Ministerial Support Programme to 105 Critical Municipalities; with Ministry

Video The Portfolio Committee convened to address the persistent challenges facing 105 of the country’s worst-performing municipalities in the area of water and sanitation service delivery. Presentations by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), highlighted the severe systemic weaknesses at the municipal level, including failing infrastructure, non-revenue water losses, poor financial management, and inadequate technical capacity. Despite significant investment -- over R30 billion from the DWS and R43 billion from COGTA over the past five years -- the backlog for water and sanitation infrastructure investment remained at an estimated R400 billion. Members stressed the urgency of aligning interventions, including converting direct grants into indirect transfers through water boards, and introducing special purpose vehicles, while legislative reforms such as the Water Services Amendment Bill were expected to strengthen accountability and enforcement. The discussion underscored that municipalities remained the weakest link in the water value chain, with collaboration across government spheres seen as essential, but currently yielding minimal impact. Members raised concerns over outdated data in the monitoring reports, insufficient consequence management for failing municipalities, and the sustainability of funding models that prioritise capital projects over operations and maintenance. Proposed solutions included strengthening municipal competency requirements, ensuring ring-fencing of water revenues, scaling up blended finance through the Water Partnerships Office, and enhancing oversight visits to distressed municipalities. The Committee concluded that systemic reforms, capacity building and coordinated interventions were critical to ensuring reliable water services, emphasising that municipalities must be capacitated to uphold their constitutional mandate