Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Dirk Kotze and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mangaung is deeply concerned about the enormous amount of public money spent on prepaid water meter projects and will ask the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and representatives of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to investigate whether these projects were mismanaged.
Over the past several years, the municipality has awarded multiple tenders for the supply, delivery, and installation of prepaid water meters, amounting to more than R246 million in public funds.
The following contractors and amounts form part of prepaid meter connection projects since 2020:
- Just Rights Trading (Pty) Ltd – approximately R55 million,
- Calandra Trading 621 (Pty) Ltd – approximately R55 million,
- Iceburg Group (Pty) Ltd – approximately R54.4 million for water connections in Botshabelo and approximately R17.98 million for maintenance on water meters when requested,
- Manyoni & Gija Investments CC – R23 million
- Leafy Space (Pty) Ltd – R23 million
- Big Twing General Trading – approximately R17.98 million.
During a Council Meeting held on 7 October 2020, the DA raised serious concerns about several water infrastructure contracts and called for these matters to be investigated by the Public Protector and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). This request was made by the late Cllr Rossouw Botes on behalf of the DA.
The concerns relate specifically to contracts awarded to Just Rights Trading (Pty) Ltd, Calandra Trading 621 (Pty) Ltd, and Iceburg Group (Pty) Ltd for work on water connections in Botshabelo. The DA questioned the procurement processes followed and whether these contracts represented value for money for residents. The then-serving Speaker of the Council, Cllr Mxolisi Siyonzana, requested that the matter be investigated by MPAC.
Despite these massive expenditures, the municipality currently faces a backlog of approximately 45 000 prepaid water meters that still need to be installed across the metro. This raises serious questions about how effectively these contracts have been managed and whether residents have received value for money.
The DA has received numerous complaints from residents about the quality and reliability of the installed prepaid water meters. Many of the meters are reportedly not certified by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and are known to malfunction under normal operating conditions.
Complaints include meters:
- Malfunctioning during freezing temperatures, which are common during winter in Mangaung.
- Being extremely sensitive to water hammering, a pressure surge that occurs when the water supply is suddenly stopped and restarted due to frequent water interruptions.
- Becoming damaged when air enters the water pipes, which often happens when the system is refilled after outages.
As a result, DA councillors and residents report several leaks from prepaid water meters every week. These leaks not only waste water but also increase the financial burden on residents who are already struggling with an unreliable water supply.
The situation is particularly alarming given that the municipality previously lost a major court case relating to prepaid water meters in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality v Lerisa Teq (Pty) Ltd, which highlighted serious weaknesses in contract management and record-keeping.
Instead of learning from past mistakes, the municipality appears to have continued spending millions on new contracts while residents still face water infrastructure failures.
Residents of Mangaung deserve reliable infrastructure and responsible management of public funds.
The DA will continue to demand accountability and will ensure that these matters receive the necessary oversight in Council and through the relevant committees. The residents of Mangaung cannot continue to pay for failed projects while basic services deteriorate.