eThekwini Municipality's City Manager unveils innovative service delivery strategy
eThekwini City Manager Musa Mbhele said that the City was focused on improving service delivery.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo Independent Newspapers
City Manager of eThekwini Municipality, Musa Mbhele, has outlined a bold new approach to boost service delivery that hinges on real-time accountability, regional management, and technology-driven innovation, while acknowledging systemic weaknesses that continue to frustrate residents.
Speaking during the 2025 Customer Services Symposium at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC in Durban and in an exclusive follow-up interview this week, Mbhele said a combination of unannounced site visits, artificial intelligence tools, and decentralised management will form the backbone of the municipality’s renewed push for service excellence.
“We’ve picked up a couple of things that we are not happy about,” Mbhele said, referring to the unannounced depot visits he personally initiated. “For instance, adherence to the legislated response time after service delivery queries have been raised, it takes too long, particularly when you’re dealing with a water leak.”
He said delays in responding to faults like water leaks are not just an inconvenience; they have a financial impact. “The litres of water that we lose equates to the amount of money that we have spent buying that particular treated water.”
But the problem, he stressed, is not the frontline workers. “The people in the depots are very well experienced, particularly the superintendent. They love their job. There’s passion there. All they need is for us to support them with fleet, staff, and material.”
To close the gaps, Mbhele is pushing for “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 a TLB to dig up that particular pipe. Now, they are not employed to manage the fleet; they are employed to fix the pipe,” he said.
Mbhele said a key solution is regionalising service accountability so that each geographic area has dedicated teams with direct access to all necessary resources from HR and fleet to IT and supply chain, without relying on centralised departments.
“An area manager responsible for the South will have access to all those particular services and be able to provide them without having to wait for someone to come from Prior Road or Springfield.”
Mbhele emphasised that this will make it easier for councillors and communities to get quick answers and action. “It will not have to be the city manager, the executive director, or the mayor being phoned.”
In his symposium address, Mbhele reaffirmed that citizen-focused innovation is non-negotiable. He highlighted the eThekwini Mobile App, downloaded over 150 000 times, which allows residents to log faults, pay bills, and get updates. “This tool reflects our vision of building a smart, digitally enabled city,” he said.
The app complements WhatsApp fault-logging lines and a soon-to-be-launched AI system that uses satellite technology to detect water leaks before they cause major losses. “We are planning to go full steam on artificial intelligence,” he said. “We also want electricity infrastructure to be monitored with smart sensors to detect tampering or damage before the community even reports it.”
Beyond technology, Mbhele said the municipality must improve how it communicates with communities, especially in rural and township areas. “We are bringing back to the centre, the role of councillors,” he said.
But he stressed that councillors cannot calm communities if the municipality itself does not deliver. “You can’t bring the councillors and say they must manage the community's negative response when you as the City have not helped the councillor yourself.” The City Manager warned against destructive protest action.
“When they are not happy about the service, they must not go and put a burning tyre on the road, because they are reducing the lifespan of that particular road. In a few months, they will have to contend with a big pothole.”
Mbhele’s administration is also reinforcing transparency through the City Integrity and Investigations Unit, which investigates misconduct and allows residents to lodge complaints directly.
“Every municipal bill paid is not just a transaction,” he told delegates. “It is a vote of confidence in our ability to serve.”