THE electioneering period has begun and as expected, eThekwini Municipality has become a hive of activity. This demonstrates that we remain the leading and preferred destination for hosting major events. With three major political parties launching their manifestos in the City, eThekwini is already playing a crucial role in the upcoming 2024 national and provincial elections. We showcased this recently when the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium successfully hosted the Mayihlome Rally, the election manifesto launch of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). 

For the weekend of 23 to 25 February, an estimated 110 000 visitors flocked to eThekwini and enjoyed various attractions including visiting the popular beachfront promenade. Of this total number, 2 200 were foreign visitors, 46 200 were domestic overnight visitors with 61 600 being day visitors, which also includes residents. Hosting such major events significantly boosts tourism in multiple ways in the Municipality. Over this past weekend, an estimated R297 million was injected into the City’s economy while the direct and indirect contribution to the Gross Domestic Product was R734 million. The ANC manifesto launch came after the stadium recently hosted another successful manifesto launch of the Economic Freedom Fighters on 10 February. The City’s multi-purpose stadium, which has a seating capacity of 56,000, is now gearing up for the Inkatha Freedom Party manifesto launch taking place in March. 

The fact that all political parties, that have a huge support base, are launching their manifestos in Durban indicates that we are the home of big events and that we are fully opened for business. To continue attracting big events that boost local tourism and position Durban as a destination of choice, we will continue with our drive of partnering with event organisers to attract visitors to eThekwini. We also wish to commend the ANC for the massive clean-up campaign that took place around the Moses Mabhida precinct to ensure that the iconic facility remains pristine. While talking about being open for business, we are pleased that we recently unveiled another massive investment by Investec and Takealot. This investment forms part of the R11 billion Brickworks Development in Avoca which will create about 14 000 jobs during the construction phase. 

This latest investment gives practical meaning to our commitment to attract over R200 billion in investment through catalytic projects and create over 300 000 jobs over a period of five years. We are indeed pleased that the partnerships we have formed with the private sector to revive the City’s economy are producing the desired outcomes.