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Water agency not top priority amid water crisis, tackle weak municipalities instead – AfriForum

AfriForum warns that the approval of legislation that paves the way for the establishment of a new state-owned agency that must develop and manage bulk water infrastructure, known as the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA), should not be considered the government’s top priority amid the current water crisis. The civil rights organisation maintains that poor municipal management of water resources currently poses the biggest threat to water security and is therefore much more urgent than the establishment of yet another agency in state hands.  

Despite the poor track record of almost all state-owned entities, AfriForum does not reject the creation of the NWRIA out of hand. However, the organisation argues that the value chain that must ensure the country’s water security is only as strong as its weakest link. Municipalities that fail to deliver water services to end-users have already broken this chain.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), municipalities’ debts to water boards, which are responsible for bulk water supply to municipalities, already amount to more than R22,36 billion. These and several other shocking facts came to light yesterday in a presentation to the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation. During this, it was warned, among other things, that the extent of municipalities’ debt crisis is already so significant that several water boards may be bankrupt within the next six to twelve months and will not be able to cover their operating expenses.

“These imminent bankruptcies will lead to water boards no longer being able to deliver water to municipalities and municipalities, in turn, will therefore not be able to supply water to their residents,” says Marais de Vaal, AfriForum’s Advisor for Environmental Affairs. “The Auditor-General’s report on municipalities, which was presented to parliament yesterday, also confirms municipalities’ poor financial management and poor collection rates which diminishes the hope of a turnaround at water boards even further,” says De Vaal.

According to De Vaal, more than 40% of clean drinking water is also lost nationwide as a result of leaks in municipal distribution networks because maintenance of municipal infrastructure has been insufficient for decades. This reality is further proof of the extensive influence that poor municipal management has on water security and confirms that the core of the water problem will not be solved by an agency that focusses on bulk water infrastructure.

AfriForum reaffirms that the answer to communities’ water security problems lies in increased cooperation between the government, communities and the private sector. “Cooperation of this nature will strengthen the entire water supply chain,” explains De Vaal.

Meanwhile, AfriForum is already investigating collaboration opportunities with private service providers to manage the collection of municipal rates so that funds can be paid directly to water boards. “This will prevent funds from ending up in the coffers of unstable municipalities and ultimately being misappropriated. In this way, water boards will be able to continue their operations and prevent households’ taps from running dry due to municipalities’ underperformance,” concludes De Vaal.

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