Is Durban a good story for the ANC?

President Cyril Ramaphosa with eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba, representatives of the Tambo family and key stakeholders, at the unveiling of the Oliver Reginald Tambo statue located at Tambo Square, eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: Supplied Is clutching at reputational straws when he says the eThekwini municipality has come back from the brink and regained its footing? Or is there something positive afoot in the coastal city which, for many years, was the poster child of municipal decline?

Ramaphosa, in his weekly missive to the nation yesterday, said that in 2024, the metro was beset by service delivery failures, deteriorating infrastructure and sliding business and investor confidence. But by late last year, the Durban Business Confidence Index (DBCI) recorded a sharp rebound following four consecutive quarters of decline. The index rose from 52.12 points in 2025 Q3 to 63.38 points in 2025 Q4, signalling renewed optimism about Durban’s economic climate.

According to Ramaphosa, the establishment of a local government working group – bringing together key players in the city – was key to putting in place the turnaround. Interventions to improve service delivery and deal with failing infrastructure were already “driving an effective, sustained recovery in the metro”. But DA KZN mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen’s response was that Ramaphosa is “clearly out of touch with reality on the ground”.

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His claim the city is making progress is “not the experience of the majority of people. Durban has the highest water loss in the country, with more than 60% of the water being wasted. “The city is spending millions of rands on vanity projects, R22 million on statues, millions of rands on a new logo for the city, R20 million for music festivals and a further R20 million this year sponsoring a music festival.”

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