DWS report exposes dangerous failure to execute amid national water crisis – AfriForum

AfriForum warns that the country’s water problems can no longer be dismissed as a minor issue, especially after the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) report for the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year revealed an alarming gap between the government’s promises regarding water service devilery and the lived reality.

Communities across the country continue to endure frequent and unplanned water interruptions and persistent sewage pollution caused by factors such as deteriorating infrastructure. This was recently highlighted by the seweage pollution in Mooi River, Potchefstroom. The Department’s report reveals that the Water Services Management Programme merely spent 4,6% of its R14,714 billion budget.

This programme is responsible for supporting water services, regional bulk infrastructure and municipal water infrastructure. The inefficient expenditure in this programme cannot be dismissed as an administrative technicality, especially at a time when the country faces an estimated bill of R400 billion for water infrastructure repairs. This figure represents delays in laying pipelines and repairing seweage treatment works, pumps and sanitation infrastructure in communities that urgently need functioning services.

“The government admits that the country is facing a R400 billion water infrastructure disaster, yet the programme responsible for water services spent less than 5% of its budget during the first quarter. This contradiction exposes a government that can diagnose the crisis but remains incapable of responding to it with the necessary urgency,” says Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s Manager of Environmental Affairs.

The report further reveals that:

• only 218 of the targeted 294 small Water Services Infrastructure Grant projects were under construction;
• none of the two large regional bulk infrastructure projects planned for completion during the quarter were completed;
• the small regional bulk infrastructure project scheduled for completion was also not completed;
• 107 poorly performing municipalities have been identified as requiring support and intervention;
• municipal debt owed to water boards had escalated to R24 billion, excluding current accounts, by 31 May 2026;
• departmental debtor days reached 467 days against a target of 120 days; and
• R5,052 billion in irregular expenditure remains outstanding and tied up in court cases, investigations, disciplinary proceedings and condonation processes.

“This report confirms that South Africa’s water crisis is not simply the result of insufficient funding. Billions of rand are available, yet implementation remains painfully slow, projects are delayed and municipalities continue to withhold payment from water boards. Communities are being expected to live without reliable water while the state fails to spend available infrastructure funding effectively,” says Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s Manager of Environmental Affairs.

Although the report indicates that no new irregular expenditure was incurred under the Department’s main account during the quarter, the continued failure to finalise cases involving more than R5 billion remains unacceptable. Some of these cases have been unresolved for years.

“The public cannot be expected to regard prolonged investigations and disciplinary proceedings as accountability. Accountability means recovering losses, completing court proceedings and holding responsible officials and contractors personally liable. Files that remain open indefinitely do not repair infrastructure or restore clean water to communities,” says De Klerk.

“The crisis is no longer approaching – it is already visible in dry taps, prolonged interruptions, sewage flowing into rivers and communities being forced to depend on water tankers. Every delayed project and every rand left unspent increases the eventual repair cost and prolongs the suffering of communities.”

The Department acknowledges that escalating municipal debt is undermining the financial stability of water boards and restricting their ability to operate, maintain and expand critical infrastructure. AfriForum warns that allowing municipalities to consume bulk water without paying for it merely transfers the consequences of municipal failures to responsible consumers and places regional water security at risk.

“South Africans do not need another recovery plan that exists only in presentations. They need water from their taps, properly maintained infrastructure and officials who face real consequences when they fail. AfriForum will continue to monitor the Department and municipalities, inform affected communities and consider appropriate legal action where authorities fail to perform their statutory duties,” concludes De Klerk.