Poor service delivery continues to be a major challenge for businesses in the eThekwini Municipality.
This is according to the Survey of Business Opinion which is used to calculate the Durban Business Confidence Index (BCI) 2024 Q3.
Of all the survey participants, 73% reported that they complained about poor service delivery and that it is unlikely that the local municipality will deal with the issue within a reasonable time.
While the above number is high, there was a marginal decrease from the 76.4% that was reported in 2024 Q2.
According to the survey, the management of the environment which includes sewerage, solid waste and parks was reported as the poorest service provided, with 29.7% of survey participants complaining about this service.
In the survey, 27% of participants complained about service delivery for water, while 21.6% complained about public safety, 13.5% had issues with roads, and 8.1% complained about electricity.
Due to the absence of load shedding during the 2024 Q3, it is no surprise that the smallest proportion of the surveyed participants (8.1%) considered electricity as the poorest service provided by the municipality in 2024 Q3.
The number of survey participants that complained about poor service delivery for electricity dropped from 20% in 2024 Q2 to 8.1% 2024 Q3.
Despite service delivery being an issue for the municipality, business confidence is on the rise, increasing to the 63.01 point mark in 2024 Q3 from 55.49 in the previous quarter, according to the Durban BCI.
Above the 50 point mark on the index reflects confidence in the business conditions in Durban.
The BCI showed that all sectors, except for the community, social, and personal services sector, experienced improvements in 2024 Q3.
The construction and manufacturing sectors were the biggest contributors to the improved overall business confidence.
The community, social and personal services industry experienced a 10.67% decline in business confidence from 50.31 in Q2 to 44.94 in 2024 Q3.
IOL Business