Durban — The eThekwini Municipality’s executive committee approved the allocation of R93 million to address the municipality’s sewer crisis.
This was according to ActionSA eThekwini caucus leader Alan Beesley, who said the municipality had heeded its call to urgently address the sewer crisis.
On Thursday, the municipality held a full council meeting where the matter was discussed.
Beesley said ActionSA welcomed the approval by the municipality’s council to allocate R93m to urgently address the sewer crisis in the municipality.
He said the allocation of funds and the urgency of the matter had arisen from the intense pressure that ActionSA had placed.
“While the allocation of the R93m to address the sewer crisis does not mean the end of the problem, it is certainly a positive move with the matter having been elevated,” Beesley said.
“ActionSA will continue to monitor the sewer situation to ensure that this crisis is resolved with speed.”
Beesley said the sewer crisis had a devastating impact on residents, the environment and the tourism industry.
He also said as previously stated, ActionSA was of the view that through the prolonged beach closure due to the poor quality of water, the municipality was committing tourism suicide.
“The negative impact on tourism has a ripple effect on the overall economic value chain as complementary businesses and employees bear the brunt of low tourism turnout. Decreased revenue will lead to lower levels of service delivery for all residents,” Beesley said.
Last month Beesley said the municipality must realise that not only does the sewage crisis have a major harmful impact on residents living in the municipality and its environment, but it was also causing a major decline in tourist activity.
“eThekwini needs tourists now more than ever. The industry alone contributes hundreds of millions towards the GDP of eThekwini. A total of R150m worth of revenue is produced within the festive season alone. All of which heavily depends on the accessibility of the municipality’s beaches,” Beesley said.
The economy of eThekwini is in a precarious position as it recovers from the aftermath of Covid-19, the July unrest and the April floods. Beasley said the city, its businesses and residents could ill afford the economic and social damage that would arise from the impact of a tourism sector decline.
Daily News