Durban - An additional R50 million is required by the eThekwini Municipality’s water services for overtime pay to end the labour dispute that has led to crippling water shortages across the city.
In just four months of the 2022/23 financial year, the unit exhausted its estimated budget of R60m and needs more for the next six months.
The head of water and sanitation in eThekwini, Ednick Msweli, told The Mercury yesterday that the municipality was engaging with unions on the issue of overtime, and he hoped a solution would soon be found.
“A solution has to be found because service delivery has to continue,” said Msweli in light of the shortages that were first experienced in oThongathi and spread across the city.
“I can say that the labour dispute is only about the issue of overtime pay.”
While the unit would need to go back to council to obtain additional funds, it was not clear if this amount, if approved, would last until the end of the financial year.
Asked about this possibility, Msweli said the council would handle such a matter (another shortfall) if it arose, as there were council processes to deal with it.
According to reports that circulated in May, overtime expenditure was more than R100m for water, almost R110m for Durban Solid Waste (DSW), R55m for sanitation and R163m for electricity.
In July, the city raised concerns that its overtime budget was being abused by people claiming for hours that were impossible to work.
It proposed that the overtime budget be cut in favour of employing more people.
This led to the reduction of the budget across all the departments by 50%.
The move, while thought to be commendable, has largely backfired with different units embarking on strikes.
“While I do not have figures at the moment, we might need around R50m in additional funds as the current overtime budget is exhausted.
“We are engaging with the leadership and we are engaging with the labour to find a solution,” Msweli said.
He said the impact on service delivery was huge and was felt mostly at night as fewer people were available to respond when emergencies arise.
“We do have contractors (working), but they are not enough, we need our staff as well,” he said.
He also addressed concerns that some of the infrastructure was being targeted amid the crisis.
When areas like oThongathi struggled with water shortages, there were allegations that it was not linked purely to damaged or old infrastructure, but had been due to sabotage.
“I am not aware of that happening, but I cannot say for certain that it is not happening,” he said.
Some areas in oThongathi have been without water for the past three days. The water shortages started spreading to other parts of the city.
DA councillor in oThongathi, Yogis Govender, revealed that the problems had persisted yesterday, with some of the schools in the area being forced to close early due to water cuts.
The water challenges were severe across the city and one DA councillor, Sakhile Mngadi, had to escort a water tanker around Umbilo to ensure that residents received water.
In a video posted on his page,
Mngadi, seated in what looked like the front seat of a water tanker, details the areas that needed delivery.