Department of Water and Sanitation Q1 2026/27 Performance; with Ministry

Video The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation met to receive a briefing from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on its first quarter expenditure and performance for the 2026/27 financial year. The Department reported overall first-quarter non-financial performance of 64% and expenditure of R2.949 billion, or 13.4%, against planned expenditure of 22%. It highlighted progress under the National Water Access Acceleration Programme, including more than 500 technical assessments and the appointment of water boards as implementing agents for 83 decentralised water supply schemes. The Department also reported that 50 Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG)-funded projects had been completed. Municipal debt to water boards stood at R24 billion, while trade debtors amounted to R27.323 billion. Outstanding irregular expenditure was R5.052 billion and cumulative fruitless and wasteful expenditure was R24.660 million. Members raised concerns about under-expenditure, delayed infrastructure projects, contractor performance, procurement challenges, municipal capacity, consequence management, non-revenue water, water-use licence backlogs and municipal debt. Members also questioned the Department's ability to intervene where municipalities failed to fulfil their water-services responsibilities and raised concerns about the sustainability of infrastructure after handover to municipalities. The Department explained that municipalities remained responsible for many water-services functions, while DWS was responsible for bulk water supply and supporting municipalities through grants. It said water boards were increasingly being used as implementing agents where municipalities experienced procurement and implementation difficulties. The Department attributed project delays to factors including contractor insolvency, procurement challenges, community disruptions, vandalism, land-access constraints and adverse conditions. It confirmed that disciplinary processes were under way against certain DWS officials and that recruitment was being undertaken to strengthen internal-audit and water-use licensing capacity. Members sought updates on delayed projects in North West and the Free State, including the Mafikeng South Bulk Water Supply Project, Setlagole Bulk Water Supply Project, Brits Water Treatment Works and infrastructure in Matjhabeng. Concerns were raised about the ability of municipalities to operate and maintain infrastructure after handover, particularly wastewater treatment plants and pump stations. The Department explained the support and monitoring arrangements in place and indicated that future handovers would increasingly take account of municipal operational readiness, staffing and financial commitments for operation and maintenance. The Committee also questioned the Department's management of water-use licence backlogs, contractor blacklisting, internal-audit vacancies and the additional R2.1 billion blended-finance allocation for the Polokwane wastewater treatment upgrade. The Department outlined measures to strengthen procurement and financial controls, including milestone-based funding, project steering committees and continued involvement by the Infrastructure Fund. Members raised the need for closer coordination among the three spheres of government and greater use of the intergovernmental relations framework to address water-service failures. The Department explained the constitutional and legislative limitations on direct national intervention in municipal functions, while highlighting mechanisms under Sections 63 of the Water Services Act and 139 of the Constitution. The Committee also sought greater alignment between the Department's quarterly reporting and the National Water Action Plan (NWAP), particularly following the President's declaration of water as a national crisis. The Department undertook to include progress on the NWAP in its second-quarter report and to provide the Committee with a dedicated briefing on its five workstreams. It also undertook to provide more comprehensive information on stalled projects, including their status, reasons for delays, measures taken to unblock them and, where completed, the number of beneficiaries. The Committee requested further information on municipalities that had improved their payment performance following debt-recovery interventions, as well as municipalities that had failed to respond to such interventions. It also expressed interest in oversight activities relating to municipal interventions in Johannesburg and eThekwini. The Chairperson emphasised the need for stronger accountability, improved intergovernmental coordination and decisive intervention where municipalities repeatedly failed to provide adequate water services. The Department undertook to consider the Committee's recommendations regarding targeted interventions and improved project reporting and communication.