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Let’s Find the Truth Behind Joburg’s Missing Billions

Dear Editor

During a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee oversight yesterday, City of Johannesburg officials obfuscated and denied defunding Joburg Water of R4bn of its water infrastructure maintenance budget, as the City’s water crisis escalates.

Taps in Joburg remain dry, forcing residents daily to queue for water tankers, which is an unacceptable reality that the DA rejects.

We will submit a PAIA application to find the truth for residents of Joburg.

Our PAIA will cover:

  1. Daily balances for all Johannesburg Water bank accounts over selected dates.
  2. The City’s Group Treasury cash-management (sweeping) policy, mandates and bank agreements that authorise the pooling of municipal-entity cash.
  3. Johannesburg Water’s aged-creditors schedule and payment-run histories for the past four months, identifying invoices delayed due to cash-flow restrictions.
  4. A list of capital and refurbishment projects delayed or down-scaled in 2024/25 due to late or non-payment, with the value and duration of each delay.

These disclosures are necessary to verify the true liquidity available to Johannesburg Water and to determine whether public communications have accurately reflected the financial position presented to Parliament.

Lying to Parliament is a criminal offence, and the DA will uncover the truth.

Beyond this matter, broader reforms are needed in Joburg:

  • Ringfencing funds for water infrastructure upkeep,
  • Weekly progress updates on the payments of contractors to ensure projects do not delay,
  • Reliable timelines for infrastructure projects made publicly available for scrutiny, and
  • Auditor General and National Treasury reviews in ensuring the City’s compliance with Municipal Finance regulations and above board spending.

Johannesburg’s residents cannot be asked to accept tanker queues and intermittent supply while funds intended for water security are redistributed to plug gaps elsewhere. Transparency, disciplined cash management and genuine ring-fencing are non-negotiable if Johannesburg Water is to stabilise supply, pay its creditors, and deliver the upgrades the network urgently needs.

The DA will find the truth here and hold those responsible to account.

Regards

Stephen Moore MP
DA Spokesperson on Water & Sanitation

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