By Staff Reporter
The Democratic Alliance has called on Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina to urgently intervene in municipalities that are failing to pay their water bills, leaving bulk service suppliers in financial distress.
During a question session in the National Council of Provinces on Friday, the minister confirmed that Vaal Central Water was in financial distress due to municipalities’ failing to pay for water.
These municipalities include Matjhabeng Local Municipality, which now owes over R6.9 billion (up from R4.8 billion in 2022), Kopanong, which cannot commit to current invoices, and Nala, which saw its water supply cut in 2024 due to non-payment.
Mangaung Metro and Nama-Khoi are also listed among chronic defaulters. DA member of the Select Committee of Water and Sanitation, Igor Scheukogel, said the failure to settle debts has left Vaal Central Water unable to maintain infrastructure or guarantee water delivery — despite having no evidence of mismanagement.
“As a direct result, towns across the Free State have been enduring a severe water crisis for nearly a decade, with Matjhabeng, Nala,and Mangaung among the worst affected,” Scheukogel said in a statement on Saturday.
The minister declined to invoke Section 63 of the Water Services Act, which would empower her to intervene directly and assume the functions of failing water services authorities.
“When pressed in the NCOP to give formal notice and take over governance of dysfunctional water boards, the Minister’s refusal to commit to action was a blow to those hoping for change — despite acknowledging her exclusive power to appoint and oversee boards under Section 74(2) of the National Water Act.
“This double failure — to hold municipalities financially accountable and to exercise available legal powers — leaves thousands of people without reliable access to water, a situation that is a clear violation of their constitutional rights,” Scheukogel said.
He said interventions were not exclusively limited to providing financial support, but also technical expertise and capacity building, which were contributing to water boards’ failure to ensure sufficient and constant water provision.
“We call on the Minister to urgently issue a notice under Section 63, assert national intervention over failing water authorities and institute an independent oversight mechanism to depoliticise board appointments,” he said.
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