Water board executives bank millions in overtime while communities struggle

The Amatola and Magalies Water Boards have collectively paid their members nearly R4 million in excess of the approved maximum amounts, despite communities experiencing flawed service delivery in the areas they serve.

This is according to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, who was responding to a written question from MK Party Member of Parliament Visvin Reddy.

Majodina told Reddy that the boards of Amatola Water and Magalies Water had paid their board members significantly more than what was approved by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Amatola Water is a utility that provides water services in the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, while Magalies Water services several areas in Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West.

Majodina stated that Amatola Water’s board members had received R151,198 more than what had been approved. This brought the total irregular expenditure to R2.8 million since the start of the 2022/23 financial year.

According to Amatola Water’s Annual Report for the 2023/24 financial year, the most recent one available, the nine board members received a total of R3.7 million for the year.

This represented a significant decrease from the previous year (R6.3 million), when the entity was instructed to reduce the amount it paid in board member fees.

The Magalies Water Board, on the other hand, was paid R671,465 more than what was approved during the 2024/25 financial year, bringing its irregular expenditure in this area to R960,000 since the beginning of the 2022/23 financial year.

According to Magalies Water’s Annual Report for the 2023/24 financial year, the ten board members were paid a total of R6.9 million.

This increased from just under R6 million the previous year, mainly due to the significant rise in meeting fees for members, which increased from R1.29 million to R3.49 million.

The Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, Stephen Moore, said in September that water board chairs were paying significant amounts despite the issues relating to water infrastructure across the country.

Among these water board chairs were those of Amatola Water and Magalies Water, which allegedly receive R77,833 and R70,831 per meeting, respectively.

“While the Department argues that these amounts are in line with approved policies, that does not make them right or fair to the millions of South Africans currently without basic services,” Moore argued.

“We need every possible cent spent on ensuring municipalities can fulfil the basics: repairing leaks, managing pressure, maintaining reservoirs and pump stations, metering and billing correctly, and paying their bulk water accounts.”

Failed service delivery

Despite the board members being paid for unapproved overtime, several communities served by these entities have experienced several water outages throughout 2025.

Communities in the Moretele Local Municipality, one of three served by the nearby water treatment plant, have experienced what Magalies Water has termed water shedding due to capacity shortages.

“Their proposed ‘water shedding’ schedule has proven ineffective and poorly managed, leaving taps dry for extended periods,” argues DA councillor Sefofu Modisa.

“Residents are being deprived of a basic and essential resource, while the municipality continues to pay for services that do not meet the required standard or volume.”

Similarly, Amatola Water continuously failed to deliver adequate bulk water supply to the residents of Buffalo City, due to a lack of infrastructure maintenance, among other factors.

This is according to DA MPL Leander Kruger, who argues that communities have endured persistent and prolonged water shortages, which have severely affected residents’ health, dignity and livelihoods.

“Even the Eastern Cape Legislature, the administrative heart of the province and a designated National Key Point, has been affected,” he said.

“Operations have been disrupted, and staff have been forced to work from home due to a lack of water.”

“Steps are being taken” to ensure compliance

Majodina stated that, in light of the non-compliance, the minister wrote to the chairpersons in May 2024 to inform them that remuneration for additional work would not be approved retrospectively.

“This was prompted by DWS discovering that there was non-compliance with the Policy Regarding Board Practices and Remuneration of Board Members,” she said.

The ministry also informed the chairpersons that permission for additional hours would only be considered in extraordinary circumstances and that they would need to seek approval from the minister if required.

Majodina added that her department had initiated an investigation into governance challenges at Amatola Water.

These challenges included non-compliance with policies regarding board practices and member remuneration.

“The Minister is addressing the persistent non-compliance with the Policy Regarding Board Practices and Remuneration of Board Members by Magalies Water.”