The Harry Gwala District Municipality has successfully presented its 2025/2026 financial year budget unabated. The open council meeting to present the budget was held at eMfundweni rural village under the jurisdiction of uMzimkhulu local Municipality.

This is in line with powers and functions of the council to take council sittings to the people and in various areas.
The successful presentation by the Municipality Mayor, Councillor, Z.D. Nxumalo has not only enthralled the communities and stakeholders but even the Deputy Minister of Defence and military veterans, Richard Mkhungo, commended unity displayed by the councillors regardless of their political affiliation. He labelled this as collective vision and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of residents and steadfast dedication to sustainable development. He was also overwhelmed by the attendance of Amakhosi, Municipal Managers, dignitaries and community stakeholders from various platforms that vigorously took part of the council meeting in line with the Municipality programmes, promoting public participation.

Mayor Nxumalo during his presentation he said: “It is a great honour and privilege for me to present the final budget for the 2025/2026 financial year a budget crafted not in isolation but through ongoing engagement, reflection and commitment to the values of service, integrity and development as well as the accounting policies, the IDP and other related strategic documents and the by-laws.
2025/26 budget arrives at a time when our district faces a dual reality, a growing demand for improved service delivery on one hand, and the persistent constraints of a limited fiscal envelope on the other. However, guided by our principles of equity, sustainability, and transparency we have delivered a budget that responds to our unique rural challenges while laying the groundwork for long term impact.

This Budget comes after the tabling of the state of the Nation Address, the State of the Province Address and the National Budget Speech where President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, respectively, articulated the complex challenges that face our country and provinces. The South African economy is in a difficult position, characterized by slow growth and the persistent triple challenges of inequality, unemployment, and poverty while we are seeing some slight improvements, the economy is projected to experience modest growth, with inflation also expected to moderate, potentially easing to levels within the target range of the Reserve Bank.

Water and sanitation is our core mandate and heartbeat of our district. The district consists of 510, 865 population with women (females) making up 53% (271, 284). The R296 million capital budget set to be approved today should enhance the quality of life for all our communities. Without access to clean water, our mothers, fathers, and youth cannot have dignity. As water services authority our most sacred duty, is to ensure that every household, schools and businesses has access to safe and sustainable water. We have allocated substantial funding to Drill and equip boreholes in undeserved wards, refurbish aging and leaking pipelines.

For 2025/26 financial year the municipality has allocation of R239million from Municipal Infrastructure Grant. The municipality has also prioritized over 15% R 37, 6million of it towards addressing the challenges of aging infrastructure through Operations and Maintenance as well as Asset Management. R 41, 4million has been made available through internal funding to maintain the existing water and sanitation schemes across the district.

The Harry Gwala District Municipality will stive towards the completion of its Multi-Years Projects.
The 2025/2026 final budget for the municipality amounted to R 992, 8m. Total revenue for the municipality has been increased by 4% per cent or R35, 9million for the 2025/26 financial year when compared to the 2024/25 Adjustments Budget. For the 2026/2027 total revenue has increased by 7% then in 2027/2028 revenue has increased by 5%, equating to a total revenue growth of R121, 9m over the MTREF,” said Mayor Nxumalo during the open council meeting.