By Levy Masiteng
The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation will summon the Free State’s Matjhabeng Local Municipality to Parliament to account for its ballooning debt of just under R9 billion owed to the Vaal Central Water Board.
The decision was taken during a meeting with the Department of Water and Sanitation, Magalies Water and Vaal Central Water Board to review their 2024/25 annual performance.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the committee said Matjhabeng had assured MPs during an oversight visit in January that it would cooperate on a payment plan, but there was still no evidence it was willing or able to honour that undertaking.
“This is unacceptable and represents the worst recalcitrant behaviour that not only affects the viability of the water board but the livelihoods and possible economic growth within the municipality,” said committee chairperson Leon Basson.
The committee said it now wants Matjhabeng’s political and administrative leadership to explain why the promised payment arrangement has not materialised.
Beyond Matjhabeng’s debt crisis, the committee also raised alarm about underspending on infrastructure by water boards during the 2024/25 financial year.
Members warned that failing to invest allocated capital budgets worsens the impact of ageing infrastructure and contributes to significant water losses.
“Effective project management will be a key driver in ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and at the required quality. If all spheres of government and water boards don’t enhance project management then financial losses will continue,” Basson said.
The committee also highlighted a broader financial risk across the sector, noting that municipalities collectively owe water boards approximately R25 billion.
The committee warned that failures in municipal wastewater management were driving up costs in the water value chain, with untreated effluent polluting dams and increasing the cost of water treatment.
It also raised concerns about the sustainability of recent interventions in Matjhabeng, calling for an undertaking that the Department of Water and Sanitation would not hand back recently refurbished wastewater treatment works to the municipality if there were no measures in place to prevent a return to dysfunction.
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