KZN to chase R1.5bn in annual savings under new recovery plan

By Thapelo Molefe

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said on Wednesday that the province’s new five-year financial recovery plan aimed to deliver annual savings of R1.5 billion, and that the era of unsustainable spending and short-term fixes was over.

“Where waste exists, it will be eliminated. Where processes are inefficient, they will be reformed,” Ntuli said.

He was addressing the media in Durban, where he laid bare the depth of the financial strain inherited by the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), saying the province entered the 2024/25 fiscal year carrying R9.5 billion in accruals and owing service providers approximately R10 billion.

The launch formed part of an initiative described by the provincial government as a core pillar of the GPU’s commitment to building an ethical, capable and financially sustainable developmental state. The plan was developed under the theme “Creating Fiscus Confidence Together”.

“Three months into the new administration, and precisely 100