Ethekwini Mayor tables R70.9bn budget
WATCH | Budget 3.0 | Debt experts warn of impact of 'stealth tax'
It focuses on improving water supply, addressing flood-damaged infrastructure and urban revitalisation.
But households must still contend with a proposed 13% water tariff hike.
eNCA reporter Zanele Buthelezi filed this report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Large gap between govt's AI ambitions and realit
JOHANNESBURG - Government's agree artificial intelligence can transform a nation. But, the latest EY Global Survey shows implementation is a problem. Sandile Hlophe, EY Partner and Africa Government and Infrastructure Industry Leader discussed this with eNCA.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Durban mayor Cyril Xaba champions transparency as Auditor-General presents audit findings
eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba Image: eThekwini Municipality / Facebook Ethekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba stated that he was keen to promote transparency and accountability by inviting the Auditor-General (AG) to present the Status of Records Review at an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday. The report is the outcome of a high-level risk assessment process for the period 2024/25 against the 2023 and 2024 audit findings and commitments. According to the municipality, the AG's office presented two important documents: the Audit Strategy, which drives their engagements with City officials, and the Status of Records Review on 4 July. Xaba said he provided comments and commitments to the AG to support their work to improve audit outcomes and restore public trust in the municipality. He explained that in terms of the Audit Strategy, the AG will table the 2024 and 2025 audit outcomes to the executive committee in January 2026 and to council on 30 January 2026. The AG is expected to present the audit report for the municipality to Xaba on 28 November 2025. 'For the work they do, the City budgets around R30 million annually. This seminal work ultimately culminates in the Audit Outcomes. It assesses the extent to which management has addressed those matters and warns of the likelihood of the audit finding resurfacing in future audits. These are early warning signals that, if disregarded, lead to repeat findings,' Xaba said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ According to the municipality, the status of the records review looks at the following: It identifies key areas of concern that may impact the municipality's preparation of financial and performance reports, including complying with relevant legislation and achieving a clean audit. It assesses progress made in implementing audit action plans or meeting declared commitments to address areas of concern that were communicated in previous engagements with the accounting officer. It then zooms into deficiencies and risks in the procurement and contract management environment, and progress or lack thereof in addressing them. It cites poor contract management and planning, resulting in the use of expired contracts and the use of Section 36 due to poor planning. It reviews progress made by management in investigating the irregular expenditure reported in the previous financial year, steps taken to recover monies loss to the municipality and finalisation of investigations and instituting of disciplinary actions against the offending officials. 'There are challenges in the audit process. Inadequate or no supporting documentation was provided to substantiate the reported performance. Concerning the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation verifying performance information, the AG's office noted that insufficient details were provided regarding the performance information verification process, and the evidence of whether such verifications have been performed,' Xaba said. According to Xaba, as part of his response to the matters raised by the AG, he highlighted the following resolutions adopted at the Drakensburg Strategic Retreat in March 2025: that both internal and external audit findings should be reported to the relevant Portfolio Committees to keep them abreast with the progress and challenges encountered in the implementation of action plans. Portfolio Committees will monitor progress every quarter.
eNCA
2 days ago
- eNCA
eNCA journalists reflect on chaos, looting & reporting from the frontlines
The July Unrest occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, from 9 to 18 July 2021. The protests were sparked by the arrest and incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The protests quickly escalated resulting in looting, rioting, rise in racial tensions, damage to property, violence and the deaths of more than 350 people. It is estimated that the July unrest also caused more than R50 billion in damage to the South African economy. eNCA Senior Reporter Dasen Thathiah and eNCA Camera Operator Nkanyiso Mdlalose were there, reporting from the frontlines. In the video below, they both reflect on the life-changing experience four years on. A Reporter's Reflection of The July 2021 Unrest – Four Years On By Dasen Thathiah The term "unrest" is such a misnomer. Sure, for anyone who wasn't there, it works. A public disturbance? Riots? Maybe a failed insurrection? For those of us who lived through it - on the frontlines - it was a catastrophic nightmare. The first eight days overflowed with anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, trepidation. The recipe for a lifetime of unspoken trauma. The province that raised us was set alight. Its infrastructure abused, the fragile economy gang-raped. People who lived alongside me mutated into savages. Others became statistics, no longer referred to by name, but only as a collective. "More than 350 died," we say. Yet the ones who orchestrated it are most likely still alive and well. But we don't just grieve for the departed. We mourn the jobs lost, the livelihoods shattered, the businesses buried. About ten percent of the murders took place in a north Durban township. The nature of the violence birthed the term "Phoenix Massacre." Its impact pushed race relations decades back. A minority of barbarians in a usually warm, close-knit community turned on their long-time neighbours in the most brutal way. Both "sides" paid with their loved ones, casualties of a racial war. This wasn't just a story to us. It was our lived experience. We saw the bodies strewn across the roadway. We know the helplessness of not being able to save the ones taking their last breaths. We felt the racism directed at us. And propagandists capitalised on the confusion that reigned. People who look like me wanted someone to blame for the backlash stemming from the actions of a small group of racist murderers. So, one propagandist offered me to them as a virtual sacrifice on Facebook. It worked. I was labelled a traitor, threatened, ostracised, blamed and even became the subject of a campaign led by some to get me fired. Just for telling the truth; for standing up when it was easier to sit down. A few days later, another propagandist on Twitter (X) doctored a video clip to create a new narrative. "Journalist by day, vigilante killing black people at night," they said. So, while the city burned around me, I had my own fires to extinguish. Fake news threatened to reduce my career to ashes. I was fortunate to navigate this space with a colleague who I regard as a dear friend; a brother. Together, Nkanyiso and I - a pair that had seen the ugliest side of people during the unrest - helped each other stay true to our beliefs. Armed with an eNCA camera and a microphone, we showed you not just the bad, but the inspirational. We listened as the voices of good South Africans grew loud enough to eventually overpower the evil ones. We introduced you to the community heroes, who outnumbered the racist vigilantes. We held the government to account for its failures. Simply put, we followed the truth even when the path was deserted. Four years later, we reflect on an unbelievable time that should never be forgotten. It should serve as a reminder of exactly what we are not as South Africans.
