The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has raised concern over the lack of tangible plans to resolve increasing debt owed to water boards by municipalities.

To resolve this, it has mandated the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to develop a workable plan to be presented to the committee at the beginning of the next term.

“The risk of Vaal Central and Magalies water boards going bankrupt in the next six to twelve months presents both an economic and security threat that the country cannot afford. We must stop the endless engagements and present a tangible plan that will rescue the situation,” said Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation chairperson Leon Basson.

The collapse of the two water boards threatens access to water for about five-million people in the country.

“The upstream and downstream effects of the collapse of these water boards is not only a water access issue, but will also lead to rapid deterioration of infrastructure and the collapse of the economic potential of the country.”

The committee, noting a worrying trend of departments “passing the buck” to each other, said that a convergence of minds is necessary to find innovative ways to find solutions.

Further, firm actions against municipalities is required, the committee argued, as some of the options, such as a possibility of bailouts, has the potential to create an undesirable perpetuation of the culture of nonpayment by municipalities.

“If what is needed is legislation amendment or top slicing the equitable share to ensure that essential services are paid, then we must implement it to all municipalities urgently,” Basson argued.

As a result, the committee will prioritise scheduling a meeting early in the next term to receive a tangible plan to resolve the debt issue.