Additional millions for water tankers in Tshwane concerning – AfriForum
The civil rights organisation says although the need for reliable water distribution is undeniable, it is of crucial importance that public funds are used effectively. It demands clarity from the metro regarding adjustments to this budget in the interests of transparency.
AfriForum has expressed concern over the Tshwane metro’s continued reliance on water tankers after an additional R242-million was allocated for these services in the 2024/25 adjustment budget.
The civil rights organisation described this dependence as “alarming”.
During a council meeting on February 28, 116 councillors voted for the adjustment budget which was passed, while 81 were against it.
It was mentioned during the meeting that the budget was aimed at improving the metro’s financial health while ensuring continued service delivery.
The mayor said, “An additional R242-million has been allocated for water tankers, a short-term solution to water supply disruptions due to infrastructure challenges”.
Sampie Steinberg, AfriForum’s head of the Northern Region, said this adjusted budget represents an increase of 64% of the existing budget, which already amounts to R378-million.
“This inexplicable and excessive increase raises serious questions about whether proper processes were followed to determine the necessity of these additional water tankers.”
Steinberg said given the metro’s ongoing financial problems, such a large budget adjustment must be accompanied by transparency and a clear justification.
“Although the need for reliable water distribution is undeniable, it is of crucial importance that public funds are used effectively. AfriForum therefore demands clarity from the metro regarding the adjustments to this budget in the interests of transparency,” Steinberg said.
AfriForum is calling for, among others:
– A detailed breakdown of the spending of the original R378-million budget.
– A full explanation of why an additional R242-million is needed in the budget, including details on the procurement, costing and tender processes.
– Considering alternative solutions for water security, rather than a continued reliance on expensive water tankers.
– Ensuring that taxpayers’ money is not wasted on tenderpreneurs or irregular procurement processes.
“The metro cannot be allowed to approve these enormous budget increases without proper justification or efforts to improve the existing water infrastructure and availability. The residents of the Tshwane metro deserve clarity and demand transparency and accountability on how their money is spent,” Steinberg concluded.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the amount for water tankers is projected based on demand.
“Water tanker usage is part of operational needs for relieving areas affected by water outages and/or shortages,” said Mashigo.
He said the city has a master plan which informs long-term plans and has projects being implemented to improve water security.
“These various water security programmes are to focus on reducing water losses and improving water security,” he said.
According to Mashigo, the city has procedures in place to account for the use of allocated budgets, including for the water tankers.
Mashigo said water tankers in Tshwane were procured through the open tender process.
“Open tendering process sets out well-defined bidding process and guidelines in the public domain through a procurement document with an aim to maintain transparency at all levels,” Mashigo said.
He explained that with transparency as a prerequisite and fair play at its core, open tendering enables new or emerging suppliers to secure contracts based totally on merit.
“That said, specification in open tendering allows wide competition while clearly mentioning the standard of work and material to be procured through the tendering. The procurement document lists all the prerequisites and acts as a guideline to suppliers or bidders.”
Mashigo emphasised that this is the process the city followed during water tanker procurement.
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