Durban Is South Africa’s Most liveable City – Mercer

Durban has been named the most livable city in Africa for the fourth consecutive year, beating Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Durban Once again has been voted the most livable city in South Africa according to the 20th Mercer’s Quality of Living report which was released recently.

Durban Mayor, Zandile Gumede said the city was on the right path once again and it proves that eThekwini was growing economically and meeting the needs of its people.

“Our municipality has achieved this accolade for the 4th consecutive year. We are proud to be acknowledged for our service delivery programmes and we strive to continue to make a positive impact in the lives of our residents.

The municipality’s new Radical Economic Transformation Framework aims to further accelerate service delivery, provide economic opportunities to previously disadvantaged citizens and grow the small businesses in our communities,” Gumede said.

She said this is great news for the eThekwini Municipality which aims to be Africa’s most liveable and caring city by the year 2030 at this rate it looks like it might just get there a bit sooner than planned.

Mthunzi Gumede, mayoral spokesperson, said Durban was placed 89th and ahead of Cape Town and Johannesburg who ranked 94th and 95th respectively.

He said the survey by Mercer evaluated cities according to 39 factors across 10 categories, which include political and social environment, the economic environment, public services and transport, housing, education, recreation and the natural environment.

He said the data was analysed between September and November and is updated regularly to account for changing circumstances.

“This year, Mercer provides a separate ranking on city sanitation, which analyses cities’ waste removal and sewage infrastructure, levels of infectious disease, air pollution, water availability and quality – all important aspects of a city’s attractiveness for both talent and businesses,” he said.

“Mercer’s survey also includes a city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of electricity, drinking water, telephone and mail services, and public transportation as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports,” he continued.

He also said Mercer’s survey provide recommendations for more than cities throughout the world and this year’s ranking included 231 of these cities.

Checkout the Full list of Top 25 Most liveable Cities In Africa