Public-Private Partnerships Help With Service Delivery

 

By Fred Felton | Feb. 19, 2025

EThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba has welcomed the donation of static tanks from the mobile communications giant, Vodacom.

EThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba welcomed the donation of static tanks from the mobile communications giant, Vodacom. He said working with the private sector, more can be done to improve the City. | Photo: Supplied. 

Vodacom describes this donation of the static tanks as their contribution to help communities in which they operate. These tanks will be deployed to areas that have a limited water supply network in the City.

This programme was started by Vodacom shortly after the 2022 floods which saw huge damage to water infrastructure in the City. The static tanks were part of an effort of ensuring that communities that were affected by the floods had access to water.

Mayor Xaba has commended Vodacom for being a good corporate citizen and encouraged other private sector companies to follow suit.

‘’We are grateful of this donation from Vodacom as it demonstrates that if we work together as social partners, we can address many developmental challenges plaguing communities. We will continue to engage Vodacom to engage to share ideas to improve service delivery in the City, considering its technological capability,’’ noted Mayor Xaba.

Water curtailment implemented in the city

 

Water curtailment 

implemented in the city

UMNGENI-UTHUKELA WATER BOARD (UUW) will implement water curtailment throughout eThekwini Municipality effective from Thursday, 10 October. 

The announcement was made jointly by eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba and uMngeni-uThukela Water Board. 

The curtailment is being implemented at the directive of the Department of Water and Sanitations (DWS) who issued a notice to UUW to reduce the volume of water abstracted from the Mgeni system to their licenced volumes of 470 million m3/

annum. 

This will mean a reduction on the current sales and abstraction volume of 8.4 

percent. 

Mayor Xaba said the City said the curtailment is aimed to enable continued water availability, including during periods of below-average rainfall. 

''The risk of not enforcing the abstraction limit is that, should a drought occur, there would not be sufficient water in the system for uMngeni-uThukela Water to continue providing the eThekwini Municipality with a reliable water supply,'' he said. 

The water curtailment is not water shedding where there is a schedule for water cuts at certain times.

However, the purpose of the water curtailment is to avoid water shedding by bringing down the total volume used in a controlled manner.

The curtailment will be implemented for a period of 12 months. 

''We urge residents to use water sparingly to assist in reducing the high consumption. As we have indicated in the previous media briefings, the demand for water in eThekwini far outstrips supply and we continue to plead with all stakeholders both our residential and business customers to work with us to address this challenge,'' he said. 

Some of the contributing factors to the high-water usage include rapid urbanisation, aging infrastructure which causes water leaks and illegal connections. 

In ensuring that residents are not adversely affected, the city will be implementing the following interventions:

• Installation of restrictors in water metres to all consumers
• Pressure reduction in the reticulation network
• Metering all unmetered consumers
• Improve turnaround time in repairing leaks and pipe bursts through deployment of ward-based plumbers 
• Community education in water conservation 
• Disconnection of illegal connections 

The average water consumption in eThekwini is very high as it is between 270 and 298 litres per capita (person), per day (l/c/d) compared to the international average of 173 l/c/d. 

During this process, the City's teams will be monitoring the system and manage excessive demand. 

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Application to host events during the festive season 

THE Municipality's Festive Season Management Committee (FESMAC) wishes to inform all event organisers, companies, and individuals who want to hold events/activities in the City during the festive season that the cut-off date for applications is Friday, 1 November at 16h00. 

The festive season period is from 1 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. 

The applications are for events to be hosted in Durban Central, Southern, Western, and the Northern Regions.

The public is advised that no stage performances will be permitted on the coastal areas on these dates 16, 25, 26 and 31 December 2024, as well as 1 to 3 January 2025. 

Application forms to stage an event/programme must be obtained from and returned to the Events Management Office, The Platform, Lion Match Complex, Entrance No 1, 892 uMgeni Road, Durban, 4001 or emailed to Archel.Somaroo@durban.gov.za 

Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee that permission will be granted. 

The applicant will be notified whether the application has been successful or not. 

The Municipality reserves the right to cancel an event should it deem the event to be non-compliant.

For more information contact 031 311 4720. 

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Mayor Xaba Announces Water Curtailment Plans

 

By Fred Felton | Oct 6, 2024

At a recent media briefing eThekwini Municipality Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba along with uMngeni-uThukela announced water curtailment plans.

The eThekwini Municipality Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba led a media briefing to discuss water curtailment plans. | Photo: Fred Felton. 

‘’This post council media briefing takes place after the Department of Water and Sanitation and eThekwini Municipality have announced water curtailment, effective from the 10^th of October 2024,’’ said Mayor Xaba.

The water curtailment is being done to allow for continued water availability, including during periods of below-average rainfall.

If the abstraction limit is not enforced there is a risk, during a drought, that there would be insufficient water in the system for uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) to continue providing the eThekwini Municipality with a reliable supply of water.

‘’If there is below average rainfall, any restrictions required would be more manageable,’’ noted Mayor Xaba.

The water supply curtailments will be implemented gradually over the next 12 months to make sure that the abstraction from the system is brought to the licenced volumes and maintained at this level.

The eThekwini Municipality receives the bulk of its water supply from the uMngeni-uThukela Water catchment system. The average abstraction from the system over the past year amounts to 1406.4 Ml/d. However, the department has given a directive that the value be reduced to 1287.7 Ml/d which is a reduction of 118 Ml/d.

This reduction is being done to make sure that UUW Board meets the conditions of the Water Use Licence of 470 million m3/annum. This will result in a reduction of current sales and abstraction volume of 8.4%.

Mayor Xaba urged residents to use water sparingly to help with reducing the high consumption. The demand for water in eThekwini far outstrips supply. Mayor Xaba also urged all stakeholders, both residential and business customers, to work with them to address this challenge.

‘’Some of the contributing factors to the high-water usage includes rapid urbanisation, aging infrastructure which causes water leaks and illegal connections,’’ noted Mayor Xaba.

The following interventions will be implemented by the city:

Installation of restrictors in water metres to all consumers.

Pressure reduction in the reticulation network.

Metering all unmetered consumers.

Improve turnaround time in repairing leaks and pipe bursts through deployment of ward-based plumbers.

Community education in water conservation.

Disconnecting of illegal connections.

There will be water rationing where demand is too high or exceeds available supply.

Mayor Xaba has also started visits to water reservoirs that are giving challenges.