eThekwini mayor celebrates surge in business confidence after State of the Nation Address

eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba stated that the very mention of the municipality in the State of the Nation Address (SONA), on Thursday, regarding business confidence, was a morale booster.

During his address, Cyril Ramaphosa stated that South Africa’s economy is growing again, and this growth is gathering pace.

He said the country has seen four straight quarters of gross domestic product growth; however, it must accelerate significantly to tackle its social and economic problems.

“We will continue to implement targeted support to improve the delivery of basic services through the Presidential Working Groups on eThekwini and Johannesburg. We have made progress in stabilising eThekwini, which has led to investor confidence returning.

“There are many committed people with skills and experience working in local government. It is our responsibility to remake, re-organise, and better resource municipalities to enable them to do their work.”

Ramaphosa said the country has achieved two consecutive primary budget surpluses. Also, the credit rating has improved, interest rates are coming down, and inflation is at its lowest level in 20 years.

Xaba said improved service delivery has boosted business confidence to over 63.38 points.

“The president’s commendation inspires the municipality to work even harder to ensure that eThekwini remains a premier destination for investment and tourism. I applaud the city’s political and administrative leadership and its social partners for their hard work and strong collaboration in driving positive change,” Xaba stated.

The nation has made strides in enhancing the efficiency of its ports and freight rail networks, leading to a steady increase in the volume of goods transported into and out of the country, according to Ramaphosa.

Additionally, he noted that the country has been successfully removed from the Financial Action Task Force's grey list concerning money laundering and terrorism financing.

“Although we are moving forward, we must not claim any easy victories. We are still far from where we need to be. South Africans are concerned at the state of local government and its inability to deliver basic services in many parts of the country,” Ramaphosa said.

The fourth quarter 2025 Durban Business Confidence Index report, tabled in January 2026, revealed that business confidence is on an upward trajectory, while trust in the municipality's service delivery has stabilised, with more business leaders believing that if they lodge service delivery complaints, they will be addressed.

Compiled by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Macro-economics Research Unit, the quarterly report examines various economic sectors in Durban, finding that nearly all are displaying increased confidence.

The index ranges from 0 to 100. A score below 50 indicates low confidence, a score of 50 reflects a neutral economic outlook, and a score above 50 signals positive confidence in the economy.

Dr Ntokozo Nzimande, from the UKZN Macro-economics Research Unit, noted that there is a near consensus among academics and business professionals that the Business Confidence Index (BCI) offers valuable insights into future investment growth due to its predictive capabilities.

“After deteriorating for four consecutive quarters, the Durban Business Confidence Index (DBCI) significantly improved in Q4 2025,” he stated.

The index rose from 52.12 points in Q3 2025 to 63.38 points in Q4 2025, signalling that six out of 10 surveyed business executives are satisfied with current conditions.

In summary, the DBCI improved by 21.60 points in Q4 2025, rising from 52.12 in Q3 2025 to 63.38 index points in Q4 2025. Compared to the same quarter in 2024, the index surged by 4.35%, suggesting that overall economic conditions are significantly better than they were a year ago.

The report also notes a marked improvement in businesspersons' perceptions of service delivery in Q4 2025. The proportion of respondents who believed that complaints about poor service delivery were not likely to be addressed within a reasonable timeframe declined from 80% in the previous quarter to 66.67% in Q4 2025.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za