Question NW2432 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation
21 August 2023 - NW2432
Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
What (a) measures has his department together with the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs put in place to effectively address the critical issue of municipalities struggling to meet their payment commitments for bulk water, which poses a severe threat to essential services and the well-being of affected communities, (b) actions and strategies will he take to tackle the mounting municipal debts to water boards, in the event that the defaulting municipalities persist in their non-responsiveness and neglect of their obligations and (c) specific measures does his department have in place to ensure their accountability and prevent the burden of non-payment from unfairly impacting the water boards?
Reply:
a) The Department of Water and Sanitation convened a joint workshop with Water Boards, National Treasury, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and South African Local Government Association on 5 December 2022. The purpose of the workshop was to develop strategies to improve Billing and Revenue Collection in the water sector. The resolution from that workshop was to draft standardised operating processes (SOP) for debt recovery, to cater for both the Water Boards and the Department’s Water Trading Entity.
b) The proposed actions and strategies in place to tackle the municipal debt include the following:
- DWS will collaborate with National Treasury to ensure that equitable share allocations are withheld from non-paying municipalities.
- DWS will ensure that standardised credit control and debt recovery processes are put in place across all the water boards. This will include consistent enforcement of water restrictions on non-paying municipalities and legal processes to attach municipal bank accounts where necessary.
- Bulk prepaid meters will be installed by water boards in municipalities with a poor payment record.
c) The Minister has finalized the consultation process with 144 Water Services Authorities on the outcome of the above-mentioned workshop. The Minister is currently engaging with the Water Boards regarding the measures to address municipal debts to the Water Boards.
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