By Simon Nare
Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo has called on municipalities to insource water tanker services amid soaring costs linked to temporary water supply.
Mamabolo revealed that some municipalities had spent as much as R264 million over three years on water tanker services, arguing that costs could be reduced if municipalities procured their own tankers instead of outsourcing the service through tenders.
“We are encouraged by the investments some municipalities are already making towards procuring their own portable water tankers. While this is a welcome development, we believe more resources must be directed towards expanding these capacities, as outsourced tanker services continue to drive significant expenditure,” said Mamabolo.
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The MEC said water tanker services remained critical in ensuring water security, particularly in areas experiencing shortages and in informal settlements. However, he urged municipalities to invest in procuring and maintaining their own fleets.
“Gauteng CoGTA continues to engage municipalities to monitor service delivery challenges and ensure appropriate corrective measures are implemented to stabilise water supply across the province,” the department said in a statement this week.
Departmental spokesperson Theo Nkonki told Inside Politics that the situation, where municipalities were spending millions on water tanker services, was unsustainable and indicative of corruption.
“That is a huge amount. For temporary provision as well, it’s not a tap where you can go every day and open it. It’s just temporary. Our frustration is that for what they should be spending — let’s say you need six trucks to service an area — we believe the costs at which these services are being provided are quite problematic.
“It talks to corruption as well that has been much vaunted in public spaces around the water tankering situation. We are saying the best way to counter that is for municipalities to own their own,” said Nkonki.
He said Tshwane and Johannesburg had moved quickly to procure their own tankers and urged other municipalities to follow suit to reduce costs. Even a slight reduction in reliance on private service providers could make a significant difference, he added.
Nkonki said municipalities would not be able to abandon outsourced water tankering immediately, but needed to start exploring innovative ways to reduce dependence on private contractors.
He said water tankers were crucial in supplying informal settlements, which were expanding rapidly across the province, and municipalities were constitutionally obligated to provide water services to those communities.
Nkonki acknowledged that municipalities should have owned their own water tankers from the outset, but said the matter was complicated by the current revenue model.
“Joburg Water, for instance, collects revenue, but that revenue goes into the municipal kitty and not directly into maintaining infrastructure.
“Which means that money is diluted into broader municipal priorities. Once you dilute money that is supposed to maintain infrastructure and upgrade systems, you have a business that is hobbled because it cannot grow itself,” he said.
Nkonki said households had become poorer since the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving municipalities unable to collect sufficient revenue through rates and taxes, while government grants remained inadequate.
He said local governments were struggling to generate enough revenue to sustain operations.
“If one had to treat local government as a business, it would be a business that is heavy on demand but doesn’t have enough supply,” he said.
Nkonki revealed that the department would soon announce a Local Government Turnaround Strategy aimed at strengthening municipalities, improving governance and enhancing service delivery through coordinated interventions involving provincial, local and national government.
He added that on Sunday, 24 May 2026, the department and all 11 municipalities would provide the public with updates on governance, financial management, infrastructure development and ongoing service delivery interventions across the province.
