 has called on KwaZulu-Natal’s MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure Martin Meyer (DA) to settle rates debt of over R500 million owed by the department, after the city cut electricity to several provincial facilities.){kind=link}
By Levy Masiteng
eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba (ANC) has called on KwaZulu-Natal’s MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure Martin Meyer (DA) to settle rates debt of over R500 million owed by the department, after the city cut electricity to several provincial facilities.
Meyer said his department tried repeatedly to reach the municipality last week to agree on a payment plan but got no response. The standoff has led to power being cut to the offices of public works, transport, and education, as well as licensing centres in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
“On 28 November 2025, we formally declared an Intergovernmental Dispute under the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act. This is a legally mandatory process for resolving disputes between organs of state.
eThekwini has chosen to ignore it entirely, in direct violation of the Constitution. This leaves us with no choice but to consider our options further,” Meyer said.
“This morning (Tuesday), eThekwini’s sister municipality, Msunduzi, also chose to cut services to provincial government buildings under a similar guise as eThekwini, again without proper communication, without consideration of payment arrangements, and in circumstances that mirror the same irrational and unlawful conduct we have seen in eThekwini,” Meyer said.
He said his department manages more than 10,000 provincial government properties, while user departments are responsible for their own water and electricity accounts.
He said the issue was driven by underfunding of municipal rates across the province, not mismanagement of finances. “We are fixing this through payment plans, budget adjustments, a clean-up of valuation rolls, property disposals, and revenue-generation initiatives that will deliver results over time.”
Xaba, however, accused the DA of political double standards.
“The DA can’t speak from both sides of the mouth. They are running a misinformation campaign regarding beach water quality results, yet their silence is deafening regarding the money owed to the City by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure,” he said.
Meyer accused the municipality of using credit control as a political weapon. “Cutting services to essential government buildings in bad faith undermines the municipality’s constitutional mandate to provide sustainable service delivery and a safe, healthy environment,” he said.
Xaba called on DA executive committee members in the city to work with him to persuade the department to pay the outstanding debt urgently. He said the move formed part of a wider effort to recover monies owed by residents, businesses and state entities, including enforcing credit control through disconnections and referring debtors to collectors.
Meyer said he had again invited the municipality to discuss a payment proposal but that eThekwini had ignored the dispute-resolution process.
“We will not allow unlawful conduct to compromise service delivery. We remain committed to paying what is due, transparently and responsibly, but we will also defend the province against actions that violate the law and harm the public.”
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