The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the eThekwini municipality has expressed strong opposition to the city’s revised tariff proposals for the 2026/27 financial year, despite the mayor presenting the changes as a positive step for residents and businesses.

Mayor Cyril Xaba has described the adjustments as a success following engagements with national ministers on water and electricity pricing, aimed at reducing the financial pressure on consumers.

The revised proposals include reductions in planned increases: property rates would drop from a proposed 5% increase to 2%, household water tariffs from 15% to 12%, business water tariffs from 16% to 13%, and electricity tariffs from 10.5% to 9%.

However, DA caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa has rejected the changes, arguing that the municipality has a pattern of proposing excessive increases only to later scale them back slightly, which he claims creates a misleading impression of consultation and responsiveness.

He further stated that tariff adjustments should be directly linked to service delivery performance, insisting that residents should not be asked to pay more while experiencing ongoing issues such as unreliable water supply, electricity outages, and deteriorating infrastructure.

The DA has also launched a public campaign against the budget, including petitions and participation in public consultations, while criticising the accessibility of engagement processes.

On the other hand, some ratepayer associations have welcomed the revised tariffs, particularly the reduced property rates increase, although concerns remain about water pricing and infrastructure inefficiencies.

They emphasised the need for improved maintenance, reduced water losses, and greater accountability from the municipality to ensure that tariff decisions reflect actual service improvements.