South African authorities are intensifying measures to tackle deep-rooted corruption in the water sector, where criminal networks and internal misconduct have severely undermined water infrastructure and service delivery.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Department of Water and Sanitation have jointly established the Water Sector Anti-Corruption Forum. This initiative aims to enhance coordination among agencies, support investigations, and promote prosecutions in the sector.
Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo highlighted the complexity of the water sector, involving the national department as regulator and custodian of water resources, water boards, and municipalities as constitutionally mandated water services authorities.
He pointed to past investigations, including the “War on Leaks” program and 16 SIU proclamations involving the Department of Water and Sanitation, which revealed the extent of criminality at both national and local levels. Many water services authorities are collapsing due to vandalism of infrastructure and the rise of “water tanker mafias.”
Seitlholo described how these mafias deliberately damage infrastructure—such as pump stations and boreholes—to force municipalities to contract private water tankers. He cited examples from municipalities like Ditsobotla in the North West’s Ngaka Modiri Molema District, where remote infrastructure is destroyed using specialized vehicles and tools, ensuring tanker contracts.
In eThekwini (City of Durban), reports indicated R770 million in water tanker contracts awarded, deemed unsustainable. Seitlholo emphasized that such patterns involve insiders in municipalities or water services authorities colluding with criminals.
He stressed that criminality in the sector does not occur without internal knowledge and complicity. Lifestyle audits and better whistleblower protection are essential, as whistleblowers have faced deadly retaliation for exposing ill-gotten gains.
Seitlholo noted instances where municipalities pay millions for tanker services, yet communities receive partial or no water deliveries, as seen in areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. He condemned long-term tanker contracts, insisting tankering should be temporary and insourced by municipalities purchasing their own tankers.
The deputy minister referenced the department’s assessment showing 105 of 144 water services authorities in a critical state. He advocated using equitable share grants for infrastructure improvement and insourcing rather than tanker expenditures.
To address vandalism, which he likened to terrorism for threatening livelihoods and lives, the minister has called for it to be treated as a priority crime. The SIU has recovered over R230 million, though more successes need publicizing.
Seitlholo announced plans for a webinar with water services authorities to discuss non-negotiables, including insourcing tankers. Follow-up with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), National Treasury, and SALGA will determine interventions for non-compliant municipalities, potentially including Section 139 measures.
He committed to auditing nationwide municipal spending on tanker services to inform risk-based strategies by the SIU and the department.
The forum provides a stakeholder-driven platform for officials and communities to report criminality safely, enabling proactive investigation, prevention, and enforcement by the SIU.