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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini has launched a petition to oppose the municipality’s decision to proceed with a costly city rebranding project, which will see millions of rands spent on changing the city’s logo and municipal branding.

The first phase of the rebranding project, set to begin this week, has been allocated R2.8 million for community and in-house engagements. However, the full cost of the project remains undisclosed.

The DA’s petition calls for the halt of this rebranding project and demand that these funds be redirected toward essential services. We call on the residents and businesses of eThekwini to support this petition and make their voices heard. The petition will be submitted to the council to ensure that taxpayer money is spent wisely and in the best interest of the people.

This comes at a time when eThekwini is facing serious financial challenges and service delivery failures.

Since the initial proposal to change the city’s logo was approved in 2017, the DA has been vocal in its opposition, arguing that there was no need for such an expensive and unnecessary exercise. Now, in 2025, the municipality is pushing ahead with this ill-advised project, despite the fact that eThekwini is still recovering from multiple crises, including the economic impact of COVID-19, five catastrophic floods, ongoing power outages, water shortages, and a failing infrastructure network.

The DA is deeply concerned that once the new logo is finalized, the rebranding will require a complete overhaul of municipal uniforms, vehicle branding, signage, stationery, and other assets—potentially costing ratepayers millions more in funds that the city simply does not have.

This reckless spending comes at a time when:

- Residents and businesses suffer from persistent power outages and an unreliable electricity supply.
- Frequent water supply disruptions that leave communities without access to basic services.
- Tourism revenue is declining due to poor infrastructure and mismanagement.
- Sewage spills into rivers and oceans continue to harm the environment and public health.

Instead of wasting money on a logo change, the municipality should be using every available cent to fix our broken infrastructure, improve service delivery, and combat rampant corruption.

The DA remains committed to holding the municipality accountable and ensuring that governance in eThekwini prioritizes service delivery, transparency, and financial responsibility.

Issued by Councillor Thabani Mthethwa - DA eThekwini Caucus Leader