DA calls for Department of Water and Sanitation probe to be broadened
The DA welcomes the announcement that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will launch a probe into alleged maladministration and unlawful expenditure of public funds by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
The DA has been calling for this probe for a long time and we are pleased that it will finally be going ahead. However, the investigation must be broadened to include mismanagement at the Emfuleni and Ngwathe local authorities where raw sewage has been flowing directly into the Vaal River, which forms an integral part of South Africa’s water supply.
The investigation must also include the role played by former Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane. Under her watch, a budgeted amount of R 2.5 billion was not allocated to the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and the Reserve Bank had to bail out the Department with an overdraft so TCTA could make payments on long term bonds. A staggering amount of R848 million is owed to municipalities and water boards.
The Department presented its first quarter report for 2018/19 yesterday and it showed that only achieved 3% of its targets were met. The Department has not spent any funding in Progamme 3 on infrastructure and the budget is used to pay for accruals from the 2017/18 financial year.
The “War on Leaks” programme, costing R580 million, was also included under the service programmes and was not budgeted for.
The 2014 Green Drop report (the latest one available) revealed that:
84% of the 824 waste water treatment plants in the country are discharging 4200 million litres of untreated or inadequately treated sewerage illegally into 82% of our rivers every day;
No funding is available to continue with the Blue and Green Drop reports since 2014
Oversight inspections show that the situation is only getting worse. It is the duty of the national government to ensure that all South Africans have access to clean water and only a broad investigation will ensure that those responsible for the problems at the DWS are held accountable.
Statement issued by Leon Basson MP, DA Shadow Minister of Water and Sanitation, 6 September 2018
