The DA in Emfuleni has demanded urgent answers from the municipality’s leadership after Rand Water attached the municipality’s bank accounts—despite an earlier agreement intended to stabilise the troubled relationship between the two entities.

According to a statement released by the party, the move follows the apparent collapse of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) agreement between Emfuleni Local Municipality and Rand Water. The agreement, launched earlier this year, aimed to resolve the municipality’s mounting water debt and service delivery failures. A key component of the deal reportedly included a partial or full write-off of Emfuleni’s debt to Rand Water.

“This is a scandal of the highest order,” said Cllr Elize Aucamp, the DA’s Emfuleni Shadow MMC for Finance. “Someone has either lied or made a massive mistake, and residents will again bear the brunt.”

The attachment of Emfuleni’s bank accounts could see already poor service delivery grind to a halt. Municipal staff may also go unpaid, the DA warns.

In addition to the financial crisis, the DA raised concerns over Emfuleni’s continued failure to address massive water losses. As of March, the municipality recorded non-revenue water losses of 57.3%, with more than half the water supplied by Rand Water lost before reaching residents.

“This means that more than half the account that is in arrears can be described as wasteful expenditure,” Aucamp said, blaming the crisis on failing leadership and a lack of infrastructure maintenance.

The DA has called for full transparency from the Municipal Manager and clarity on what went wrong with the SPV arrangement, which had been touted as a lifeline for the cash-strapped municipality.