EASTER HOLIDAY STATEMENT BY ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY MAYOR, CLLR CYRIL XABA, 29 MARCH 2026
• Programme Director: Mr Mandla Nsele
• City Manager: Mr Musa Mbhele
• Executive Directors Present
• Members of the Media
Good day
Let me start by thanking members of the media for being with us today as we unpack the Easter Holiday Plan. We are approaching this holiday period encouraged by the success we achieved during the 2025 festive season. In preparing for the busy Easter holidays, we will build on this success to ensure that we deliver a safe and memorable holiday.
As a city, we are ready to receive thousands of local and international visitors who will be descending on our shores. We want to assure our visitors that we have put in place a comprehensive plan to guarantee their safety on the roads, beaches, and at other places of entertainment.
EASTER HOLIDAYS PROJECTIONS
The City expects a similar trend to the 2025 festive season for the Easter weekend, with projections indicating that more than 1.2 million visitors could descend on Durban, injecting a direct spend of about R2 650 433 672 into the city’s economy. Average accommodation occupancy is expected to be 62%, while the creation of employment opportunities is estimated at 16 000.
It is important to indicate that the Easter holidays come at a particularly exciting time for our city, as we have recently been ranked among the world’s top destinations by Time Out Worldwide. In its recently released list of The Best Places to Travel in 2026, Durban secured an impressive 14th position out of 100 global cities. This achievement tells a compelling story about the work we are doing, in collaboration with the private sector, to maintain and expand tourism infrastructure in the city. Our main goal is to ensure that when visitors come to Durban, they stay longer and spend their money here.
SIGNATURE EVENTS
During Easter, visitors can look forward to a vibrant line-up of events and activities catering to a wide range of interests, such as the One Man Concert, Doek On Fleek, the Sjava 10th Year Celebration Tour, Bryan Adams: Roll with the Punches, Mandisi Dyantyi’s Symphonic Celebration, and many more.
Families visiting the city this Easter can look forward to exciting holiday programmes for children, hosted at uShaka Marine Theme Park and local parks such as Mitchell Park Zoo and the Durban Botanic Gardens. These programmes are designed to keep young minds active, entertained, and engaged during the school holidays.
So, if you have not yet decided where to spend your Easter holidays, we invite you to visit Durban, because Durban has more.
Beyond Easter, the City has also curated a year-round events calendar aimed at sustaining tourism momentum. Major events include the Metro FM Music Awards taking place on 25 April, with tickets now available at Computicket.
This will be followed by Africa’s Travel Indaba from 11–14 May, which will bring over 10 000 delegates, including exhibitors and buyers. We are also looking forward to receiving thousands of visitors at our globally recognised events such as the Comrades Marathon, Hollywoodbets Durban July, Disney on Ice, UB40 concert, Gas Motor Show and the Durban International Marathon, all of which continue to position Durban as a premier events destination.
SAFETY OF VISITORS, RESIDENTS AND CHURCHGOERS
Our preparations for the Easter holiday season include a comprehensive and integrated law enforcement plan, which has been developed jointly by Metro Police, SAPS, private security, the KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI), Home Affairs, and Customs.
While on law enforcement, let me take this opportunity to welcome the reappointment of Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for another five years as the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner. We congratulate General Mkhwanazi and assure him of our support in fighting crime in the city and the province.
We are pleased that his appointment coincides with the launch of the Easter holidays campaign, and we have no doubt that this will bolster our crime-fighting efforts and ensure that we deliver safe and peaceful Easter holidays.
As a city, we have pulled out all the stops to ensure high police visibility. Over 1 000 officers will be on duty throughout the municipality, patrolling our streets, beaches, and places of entertainment 24 hours a day. We have increased patrols on freeways to address jaywalking by pedestrians. There will be heightened enforcement on public transport to remove unroadworthy vehicles from the roads.
This will include working with the taxi industry to conduct safety blitzes at taxi ranks to create road safety awareness among both drivers and passengers, particularly those travelling long distances. Over 20 multidisciplinary roadblocks will be conducted during this period, focusing on all forms of crime, including drinking and driving.
As you know, during this period thousands of people attend church gatherings, including the Good Friday Service that the municipality will host jointly with the Diakonia Council of Churches on 3 April. Police will monitor this, and other church gatherings taking place throughout the city and assist in controlling traffic where necessary. Shopping malls and tourism sites will also be closely monitored to ensure the safety of patrons.
BEACH SAFETY AND WATER QUALITY
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased that we approach the Easter holidays with all 23 bathing beaches open and safe for swimming. Over the past few months, we have maintained the standard of having all our bathing beaches open, with only a few precautionary closures when necessary. This is a testament to the investment we continue to make in repairing and upgrading sanitation infrastructure.
During last month’s adjustment budget, we allocated over R1.2 billion for sanitation infrastructure. A substantial portion has been directed towards fixing sewer networks, pump stations, and wastewater treatment works to prevent spillages that contaminate our rivers and beaches.
Regular water quality tests are conducted on our beaches, and results are published on various communication platforms to ensure transparency. Under normal circumstances, testing is conducted every two weeks. However, during the holiday period, we increase the frequency to once a week to leave nothing to chance.
To ensure the safety of bathers, the municipality will deploy 200 lifeguards along the coastline from 06h00 to 18h00 daily. We urge beachgoers to cooperate with lifeguards by swimming in designated areas and avoiding swimming under the influence of alcohol.
RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY
Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree that water consumption increases during the holiday season. As a city, we want to assure our visitors and residents of a stable and reliable water supply during this period.
The planned shutdown of the Southern Aqueduct, which will take place from tomorrow until Tuesday morning for pipeline upgrades, will not adversely affect our Easter holiday plans. Following repairs to the control valve on the Nagle Dam aqueduct system, which had affected water supply to the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works, inflows have returned to normal levels.
Currently, inflows at the treatment works stand at 625 megalitres per day, with outflows at 580 megalitres per day. This means that most areas supplied by Durban Heights have fully recovered. We therefore assure residents and visitors of uninterrupted water supply during this period and beyond.
Let me reiterate our commitment to permanently addressing water challenges in the city. Working with Umgeni-uThukela Water (UUW), we are investing billions of rands to upgrade and build new water infrastructure.
On Thursday, I conducted an oversight visit to the R11 billion Lower uMkhomazi Bulk Water Supply Project, which is currently under construction, to assess progress. I am pleased to report that this project, which comprises a dam, a water abstraction point, and a water treatment plant, is now 50% complete.
The project will supply eThekwini Municipality with 70 megalitres per day, significantly improving water supply in the southern areas such as Isipingo, KwaMakhutha, Amanzimtoti, Umgababa, Mfume, Magabheni, Mnini, Thoyana, and uMkhomazi. UUW has committed to accelerating the completion of the project after delays caused by a 14-month court challenge, shifting the completion date to 2029 from the original 2027 target.
Upon commissioning, the city will be able to redirect the 70 megalitres currently supplied to the south to central and northern parts, thereby balancing water distribution. We are also working with UUW on another major project, the Upper uMkhomazi Dam, which will provide a permanent solution to water challenges. This R24 billion project will produce 600 megalitres of water per day, with eThekwini receiving 400 megalitres daily.
PERMANENT HOUSES FOR FLOOD VICTIMS
Ladies and gentlemen, last month, I reported that work was underway to provide permanent housing for flood victims currently living in temporary emergency accommodation. I am pleased to share with you that, by the end of April, we will begin relocating families, as 113 houses in Cornubia will have been completed.
These houses form part of the first phase of 1,200 units scheduled for completion by the end of this year. In addition, work is progressing well at Montclair Lodge, where 500 units are being refurbished. Of these, more than 300 rooms are expected to be completed by May this year.
This progress demonstrates government’s firm commitment to moving flood victims out of rented temporary emergency accommodation. I am confident that by the end of June, we will have made significant strides in this regard.
In closing, I would like to report that on Friday we convened a special Executive Committee meeting to deliberate on the draft budget for the 2026/2027 financial year for council approval and public consultation. The proposed budget of R74.6 billion is focused on accelerating service delivery and growing the city’s economy through extensive investment in bulk electricity, water, and sanitation infrastructure.
The budget comprises an operating budget of R64.8 billion and a capital budget of R5.8 billion.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are a city at work, and our investment in infrastructure demonstrates our commitment to making eThekwini a premier destination for tourism and investment.
I thank you.
