Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero said on Tuesday that the City of Joburg faces more than R8 billion in service delivery losses linked to ageing infrastructure, governance failures and budget constraints.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders hosted by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the city’s audit outcomes and ongoing Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probes, Morero outlined key financial and operational challenges confronting the metro.

He noted that the Auditor-General had issued the city with an unqualified audit opinion for the financial year ended June 30, 2025, while its performance information received a qualified audit opinion.

“We understand the root causes articulated by the Auditor-General,” Morero said.

He said the city was addressing major losses at its municipal entities, including Johannesburg Water’s non-revenue water losses of 44.7%, amounting to R3.8 billion.

City Power recorded total electricity losses of 30%, comprising non-technical losses of R4

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A water-sector anti-corruption forum has called for political parties to sign a public ethics pledge on clean procurement and accountable governance, raising the stakes around water and sanitation failures ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

The proposal emerged from a high-level roundtable convened by WaterCAN, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Water Integrity Network (WIN) this week, as corruption, infrastructure collapse and weak municipal governance deepen public anger over failing basic services.

“Accountability cannot rest with oversight institutions alone,” said Dr Ferrial Adam, of WaterCAN. “Communities, civil society, business and ethical public servants must be brought much closer to the systems where decisions are made, and money is spent.”

The roundtable brought together representatives from civil society, academia and business, as well as senior officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the SIU, the Auditor-General of South Africa and the Department of Cooperative Governance

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The Special Tribunal has set aside an R85 million KwaZulu-Natal-Mozambique border wall tender after finding that the ISF Shula Joint Venture used a fraudulent B-BBEE certificate, submitted an expired Letter of Good Standing, and failed to meet mandatory financial capacity requirements.

The wall was commissioned by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport “in response to community concerns about rampant cross-border crime, particularly the smuggling and trafficking of stolen and hijacked vehicles into Mozambique,” the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) said in a statement on Friday.

In July 2016, the community of uMkhanyakude in KZN protested about rampant crime in the area. On 29 March 2018, the department published an invitation to tender for the construction of an 8km concrete barrier wall between uMkhanyakude and Mozambique.

A total of 14 bids were submitted. Six were found to be unresponsive, the majority because they did not meet the requirement that the tenderer

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The Special Investigating Unit says it is awaiting a presidential proclamation to formally investigate the controversial Beachfront Court Crescent project at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, as questions mount over value for money and procurement processes.

Briefing Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday, SIU Eastern Cape head of investigations Mike Koya confirmed that the beachfront matter has not yet moved into a full investigation phase.

ALSO READ: SIU flags pay-before-work pattern at OR Tambo, blames non-cooperation for delays

“The BCMDA one, the waterfront, we have not yet conducted an investigation. We are still at the stage of assessment,” Koya told MPs.

The project falls under the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency and has been under scrutiny alongside the Water World Fun Park development.

Koya said the SIU engaged the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) to conduct a performance audit to determine whether the projects delivered

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A R646 million contract intended to urgently upgrade KwaZulu-Natal’s Thukela–Goedertrouw water transfer scheme has been declared constitutionally invalid and set aside by the Special Tribunal, after it was found to have been awarded in violation of public procurement laws.

The ruling by the Special Tribunal comes after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) launched an investigation into the Department of Water and Sanitation contract, which was initially budgeted at R407 million but ballooned to R646.5 million, generating irregular expenditure and substantial losses to the State.

ALSO READ: O’Sullivan on the defensive: five things that irked MPs

The Tribunal found that AECOM SA (Pty) Ltd, the company awarded the contract, was irregularly included in the closed tender process despite not being formally invited. The bid adjudication committee had recommended against AECOM’s appointment, but the Acting Director-General, Sfiso Mkhize, proceeded with the award regardless.

“This judgment reinforces that government

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of serious maladministration at the IFP-led uMzinyathi District Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the SIU, the proclamation empowers the unit to investigate matters relating to procurement and contracting, including the supply, installation, and maintenance of ground dual static tanks and fuel, as well as the lease and subsequent purchase of a generator for the Vants Drift Water Treatment Plant in Nquthu.

ALSO READ: Nkabinde inquiry delayed again as Batohi still seeking legal advice 

Signed last week, the proclamation instructs the SIU to investigate whether the contracts and related payments were conducted in a manner that was not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective, and whether there were any breaches of legislation, National Treasury regulations or the municipality’s own policies.

“The probe covers allegations that took place between 1 March 2020 and 21 November 2025,

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This follows her arrest on charges of alleged fraud and money laundering during her previous employment at the Umzimvubu Local Municipality.

Sibabalwe Mgangatho, currently out on bail, is accused of defrauding Umzimvubu of R2 million between 2013 and 2017 while serving as Account Expenditure Officer.

Alarmingly, she now holds the same position at Makana Local Municipality, according to the DA.

“I have formally written to the Municipal Manager, requesting that disciplinary action be taken against Ms Mgangatho, in accordance with the Labour Relations Act and the municipality’s Disciplinary Procedures Framework,” said Luvuyo Sizani, DA Makana caucus leader, on Monday.

Sizani said to safeguard the finances and the integrity of the municipality, Mngagatho must be placed under precautionary suspension while the municipality conducts a thorough investigation.

He said if the Municipal Manager does not act,

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