EThekwini Municipality City Manager Musa Mbhele today held a bilateral engagement with the executive leadership of Sasol to strengthen working relations between the City and one of South Africa’s foremost integrated chemicals and energy companies. Talks focused on pipeline safety, encroachment on hazardous installations and infrastructure investment in the South Durban Basin.
The Sasol delegation was led by Ntokozo Gcabashe, Senior Vice President: Sasolburg and Natref Operations, and included Rightwell Laxa, Senior Vice President: Supply Chain, together with senior managers from the company. Mbhele was supported by a delegation of senior managers led by the Executive Director for Operations Lindokuhle Mkhize and Executive Director in the Office of the City Manager Malusi Mhlongo.
The meeting centred on Sasol’s operations within eThekwini, where the company has a significant industrial footprint linked to the storage and transportation of fuel. As home to the country’s busiest port, Durban is a key gateway for liquid fuels moving into the inland economy, making the safe and uninterrupted operation of this infrastructure a matter of both local and national importance.
Encroachment on hazardous installations
Key among the issues discussed was the encroachment of informal settlements onto servitudes along critical pipelines that transport highly flammable products such as jet fuel. Structures built within these servitudes place residents’ lives at serious risk, hamper routine maintenance and emergency access, and threaten the security of fuel supply.
Mbhele emphasised the City’s commitment to addressing the challenges with the sensitivity they deserve, balancing the protection of strategic infrastructure with the dignity and wellbeing of affected households. Several options are under consideration, including drawing on human settlements projects under way in the City, such as higher-density and high-rise housing developments that make better use of well-located land and offer families safer living conditions. The parties also discussed joint monitoring to prevent new encroachments, enforcement of land-use regulations and community awareness of the dangers of living near hazardous installations.
Clearing and expansion of canals in the South Durban Basin
The engagement further covered the clearing and maintenance of stormwater canals in the South Durban Basin. The City continues to invest in maintaining and expanding the canal network to improve stormwater flow, reduce flood risk to residential and industrial areas, and protect critical infrastructure in one of the country’s most important industrial hubs.
Partnership for economic growth
Mbhele said: “Durban is an economic powerhouse, and companies such as Sasol are central to growing our economy and creating jobs. Our responsibility is to protect both the people who live in this City and the infrastructure that keeps the country moving. The City is committed to working with Sasol to find lasting and humane solutions to encroachment, while continuing to deliver services to all our communities.”
Sasol, in turn, acknowledged the strategic role Durban plays in the company’s operations.
Gcabashe said: “Durban is vital to Sasol’s operations and to the security of fuel supply for South Africa. We had fruitful discussions with the City on the health and safety of the communities who live and work near our infrastructure, and we look forward to working closely with the municipality on practical solutions. Sasol remains committed to contributing to the wellbeing of eThekwini residents through our corporate social investment programmes.”
EThekwini Municipality and Sasol committed to continued engagement to take forward the matters discussed.
Partnerships Take Centre Stage