The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga will write to CoGHSTA MEC, Speedy Mashilo, requesting him to work with municipalities to clamp down on water leaks and illegal connections which have cost the province over R900 million in the 2022/2023 financial year.
According to the Auditor General’s 2022/2023 report, lack of infrastructure maintenance by Mpumalanga municipalities caused water distribution losses to increase by R301.05 million to R905.67 million. This 2022/2023 municipal audit outcomes revealed that municipalities in the province spent an average of 2% on infrastructure maintenance. This is far below the 8% norm that was set by National Treasury.
A 2020/2021 report by the Mpumalanga Department of CoGTA compiled as per section 131 of the Municipal Finance Management Act No 56 of 2003 (MFMA), also revealed that provincial municipalities are suffering water losses because of following reasons:
- Old and dilapidated infrastructure which causes water leaks
- Illegal connections
- Poor response rates of water service authorities
- And a failure to properly account for non-revenue water
The DA will request MEC Mashilo to urgently intervene in the issues of water losses by instructing municipalities to upgrade their bulk water infrastructure, service old leaking reservoirs, as well as replacing the AC pipes which are contributing to the high leakages.
Another problem facing Mpumalanga is the continuous decrease of dam levels which may hinder our access to water. The Department of Water and Sanitation has been expressing concern over the decreasing water levels in dams throughout Mpumalanga. The department has noted the following:
- As of the 2nd of September 2024, the average dam levels in Mpumalanga recorded a 1.1% decrease from last week to 88% from 95.6% of the previous year.
- In addition to the above, the Department of Water and Sanitation also identified serious shortages in the availability of water in Westoe Dam (Amsterdam) and Ohrigstad Dam (Pilgrim’s Rest) as they reported to be at 40.1% and 39.3% of storage capacity.
As water levels in our dams are decreasing, the DA would like to call on members of the public to also play their role by intensify water conservation initiatives. We all must remember that it is crucial to use the available water wisely and sparingly for water security and sustainable water supply.