Minister, take failing municipalities to court to provide water

12 November 2024

Honourable Speaker,

Thank you, Honourable Speaker.

- Public health surgeries cancelled.

- Hospitals struggling to maintain basic hygiene.

- Human beings drinking from animal waterholes.

- Communities without adequate water and sanitation since the dawn of our democracy.

- Billions of taxpayer funds squandered through corruption in essential projects.

- And the South African Human Rights Commission compelling local governments to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities.

- Municipalities owe billions – and counting – to our water boards.

Honourable members, these were the headlines a year ago, and yet, here we are again, facing the same challenges.

To South Africans watching, I ask you: do you want to continue living with the denial of your rights, or will you demand accountability and change?

Fellow citizens,

- 47% of our water treatment systems are in a critical or poor state.

- Only 14% of our water treatment systems are in good or excellent condition, a standard that should be the baseline.

- 68% of our sanitation treatment systems are in high or critical risk.

- We lose 41% of our water to leaks.

While we have emerged battered from 15 years of power cuts, we may not survive "water shedding":

- People will suffer from dehydration and unsafe drinking water.

- Livestock will die from the same causes.

- As climate change advances, bringing unpredictable weather patterns, our country’s food security will further deteriorate, in a nation where millions already go without three daily meals.

- Hospitals and schools may be forced to close, impacting our entire society.

Honourable Members, this cannot be the South Africa we envision. Our Bill of Rights, hard-won through the struggles of our people, cannot be made hollow by our failure to meet the basics.

As a new father, I feel a profound responsibility to ensure that my daughter, and the children of our nation, inherit a country where they can thrive, where their basic rights are upheld. I am certain parents across South Africa share this sentiment.

The Auditor-General’s recent findings on our municipalities reveal a disturbing trend: only 13% received a clean audit, while the rest faced significant material findings. Municipalities could not collect sufficient revenue, in part due to neglected infrastructure, and the funds collected were poorly managed, affecting their capacity to deliver quality services.

The reality is that services like water and sanitation have become luxuries in our economy, where the “haves” and “have-nots” grow further apart. But let us remember our entitlements:

-  We are entitled to quality, reliable drinking water in our homes.

-  We are entitled to humane sanitation facilities.

-  We are entitled to live in clean communities, not environments filled with raw sewage.

-  We are entitled to see our taxes and rates managed effectively, contributing to the upkeep of essential infrastructure.

Local governments hold executive authority over water and sanitation services, but they cannot be left to operate without oversight. As the Minister rightly acknowledged, this water crisis is largely “self-inflicted” by municipal mismanagement. Minister, you know which municipalities are failing our people. Name them. Hold them accountable. Take the delinquent ones to court if necessary and show South Africans how they have been let down.

Fellow South Africans, while we deal with these municipal shortcomings, we still have an economy and lives to protect.

The solution is not simply a national takeover of municipal responsibilities but a cooperative approach with stringent oversight. National government, working with the Presidency, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the National Treasury, must act in unison to save South Africa from disaster.

The Minister proposed measures like stronger water-use restrictions, incentives for better municipal management, ring-fencing of water revenues for infrastructure, and new licensing requirements for water providers to ensure accountability. The Democratic Alliance supports these measures – but the promises alone won’t fix our water system. We need to see enforcement, transparency, and accountability at every level.

And to you, fellow citizens of South Africa, remember that you deserve better. Every dry tap, every sewage spill, and every undelivered service is a failure of governance. In two years, you’ll have the chance to choose change. Choose pragmatism, choose solutions, choose leaders who are focused on restoring basic services.

Honourable Speaker, the challenges before us are immense, but not insurmountable. With focused leadership, solutions-driven governance, and a collective effort from national to local levels, we can still change course. South Africa’s water future depends on it – and so does the health and dignity of our people.

Thank you.

Issued by Stephen Moore, DA Deputy Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, 12 November 2024