The South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) has written to President Ramaphosa to advise him that the failing municipal water services in South Africa require urgent restructuring to halt the destructive cycle of wasteful investment and incompetent management.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted a critical state of water supply services as people from many communities complain that they cannot wash their hands frequently, because they do not have water supplies. While infrastructure has been provided for 95% of South Africa’s people, Stats South Africa reports that only 65% are served with safe and reliable water supplies. 

In these circumstances, the recent announcement that billions of Rand will be allocated to municipalities as part of COVID-19 relief, brings little comfort. That money will be wasted unless it is used to build properly designed infrastructure that will be operated correctly. 

In SAAE’s second of a series of Advisory Notes, we recommend urgent actions to address the root causes of the dire state of water services in municipalities. These include:- 

weak management, 

a lack of competent and experienced professional and technical staff, 

political interference in the day to day operations, and 

poor oversight resulting from the limited separation of powers between political policy makers and the executive management in Water Services Authorities. 

The SAAE recommends the following actions:

Reduce the number of Water Service Authorities (WSA’s): When responsibility for water services was given to local government in a democratic South Africa, the economic landscape was very different. Today, as they struggle to cope with declines in revenues from mining and other industries and with having to supply rapidly growing populations, many municipalities are not financially sustainable. Their limited revenue base is inadequate to provide cross subsidies, and national operating subsidies are inadequate. The solution is to reduce the number of WSA’s and group them into more viable entities. 

Develop competent water services directors: A two-year part-time management development programme is needed to develop a cadre of Directors of technical services in municipalities. 

Upskill competences, employ and support young professionals: The absence of experienced in-house engineering professionals results in very poor levels of service delivery. There needs to be a significant country-wide drive to upskill municipal staff and recruit young professionals and technical staff, providing the necessary support and mentoring programmes to them. 

Reintroduce skills-based apprenticeship programmes: There is a need for about 30 000 skilled artisans and 30 000 competent treatment plant operators in our municipalities. A return to skills-based apprentice training supported by classroom learning is necessary

Incentivise and enable cost-effective management: To achieve financially viable water and sanitation service delivery within South African municipalities, the cost effective procurement of infrastructure that is fit for purpose and not over-elaborate, is essential if these services are to be affordable. This requires skilled in-house engineering professionals who are able to manage consultants and contractors and to issue comprehensive project briefs and documents that are of an acceptable standard.

Issued by The South African Academy of Engineering