a) The Department of Water and Sanitation convened a joint workshop with Water Boards, National Treasury, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and South African Local Government Association on 5 December 2022. The purpose of the workshop was to develop strategies to improve Billing and Revenue Collection in the water sector. The resolution from that workshop was to draft standardised operating processes (SOP) for debt recovery, to cater for both the Water Boards and the Department’s Water Trading Entity.
b) The proposed actions and strategies in place to tackle the municipal debt include the following:
c) The Minister has finalized the consultation process with 144 Water Services Authorities on the outcome of the above-mentioned workshop. The Minister is currently engaging with the Water Boards regarding the measures to address municipal debts to the Water Boards.
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