Latest news with #Xaba
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Durban and Pietermaritzburg prepare for Comrades Marathon 2025
The eThekwini and Msunduzi Municipalities are conducting their final inspections of their road and other infrastructure in anticipation of the 98th Comrades Marathon on Sunday 8 June. 2025. The eThekwini and Msunduzi Municipalities are conducting their final inspections of their road and other infrastructure in anticipation of the 98th Comrades Marathon on Sunday, 8 June. This is the 49th down run, that will start at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and finishing 12 hours later at Durban's People's Park. The eThekwini Municipality stated that they are excited to host about 24,000 runners from around the globe and 35,000 anticipated spectators of the marathon, regarded as the Ultimate Human Race. EThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Cyril Xaba said hosting a race of this magnitude continues to position Durban as the most preferred sporting destination. Xaba said he is looking forward to welcoming the influx of tourists and roll-out the red carpet for runners and spectators. Xaba said events of this magnitude provide exposure to national and international media platforms, which further profiles destination Durban. 'It is a strong indication that we are among other international cities known for successfully delivering memorable sporting events. We will continue to leverage on such events as they boost the local economy and drive tourism,' said Xaba. Xaba said hosting the event will have a direct spend of R275 million with 1,800 jobs expected to be created. The Msunduzi Municipality Portfolio Chairperson of the Infrastructure Committee, Deputy Mayor, Mxolisi Mkhize held an important meeting with the Comrades Marathon Association and municipal departments to conduct a route inspection within the Msunduzi jurisdiction. Mkhize said that they discussed the urgent work that needed to be done, such as fixing potholes, cutting of the grass, marking the roads and repairing of street lights. This all to ensure route safety for runners and a pleasant experience for tourists coming into the city at this years' down run. Mkhize also touched on the importance of collaboration and working together to ensure the success of the race. The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) announced a change for the 2025 Comrades Marathon with the introduction of two staggered race starts. This approach aims to enhance the race experience for all participants, with a separate start for each of the two groups of athletes in this year's race from the Pietermaritzburg City Hall. According to the CMA General Manager Alain Dalaisthe, the first wave of runners will begin at 5.45am followed by the second wave 15 minutes later at 6am. This staggered approach will help manage the flow of runners and reduce congestion on the course.
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
eThekwini's R71bn budget gets thumbs up from ruling coalition
The eThekwini council on Thursday gave the green light to a R70.9bn budget for the 2026 fiscal year, after a second consecutive year of revised tariff increases. Mayor Cyril Xaba had previously tabled the revised budget on Monday where he announced it had been reduced from the proposed R71.3bn owing to tariff hike adjustments. The municipality decided to scale back on some of the tariff increases it had initially proposed in the draft budget after a public outcry during the consultation processes. The increases include: 13% and 14% for water in households and business, down from 15% and 16% respectively. 11% and 12% for domestic and business sanitation respectively, down from the proposed 13% and 14%. Refuse collection has been reduced to a 9% increase from the proposed 9.9% for domestic households, which is in line with that of business. 5.9% for property rates from the proposed 6.5% The city has further increased the rebate on vacant land from 10% to 30%. The electricity increase, however, remained unchanged at 12.72% after the city could not convince Eskom to reduce its 11.32% hike. 'We failed to win our argument with Eskom. They pleaded that the cost of providing services has increased and that they can't improve the tariff,' Xaba said on Monday. The main opposition party, the DA, disapproved of the budget, saying it lacked the necessary elements to rescue eThekwini from its challenges. Councillor Andre Beetge said he did not share Xaba's optimism on the budget because it sounded like a repetition of previous promises. He said the 'strategically' reduced tariffs were just a smokescreen while the underlying issues remained unresolved. Chief whip Yogis Govender argued the overall impact of the tariff hikes remained significant for consumers despite some slight decreases. 'I couldn't help but note the mayor saying that some tariffs came down by a few percent but what you are really saying to consumers is that 'this bottle is selling for R500 but I feel sorry for you. I hear you so I will sell it to you for R499. 99 because that's how caring we are.' The reality is the pinch will still be felt because an increase is still an increase,' she said. 'You are taxing your fast-shrinking rates base into extreme financial distress. Life is extremely stressful for the taxpayer in eThekwini.' ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango said the budget failed to adequately address the needs of residents. 'The proposed tariff increases are excessive and will further burden our citizens who are also struggling. The 13% increase over tariffs is so high while we're facing 58% water loss and the 11% increase in sanitation tariffs will have significant impact on low income households and make it even more difficult for them to access basic needs.' He added it did not provide sufficient funding for critical services like public transport, crime prevention and land management. He further questioned the city's financial management, highlighting concerns over collection rates and decreasing revenue while expenditure increased. 'This will have long-term consequences for the municipality's financial health. Furthermore, irregular expenditure continues to increase, which is unacceptable and raises questions about the municipality's ability to manage its finances effectively.' The EFF welcomed the budget, saying that the adjustment of tariff increases would provide relief to residents. The party said they would've called for no tariff increases but noted circumstances do not allow for that. 'We have our reservations because we wouldn't necessarily want tariff increases but at the same time we understand that eThekwini is 60% rural and 40% urban, meaning we have a very low tax base to collect from — which is why you find that our rates are not like other municipalities.' Xaba said the budget aimed at accelerating service delivery through improved revenue collection and infrastructure development. He said the city was largely dependent on effective collection of revenue and the residents' ability pay for services to boost its coffers and implement the budget. 'This means that when we enter the new financial year in July, we will embark on an intensive campaign to encourage our residents to pay for services. For those who are poor and cannot afford to pay, we already have a programme in place — the Indigent Support Policy — where qualifying households are subsidised by government and are eligible to receive free basic services.' They will achieve this by improving their cash collection through metering all unmetered properties, replacing old meters and conducting monthly readings to ensure accurate billing. The city is also looking to build resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters and wants to attract new investment to grow the economy and create jobs. The budget was adopted when 134 councillors, mainly from the governing coalition of the ANC, EFF and IFP caucuses, voted for it against the 54 who voted against it while three councillors abstained.
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
eThekwini mayor says tariff hikes for water, refuse removal and rates revised after communities' pleas
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the City had listened to the concerns raised by communities during public meetings on the budget and had revised tariff hikes. Image: Supplied EThekwini Municipality mayor Cyril Xaba says that the City is committed to addressing service delivery challenges that are plaguing the municipality. Xaba acknowledged systemic weaknesses that continue to frustrate residents while he presented the 2025/26 budget at a council meeting yesterday. Xaba said that the municipality will be rolling out a bold new approach to boost service delivery that hinges on real-time accountability, regional management and technology-driven innovation. The total budget for 2025/2026 financial year is R70.9 billion which is made up of an operating budget of R63.6 billion (or 89,7% of the total budget) and a capital budget of R7.3 billion (or 10,3% of the total budget). He added that the City had listened to concerns raised by communities about proposed tariff increases for the 2025/26 financial year and had made adjustments. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He said during budget public meetings residents had raised issues affecting them including the tough economic climate, unemployment, the high cost of living and concerns about service delivery. "To demonstrate that these consultations were not a box-ticking exercise, we have listened to all the inputs and considered the concerns raised by the residents. In this regard, we are happy to announce that the tariffs have been critically reviewed and revised." The adjusted tariffs are: The proposed domestic water tariff increase has been reduced from 15% to 13%, the water tariff increase for business has been reduced from the proposed 16% to 14%. The proposed domestic sanitation tariff increase of 13% has been reduced to 11%, whilst the proposed sanitation tariff increase for business has been reduced from 14% to 12%. The average property rates increase has been reduced from 6.5% to 5.9%. The proposed refuse tariff increase for domestic households has been reduced from 9.9% to 9% in line with the tariff increase for business. The proposed tariff increase for electricity of 12.72% remains unchanged. The mayor added that the rebate on vacant land will be increased to 30% in 2025/2026 from 10% in 2024/2025 upon application and approval. The main focus of the budget is the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure and the implementation of the trading services turnaround strategies to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Xaba said this is not just a promise, but a commitment that has come to define the posture of the leadership and indeed the entire management of the city. Speaking on the issue of water supply, Xaba said the municipality had taken note of all the water-related issues that were raised during the budget hearings which include water meters being out of stock, water outages, water leaks, aging infrastructure as well as flood damaged infrastructure that has not yet been repaired. He said the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy, approved in April 2023, had seen achievements including a 30% reduction in repair backlogs, increased operational resources and major partnerships with the Department of Water and Sanitation, the World Bank and uMngeni-uThukela Water. "To secure consistent water supply across the municipality, we have completed several critical infrastructure projects. These include the Northern Aqueduct which has improved water supply in Phoenix, Amaoti and Verulam, new rising mains from Hazelmere to Grange and the recommissioning of the Grange-to-Mt. View pumping main. "We are also making progress on the replacement of the Southern Aqueduct, a pipeline that supplies water to Umlazi, Chatsworth, Shallcross, Folweni, KwaMakhutha and many other communities in the south. This R1.2 billion project, will be completed by August next year," Xaba said. The budget will be debated in council on Thursday. THE MERCURY
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Durban's R70 billion budget: Mayor says plans in place to bury potholes, sweep the street and keeps the lights on
Ethekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba stated that they are committed to address service delivery challenges that are plaguing the municipality. Image: Thuli Dlamini / eThekwini Municipality eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba stated that they are committed to addressing service delivery challenges that are plaguing the municipality. Xaba acknowledged systemic weaknesses that continue to frustrate residents while he presented the 2025/26 budget at a council meeting on Monday. Xaba said that the municipality will be rolling out a bold new approach to boost service delivery that hinges on real-time accountability, regional management and technology-driven innovation. The total budget for 2025 and 2026 is R70.9 billion which is made up of an operating budget of R63.6 billion (or 89,7% of the total budget) and a capital budget of R7.3 billion (or 10,3% of the total budget). Xaba said that the municipality will conduct unannounced site visits, artificial intelligence tools, and decentralised management will form the backbone of the municipality's renewed push for service excellence. He said that the municipality is not happy with the response time after service delivery queries have been raised, particularly when dealing with a water leaks. 'To close the gaps, we are promoting 'transversal management' and tighter standard operating procedures between municipal units. Sometimes they take long to respond to a water leak because they don't have equipment to dig up that particular pipe. Another example is where the water department digs up a road to replace a water pipe, but the roads department does not come and fix the road timeously. This will help resolve such issues and we are already noticing the impact,' Xaba said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The main focus of the budget is the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure and the implementation of the trading services turnaround strategies to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Xaba said this is not just a promise, but a commitment that has come to define the posture of the leadership and indeed the entire management of the city. 'We will bury potholes, sweep the street, cut the verges and keeps the lights on,' he said. The budget was presented at 17 budget hearings across the City and to all stakeholders including business, the disability sector and traditional leaders from 22 April to 17 May. Xaba said the municipality faces the following challenges: Infrastructure decay in key urban and township areas Growing informal settlements and housing backlogs High levels of unemployment and youth disillusionment Financial constraints and revenue collection difficulties • Climate vulnerability and a need to accelerate resilience
TimesLIVE
24-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
How Nkandla's alleged rape 'Houdini' was caught by traditional healer
This week the rural village of Hlosane in Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal and social media were gripped by a serial rape suspect who, like a modern-day Houdini, escaped police custody — only to be dramatically rearrested through a citizens' effort. The suspect, accused of raping six teenage pupils, had terrorised high school girls renting rooms near Bizimali High School. His most recent escape from custody — after feigning a seizure at Mariannhill police station spread fear through the community, forcing some students to abandon their dormitories and disrupting classes at the school. At the centre of his capture was 33-year-old traditional healer Mnotho Xaba, who had unknowingly assisted the suspect weeks earlier. Xaba is a popular traditional healer whose services are sought locally and nationally. During an interview at the Dalton Hostel on Saturday he said he specialises in healing people, giving charms to those seeking love or money and those who want to strengthen themselves against their enemies. 'When I saw his picture trending on social media as an escaped serial rape suspect, I told people at the hostel, including his homeboys from Nkandla, that I knew him,' Xaba said. The suspect had approached the healer saying he was seeking protection and strength after an altercation with the mother of his child and feared her brothers would attack him. Xaba said he didn't know the suspect was wanted for the sexual attacks and had only paid him R1,000 of his [Xaba's] R5,000 fee. On Thursday morning, while driving his child to school, Xaba received word a man in a big coat was looking for him. 'I couldn't believe my eyes — it was the same man. I kept him waiting while I alerted others, including people from Nkandla. We conducted a citizen's arrest and called the police, who arrived and took him into custody.' The suspect's alleged reign of terror had prompted swift action from the Nkandla Taxi Owners Association, who formed a team and travelled more than 230km to his hideout in eTshelimnyama, Marianhill. 'We couldn't ignore the cries of the Bizimali high school pupils. But we were devastated when, after leaving him with the police, he lulled them to sleep and escaped. If not for the traditional healer, he would still be at large,' one taxi operator said.
