eThekwini Municipality is facing a debt crisis, with employees and councillors owing a total of R79 million as of February 2026. The debt owed by employees amounts to R77 million, while 41 municipal councillors owe the city R2.8 million. This debt forms part of a broader debt amounting to R44 billion, with household debt making up the bulk of R33 billion.
eThekwini Municipality Debt Breakdown
According to the municipality’s debt collection report for February 2026, unpaid water bills make up 42% of total municipal debt, while property rates and electricity are 23% and 15% respectively. The report also states that government departments owe the city R1.8 billion, while parastatals owe R386 million.
The municipality has stated that staff and councillors who are in arrears will be subjected to credit control processes, including disconnections of services, credit bureau redlining, and legal action. Furthermore, staff members in arrears for more than 90 days are subject to salary deductions. However, the municipality noted that salary deduction is often insufficient to cover the arrears, leading to a continuous increase in staff debtors.
Staff and Councillors’ Debt
As of February 2026, a total of 3,765 employees were in debt, a reduction from the 4,308 employees recorded in December 2025. The municipality attributed the reduction in debt owed by councillors to reports submitted to the municipal speaker’s office for actioning. Staff members have the option to utilise their leave to settle their arrears accounts.
In January 2026, the disconnections committee recorded 2,570 water disconnections valued at R209 million and 1,897 electricity disconnections. The report outlined that during February 2026, 11,458 disconnections took place for electricity valued at R1.7 billion, while 3,212 disconnections occurred for water valued at R290 million. For more information on debt collection, visit the South African Government website.
- R79 million: total debt owed by eThekwini Municipality employees and councillors
- R77 million: debt owed by employees
- R2.8 million: debt owed by 41 municipal councillors
- R44 billion: total debt owed to the municipality
- R33 billion: household debt
