South Africa: Water And Sanitation Responds To Sunday Times Article

The Sunday Times article“Splashing out, Dry Taps as Water Boards drown in excess”, published on Sunday, 7 September 2025, contains statements that represent a misleading picture of the seven water boards and the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and their governance.

The article stated that:“Senior members of the country's troubled water boards are earning almost R50m a year in board fees, with some pocketing as much as R100,000 per meeting.... Some of the board members racked up travel and accommodation bills exceeding R200,000 per year.... Some board members claim exorbitant fees for attending events such as staff funerals, ministerial gala dinners, imbizos, and union meet and greets.”

The article is misleading for the following reasons:

• The article gives the impression that individual senior board members may be earning up to R50 million a year in board fees. This is incorrect. The maximum amount earned by a board member in the last financial year was R1.7 million.
• The statement that some board members are“pocketing as much as R100,000 per meeting” is also misleading. This figure is derived from a response by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to a National Assembly question posed by Mr Visvin Reddy, a member of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation. The figures provided included both meeting fees (hourly rate) and fixed board fees (16 hours per month) for preparation, research, and other official functions. Therefore, it is incorrect to calculate a“per meeting” amount from a figure that includes multiple remuneration components.
• Board members attend standard and extraordinary board meetings, often preceded by subcommittee sessions. These meetings are extensive and require substantial preparatory work. Board members are the accounting authorities of the water boards and must perform their duties diligently.
• All board fees are determined according to the DWS remuneration policy, which is developed from an independent study comparing public sector boards and approved by the Minister. The policy is reviewed annually in line with the Consumer Price Index. Hourly rates range from R1818 (chairperson of a large board) to R1150 (member of a small board), which is lower than average rates in the private sector. Most board members are seasoned professionals in finance, engineering, law, or science.
• The reference to remuneration for attending“staff funerals, ministerial gala dinners, imbizos, and union meet and greets” creates a false impression of poor governance. Board members are often required to attend ministerial or intergovernmental meetings, imbizos, and stakeholder engagements as part of their statutory oversight duties. Attendance at such events is sometimes essential to their role.
• Board members may undertake international travel to attend water-related conferences, which helps them stay abreast of global sector developments. All such travel must be motivated and approved by the Minister, who often reduces the delegation size for cost savings.
• The total cost of all board fees combined accounts for less than 0.1% of the Water Boards' operational budget.
• The water boards and the TCTA have consistently received unqualified audits from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), reflecting sound financial governance. Actual consolidated revenue collected reached R38.9 billion, exceeding the projected R33.2 billion. This improvement is attributed to enhanced credit control practices, particularly by larger water boards.
• In the 2023/24 financial year, the combined asset value of all water boards surpassed R90 billion, highlighting the scale of investment in South Africa's water infrastructure. Rand Water and UMngeni-uThukela Water remain the dominant players in terms of asset strength, reinforcing their leadership in the sector.

The resolution of South Africa's water service delivery challenges requires coordinated action by the DWS, municipalities (as water service authorities), the private sector and the public. This was reinforced at the National Water Indaba held in March 2025, which produced a comprehensive declaration of joint commitments and actions. The Indaba declaration is available at: .

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