The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s eThekwini Working Group to prioritise infrastructure and security failures, saying if not attended to it would lead to the loss of investor confidence and the collapse of the tourism sector.
Ramaphosa in February announced that he had created an opportunity for businesses in eThekwini to raise the challenges they face including water and electricity outages, damaged infrastructure due in part to the 2022 floods, a worrying decline in tourism numbers to the city, port efficiency concerns and crime.
He said the working group would engage with the Chamber and business, adding that the initiative is a partnership with the KZN Growth Coalition.
This week the Presidency issued a statement saying the working group will be co-chaired by the director-general in the Presidency and secretary of the Cabinet, Phindile Baleni, and former KZN MEC of Economic development and tourism, Mike Mabuyakhulu.
It said the working group will focus on priority areas: governance and financial sustainability; water and sanitation; safety and security; tourism revitalisation; roads, bridges, and transport; human settlements; disaster response and communication and stakeholder management.
The Chamber, in a statement, said it was confident the platform will help reposition Durban as a favourable business destination.
“While we acknowledge the eight priority focal areas highlighted in the Presidential eThekwini Working Group, we believe there needs to be a strong focus on infrastructure (water, sanitation, and energy distribution), safety and security, retaining and attracting investment, and revitalising the tourism sector.
“The Chamber believes that infrastructure and security failures will drive loss of investor confidence and the collapse of the tourism sector. Conversely, the delivery of solutions in infrastructure and security will lead to an improvement in investor and tourism confidence levels.”
It said organised business believes the platform is “a step in the right direction”.
“It is time. We needed the intervention of the national government to help solve the issues experienced locally. We are seeing implementation happen at a very slow pace by eThekwini Municipality.
“The Presidential eThekwini Working Group will provide an opportunity for all spheres of government and business to engage. For too long, there has been misalignment in different spheres of government.”
The Chamber said it was critical to promote inclusivity through this platform by engaging with key stakeholders.
Mabuyakhulu told “The Mercury” on Thursday that the working group would prioritise water and sanitation, disaster response and tourism revitalisation challenges in the Metro.
He said the City was facing significant water and sanitation issues and there has been intervention by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“We understand the need to repair the infrastructure and bring stability to the supply of this critical service.”
Mabuyakhulu said disaster response and management was a recurring issue because of climate change.
“There has to be much more done in terms of preparedness, and one of the crucial things is a rapid response time after a disaster.”
He said business had raised a number of questions on the state of the economy and tourism revitalisation, and the working group had also prioritised this concern.
Mabuyakhulu said the working group is an inter-governmental support mechanism that is being driven by Ramaphosa to ensure that national and provincial spheres support eThekwini.
The working group includes ministers in the affected portfolios, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and business leaders.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the working group represents an intergovernmental collaborative approach to addressing challenges in local government, and will include active participation from all levels of government, the private sector, state-owned enterprises, organised labour and civil society.
“(Baleni and Mabuyakhulu) led a series of follow-up engagements on April 8 with the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, organised labour in eThekwini, and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the working group’s eight priority focal areas,” Magwenya said.
“The focal areas are the outcome of a deliberate consultation process within government and with social partners in eThekwini.
“The municipality, organised labour, and the business community expressed their commitment to leverage their expertise to support turnaround strategies across the identified focal areas.”
Magwenya said the working group will be responsible for reporting progress on the implementation of turnaround strategies to Ramaphosa and ministers every three weeks. He said the intervention will last 24 months and focus on both short-term and long-term interventions.
“The learnings and outcomes of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group will inform similar interventions in other municipalities facing service delivery challenges.”
The Mercury