The Kumar at number 251

22 August, 2007

By Themba Nyathikazi

KRISH Kumar started his career at the municipality as a trainee accountant under the then whites-only Durban City Council in 1981.

At the time, Kumar recalls, his dad Bala was none too pleased. "My father wanted me to join the family business and was disappointed when I came to work for the council as he was a strong supporter of the Natal Indian Congress, and staunchly opposed to apartheid structures."

Today, as treasurer of the much larger eThekwini Municipality, Kumar controls and manages a multibillion rand budget on behalf of all Durban's citizens - black and white. Kumar Snr must surely approve.

And thanks to his background, the man in the treasury office in the Florence Mkhize building, 251 Smith Street, has acquired a proper appreciation of the value of money and, he says, an entrepreneurial spirit.

"My parents always tried to give us the best," Kumar explains, but the family went through some lean periods when they struggled to make ends meet.The young Kumar started doing weekend work while still at school and attributes his work ethic and rands-and-cents prudence to those early experiences.

Kumar's acumen has helped propel eThekwini to its present position among the most fiscally healthy municipalities in the country.Many South African municipalities are battling with money problems because they lack expertise, but eThekwini is in an enviable position: it's running a tight ship on a R12.3 billion budget (a figure which, incidentally, exceeds the provincial budget of KwaZulu-Natal).

EThekwini enjoys a good credit rating, which means the city is able to borrow money more easily, and on more favourable terms, than other municipalities, to fund important developmental work and capital projects.This is in no small measure thanks to the efforts and expertise of a treasury team which Kumar leads.

He has also helped the city garner numerous international awards for sound financial management. And along the way has gained personal recognition countrywide. National Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi has invited Kumar to serve on a special government project to help municipalities improve, consolidate and audit their finances. This allows Kumar to share his skills and to help build the capacity of fledgling non-racial municipalities to manage their affairs.

Kumar, 43, was born and bred in Durban. He is the youngest of seven children - two brothers and five sisters.A vegetarian, the city treasurer says he loves tucking into his favourite meal of dhal and herbs.He's a devout Hindu and a regular at the Divine Life Society's ashram (place of prayer) on Sundays.

Kumar attributes his success to his spiritual master Swami Sivananda, and the founder of the Divine life Society of South Africa, Swami Sahajananda. Before taking on the job as treasurer, Kumar sought guidance from his guru, Swami Sahajananda.

"Swamiji gave his blessings and his instructions were to set the highest standards and practise unquestionable integrity," he said.

Kumar is also a firm believer in the Din (do it now) principle taught by Swami Sivananda.

Kumar and his wife Annie - who is very involved in the Divine Life Society's volunteer work - have two children, Alisha and Nikhal. Both appear to share their father's flair for figures - Alisha is studying for a B.Com degree, but is interested in economics and law rather than accounting; Nikhal, a Grade 10 pupil at Crawford College, is interested in accounting, computers and history.

Kumar is a former executive director of Corporate Financial Services of the eThekwini municipality. He's also a member of the South African Local Government Association's working group, and President of the Institute of Municipal Finance Officers.He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has a string of management development programmes to his credit.

"This year's R12.3 billion People's Budget has a historic transformational element. It's fulfiling our strategic objective of preparing and allocating the budget according to the needs of the communities of Durban, and in partnership with the citizens of Durban," he says.

The city treasurer is also a big supporter of eThekwini's Integrated Development Programme, because of its focus on "facilitating and ensuring the provision of infrastructure, services and support, to enable citizens to use their full potential and access opportunities".

He sees the plan "as a means to create a vibrant, sustainable economy with full employment, to create a better life for all".

As far as Kumar is concerned, the focus has to be on "citizens doing things for themselves, with local government providing the support to make this process happen".

In the little spare time he has, Kumar practises yoga and meditation. He also enjoys walking and working out in the gym. Perhaps that's how he manages to remain calm even after the toughest days at work.Aggression and anger have little place in Krish Kumar's life; he says he prefers to nurture and work closely with his staff to achieve success and results.

As for the future, Kumar, who subscribes to Swami Sivananda's philosophy of "service to mankind is service to God", wants nothing more than to continue "serving the people of eThekwini."

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