On Thursday, 19^th of February, the Durban Chamber of Commerce & Industries hosted eThekwini Municipalities annual report meeting. This meeting was purely to discuss the financials of the municipality and the work that they have put into enriching the lives of the community.
The annual report is a record of what has been achieved by the eThekwini Municipality in the 2013/2014 financial year. eThekwini has produced new homes for 171 337 families in the last 20 years. Many permanent and temporary jobs have also been created by the municipality via their service delivery projects.
Attended by the Deputy Mayor, the municipality gave insight on their goals achieved as well as the challenges they had faced during the past financial year. The issue on electricity continued to be the main challenge as the councillor stated that there was a loss in distribution and it has remained constant at 6.11%. Another challenge however was the loss of water distribution for the averaged year at 32.2% and this is a concern as there has been a drastic loss from the previous year.
The municipality however, did mention that their operating budget increased from R24 Billion to R24.7 Billion. This was achieved by the introduction of austerity measures such as the reduction in overtime and constant costs, rationalisation of vacant posts, limiting overseas travel, use of economy class and the review of security costs.
The Deputy Mayor concluded her vote of thanks by thanking the Mayor, politicians, staff and various stakeholders who have all contributed to making the previous year successful.
 
Moving & Shaking
Roaming Reporter: Njabulo Brian Thabede
brian@durbanbusiness.co.za
031 823 1445
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