The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini is demanding immediate answers from the Executive Director for Economic Development and Planning, Lihle Phewa, following the City’s failure to host the Resurgence Conference, scheduled for 22 to 27 July 2025 (view letter here).
In May, the eThekwini Municipal Council approved R30 million for this event, yet not only did it never take place, but no official explanation has been given. This is an outright insult to the residents of Durban, who are already bearing the brunt of a collapsing municipality, decaying infrastructure, and vanishing service delivery. These funds could have been used towards service delivery.
The DA is demanding that Phewa explains why the event did not happen and to tell us what happened to the R30 million that was allocated to this event.
The DA demands transparency in this process, for the benefit of the residents of this city.
Should these questions not be answered, the DA will escalate the matter to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and initiate formal proceedings to uncover the truth. If necessary, we will push for an independent forensic investigation into this suspicious and unjustifiable waste of public money.