Question NW375 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Reply:

a)  The Blue, Green and No Drop reports that Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) issued in December 2023, indicated that municipal water and waste water services have generally declined sharply over the last ten years, in terms of indicators such as the quality of water provided, the quality of effluent from waste water treatment works, and the levels of physical water losses and non-revenue water. The reports also identified the key causes of this decline, including:

• Weak billing and revenue collection,
• Insufficient prioritization of budgets for maintenance by municipal councils,
• Insufficient employment of staff with the required qualifications

This decline in the delivery of municipal water services has taken place despite very high levels of support from the national government to municipalities, including more than R60 billion per annum in grants for water and sanitation infrastructure and for free basic water for the indigent, as well as substantial technical, financial and other capacity building support. This indicates that financial support is necessary but not sufficient to turn around the decline, and structural reform of the municipal water services function is also required.

b) Despite the widespread challenges in the local government, the solution is not for the national government to take over municipal water functions. Reforms are required to ensure that municipal water services become professionally run and financially sustainable. This will require strengthened legislative and regulatory measures, such as those that DWS has proposed in the draft Water Services Amendment Bill, which introduces a requirement for municipal Water Services Providers to have an operating license, with the aim of ensuring minimum levels of capability.

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