Water Boards are Schedule 3B entities, as defined by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and referred to as "National Government Business Enterprises." Water Boards are commercially oriented and have a significant degree of operational autonomy, though they remain accountable to the Department (DWS) and National Treasury and are subject to financial oversight under the PFMA. This means that Water Boards should be self-financing entities by providing bulk water services to the Water Services Authorities.
DWS is not planning to provide subsidies to Water Boards, except in emergency cases where a water board is facing imminent financial bankruptcy. As a temporary measure, DWS and the water boards have recently standardized their debt collection processes. As part of these measures, equitable share allocations will be withheld from municipalities that fail to pay their current invoices. Additionally, the consistent enforcement of water restrictions is applied to non-paying municipalities, and legal proceedings, potentially leading to judgments against municipalities, are considered as a last resort.
Lastly, the Minister will continue to engage with municipal customers alongside Premiers and MECs for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as municipalities to ensure payment commitments are made. These engagements have led to positive outcomes, with several municipalities committing to pay current accounts and agreeing to structured payment arrangements on outstanding debt.
--00O00---