Minister Senzo Mchunu is concerned about huge debts incurred by both the Municipalities and the Water Boards
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu says the alarming debts owed by the municipalities and the water boards inhibit the provision of water and sanitation services to communities. He tabled his Budget Vote at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) yesterday, 18 May 2022.
Minister Mchunu indicated that in the recent financial year, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Water Trading Entity is owed R24.57 billion by the customers it sells water to. He said municipalities and the water boards are responsible for 65% of the debt. Municipalities owed the water boards R13. 94 billion due to non-payment by their water users. This in turn resulted in the water boards owing the Department R7.6 billion. In addition, direct municipal debt to the Department amounted to R8 billion.
The Minister urged Government to address the problem of poor revenue management and debts in the water sector because it affects sustainable improvement in water and sanitation services. “The Department is working with National Treasury, COGTA and SALGA on solutions to this issue. The underlying problem that we all need to focus on is weak billing and revenue collection at municipal level”, said Minister Mchunu.
Minister Mchunu also bemoaned the fact that municipalities receive substantial infrastructure grants for municipal water services but water services to communities continue to decline. “This is a worrying contradiction, but we are determined to bring this to a stop through necessary interventions. Mark my words – we are going to stop this, and we have already started with other municipalities that are concerned”, said the Minister emphatically.
In this financial year, the Department of Water and Sanitation has been allocated a combined budget of R111.256 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. The budget covers a period of three years, that is 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25.
Minister Mchunu assured the people of South Africa that the Department of Water and Sanitation manages its huge budgets responsibly and effectively. He said the Department has strengthened expenditure management and compliance enforcement to minimise unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“As a result of these measures, no new unauthorised expenditure was incurred in the 2021/22 financial year. Cases of unauthorised and irregular expenditure where investigations have been concluded and recommendations implemented have been submitted to National Treasury for condonation and the Department is working on finalising the remaining cases of irregular expenditure”, said Minister Mchunu.
The Minister also assured South Africans that there will no longer be underspending on the Department’s allocated budget, particularly the budget allocated for infrastructure projects.
“This is unacceptable in the context of the water and sanitation challenges facing the country. We have requested the Director-General and the Chief Financial Officer to focus on addressing this in the current financial year. They are both going to institute improved project management, infrastructure procurement and delivery management, and expenditure management systems and processes in the department to address the issue of underspending”, concluded Minister Mchunu.
For more information, contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 082 874 2942
