The Water and Sanitation Audit Report released in March 2009, which was commissioned by the minister of the former Department of Provincial and Local Government (now called the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), Mr Sicelo Shiceka, highlighted several concerns:

·         85% of the country’s waste water treatment works have a limited remaining useful life;

·         90% of water treatment works are dilapidated;

·         The three provinces with the biggest water backlogs are Limpopo (552 156 households), the Eastern Cape (438 164 households), and KwaZulu-Natal (463 650 households);

·         Water quality in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, and Northern Cape is below the acceptable health level of 95%;

·         Only Gauteng and Western Cape comply with the E.Coli (a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables) acceptable level of 97%.

The report showed that municipalities in only three provinces are currently spending more than 80% of their Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). The three provinces are Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State. The remaining six provinces spend less than 80% of the MIG.

The 2008 Local Government Budgets and Expenditure Review 2003/04 – 2009/10, published by the National Treasury, lists possible factors influencing the provision of water services as follows:

·         Total losses in municipal water reticulation systems (the majority of water losses are due to leakages);

·         Maintenance of existing infrastructure; and

·         Water pricing and tariffs.

The report said that municipalities are responsible for the distribution of electricity, which refers to the actual delivery of electricity to consumers.In order to avoid load shedding as a result of excess demand, municipalities are also required to ensure that electricity consumption in their communities decreases.

Some factors influencing the efficient distribution of electricity distribution are similar to those listed for the provision of sanitation facilities, such as maintenance of infrastructure and pricing.

There is also another similarity between water and sanitation, and electricity. Total expenditure on water by municipalities increased by 33% from R6.9 billion in 2003/04 to 13.1 billion in 2006/07. Over the same period, total electricity expenditure increased by 22%, from R14.2 billion to R18.2 billion. Yet, the number and proportion of households with access to water and electricity did not increase at the same rate.

The proportion of households with access to piped water in their houses only increased by 6.9% from 83.1% in 2002 to 89.3% in 2007. The proportion of households using electricity for lighting increased by 12.5% from 70% in 2001 to 80% in 2007.

While there are similarities, providing electricity is simpler than providing adequate water and sanitation facilities. The provision of electricity is so simple that even the Izinyonga (cable thieves) can make illegal electricity connections. The provision of electricity is also not dependent on the type of house; even informal settlements can have electricity connections. The provision of water and sanitation, on the other hand, requires an underground network of pipes that feed clean water to its various destinations, and collect used water at a central point.

Not all municipalities spend the money available to them for service delivery. Until they do, it will remain difficult to assess the extent to which failures and backlogs are a result of excess demand and insufficient capacity.

-Nthamaga Kgafela