3 March 2025
People from communities across Durban gathered at the Curries Fountain Sports Grounds to voice their frustrations over the ongoing water crisis. Photo: Nkululeko Ndlovu
Homeowners across Durban are threatening to boycott their rates if the eThekwini Municipality fails to resolve the ongoing water crisis.
More than 200 people, representing about 20 different groups under the umbrella of the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) Solidarity Campaign, gathered in the stands at Curries Fountain Sports Grounds in Greyville on Saturday. They voiced their frustration over water cuts, slow infrastructure repair, and alleged mismanagement of funds.
Their demands call for billing to be fixed, infrastructure repairs with clear timelines and budgets, and prioritising piped water over tankers in informal settlements. They also called for robust oversight, allowing ratepayers input on contracts, budgets, resolutions, and project completion.
The group handed their demands to Nkosenhle Madlala, chair of the governance and human capital committee, who was there on behalf of Mayor Cyril Xaba and City Manager Musa Mbhele. They warned of further action if the municipality does not provide a response within two weeks.
Assad Gaffar, chairperson of the ERPM, said, “For a long time we have been engaging the City to take this water crisis seriously, and to use the budget properly to fix the problems.”
“We are talking about communities that do not get water, that have not had piped water for the last 40 days, leaks appearing on people’s bills, and collapsing infrastructure.”
According to Abdool Valodia, chairperson of the Overport Ratepayers Association, many other civic groups had never considered a rate boycott. But talks with the municipality over the years have proven to be fruitless. “We engaged with the previous mayor and his executive team and presented a comprehensive breakdown of the decay and challenges of our ward.”
“Now it is time to hold [the municipality accountable],” said Valodia.
Tholithemba Mthiyane, a water activist and Verulam resident, said some areas in his community have not had running water for a very long time. “It’s now normal to get water from water tankers. The tankers themselves are not reliable. If you are at work and you miss it, you are stuck without water.”
Ronnie Moodley and Navin Bharat of Reservoir Hills also joined the protest. They told GroundUp that water leaks are a major problem in their area. “We have water leaks every day. Once the [municipality] starts, it takes them a few hours to repair, then a few hours after that it starts all over again … We have private people sorting out leaks now - it has gone to that level,” said Bharat.
eThekwini Municipality has faced many water delivery challenges, which were exacerbated by the April 2022 floods, poor water quality in oceans and reservoirs, and repeated sewage spills.
Presenting the Water Turnaround Strategy Business Plan, Mayor Xaba noted that the City “has been losing water at an alarming rate”, with 54% of its water revenue lost to leaks, theft and unbilled consumption.
The latest crisis stems from the water curtailment directive implemented on 10 October 2024. The Department of Water and Sanitation instructed uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) — the City’s bulk water supplier — to reduce water extraction from the uMgeni system. This effectively reduced the amount of water that could be sold to the municipality.
A joint statement from the department, UUW, and eThekwini Municipality blamed rapid population growth and persistent leaks in the water distribution system for the disruptions.
Rose Cortes, ERPM deputy chairperson, said they wanted more transparency from the municipality when it implemented an infrastructure surcharge levy. “Around 18 months ago we started asking the City to answer for the levy that is charged to every eThekwini account holder. It’s supposed to be going to an infrastructure surcharge ring-fenced account,” said Cortes.
This levy was introduced after a council decision adopted a resolution to implement a water and sanitation infrastructure levy on 27 May 2021.
Cortes said the ERPM used a Promotion of Access to Information Act application. to get the City to provide information on the levy. The City requested two extensions before saying it could respond. “When they did, it was essentially a non-response. We could not accept their answer,” said Cortes.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Mluleki Mntungwa, told GroundUp that Xaba would respond to the group’s demands within 14 days.