The Department of Water and Sanitation has allocated R12.3 billion in infrastructure grants to municipalities across all nine provinces for the current financial year. Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina announced the allocation during her budget vote speech in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday.
The funding is directed toward improving water security, rehabilitating aging infrastructure, and expanding access to reliable services nationwide. The Minister acknowledged ongoing challenges, including water interruptions, sewage spillages, deteriorating wastewater treatment systems, and high levels of water loss. In response to these issues, President Cyril Ramaphosa established the National Water Crisis Committee and mandated the implementation of the National Water Action Plan.
The department’s strategic priorities include completing delayed infrastructure projects, rehabilitating failing water and wastewater treatment facilities, expanding supply to underserved communities, developing groundwater resources, and investing in water reuse and desalination.
Major infrastructure projects highlighted in the budget include:
Eastern Cape: A R2.6 billion bulk water supply programme serving Mthatha, Libode, Ngqeleni, and Mqanduli.
Free State: A R4 billion water and sanitation intervention in Maluti-a-Phofung.
Limpopo:Â A R1.3 billion Giyani water project, which has already connected 24 villages.
KwaZulu-Natal:* A R4.9 billion Mandlakazi Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme.
Gauteng: The Hammanskraal water intervention, which is nearing completion. It includes a new 50-megalitre-per-day water package plant expected to provide clean water to approximately 47,000 households.
Additional large-scale projects aimed at improving water reliability and reducing service backlogs are currently under construction or nearing completion in Mpumalanga, the North West, the Northern Cape, and the Western Cape.
To support struggling municipalities, the department is increasingly utilizing water boards as implementing agents. It is also collaborating with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and National Treasury to improve governance and financial sustainability within the sector.
Furthermore, a nationwide Rural Water Access Programme has been launched to improve water security in unserved communities through borehole drilling, spring protection, rainwater harvesting, and the rehabilitation of non-functional systems. More than 2,600 settlements have been identified for the initiative. The first phase, allocated over R200 million for KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape, is scheduled to run from July to September this year.
To strengthen anti-corruption measures, the government has established the Water Sector Anti-Corruption Forum in partnership with the Special Investigating Unit. The Minister called for unified collaboration across all spheres of government, the private sector, and communities to secure the country’s water future.