Political parties demand better supply chain management in eThekwini Municipality's budget

eThekwini councillors have called for improvements in the supply chain management and consequence management following the reprioritisation of R874.9 million budget on Thursday.

The eThekwini Council approved the reprioritisation of the capital budget for the 2025/26 financial year, stating that it was a proactive measure to address urgent and critical departmental priorities and accelerate service delivery across the municipality.

The municipality had conducted a review of approved projects, where they identified those experiencing implementation delays.

The council has resolved to reprioritise these available savings and unspent funds to ensure accelerated service delivery and achieve reasonable expenditure by the end of June 2026.

The largest allocation of R314 million was directed to the Water and Sanitation Services Directorates to fast-track the repair, maintenance, and upgrading of infrastructure.

The Energy Management Directorate received R122 million to roll out the implementation of smart meters.

An amount of R62 million was allocated to the Engineering Services Directorate, specifically to address infrastructure damage caused by recent floods.

The Human Settlements Directorate was allocated R60 million to eradicate Transitional Residential Units, ensuring safer and more dignified housing solutions for vulnerable communities.

The Waste Management Directorate received R23 million to procure fleet vehicles and advanced cleaning equipment, enhancing the efficiency of waste collection and street cleaning services.

eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba emphasised that the reprioritisation of funds did not mean the abandonment of the original projects.

He stated that the administration is proactively responding to residents' needs through strategic budgeting, adding that the city will ensure that every rand is spent responsibly.

Imtiaz Syed, chairperson of Active Citizens Coalition, said the reprioritisation was done five months after the budget was approved.

He said there was a lack of collective leadership and foresight in the city, and was concerned about the state of roads in eThekwini.

Patrick Pillay, leader of the Democratic Liberal Congress (DLC), said he raised these issues during the passing of the budget in May 2025, that certain allocations did not make sense.

Pillay said he supported the reprioritisation because of:

1. Savings due to non-award.
2. Project savings based on estimated cash flows.
3. Awaiting ETA contract to widen Sea Cow Lake Road.
4. Project cash flows are revisited to projects in a state of readiness to spend the allocation.

“Political parties must be careful not to create the perception that service delivery is grinding to a halt. Relocating savings from projects is necessary to allocate funds to other projects that are ready to commence.

“Service delivery is on a roll, and as a council, we need to monitor progress through our committees,” Pillay explained.

However, Saul Basckin, ActionSA councillor, expressed concern that many of the project codes that are being reprioritised do not exist in the 2025/26 budget.

“One must question where these items actually come from. We had a roadshow, public debate, and involvement of ratepayers’ associations in decisions to be made, yet we as council, now get a new report with less than 24 hours to consider the reprioritisation,  with no consideration,” he said.

Minority Front councillor Sunitha Maharaj welcomed the city's pledge to fully spend its budget, viewing it as evidence of both the necessary municipal finance expertise and the political resolve required to advance the development agenda.

“Directing unspent funds to the repairs of the Southern Aqueduct, which is a project on track, but the extra funding can accelerate the completion date to bring much-needed relief,” she said.

Jay Singh, United Independent Movement (UIM) councillor, labelled the reprioritisation as a financial failure, which he said was a direct result of chronic administrative failure, not strategic governance.

The UIM demanded immediate and rigorous accountability from officials responsible for procurement delays and stalled projects.

“It is not strategic. It is damage control. Every year, we approve ambitious budgets, and every year, we sit here explaining why the money was not spent. That is not governance; that is mismanagement. Our communities are living with broken roads, dry taps, and failing infrastructure while funds sit idle.

“The UIM will not accept excuses hidden behind the word reprioritisation. We demand accountability. Fix the systems, enforce deadlines, and deliver results because our residents deserve service, not speeches,” he added. 

Themba Ndlovu, EFF eThekwini councillor, applauded the municipality's efforts to reprioritise the budget because it will help citizens move forward.

He then referred to projects like the Moses Mabhida, and said that these projects are key as they usually generate millions for the city's economy.

Freedom Front Plus councillor Henricus van de Ryst stated that eThekwini should prioritise fixing its systems.

He expressed concern that the city's persistent underspending patterns were keeping it on the National Treasury's radar.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za