WATCH: DA targets Chatsworth wards in bid to win eThekwini - IOL
Dean Macpherson, John Steenhuisen, and Haniff Hoosen at the launch of the DA's election campaign in Shallcross.
The DA has launched its Chatsworth campaign ahead of the 2026 local government elections, with party leaders promising to address eThekwini’s water losses and infrastructure problems.
Former DA leader John Steenhuisen, and provincial leaders, called on residents to help turnaround the city by making them win all the wards in Chatsworth.
Steenhuisen said if Chatsworth became a fully DA run area, then it would place their eThekwini mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen strongly for the position.
Steenhuisen was joined by DA KZN Provincial Chairperson and Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson and MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure Martin Meyer.
MacPherson said Chatsworth was the home of the DA.
“A lot of parties are running around like headless chickens in this election, trying to claim that Chatsworth is going to them, and that they are going to win wards.
“But there is one party who is going to win every single ward and that is the DA. Chatsworth is going to deliver eThekwini to the DA to make Haniff Hoosen the next mayor of eThekwini.
“When we were considering who the mayoral candidate should be, we thought it must be the person with the most experience in eThekwini, in government, and who can turn the City around.
“There was no better person than Haniff Hoosen.
“We did not give people five candidates and said we would decide after the election who the mayor would be. We did not change candidates every week.
“Luckily we knew how to press the submit button when we applied to the Independent Electoral Commission.
The Shallcross Community Hall was packed to capacity despite the inclement weather.
“We have a historical opportunity to be in power and to govern eThekwini. We have to bring change to the city and to stop the nonsense that we are seeing. The free-for-all amongst the administration and political parties in government must stop,” MacPherson added.
Steenhuisen said the primary focus of the meeting centred on eThekwini's deteriorating water grid.
He criticised the current administration in eThekwini, highlighting that non-revenue water loss in the city has surged from 33% a decade ago to a critical 65%.
"Durban does not simply have a water crisis; Durban has a leadership crisis. Plans for eThekwini are clear.
“We cannot run a municipality without water, electricity, and sanitation.
Supporters and residents welcomed John Steenhuisen with a blue and white garland.
“Far too many homes without water and electricity. We want to turn eThekwini back into a manufacturing hub, an export hub. We have a great port, we need to fix the rail and road networks and basic infrastructure so that eThekwini can take its rightful place as a great city.
“We need to make the city safe. We should have been leading this, as our communities have become a very dangerous place, especially for women and children, as we are seeing,” Steenhuisen added.
Hoosen said the DA had a plan aimed at restoring the municipality's water supply, which included a R10 billion infrastructure investment directly into rebuilding and modernising the aging water network.
“We will establish specialised repair units alongside advanced leak-detection technology to fix pipe bursts before structural failures occur, and initiate formal investigations into the alleged water mafia, while safeguarding municipal water revenue.
“We will also recruit top-tier technical and engineering talent to manage municipal infrastructure, and bring in private sector expertise and adopt operational models from successful municipalities.
“We aim to reinvest all municipal operational savings directly back into water grid repairs and maintenance,” Hoosen pledged at the meeting.