 in Gauteng has accused the Emfuleni Local Municipality of gross mismanagement.){kind=link}
By Thapelo Molefe
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has accused the Emfuleni Local Municipality of gross mismanagement after revelations that the municipality lost 16.4 million kilolitres of treated water in the 2024/25 financial year, valued at more than R880 million, despite spending R57 million on contractors to repair leaks.
The DA said the information came to light through a written reply from Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Jacob Mamabolo, to questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
According to the opposition party, Emfuleni paid 11 service providers to plug leaks, but the municipality continues to lose massive volumes of water every day due to leaks in ageing infrastructure.
The party has since asked the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the municipality, saying that residents’ constitutional right to access water and sanitation is being violated.
“It is scandalous that Emfuleni claims to have spent such a huge amount of money repairing water leaks, yet continues to lose millions of kilolitres of clean, treated water daily due to persistent leaks in the ageing infrastructure,” the DA said.
Over the past five financial years, the municipality has returned R636 million in unspent Municipal Infrastructure Grant funds that could have been used to repair water, sanitation, and road infrastructure.
At the same time, it has spent R561 million on overtime payments between 2019/20 and 2023/24 without visible improvements in service delivery.
The DA’s criticism comes against the backdrop of Emfuleni’s long-standing troubles. The municipality, which governs towns including Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging, and Sebokeng, is one of Gauteng’s most financially distressed local governments.
It has battled repeated service delivery protests, mounting debts to Eskom, and national attention over untreated sewage flowing into the Vaal River. Despite years of public outcry and demands for intervention, Emfuleni remains mired in mismanagement and collapsing infrastructure.
The DA said Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Mamabolo should have intervened more decisively to address the crisis.
“Despite warnings and public outcry, the Premier and the MEC have failed to intervene meaningfully, allowing this municipality to teeter on the brink of total collapse,” the DA said.
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