Pmb residents outraged by steep tariff hikes amid poor service delivery

STRUGGLING with ongoing service delivery issues and the rising cost of living, residents and business owners in Pietermaritzburg are up in arms after tariff hikes were approved by the Msunduzi Municipality.

- NADIA KHAN [e-mail]

Last Wednesday, Msunduzi mayor councillor Mzimkhulu Thebolla announced the council had officially adopted the 2025/2026 budget — which saw tariff increases of 13.32% for electricity, 15% for water, 7% for refuse, 13.5% for sanitation and 2% for property rates — effective from July 1, 2025.

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Jermaine Joseph, a community activist in Northdale, said: “The infrastructure is failing and we are faced with ongoing burst water pipes, which leaves communities without water for hours. The ageing infrastructure is often repaired and not replaced which exacerbates the problem. The turnaround time to address water and electricity outages is also very slow. With such poor service delivery, there should not have been any tariff increases.”

He said potholes were also a problem.

“Just the other day I hit two. There are many potholes especially on our main roads, which have high volumes of traffic. When the potholes are filled, it is not done properly, resulting in them returning after heavy rains.

“This is due to poor workmanship, and no one is being held accountable,” he said.

He added the refuse removal was also sporadic and waste was sometimes left uncollected for up to three weeks.

Ravi Madhun, a community activist in Copesville, said they decided to clean up the area at their own cost.

“The grass was not cut for weeks and the bushes had grown so high, it posed a safety concern for residents. We also have schoolchildren walking on the road because they couldn't use the pavement. We said enough was enough. | got a team together - the Copesville Community Forum, and through donations and support from the community, we hired a brush-cutter and cleaned up the area.