Such is the overwhelming confidence that investors have shown in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality that in just two hours of opening the bids for its first municipal bond, the city was able to raise the required R815 million.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has put in place contingency measures to ensure that service delivery is not compromised when members of the SA Municipal Union (SAMWU) embark on a national secondary strike on Thursday – September 02, in support of the Public Service Sector strike.

Residents of informal settlements are often accustomed to using unhygienic containers such as chemical buckets; paint buckets, paraffin tins and some very dirty unconventional containers for water storage resulting in health problems.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has raised R815m thanks to Absa Capital, the investment banking division of Absa Bank Ltd. The company, acting as Sole Lead Arranger, has raised the money in a 10-year fixed-rate bond issuance on behalf of Ekurhuleni.