Note to Editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Cllr Alison Oates, Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Eleanor Quinta and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Ana Motaung.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will continue to pressure the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality to urgently finalise the reintegration of Maluti-a-Phofung Water (MaP Water) into the municipality and provide Council with written progress reports on the process.
Maluti-a-Phofung municipality established a separate company, Maluti a Phofung Water, to provide water and sanitation services in the municipality.
In its heyday, the entity had a good name. Regrettably, years of mismanagement in the municipality and the entity have taken their toll. The oversight board of directors lapsed under the neglect of Mayor Tshabalala (now of MK fame); it was unconstitutionally reinstated by ex-Mayor Mokotso (MaP 16), but that, too, lapsed.
Council made the decision almost 2 years ago to reincorporate the entity back into the municipality. The company has not submitted financial returns to the Registrar of Companies for almost 10 years, and so no longer has legitimate recognition.
The current municipal manager has appointed a lawyer to handle the reincorporation with no apparent success.
Whilst we appreciate that all change is stressful, the Map Water staff’s vehement rejection cannot be accepted. The latest being a march on Friday, 8 May, which resulted in no service that day. The Member of the Mayoral Council for Water has said that Bulk Support Vaal Central will be assisting the municipality with municipal repairs.
Map Water complains that it is owed millions, if not billions, by its parent company. It also appears MaP Water owes millions to creditors. If the audited company reports were available, this could be quantified and considered; however, no attempt has been made to produce them.
At present, in this highly degraded municipality, the 250 Map Water staff salaries account for R14m per month. The total monthly billing for water and sanitation (R12.5m) does not cover staff salaries, and regrettably, only R6.6m is actually collected.
The Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation has appointed a Special Master to try to claw back the half a billion it is owed, and at present, the Special Master is paid R3m per month. Similarly, SARS claims R41m in unpaid amounts from the entity.
Despite being asked for the information, no data is available for expenditure on water tankers, but informed guesses would place this very lucrative business at over a million a month.
At the last Council Meeting, the DA asked for written feedback on the progress of the entity’s reincorporation into the parent company, but none was forthcoming.
The majority of councillors have no interest in ending the ongoing industrial action. One can only assume that the so-called water mafia has an interest in the current state of affairs.