Msunduzi Municipality's budget tabled, tariff hikes for electricity, water outlined
Msunduzi Municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla tabled the city's budget on Wednesday.
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The R18 billion budget for Msunduzi Municipality in Pietermaritzburg was tabled yesterday with the mayor saying it was based on a "financially sound plan to stabilise the City’s finances while prioritising service delivery".
Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said out of this budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, R9.6 billion would focus on service delivery, while R8.5 billion would be for operational expenses.
Thebolla said the City loses tens of millions of rand in revenue per year as a result of electricity theft, funds which were much needed to enhance service delivery.
“We call for this practice to stop because to combat this, we will continue to work with the community and law enforcement to arrest the offenders and impose hefty penalties.”
He said the municipality had been forced to increase tariffs by external elements such as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), which authorised Eskom and municipalities to increase electricity costs from July 1, and the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board, which proposed an increase for water tariffs for 2025/26 financial year.
“These adjustment factors in inflation include a margin dedicated to the infrastructure upgrade and maintenance, which is essential to alleviate pressure on aging and over-stretched electricity infrastructure.
“These adjustments are necessary to ensure sustainability, reliability and continued investment of service delivery,” said Thebolla.
The proposed tariff increases are:
- Property rates: 2% increase for the 2025/26 financial year
- Electricity: 13.32%
- Refuse removal: 7%
- Water: 15%
- Sanitation: 13.5%
Thebolla said capacitating revenue collection work streams to support the Operation Qoqimali Campaign would help the City to stabilise its finances.
“The project management office has been established to take charge of each aspect of the City’s revenue value chain.
“This includes rolling out prepaid electricity meters, dispatching bills, resolving disputes, and implementing credit control and debt collection measures such as issuing summons against debtors,” said Thebolla.
He said the city has employed 400 workers through the Expanded Public Works Programme to go house-to-house to identify indigenous homeowners to be exempted from certain charges.
“So far, we have 5,978 people benefiting from the programme, and we aim to reach even more.
“To make this possible, we have increased the household income threshold to R6,110, ensuring that more low-income families access this vital support,” he said.
| Additional Reporting Mercury Reporter