parties cite mistrust in City’s R70b budget

“During the recent eThekwini Municipality Executive Committee meeting, the ANC-IFP-EFF led City administration passed the proposal to extend the water surcharge by another two years. This unjust and unnecessary burden on already struggling ratepayers highlights the city’s deepening financial mismanagement and its refusal to take responsibility for the crisis it has created,” said Clr Yogis Govender.

She added, “Millions are spent on projects that fail to deliver results, while residents are expected to shoulder the cost of mismanagement through higher surcharges and tariffs.

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“The DA demands that the City collect the outstanding debt, address the catastrophic water losses, and implement proper maintenance and financial management practices before turning again to residents’ pockets. Residents are fed up with paying for government failures, and their frustration is justified.”

The council proposed these projects for prioritisation: Southern Wastewater Treatment Works functional upgrades, Rehabilitation of the Umbilo Wastewater Treatment Works, Rehabilitation of the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works, Umdloti Wastewater Treatment Works and catchment, Hillcrest and Glenwood Road rehabilitation of flood-damaged infrastructure, and Ntuzuma Pump station upgrade.

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