By Thapelo Molefe
The eThekwini Municipality has secured R379 million over six years to reduce water losses as government expands its intervention in distressed municipalities from 10 to 38.
The funding comes as eThekwini faces major water losses, with Democratic Alliance MP George Michalakis telling Parliament earlier this week that the municipality was losing 65% of its water.
Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Friday that the funding had been secured through the Water Partnership Office, which is working with municipalities and the private sector to improve water service delivery.
“The Water Partnership Office assisted eThekwini Municipality to secure R379 million over six years to reduce water losses and is supporting eThekwini and the City of Tshwane with implementation,” Ntshavheni said.
She was briefing the media on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.
Michalakis raised eThekwini’s water losses while questioning President Cyril Ramaphosa in the National Assembly about the country’s water crisis.
He said eThekwini was losing 65% of its water, while Mangaung was losing 60%, and accused poorly performing municipalities of contributing to a “man-made” water crisis.
Ramaphosa acknowledged deep structural problems in the water sector at municipal level and said government was increasing support to struggling municipalities and strengthening interventions in poorly performing municipalities.
The intervention comes as municipalities face persistent problems with ageing infrastructure, water losses, weak financial management and poor service delivery.
The Water Partnership Office is part of government’s effort to strengthen municipal water services through partnerships with private-sector investors and technical partners.
Under its non-revenue water programme, the office is supporting eThekwini and the City of Tshwane in implementing projects aimed at reducing the amount of treated water lost from municipal supply systems.
The municipal intervention comes as government attempts to address both immediate water shortages and longer-term structural problems in the country’s water system.
Ramaphosa said the National Water Action Plan was being informed by lessons from the government’s response to the electricity crisis.
He said the government was also targeting problems including corruption, theft of metal infrastructure and criminal activity linked to water tankering.
The Water Partnership Office is supporting a broader water-reuse programme.
Ntshavheni said 34 municipalities had completed climate-risk assessments under the programme, while US$235 million had been secured from the Green Climate Fund to advance water-reuse projects.
Government is also developing a sanitation bond and fund to support non-sewered sanitation technologies in informal settlements and schools.
The Water Partnership Office is further working on desalination projects, with a proposal submitted to the City of Cape Town for the Paarden Eiland Desalination Public-Private Partnership Project.
At the same time, Cabinet was briefed on progress under the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy, which has now been expanded to 38 municipalities from an initial 10.
The strategy targets municipalities experiencing serious challenges with their financial viability, governance, service delivery, audit outcomes and internal capacity.
Ntshavheni said the government’s intervention was not limited to the initial municipalities identified for support.
“The intervention has been expanded from the initial 10 to 38 municipalities and focuses on improving financial viability, governance, service delivery, audit outcomes and internal capacity,” she said.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for the strategy is also supporting municipalities where previous government interventions have failed to achieve the desired results.
This means municipalities that have not improved despite existing support measures can face continued or additional interventions aimed at addressing the underlying problems.
The municipal turnaround programme comes against a backdrop of continued concerns over the ability of some municipalities to maintain basic services and manage their finances effectively.
The interventions are intended to help municipalities improve the reliability and sustainability of basic services while bringing additional private-sector financing and expertise into local government.
Cabinet said the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy would continue supporting distressed municipalities, particularly where existing measures had not produced the required improvements.
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