Water Boards revenue hits R43.7bn as municipal debt soars to R25.5bn

By Akani Nkuna

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has welcomed consolidated and intensified revenue collection efforts by water boards, which saw revenue increase to R43.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, saying the improvement will bolster government efforts to address prevailing water challenges across the country.

Chief Director at DWS Thoko Sigwaza presented an overview of water boards’ performance for 2024/25 to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on Tuesday.

Five of the seven water boards achieved more than 88% of their revenue targets, exceeding benchmarks.

The bulk of revenue was collected by Rand Water (R22.9 billion), followed by uMngeni-uThukela Water (R7.6 billion).

Sigwaza said struggling boards had implemented turnaround strategies to improve collections.

She said capital investment totalled R6.1 billion for the year. Two key projects by Rand Water — the Emfuleni and Zanzibar Water special purpose vehicles — were approved and operationalised.

uMngeni-uThukela continued with