A study conducted late last year by Deloitte, in association with Durban Investment Promotion (DIP) and Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN), indicated that foreign and local companies were finding Durban and KwaZulu-Natal offered a favourable investment scenario.
Durban newspaper the Mercury reported that positive factors included an attractive infrastructure and a good social environment, along with their access to the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.
It added that the study had found that 56% of respondents planned to invest in Durban in the coming years and 60% would invest in KZN. Only 28% said they would move some of their operations out of Durban and 25% out of KZN.
However, the Mercury noted that the five main challenges for the city as identified by respondents were: “poor municipal management and service delivery; a general lack of political stability and leadership; a deteriorating and incomplete infrastructure; unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy; and a high level of corruption”.
