Department of Water & Sanitation 2025/26 Annual Report: AGSA & DPME inputs

Video Annual Reports 2025/26 During the morning session, the Portfolio Committee was briefed on the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) 2025/26 audit outcomes by Auditor-General and the Department for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation gave an assessment of DWS and its entities performance for 2025/26. AGSA presented a mixed audit picture, noting clean audits for the main department, Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA) and the Water Research Commission, but qualified opinions for five entities, including the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority. Crucially, AGSA flagged systemic infrastructure delivery failures, revealing that delayed Water Trading Entity projects totalled R5.186 billion—representing 65% of assets under construction, up from 36% two years prior. AGSA emphasized unresolved governance breakdowns, including six active Material Irregularities totalling R69.1 million in losses and public harm, alongside R 5 billion in outstanding irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. Committee members asked what support AGSA provided to entities on audit action plans that were not fully implemented, and if AGSA engaged throughout the year with departments and if DWS was complying with the material irregularity process. There was detailed questioning on DWS identified weaknesses. An initial clash over political accountability occurred when Mr V Reddy (MKP) accused the ANC and Action SA members of always defending poor performance by DWS, leading to formal points of order before he withdrew the remarks. The Department for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation provided a positive assessment of DWS performance noting the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency and raw water pricing reforms—alongside national figures showing 87.4% piped water access and 84% improved sanitation. However, the Committee rejected DPME's assessment as an uncritical reproduction of departmental claims that masked the real water crisis. Members noted that DPME’s own data revealed a 56.8% water interruption rate, municipal capital spending at just 49%, and rising municipal consumer debt of R484.5 billion. DPME officials admitted they lacked direct visibility over the Presidential Water Crisis Committee (Watercom) and relied on secondary data sources such as Statistics South Africa. The Committee requested DPME provide a breakdown of municipal debt within seven days and an independent verification of revenue ring-fencing across the eight metros by mid-November as set by the Metro Trading Services Reform programme. The Chairperson noted an apology from the Minister as she had a Women in Leadership Dialogue commitment as well as from the Director General, who was in Glasgow attending the IWA Congress. He had spoken to the Director-General that morning and confirmed he was at a conference.