Businesses challenge Msunduzi over tariffs and failing services

The business community has challenged the Msunduzi Municipality to engage meaningfully with the sector before implementing further tariff increases, warning that continued hikes without visible service improvements are unsustainable. This emerged during a public participation session held at City Hall on Wednesday, where municipal officials met with the business community to discuss the proposed 2026/2027 tariff increases. Business leaders placed water and electricity supply at the top of their concerns, alongside the deteriorating state of roads and ongoing challenges at the Pietermaritzburg Airport.

The Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business chief executive officer, Melanie Veness, said businesses were “at the end of their tether” after years of cumulative increases, particularly in water tariffs. “The cumulative increase in water does not make sense. We are getting less and less while paying more and more,” she said.

Veness expressed alarm at the reported 66% vacancy rate within the municipality’s electricity department, describing the situation as dire. I’m appalled that there is a 66% vacancy rate in the electricity department. The situation is completely dire.

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“People out there have to make a decision between putting food on the table or paying the municipality. It’s either no water or electricity — or both. “We sit here and see justification for all these costs that burden citizens, yet the services are not there.

Businesses are absolutely at the end of their tether,” she said. She added that despite repeated increases, there had been limited replacement of the sanitation network and insufficient upgrades to the electricity infrastructure.

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