eThekwini water, sanitation dispute in the spotlight

The eThekwini Municipality is under scrutiny over its handling of a dispute regarding water and sanitation contracts, which has allegedly resulted in vandalizing municipal infrastructure. During a committee meeting in Durban City Hall, the city's top leadership faced questioning. The municipality recently modified its recruitment process, absorbing independent plumbers under main contractors due to concerns from the Auditor General.

The act of protest by disgruntled plumbers involved sabotaging water infrastructure and disrupting the supply, which led to a visit by the city's Mayor, Cyril Xaba, to assess the progress of a R100 million pipe replacement program. Most of the pipes have already been installed, significantly improving water supply in Wards 48, 102, and 110.

However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) MPL, Tim Brauteseth, accused the city of appointing questionable main contractors and failing to pay subcontractors, stating that the sabotage was a deliberate response to the city's mismanagement. City Manager Musa Mbhele condemned the acts of sabotage against municipal infrastructure and stated that they are pursuing legal action.

He also refuted claims that the municipality owes money to the contractors, emphasizing that the issue of non-payment was never raised until the sabotage began. Mbhele expressed concern over the use of such methods to create problems and destroy infrastructure, stating that if such behavior was raised, they would have addressed it long ago.