Uncertainty over Rand Water contract

State-owned Rand Water says the City of Mbombela in Mpumalanga has cancelled its contract to maintain and operate its bulk water supply and from May 1 it will no longer take any responsibility for ensuring that adequate water is supplied to the city.

State-owned Rand Water says the City of Mbombela in Mpumalanga has cancelled its contract to maintain and operate its bulk-water supply, and that from May 1 it will no longer take any responsibility for ensuring that adequate quality water is supplied to the city.

Mbombela, however, denied that its contract with Rand Water had been terminated but said that it had merely elapsed at the end of 2017. It said it remained committed to providing an uninterrupted water supply to all its communities.

Mbombela acting municipal manager Neil Diamond said negotiations for a “smooth transition and handover” of the service were being held and that Rand Water would continue with the service until the matter was concluded.

Neither party would give reasons for the lapse (or otherwise) of the contract, but it is known that Mbombela owes Rand Water about R68.6m and that its current account is in arrears of about R2.5m.

Diamond said a payment plan was being negotiated.

Rand Water spokesman Justice Mohale said on Tuesday Mbombela had first asked for an extension until March 31, which it granted, and then until the end of April. It was not clear whether Mbombela had a “Plan B” in place for the maintenance and operation of the city’s water infrastructure, Mohale said.

Sputnik Ratau, the spokesman for the Department of Water and Sanitation, to which all water boards report, confirmed that the boards were intensifying their debt collection efforts.

The department is owed close to R10bn by municipalities across the country. This has led to it putting about 30 municipalities on notice that supplies would be cut or reduced unless arrangements were made.

Ratau said several municipalities had made debt payment arrangements, but that some had relapsed and were now in even greater debt.

Mohale said the agency had reduced its supply of bulk potable water to the Bushbuckridge local municipality in Mpumalanga as a credit-control measure and to “compel the municipality to meet its obligation” to settle its debt to Rand Water of close to R200m. The municipality had repeatedly failed to honour agreements made in meetings with Rand Water to settle its debts.

Mohale said Bushbuckridge had refused to make any commitment to servicing its debt. Rand Water was left with no option but to reduce the water pressure and align it with what the council could afford.

IT WAS NOT CLEAR WHETHER MBOMBELA HAD A ‘PLAN B’ FOR THE OPERATION OF ITS WATER INFRASTRUCTURE