Ward reallocation could be disastrous for eThekwini

The proposed move of King Shaka International Airport, and surrounding wards, from eThekwini into KwaDukuza and Ndwedwe municipalities has drawn heavy criticism from residents of the wards.

Last week, the Courier reported on proposals before the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), which would see Wards 58, 61 and 62 change hands from eThekwini to fall under the KwaDukuza (KDM) and Ndwedwe municipalities.

These wards include the coastal towns of Umdloti, La Mercy, Seatides, Desainagar, Westbrook and parts of Tongaat (Ward 58), most of Tongaat (Ward 62) and south Tongaat and inland areas (Ward 61).

Based on the proposals, Wards 58 and 62 would join KDM and Ward 61 would join Ndwedwe.

Aside from the communities the proposals would affect, the wards also include significant economic zones at King Shaka International Airport, Dube Tradeport and Hazelmere Dam.

Although this would represent a major coup for KDM and Ndwedwe, should they be able to handle the extra load, it could be potentially disastrous for eThekwini.

In his submission to the MDB on Monday, Ward 58 councillor Geoff Pullan outlined his concerns.

“In 2012 a similar proposal was put forward to take King Shaka Airport and Tongaat out of eThekwini and give them to the local authorities to the north. eThekwini challenged the proposal at the time,” he said.

Per a report to the executive committee in 2012, the reallocation of said wards would cause more problems than they could solve.

At the time, the report stated that 18 775 properties on the valuation roll would be affected and eThekwini would face losses of R559-million over three years.

This aside from the fact that eThekwini had injected significant bulk infrastructure investment in the areas and would expect to reap the benefits thereof.

Confirming that both the Tongaat and La Mercy Ratepayers Associations planned to object, vice-chair of both, Tashya Giyapersad, said it appeared there was no real rationale behind the proposal.

“It seems that key areas, like the airport and dam have been cherry picked. Service delivery, technical services and revenue will be impacted, while a complete overhaul of staff and operations will be necessary. We already have poorly run municipalities who cannot justify extra spend,” she said.

It was also contested that the receiving municipalities did not have the financial, human and technical resources to functionally manage the areas, which include provincial and national priorities.

Whether both municipalities have grown enough to be able to handle the extra pressures remains to be seen.

And although the economic concerns are manifold, there are also daily administrative issues that could be caused as a result, said Pullan.

“Another fact that needs to be taken into consideration is that the latest proposal would split Tongaat into two separate municipalities. As an example, residents of Plane Street would be served by Ndwedwe in the south and KDM in the north,” he said.

“There are social and economic projects proposed by eThekwini that would need to be stopped, as the receiving municipalities do not have the resources. For these reasons, I am against the intention to excise Wards 58, 61 and 62 from eThekwini.”

It is important to note that the opposition was by an African National Congress led government in 2012, which remains in 2023, and that Pullan is a Democratic Alliance councillor, indicating bipartisan support against the reallocation.

Submissions to the MDB need to be made by April 30 to be considered and can be emailed to registry@demarcation.org.za.

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