The Ugu Municipality has confirmed that it spent R24 million on water tanker rentals in 2022 to bridge the gap its ageing infrastructure was unable to cope with.
Ugu acting municipal manager Vela Mazibuko told IOL this week that they hired around 20 water tankers at a cost of R2 million per month.
The topographical nature of Ugu, cast in rolling hills, makes water delivery a difficult task, Mazibuko explained and thus, water tankers are utilised. A majority of the district remains rural and undeveloped.
The municipality said there is a 60 megalitre per day shortfall in its water service delivery and also noted that some of the infrastructure which delivers drinking water has aged for over 35 years without significant upgrades taking place.
According to Statistics South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal is the second most populated province with around 11,5 million people, which accounts for around 19% of the country’s population.
StatsSA said that over 28% of the country’s population is younger than 15 years.
“About 28.3% of the population is aged younger than 15 years (17.04 million) and approximately 9.2% (5.51 million) is 60 years or older. Of those younger than 15 years of age, the majority reside in Gauteng (21.8%) and KwaZulu-Natal (21.2%),” StatsSA said.
Based on these figures, the water infrastructure in Ugu is twice the age of more than three million KZN residents.
The compromised infrastructure means that breaks and bursts occur more frequently.
Mazibuko said the municipality’s solution to this decaying water network was to use water tankers.
“Operationally, this means the water tankers will be needed for shortages of water on all water schemes, they will also be needed for schemes that are deemed dysfunctional, mostly as a result of old infrastructure breaking often and there are areas where there is no infrastructure at all due to the backlog,” Mazibuko said.
“We can confirm our earlier statement of approximately R2m monthly expenditure on water tankers. During the period in question, Ugu had 35 water tankers, with an average of 20 water tankers on the road on a daily basis. These trucks were paid according to a negotiated rate which is below the AA rates in order to contain the costs.”
The other 15 water tankers, which are owned by Ugu, were also utilised during the year to provide water relief measures.
Ugu’s water system has grown increasingly controversial over the years and has reached a climax of sorts after the South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released a damning report into the state of water in KZN.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also noted the water challenges experienced in Ugu.
The SAHRC report was based on around 600 complaints it received from residents across the province, citing water challenges and a lack of access to clean drinking water.
According to the commission, more than 90% of the complaints came from residents living in either the Ugu, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the uThukela District Municipality.
“In Ugu, there are allegations that the district municipality does not have the management, know-how and capability to provide a constant daily supply to residents. Sewage facilities were also cited as a problem leading to major health issues.
“Water interruptions continue for weeks at a time and are attributed to the reservoir being low, breakages at the plant, air in the system, and as a result of the infrastructure collapsing,” the SAHRC report said.
Earlier this month, during the South African Local Government Association (Salga) meeting in Durban, Mazibuko highlighted that Ugu’s water department does not have a general manager.
Ugu CFO Kushi Audan said that they are in the process of filling the position.
“We expect the position to be filled within the next three months. The recruitment processes have been finalised and we are just awaiting the final steps before we can find a suitable candidate for that department,” Audan said.
IOL