Department of Water and Sanitation and NWRIA Board on progress in integrating TCTA, WTE and the Water Infrastructure Branch into NWRIA

Video The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation (National Assembly) met for a briefing by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Board of the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) on progress towards integrating the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), Water Trading Entity (WTE) and the Department's Water Infrastructure Branch into NWRIA. The Committee considered the agency's establishment, transition arrangements, financial position, transfer of staff, assets, contracts and loans, lender engagements, government guarantees, information technology (IT) integration and the planned disestablishment of TCTA. The Department reported that the transition was on track for 1 April 2027. A Board had been appointed and seven workstreams were managing finance and IT, technical operations, human resources and change management, legal matters, and governance and risk. Key outstanding matters included the transfer of employees, assets, contracts, loans and statutory authorisations, consultations with the Government of Lesotho, lender due diligence and the integration of financial and IT systems. The Department said continuity of critical water infrastructure services would be maintained throughout the transition. Members welcomed the progress but raised concerns about whether NWRIA would inherit existing financial and operational problems. They sought clarity on the value of assets and debt being transferred, government guarantees, outstanding receivables, consultant costs, lender consent and the adequacy of the R60 million establishment allocation. Members also questioned the agency’s financial sustainability, particularly given downstream payment difficulties, and asked how NWRIA would be protected from the financial distress of municipalities and other water users. Further concerns related to the practical readiness for 1 April 2027, contingency arrangements for delayed transfers, NWRIA’s relationship with Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs), illegal water abstraction, groundwater pollution, acid mine drainage (AMD), and the integration of employees from the entities being consolidated.