Msunduzi residents have sent a loud and clear message: they will not accept the municipality’s outrageous tariff hikes. In a massive public gathering at City Hall, residents came together to oppose the proposed 36% increase in electricity tariffs and a 15.5% hike in water tariffs for the 2025/26 financial year—hikes that the DA has already rejected in council.
Disgruntled residents raised their disgust in the current state of the city. It has become clear that the message is that of a desperate plea for change.
We are calling on the municipality to not treat this gathering as a tick box exercise but rather consider the desperate need for change in the municipality.
The ANC and every other party that votes with them have created this disgraceful situation in the Capital of KwaZulu-Natal, a once beautiful thriving City. The IFP, the EFF, and all other smaller parties must also take responsibility for this mess in terms of their abstinence or support throughout all Council processes that have been followed without battering an eyelid.
Seemingly residents are being forced to foot the bill for their failures.
The DA has been the only voice of reason, we have challenged every decision made and have proposed progressive solutions and steps in terms of fixing this beleaguered City.
The success of the DA-run uMngeni Municipality under Mayor Chris Pappas proves that change is possible. Good governance, accountability, and ethical leadership have turned uMngeni around—something that can and must happen in Msunduzi. But this will not happen under the ANC. Their leadership has shown time and again that they prioritize the party over the people.
We can do this in Msunduzi, although the situation is more desperate than ever before, we just need to step back on the right trajectory and install accountability.
The people of our city deserve better, the city deserves a capable government that can expose its true potential.
We call on all residents to unite behind the DA and ensure that the message of hope is at the tips of our fingers. We cannot continue to accept the current status quo, we cannot sit back and watch our beloved City continue to rapidly collapse in front of our eyes.
We have an alternative; we have a rescue plan. You cannot keep the same people, sitting around the same table, making the same decisions. The only change that is necessary is political change, and that change starts with the residents of this City.
No leadership, or Mayor, under the ANC flag will ever save this City. The mayor has proven that the ANC comes first and the people of Msunduzi second. We need to remove the common denominator.
With the 2026 Local Government Elections beckoning, the moment must shift, heads must turn and rally behind a movement for change.
The DA will continue to challenge, hold those in power accountable, and propose solutions to this crisis we face in our home City.