DURBAN - We need to fix what is broken, says Inkatha Freedom Party eThekwini mayoral candidate, Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
'Our approach is the broken window approach,' he says.
'If it is broken, fix it now," he adds. Hlengwa was speaking at the We The Nation Election Debate at the Mangosuthu University of Technology.
READ: eThekwini water woes: Demand could outstrip supply by 2027
Over 65% of the metro’s treated water is lost to leaks before it reaches a tap. It’s believed an additional R6-billion is needed to fix its ageing wastewater treatment plants.
The Auditor-General noted R4.4-billion in irregular expenditure in the last financial year. In addition, over 2,300 murders were recorded in a single year. Inanda, Umlazi and KwaMashu are among the country's deadliest policing precincts.
Hlengwa says the City's water crisis needs government as a collective and society as a whole.
'We are going to constitute a Mayoral Water Crisis Committee to join civil society, academia and others to provide us with the necessary skills,' he says.
Hlengwa says water provision remains a priority for the IFP.