Water Sector Report: AGSA briefing

Video The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation received a comprehensive briefing from the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) on the 2023/24 Water Sector Report, the country’s first fully consolidated audit of the national water value chain. The findings revealed systemic breakdowns that posed significant risks to public health, environmental sustainability, and basic service delivery. While the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the Water Trading Entity and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) had achieved unqualified audit opinions, the majority of Water Service Authorities (WSAs) continued to perform poorly. Only 23 of 135 WSAs received clean audits, while 25 had no Water Services Development Plans (WSDPs), and several others had submitted outdated or poorly implemented plans. AGSA warned that this failure to plan strategically undermined the sustainability of water service delivery and weakened oversight and budgeting processes across municipalities. The briefing also highlighted the poor condition of water and sanitation infrastructure. Infrastructure project delivery showed significant delays, with 47 of 57 projects containing audit findings and delays ranging between 25 and 64 months. Across all implementing agents, delays averaged 32 months. These failures were linked to weak project planning, poor procurement practices, and limited project management capacity. AGSA further noted that maintenance budgets remained critically low. WSAs spent only 3% of asset value on repairs and maintenance, far below the 8% benchmark, resulting in deteriorating infrastructure, high water losses amounting to R14.89 billion, and escalating reliance on costly water tankering, with R419 million of the R2.32 billion spent classified as irregular. The Committee was particularly alarmed by the severe decline in water quality. AGSA reported that 46% of drinking water systems failed microbiological safety standards, 44% failed chemical safety tests, and 99% of wastewater treatment plants failed at least one effluent quality standard. The environmental consequences were described as “near catastrophic,” with untreated sewage contaminating rivers, groundwater and coastal areas. Material irregularities across the sector exceeded R1.7 billion, involving payments for services not received, non-compliance with environmental laws, poor contract management, and revenue not billed or recovered. AGSA confirmed that recovery processes were ongoing, with some cases referred to the Special Investigating Unit, but it acknowledged that legal complexities continued to delay full recovery. The AGSA further stressed the need for accurate billing systems, prioritisation of maintenance budgets, and stronger municipal governance. Members described the findings as deeply concerning, and called for urgent accountability measures. Proposals included intensified oversight visits to affected municipalities, joint oversight sessions with Water Boards, and strengthened reporting requirements from WSAs and DWS. Some Members suggested exploring legal avenues for holding municipalities accountable for polluting water resources, including potential criminal liability. The Committee also noted the need to consider whether a commission of inquiry into widespread municipal water failures may be warranted. AGSA recommended operationalising Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) to improve localised water governance, strengthening the preparation and implementation of WSDPs, and enhancing oversight over corrective action plans addressing infrastructure delays and maintenance gaps. The Chairperson concluded by stating that the state of the water sector was “unacceptable,” and emphasised that accountability must be enforced to protect communities from unsafe water and environmental harm. He confirmed that decisive oversight actions would follow.