Durban – The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the Durban High Court has issued an order allowing the party to say that “leaders of eThekwini have failed to deliver water services”.
The court, however, ordered the DA to remove the billboard, which refers to eThekwini officials as a “water mafia”.
Haniff Hoosen, the DA eThekwini Mayoral Candidate, on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, said the mayor “did not succeed in getting an order to force us to apologise for the billboard”.
He said the Durban High Court issued an order allowing the DA to say that: “The outgoing mayor of eThekwini, the outgoing municipal manager, and the outgoing head of water have failed in performance of their functions, and have been negligent in the performance of their functions regarding the state of water services and the procurement of water tankers.”
Hoosen said nothing in the court order prevents the DA from criticising the mayor, municipal manager and head of water regarding performance of their functions, the state of water services and infrastructure, the procurement and management of water tankers, or from campaigning on those matters.
“The court order does not require the DA to make any formal apology for the flighting of the billboard, nor any published content relating to the billboard,” stated Hoosen.
The DA welcomes this from the Court.
“Our position remains clear: The outgoing Mayor Cyril Xaba, outgoing Municipal Manager Musa Mbhele and outgoing Water and Sanitation Executive Director Ednick Msweli have failed in their functions and must be held accountable for eThekwini’s water crisis,” Hoosen said.
The DA mayoral candidate said the city has approximately 13 000 active water leaks and loses an estimated 21 billion litres of treated water every month.
“Years of neglected infrastructure, failed planning and inadequate management have left communities without reliable water and increasingly dependent on costly tankers — creating conditions in which the water tanker mafia can thrive,” said Hoosen.
“It is also a good thing that the court ruled the following may not be said about eThekwini’s leadership, because these are not allegations that the DA has ever made, so the Court’s ruling takes nothing away from our campaign.”
- eThekwini’s Mayor, Municipal Manager and Head of Water are members of or associated with the Water Tanker Mafia,
- eThekwini’s Mayor, Municipal Manager and Head of Water are complicit in, or knowingly profit from the Water Tanker Mafia,
- eThekwini’s Mayor, Municipal Manager and Head of Water are members of, associated with or complicit in a criminal syndicate or organised criminal enterprise connected with water tankers.
“Our billboard called on the officials responsible for eThekwini’s water system to stop the conditions that allow the water tanker mafia to thrive while residents remain without water in their taps,” Hoosen said.
“It is very important to note that the Court Order does not apply to any media houses, or members of the public who have commented on, or communicated the DA’s billboard.
“Therefore, the media and public who have published images of the billboard are not affected by the ruling.
“The people of eThekwini deserve reliable water, responsible management of public funds and leaders who accept accountability for their performance.”
The mayoral candidate said the DA will not be deterred by this legal action, which has attempted to prevent legitimate criticism of leaders who “failed in performance of their functions, and have been negligent in the performance of their functions regarding the state of water services and the procurement of water tankers.”
