South Africa’s R900 billion water crisis

South Africa’s 15 water boards are owed R21.3 billion by municipalities, and the debt threatens their financial viability, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina said.

The municipalities’ failure to pay has hampered the boards’ ability to maintain and operate essential water infrastructure, as the boards don’t receive direct funding from the government and rely on revenue from water sales, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.

“Apart from the grants which the national government provides to municipalities to address water and sanitation infrastructure backlogs and to provide free basic water to the indigent, the water sector has to be self-financing through revenues from the sale of water,” Majodina said.

The paper said, citing Kasief Isaacs, head of private markets at Mergence Investment Managers, that municipalities lose as much as 50% of potable water before it reaches end consumers.

Despite South Africa being one of the world’s most water-scarce nations, an average consumption of 235 litres per day is higher than the global average.

The Department of Water & Sanitation estimates that R900 billion is needed over the next decade to prevent further deterioration of water infrastructure.

The paper said its immediate priority includes working with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and the Ministry of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to address the challenges.