Deputy President Paul Mashatile assured the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that water security remains a top priority for the government, even as he detailed systemic challenges including corruption, infrastructure decay, and significant financial losses plaguing the nation’s water system.
Appearing before MPs for a question session, Mashatile fielded numerous concerns about water and sanitation, where he revealed that the long-term use of water tankers has been corrupted by officials for personal gain.
According to the Deputy President, National Treasury has cautioned municipalities against relying on tankers after evidence emerged of collusion and manipulation.
“It’s been reported that in some areas to ensure the prolonged use of tankers, water infrastructure is being damaged,” Mashatile stated. He called on communities to help protect critical infrastructure and report any suspicious activities.
A major point of concern raised by MPs was the issue of “non-revenue water”—treated water that is lost and never paid for. Mashatile explained the severe financial impact of this problem on municipalities.
“In the past, I was struggling to understand it myself. What is this non-revenue water?” he said. “Basically what they mean is that there’s a lot of water that they lose that they are not getting the revenue from, but remember they pay for it. The municipality will pay for that water, but almost 40% of it that they’ve paid for they will not regain that money because it’s lost.”
While acknowledging that much of this water is lost through leakages, Mashatile cautioned that fixing the aging infrastructure “will take some time.”
The questions on water were closely linked to the broader issue of municipal debt and viability. Mashatile admitted that a significant number of municipalities are collapsing.
“It is true that we have seen a lot of municipalities collapsing, amongst others because [of a] lack of tax base, in some instances corrupt activities that have crippled it,” he said.
He emphasized the urgent need for intervention, stating, “We can’t survive in a country with the majority of our municipalities not being on their feet or not fit for purpose. We need to check them up.” He listed clean audits, tangible service delivery, and strong leadership as critical measures for recovery.
The session also touched on the government’s strategy to combat crime, particularly that fueled by gang wars. Mashatile outlined the government’s coordinated approach, led by two key bodies.
“Government, through what we call the Cabinet Committee on Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS), as well as the National Security Council, which is led by the President, is implementing measures to address systemic weaknesses in policing, also weaknesses in the justice system and the entire security cluster,” he said.
The discussion on crime comes as the country is engaged in two major inquiries: the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s ad hoc committee, both investigating allegations of corruption and criminality within the criminal justice system.