SEDIBENG. – The Emfuleni Local Municipality ELM incurred water losses to the value of R693 454 263, 27 for the 2021/2022 financial year.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mzi Khumalo, to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) regarding the amount of water lost by the ELM.

The DA said that the almost R700 million loss indicates ELM’s incompetence in failing to timeously fix water leaks resulting in huge water losses.

DA  Constituency Head in Emfuleni North,  Kingsol Chabalala said that according to MEC Khumalo, the ELM has a high vacancy rate of 53% which contributes to poor service delivery and water leaks not being attended to.

“Emfuleni residents continue to suffer because they do not have access to a stable water supply due to improper billing systems, lack of water meters, and water leaks. This municipality struggles to pay its bulk service providers on time, and the millions of rands that are lost due to water leaks and the lack of proper billing only add to the problem. The DA is demanding MEC Khumalo’s urgent intervention to ensure that these vacant positions are filled urgently to curb more water losses in this municipality. By so doing, it will assist in saving costs due to water losses and ensure that the money is directed toward fixing water infrastructure. Furthermore, he should put a plan in place to ensure proper billing.”