27 March 2024
Stephen Sade, CGISA CEO
For the past few weeks in March, my taps have been throttled every second evening or so. Having no water between 21:00 and 6:00 was a mild inconvenience. However, some colleagues and friends who live in various parts of Johannesburg and Soweto went without water for longer – some for a week, some for two or three weeks. This was not so funny, and people took to the streets to show their displeasure.
Although Johannesburg was in the headlines, this scenario has been playing out for some years in many smaller towns, townships and rural areas throughout South Africa. So how did South Africa get here? Who is responsible for the governance of water? Who is keeping an eye on water? Once again, the country sees the effects of poor water governance whether it is at national, water board or municipal level. It seems that the chickens are coming home to roost after years of neglect.
It is common knowledge that South Africa is water scarce. The country’s mean annual rainfall is 450 mm a year, which is well below the world average of 850 mm a year. The western half of the country receives much less than the eastern half. The north-western region receives less than 200 mm a year while the eastern highveld receives between 500 mm and 900 mm a year. South Africa’s rainfall patterns are cyclical and are affected by El Niño and La Niña. Given that the country is water-scarce, every drop of water counts.
The Constitution is the first piece of governance. Section 27 guarantees everyone’s right to access sufficient water and places an obligation on the state to take legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realisation of this right. This is a right that should not need to be argued.
Perhaps South Africa can do without electricity, but its citizens cannot do without water. Water is essential for life. It is a right enshrined in the Constitution.
Therefore, who is responsible for water governance? There are three levels of water governance:
- National Water Governance: The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is responsible for legislation and for looking after freshwater resources. This means that the Water and Sanitation Minister is the person responsible for water governance.
- Water Board Governance: Water boards look after dams and provide support to municipalities by providing bulk water treatment and water distribution infrastructure. They also provide technical assistance to municipalities. The water boards sit in between national and municipalities. The Water and Sanitation Minister is also responsible for water governance here.
- Municipal Water Governance: Municipalities are responsible for delivering water. The member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for environment and infrastructure services (in the case of Johannesburg) would be responsible at this level. These officials may have slightly different titles in various municipalities.
Kader Asmal was the first Water Affairs Minister in 1994. In the early period, he made significant gains in bringing water to areas that were historically neglected. In the recent period, Nomvula Mokonyane was the Water and Sanitation Minister from 2014 to 2018. The water drop reports were not issued during this period presumably for their poor outcomes. This period also coincided with the peak years of state capture. Mokonyane was followed by Gugile Nkwinti for a period of two years.
The current Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has fared better than his recent predecessors and seems to be making a genuine effort to improve matters. He has tried to improve the governance of water. For example, he has released the Blue, Green and No Drop reports after years of absence.
The DWS DG Dr Sean Phillips, has been quite forthright about the problems at the City of Johannesburg indicating that they have not spent enough on infrastructure maintenance. According to Phillips, water losses in Johannesburg have increased from 18% to 25% over the past ten years. These increased leaks have been caused by inadequate budgeting for maintenance, refurbishment and renewal of water infrastructure.
There were nine water boards, but these have been reduced to seven as some have been merged or delisted. This was done as a result of the Auditor-General reporting that some were not going concerns. Everyone is familiar with which water board they fall under.
- Amatola Water Board
- Bloem Water
- Lepelle Northern Water
- Magalies Water
- Overberg Water
- Rand Water
- Umgeni-uThukela Water3
During Mokonyane’s term from 2014 to 2018, governance of water boards was dysfunctional. Umgeni Water and Overberg Water had no formally constituted board oversight for more than a year. She dissolved both boards in 2017. She then appointed an interim board at Umgeni in September 2017, but the Water Services Act, made no provision for the establishment of an interim board. After Overberg’s board and CEO were dismissed in June 2017, the Minister appointed the CEO of Breede-Gouritz catchment management agency as acting CEO. Overberg continued to have no board. Bloem Water’s board ended in March 2018.
Cabinet refused to approve the list of board members submitted by the Minister, citing an inadequate variety of skills as the primary reason for its rejection. The board continued to operate despite the terms of its members’ having expired. Sedibeng Water suspended its CEO after allegations of tender fraud.
These examples provide some insight into the collapse of governance at water boards under this Minister’s tenure. Dudu Myeni was chair of the Mhlathuze Water board. This was prior to her being appointed chair of national carrier South African Airways. The suspended CEO Sibusiso Makhanya, accused her of “capturing” the water authority.
While water boards should have been preparing for the burgeoning increase in population in urban areas, instead there were serious allegations of corruption. Wasted years mean the necessary investment in infrastructure and development of skills was not taken, leading to the current crisis South Africa now faces.
Recently, Rand Water executive Teboho Joala was gunned down in front of primary school learners for allegedly closing the taps of corruption. There are numerous stories of disruptions to water systems so that emergency tenders for water tankers can be given. Unfortunately, the consequences of years of corruption have severely impacted on the ability of water boards to play their important role in the provision of bulk water.
The third level of governance is municipalities. Municipalities complain that they cannot collect revenue from customers and, therefore, cannot invest in the maintenance of water infrastructure. The recent events in Johannesburg, which were a culmination of a lightning strike at the Eikenhof pumpstation and the heat wave over the past few weeks, have brought matters to a head.
A closed valve in Randburg only made matters worse. The 28 water tankers were completely inadequate for the crisis in Johannesburg. Soweto residents went for weeks without water. The well-heeled could pop down to the local supermarket and buy a couple of 5ℓ water bottles. Those with the means have sunk boreholes or installed JoJo tanks. But for the majority this was a major crisis.
In the ensuing crisis, the MMC for environment and infrastructure was missing in action. The mayor seemed unable to calm the fears of frustrated Johannesburg residents as they took to the streets to protest against the lack of water. One of the enduring problems with water is the lack of skilled water engineers and technicians in municipalities.
Leakages are at an all-time high, losing valuable water that the city cannot afford. Further afield, the eThekwini municipality was unable to keep the swimming beaches of Durban and surrounding areas free from sewage during the holiday season in December 2022 and 2023. Durban is the place that many working class people choose to spend their well-earned money on a holiday.
Municipalities have not allocated sufficient budgets to maintenance of ageing water distribution systems. In the end, the very thing that water specialists have been warning about, eventually came to pass. Those entrusted with water governance would do well to learn the lessons of these past failures as the provision of clean water is not a luxury but a right guaranteed in the Constitution.
