Allison Schoeman, Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association (BRRA) vice chairperson. Picture: Supplied
The Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association (BRRA) Vice Chairperson Allison Schoeman advised residents to navigate the ongoing challenges in their municipality and to stay informed and not be misled by what she called “politricks.”
“With the local government elections coming up in 2026, it’s natural to see politicians suddenly appearing to take action. But we need to take a step back, look at the processes already under way, and ask ourselves whether these efforts are truly new or just cleverly timed to gain public favour,” Schoeman said.
She was reacting to the news that the Democratic Alliance in eThekwini filed a motion calling for the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to investigate the feasibility of the reprioritisation of the budget, so that funds are allocated to the eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) and electricity clusters.
In a joint statement by DA eThekwini councillors Thabani Ndlovu and Yogis Govender, they claim to be reliably informed that the municipality’s water department has exhausted its budget for water repairs, leaving the city with no capacity to address the ongoing water crisis.
“This has resulted in a halt of work by independent contractors, while the plumbers employed directly by the city can only attend to repairs during business hours. This situation has caused a massive backlog, with residents bearing the brunt of the inefficiency,” the councillors stated.
Further, the councillors added that the municipality is losing hundreds of thousands of rand every day due to these unaddressed leaks, while residents endure water shortages and poor service delivery.
“With over 50% of water in the city unaccounted for, one would expect that fixing water leaks would be a top priority to conserve resources. However, the current administration has failed to address this critical issue,” the councillors stated.
The councillors claimed that there is a significant backlog of unresolved water leaks and broken water meters, some of which have been reported for over 20 days, with no action being taken.
The motion said the “essential services units have been rendered dysfunctional, as they have exhausted their budgets, in certain departments”.
The motion calls for the Executive Committee to mandate the CFO to investigate the feasibility of reprioritisation of the budget in January 2025, and that savings be identified to allocate to the EWS and electricity clusters.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the city administration does not comment on political statements made by political parties.
“There are platforms for such political debates which include submitting a notice of motion to council where facts can be articulated and debated by all political parties represented in council,” said Sisilana.
Schoeman concluded that it was easy to be swayed by big statements or motions that sound like solutions.
“But remember, the real test of leadership is not in what they say or file — it’s in what they have actually delivered and whether your day-to-day life has improved,” she said.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za