eThekwini Municipality reallocates R874.9 million to enhance service delivery

The eThekwini Municipality is planning to reprioritise R874.9 million of its budget away from projects that are experiencing delays towards other service delivery issues. 

A small slice of the money, R5 million, will go towards the eThekwini Finance Department to improve the billing system and to look into the possibility of using a WhatsApp model for residents to access their bills electronically. 

The eThekwini Treasury Cluster presented its report at an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, stating that the reprioritisation of the capital projects will respond to urgent and critical departmental priorities that will accelerate service delivery. It will also have to be passed at a council meeting. 

In the report, the municipality stated that executive management has reviewed all projects currently approved for implementation, taking into account the procurement status and projected cash flows.

In terms of the review, it has been noted that some of the projects are experiencing delays, and some are performing well.

Based on the review, it is recommended that the savings and unspent funds that have been identified during the review of the projects and cash flows are reprioritised to ensure that service delivery is accelerated and a reasonable spend is achieved before end of June 2026. 

Reprioritisation of savings/project unspent funds: 

• R314 million - Water and Sanitation 
• R23 million - Cleaning and Solid Waste
• R226 million - Electricity 
• R122 million - Community and Emergency Services 
• R62 million - Engineering
• R60 million - Human Settlements
• R16 million - Economic Development and Planning
• R5 million - Finance
• R45 million - Office of the city manager 

Nkosenhle Madlala, ANC eThekwini EXCO member, expressed cautious support for the recommendations in the report, emphasising the need for strengthened financial discipline going forward.

Madlala said the reprioritisation is not a reduction of the ANC developmental ambitions, but rather a responsible and proactive fiscal adjustment to ensure that resources are directed where implementation capacity is strongest and where service delivery impact will be immediate.

“We recognise that the current year’s procurement and implementation performance has been uneven across departments. Some capital programmes have progressed well, while others continue to experience delays in planning, tendering, and contract execution.

“In such circumstances, allowing funds to remain under-spent would be irresponsible and would compromise our commitment to accelerate delivery,” he said. 

Madlala emphasised that the reprioritisation is in line with sound financial management, consistent with the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA), and ensures that funds are channelled to urgent and high-impact service delivery programmes.

He warned that persistent procurement delays cannot become normalised.

He was also concerned that the under-performance trend in certain clusters is a governance concern and that reprioritisation cannot be used as a recurring solution for avoidable delays.

Madlala urged the eThekwini City Manager and the Chief Financial Officer to streamline Supply Chain Management and contract management processes to prevent avoidable procurement bottlenecks, and to also:  

• Strengthen internal project planning and readiness, ensuring that departments register executable projects before the budget is approved; and
• Implement consequence management where delays result from negligence, lack of oversight, or non-compliance.

“Our communities must see delivery. The ANC remains firm that the Integrated Development Plan is the contract between the municipality and the people. Where adjustments are made, they must be transparent, accountable, and justified by improved outcomes.

“We support the reprioritisation to ensure acceleration of service delivery, but this support is accompanied by clear expectations on improved procurement efficiency, contract management accountability, and stronger oversight,” Madlala stated. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za