No waste of resources in Essence Festival: eThekwini
eThekweni Municipality has again defended the amount of money being spent on the Essence Festival, saying it's part of ensuring Durban remains a premier global destination for events.
The festival - which is currently taking place in the city - has come under criticism with the DA saying R175 million has been wasted on the festival since 2015.
The opposition party says the ANC has not been about providing concrete stats on return on investment.
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But Acting Deputy City Manager for Economic Development, Phillip Sithole says public funds are being utilised responsibly through festival.
"There's no waste of resources. Those who are saying it's a waste of resources are people who don't want to see Durban growing and becoming a global city. We would not have been able to get an investment of more than R15-billion confirmed through the Essence Festival if we did not host this event," he says.