Vital South African municipality has no idea where 70% of its water goes

Around 70% of the water that is supplied by the Emfuleni Municipality is unaccounted for, with the municipality having little idea about where this water goes or what it is used for. 

This points to an effective collapse of the municipality’s water supply, something which a municipal manager told the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) it is unaware of. 

The collapse of the water supply is coupled with other severe governance failures, which have resulted in sewage running in the streets and soaring crime levels. 

Emfuleni is located within Gauteng at the heart of the Vaal Triangle and includes the vital cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. 

These cities are central to the historic industrialisation of Gauteng and the broader South African economy. 

Vanderbijlpark, named after Eskom-founder Hendrik van der Bijl, is home to ArcelorMittal South Africa’s steelworks, which are still the largest in the country. 

Formerly state-owned Iscor, ArcelorMittal has been producing steel in the region for decades, with much of its product being used to build modern South Africa. 

At its peak, the city produced a large share of South Africa’s heavy-industry exports and supported a vast workforce. Now it stands as a shadow of its former self. 

Apart from its economic importance, the municipality also houses artefacts that are significant to South Africa’s history. 

This includes the site where the Treaty of Vereeniging to end the Anglo-Boer War was signed, the Sharpeville Massacre, and where South Africa’s democratic Constitution was signed. 

Emfuleni’s towns also historically benefited from a surge in tourism throughout the summer months, given their location along the northern bank of the Vaal River. 

Much of this economic potential has gone to waste in the past decade, with municipal mismanagement making it increasingly difficult to operate businesses in Emfuleni. 

To an extent, the municipality has made it difficult to live in its borders, with service delivery being nonexistent. 

WaterCAN executive manager Dr Ferrial Adam said that municipal managers have been unable to answer questions at the SAHRC regarding Emfuleni’s collapse. 

One manager said the municipality is unaware of a lack of water supply within Emfuleni, despite 70% of its water being unaccounted for. 

“The non-revenue water for that municipality is 70%. That means most of their water is unaccounted for,” Adam told Newzroom Afrika. 

Non-revenue water is used to describe water lost before it reaches the end user, through leakages, illegal connections, or waste. 

Emfuleni’s collapse

Emfuleni has suffered under mismanagement over the past decade, with it being placed under administration in June 2018. 

This has seen the industrial powerhouse turn into a case example of the institutional and financial decay prevalent across many municipalities. 

The Auditor-General has repeatedly highlighted the structural collapse of Emfuleni in its reports. This collapse is driven by corruption, political instability, and gross maladministration. 

Apart from the lack of a stable water supply, some parts of the municipality have been without electricity for over a decade. 

Local government expert Dr Harlan Cloete explained that Emfuleni has been in a state of “chronic crisis” over the past few years. 

This is despite interventions by provincial and national governments, with it being crippled by surging debt levels and a lack of investment in infrastructure. 

The municipality owes over R8 billion to Eskom for bulk electricity supply and Rand Water R1.8 billion for water.

“It is really sad to hear about individuals who have not had electricity for the last ten years. This points to the unresponsiveness of the government,” Cloete said. 

“This means that people have been raising this issue for a decade at various levels, but there has been no response from the municipality.”

Cloete warned that this creates distrust between individuals and the government, leading to an increased chance of social instability. 

While many of Emfuleni’s issues are long-standing, the municipality has exaggerated the impact on its residents by prioritising consumption spending over infrastructure investment. 

This takes the form of municipal employees’ salaries and the mismanagement of finances, with money not being used for what it is supposed to be used for. 

Cloete pointed to the example of the municipality prioritising spending on water tankers over investment in water infrastructure to create a reliable supply.

Vaal Business Cooperation CEO Klippes Kritzinger said that many business owners in the area have had to invest heavily in alternatives to government services. 

If they have not, they have closed down. This has resulted in widespread unemployment and rising crime levels. 

In recent months, AfriForum has increased pressure on the municipality, with it demanding transparency over its service delivery failures. 

It has pointed to evidence of irregular expenditure in the municipality as a reason for its demands. Irregular expenditure includes R16 million spent on 17 vehicles, of which only 6 were delivered. 

Rand Water recently attached the municipality’s bank account, with Emfuleni reportedly owing the water utility R1.8 billion.

This came after Rand Water demanded that Emfuleni immediately pay R448 million of this debt, to which the municipality said it could only pay R200 million.