Department of Water and Sanitation downplays pricey board scandal

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) claims reports that members of South African water boards earn R50 million per year and R100,000 per meeting are “misleading”. 

Over the weekend, The Sunday Times published a piece about the figures and how board members reportedly rack up high travel and accommodation costs, as well as receiving exorbitant fees to attend events like staff funerals and ministerial gala dinners. 

These were taken from responses provided by Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina to a parliamentary question.

The Department, however, said that the article “contains statements that represent a misleading picture of the seven water boards and the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority and their governance.”

Regarding the matter of board members earning up to R50 million annually, DWS claimed that this is incorrect. 

“The maximum amount earned by a board member in the last financial year was R1.7 million.” 

The statement that board members earn as much as R100,00 per meeting is “misleading”, according to the department. 

However, this amount was derived directly from Minister Madjodina’s answer to a parliamentary question.

DWS said that this includes both meeting fees at an hourly rate and fixed board fees, which consist of 16 hours per month. Therefore, it is “incorrect to calculate a per-meeting amount.”

The department confirmed that board members receive remuneration for attending events, adding that this is essential to their role and a requirement of their duties.

It also confirmed that board members frequently undertake international travel to attend conferences.

The department said that this travel must be motivated and approved by the minister, who allegedly often reduces the delegation size for cost savings.

The department added that the water boards have consistently received unqualified audits from the Auditor General.

According to the AG’s 2023/24 report on DWS, the department itself has racked up R11.42 billion in irregular expenditures over five years and R1.66 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditures.

Three boards under corruption probes

The department did not acknowledge the article’s statement that three of the seven water boards are currently subject to corruption probes by the Special Investigating Unit. 

The chairs of the water boards under investigation: uMngeni-uThukela, Lepelle and the Amatola water entities, were among the highest earners for the year.

According to the article, uMngeni-uThukela Water’s chair, advocate Vusi Khuzwayo, earned R1.5 million for attending 14 meetings and spent R179,000 in travel expenses. 

Dr Nndweleni Mphephu, chair of Limpopo’s Lapelle’s Northern Water, earned over R1 million for 10 meetings, with a R139,000 travel bill.

Pam Yako from Amatola Water earned R934,000 for 21 meetings and spent R70,000 on travel and accommodation. 

MP Visvin Reddy of the MKP, who posed the question to Minister Majodina, said he was tipped off to a pattern of abuse of the water boards’ remuneration and benefits. 

“If board members are being paid up to R100,000 per meeting, with an average of 10 members per board, that’s at least R1m per board meeting,” Reddy said. 

“In a country facing a deepening water crisis, this cost is difficult to justify, particularly when so many boards are failing to meet their objectives.”

He added that, while millions of South Africans queue for water tankers, watch sewage pour into rivers, and suffer recurring water outages, the department has quietly presided over what can only be described as a grotesque abuse of public funds.

Water crisis a greater threat than loadshedding

The Democratic Alliance (DA) responded to the scandal, calling for increased transparency in each entity’s remuneration policy and an independent review from the Auditor General.

The party added that remuneration should be linked to performance and measurable outcomes in service delivery. 

Civil rights group, Afriforum, called for the Special Investigating Unit to expand its corruption probe to all seven of the water boards.

The provision of water in many towns and cities across the country has deteriorated, leaving millions without water for up to years at a time. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in January 2025 that South Africa’s electricity crisis has been supplanted by the water security crisis. 

He said this poses “a similar, if not greater threat to the quality of life and economic prospects of all South Africans.”

Economist Marie Antelme and ESK analyst Leila Joseph warned in July 2024 that the water boards are in a death spiral that would take R1 trillion to fix. 

The experts warned that the water supply crisis could severely damage the economy by disrupting agriculture, industry, and everyday life.

This would lead to job losses, food shortages, and reduced industrial output, sparking public discontent and social unrest. 

This instability would then risk eroding investor confidence, decreasing foreign investment, and straining government resources.