Municipalities owe R1.1bn to water boards

More than R1 billion is owed to water boards by municipalities, according to Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

This was her reply to a question from DA MP Gareth Morgan, who described the figure as "extraordinarily high". He said this must surely hamper the ability of the 14 water boards to operate efficiently and make the required infrastructure investments.

Morgan argued that there was another problem affecting investment in water infrastructure: in the absence of a regulatory authority, the minister set water tariffs after negotiating with the water boards.

Morgan said there were many political pressures on the minister to keep tariffs low, so without reasonable returns water boards skimped on appropriate maintenance of, and investment in, water infrastructure.

Morgan said that a minimum allocation to the poor ensured that they were supplied with water but he argued that others should pay appropriate prices that covered input costs.

Sonjica reported that of the R1.1bn owed, R630 million was current debt. Arrears made up a further R525m.

Morgan said that to ensure that problems did not escalate further the minister should find ways of making the boards sustainable. The Treasury, which had the mandate to mediate between the water boards and municipalities, should put pressure on municipalities to pay their outstanding debts.

Business Report

Posted at 10:11AM Jan 07, 2010 by Editor in Industry  |