Following a request submitted by the DA, the Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, Mr. Lulu Johnson, has agreed to investigate the finances of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). This investigation will include National Treasury and the Auditor General.
The DWS has close to R5 billion in outstanding debts.
- In February, the Department confirmed that the Water Trading Entity (WTE) has an outstanding overdraft with the Reserve Bank as on 22 February 2017 which amounts to almost R3 billion.
- In a presentation to the Portfolio Committee in March, Minister Nomvula Mokonyane confirmed her department’s financial difficulties, admitting that unpaid outstanding invoices amounted to almost R1,5 billion.
- In response to a DA parliamentary question, the Department also confirmed that it owed various Water Boards close to R 500 million.
The DWS’ backlog in paying contractors and outstanding invoices means that projects currently in progress will not be completed. This could lead to legal action against the department, which will result in even further financial troubles for the DWS.
Water Boards are also struggling and can’t deliver services or pay contractors because the department owes them millions in outstanding funds.
This situation at the DWS is placing South Africa’s water infrastructure and the delivery of water services at serious risk.
It is apparent that ‘Mama Action’, Nomvula Mokonyane, has taken zero action to get the finances right. She is proving herself to be ‘Mama Inaction.’
The Minister has been too busy protecting the President and has completely lost control of her department.
There are still countless South Africans who struggle to access basic water services across the country, and the DA will not allow the Minister to continue to hold back the delivery of water to South Africans.