eThekwini Municipality loses half a billion during COVID-19 lockdown
eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda says the coronavirus lockdown has had a devastating effect on the city's economy and the lives of residents.
The municipality saw revenue plunge by one and a half billion rand last month.
Kaunda presented the city's Economic Recovery Plan yesterday.
He said it will need all hands on deck.
The plan will be driven by nine pillars.
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"Supporting enterprises, safeguarding jobs, caring for livelihoods, which will then enable us to sustain and entrench the economy inclusive economic growth that we expect."
Kaunda says 32% of Durban's economy has returned under level 4. But it will take about 18 months to recover.
"Over 300 000 people have lost their income or employment, we also anticipate unemployment to rise by 42% about 10 billion of FDI has been put on hold due to Covid-19 and our experiences."
He added another 8.5 billion rands is at risk with the possibility of many businesses to shut down their operation.
