Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, has called on Premiers and Executive Mayors to pass budgets that are water friendly, to help ensure that government achieves its current commitments.
Majodina made the call on the first day of the Water and Sanitation Indaba, held at Gallagher Convention Centre, on Thursday.
She noted that many Water Services Authorities (WSAs), including some metros, are unable to meet their constitutional responsibilities as the results showed a decline in how the country manages its water and wastewater supply systems.
According to the Minister, the situation regarding the reliability and quantity of water has gotten worse, with the top 100 municipalities showing dismal performance across the provinces.
She said the department will soon be embarking on a roadshow to meet all Premiers, MECs, Executive Mayors and their respective Municipal Executives. Reports and intended intervention at each municipality will be tabled.
While on the provincial roadshow to support municipalities, the Minister said the department will also take further stock of what municipalities will be implementing as part of the outcome of the Water Indaba, and as aligned to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call of ensuring that water is priority number one in the 7th Administration.
“While we know that the current fiscal set-up is not enough, we will use our current grant allocation, and we call upon all Premiers, Executive Mayors to pass budgets that are water friendly to ensure that government achieves on its current commitments,” she said.
The Minister added that the department will also be looking at various implementation models to support failing municipalities to ensure that grants are spent on the intended purposes and that proper integrated planning is enforced accordingly.
She said that water supply is in the balance [with existing demand] through water boards, which play a pivotal role to ensure that clean water is provided to municipalities and other key customers.
This as municipalities owe about R24 billion to the water boards which is “a major risk to collapse water supply” she said adding that there is no challenge of bulk water supply, but the reticulation of water to reach citizens underpinned by non-revenue water.
“We meet clean treated water running down the streets instead of coming out of the tap in households, because water has been pumped from the bulk supply. We are working very closely with the SIU (Special Investigating Unit) to track all fraud and corruption cases [and] to date, a total amount of R459 million… has been recovered by SIU.
“We have working Terms of Reference on our route to launch the Anti-Corruption Forum on Water and Sanitation Sector. WSAs who failed to comply on grants allocated to them, they will no longer get direct allocation from us as the Department of Water and Sanitation, but we shall manage and implement projects through our WSIG [Water Services Infrastructure Grant],” the Minister said.
The WSIG facilitates the planning and implementation of various water and sanitation projects to accelerate backlog reduction and enhance the sustainability of services, especially in rural municipalities.
Right to clean water is not optional
Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa emphasised that the Indaba serves as a reminder that the right to clean water and dignified sanitation is not optional, but a foundational right that speaks directly to the dignity and health of every South African.
“Water is more than a resource, it is a heartbeat of life, the foundation of health, and a lifeline to development. Sanitation is about dignity, privacy and safety.
“Access to clean water and decent sanitation is not a privilege to be earned, it is a right to be realised, enshrined in our Constitution, and affirmed by the Global community, through the Sustainable Development Goals,” Hlabisa said.
Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi who also spoke at the Indaba said the challenge is not the shortage of water, but its management.
“During the month of November and December, many communities were going through the difficulties of water [and] through the interventions and assistance of the Minister and Deputy Minister [of Water and Sanitation], provincial and local government, we took decisive decisions that were delayed.
“I want to thank the Minister, Pemmy Majodina, not only for her presence, but for her firmness on some decisions that were taken, whether other people liked it or not. We have managed to unblock the blockages of two pumping stations that were making it difficult for water to be pumped to our citizens in our province, [and] for that, I want to thank the Ministry,” Lesufi said.
In his address earlier in the day, President Ramaphosa noted that Operation Vulindela has prioritised reforms in the water sector to improve water quality, to catalyse investment in the construction and maintenance of water infrastructure and strengthen regulation in the sector.
READ | Call for national turnaround plan on water security
The President also commended the Department of Water and Sanitation for its ongoing efforts to improve water and sanitation access in the country.
READ | President commends progress made in provision of water and sanitation
The indaba will conclude on Friday, 28 March 2025. – SAnews.gov.za
