The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini has raised strong objections to the recent quarterly service delivery and budget implementation report for the period ending September 30, 2024.
This quarterly audit, compiled by the municipality, is meant to provide key insights into the city’s performance in delivering essential services and meeting community needs.
The report claims a 73.33% achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs), with particularly high scores in governance, responsive local government, and fostering a vibrant city.
How can the municipality claim full marks in governance and responsiveness when essential services are collapsing?
If KPIs in good governance and city vibrancy are reported as highly successful, then these achievements should be evident in residents’ daily lives. Instead, the people of eThekwini are dealing with persistent water cuts, unreliable electricity, and unmet housing needs. This disconnect is unacceptable and the high scores do not reflect the reality on the ground.
With persistent water loss figures exceeding 50% and recently implemented water cuts, the Water and Sanitation are one of the services that scored dismally. Residents deserve consistent access to water, yet Water and Sanitation blames a ‘misinterpretation’ of policy for missing their targets. This excuse reflects a deeper failure in leadership that urgently needs to be addressed.
Similar issues plague other departments, with the Electricity department citing material shortages for missed targets, Human Settlements on vehicle and contract delays and Solid Waste attributing its own shortfalls to a lack of data from external recyclers.
The DA rejects these justifications which do not align with principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability that are supposedly reflected in the high KPI scores.
If these KPIs for governance and city vibrancy truly reflected reality, residents would be seeing tangible results.
Residents don’t need flattering numbers on a report, they need reliable water, consistent electricity, clean streets, and dignified housing.
The DA calls on the municipality to set higher, more meaningful standards and to prioritize service delivery that actually impacts the lives of residents.