eThekwini Mayor provides update on city developments

THIS morning, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda held a post-council briefing ahead of the Easter weekend to share the City’s Easter Holiday long-weekend plans and to update the public about the ongoing recovery efforts following the resumption of municipal services, as well as the council decisions for the meeting that took place on Tuesday, March 26.

The briefing was held at Karibu Community Care Centre in Albert Park, a homeless care centre that is currently under construction, which, when completed, will provide access to essential amenities and social services for migrants, refugees and homeless people.

Kaunda started by acknowledging that the impact of the protracted illegal strike has been felt by all sectors in eThekwini. “We wish to express our appreciation to residents and businesses for working with us during this difficult period.”

The mayor said predictions for the Easter long weekend indicate that eThekwini can expect just over 65 000 visitors with an accommodation occupancy rate of 69% during this period.

Also read: Durban businesses to benefit from bumper Easter weekend

“This year’s Easter festivities are geared towards accommodating the whole family with activities that are family-friendly in key tourism precincts like uShaka Marine World, which has re-opened and is fully functional,” said Kaunda.

The following events are also lined up for the long weekend:

• Joyous Celebration Megafest from March 29 to March 30 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre
• One Man Concert on March 30 at the Durban Exhibition Centre
• Dubane Summer Break on April 6 at uShaka Beach

Beach status

Regarding beach water quality, Kaunda said the City continues to take proactive measures and test water quality to ensure the safety of beachgoers. “Signage of the water quality results are displayed at all bathing beaches. Sewer infrastructure has been upgraded in the city, and continuous repairs are undertaken if there are damages caused by adverse weather conditions. We are pleased that most of our bathing beaches are open and safe for swimming, and all our swimming pools on the beachfront are also open to the public for swimming. Lifeguards are deployed along our bathing beaches to ensure the safety of beachgoers,” said Kaunda.

Resumption of municipal services

Following a three-week-long industrial action by eThekwini Municipality workers, Kaunda said all basic services in the city have been fully restored.

“The reports we received from various service delivery units of the municipality show that the service delivery backlog is gradually being reduced. While the majority of workers have returned to work, there is still a huge backlog that the City has to clear, considering the long period in which services were interrupted. Teams have cleared the backlog of electricity outages, and refuse collection has resumed as per the normal collection schedule. Teams from the Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit will be working throughout the Easter long weekend and public holidays to ensure that our city is clean.”

Debt relief programme

The mayor went on to highlight important decisions that were made at the last council meeting which sat on Tuesday.

“To cushion our customers who are struggling to pay their municipal accounts, eThekwini Municipality has reinstated the Debt Relief Programme following an approval by the council this week. This demonstrates that we are indeed a caring government. The programme benefits residential and business customers and also includes non-profit organisations. The last instalment of the debt relief programme yielded positive results as the City collected about R112 million in down payments alone.  The success of this programme saw the council reinstating it for another period of three months,” said Kaunda.

Kaunda explained that to qualify for this programme, your account must be over 90 days in arrears. A down payment of 5% for residential and 10% for business customers must be made.

“Once the payment agreement has been signed to settle the outstanding debt for up to 36 months, the accumulated interest will be written off. If a customer defaults on payment or pays less than the required instalment, all written-off interest will be reinstated,” said Kaunda.

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Tackling homelessness

In an effort to create safe living conditions for residents and businesses in the city, the municipality is collaborating with the Mayor’s Migration Council in the establishment of the Karibu Care Centre which will provide access to essential amenities and social services for migrants, refugees and homeless people.

“This week, the council has authorised the City Manager to sign a memorandum of understanding between our City and the Mayor’s Migration Council (MMC). The MMC is a mayoral-led coalition that drives ambitious global action on migration and displacement to foster a world where urban migrants, displaced individuals and host communities can thrive. In eThekwini, our focus is on establishing the Karibu Community Care Centre here in Albert Park, in Ward 32, which assists homeless people in accessing skills development opportunities, meals and ablution facilities. The MMC has allocated R3.6 million for this project which will contribute immensely to our vision of making eThekwini the most caring and liveable city,” concluded Kaunda.

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