Thulaganyo Sethibe|Published
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has confirmed that the Durban High Court has cleared them to publicly state that eThekwini’s municipal leaders have failed and been negligent in managing the metro’s ongoing water crisis.
The court ruling delivered on October 21 follows a legal dispute surrounding a DA campaign billboard targeting outgoing Mayor Cyril Xaba, outgoing Municipal Manager Musa Mbhele, and outgoing Water and Sanitation Executive Director Ednick Msweli.
According to the DA's understanding of the court order, nothing prevents the opposition party from criticising the trio for their handling of municipal water services, infrastructure, and the procurement and management of water tankers.
The court explicitly noted that the DA remains free to assert during its campaign that the officials "have failed in, or been negligent in, the performance of their functions".
DA mayoral candidate, Haniff Hoosen said on Thursday that the order does not require the DA to issue any formal apology or retract published content related to the billboard.
He says that the party will continue with the campaign.
Communities rely on costly water tankers
Welcoming the decision, the DA reiterated its stance that eThekwini’s leadership must be held accountable for the severe water supply collapse affecting residents.
"The City has approximately 13,000 active water leaks and loses an estimated 21 billion litres of treated water every month," the DA said in a statement, warning that years of neglected infrastructure and poor planning have forced communities to rely on costly water tankers, creating an environment where the "water tanker mafia" can thrive.
The court order also outlined specific allegations that may not be made, specifying that the leadership should not be accused of being direct members of, complicit in, or knowingly profiting from organised criminal water tanker syndicates.
The DA said it had never made such claims, stating the restriction "takes nothing away from our campaign".
The ruling explicitly clarifies that it applies solely to the named parties and does not affect media outlets or members of the public who have shared or commented on images of the billboard.
With municipal political tensions mounting ahead of upcoming votes on November 4, the DA urged eThekwini residents to use the ballot box to demand accountability, fix failing infrastructure, and restore reliable water delivery to the metro.
Meanwhile at the IOL Townhall debate on Wednesday, the DA's Alicia Kissoon said it is too late for the ANC to throw down names of projects, with just two weeks remaining until the local government elections.
thulaganyo.sethibe@iol.co.za
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