Water mafias take over as municipal government collapses

It started with the construction mafia, but water seems to be the next big source of income for organized crime.

Across the country, criminal gangs are destroying municipal infrastructure so they can sell water at exorbitant prices. All it takes is an ice axe through a water pipe or a broken pump, and entire communities are left with dry taps for days or weeks.

The water tank thieves are ready to provide thirsty residents with their basic needs, at a rate ranging from six to fifteen times the municipal rate.

They often steal the municipal water paid for by residents and sell it back to them for huge profits.

The government’s free basic water policy, which provides needy households with 6,000 litres per month for free, is useless when municipal pipes run dry. Even the poor have to pay the mafia, leading to suspicions that local government employees are working with the criminals.

“There is clear evidence that the water tank mafia has spread its tentacles across the country,” said Kasief Isaacs, head of private markets at Mergence Investment Managers.

READ ALSO: ‘Catastrophic’ water insecurity looms for Johannesburg

“Reports from KwaZulu-Natal, East London, Mpumalanga and Tshwane all have the same theme. Groups are prepared to damage and destroy existing infrastructure so they can supply water from tanks at exorbitant prices. This scourge could soon reach the same endemic proportions as other protection rackets that are damaging South African businesses and communities if the government does not take decisive action.

“A local reticulation network typically serves 100 to 1,000 customers. Intentional damage or destruction of key components in the network can disrupt the entire community for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the extent of the damage. These groups are willing to cause this level of inconvenience because the economics are very attractive.”

Isaacs estimates that the average fee charged by the water mafia to fill a 5,000-litre Jojo tank is between R600 and R800.

The same water you buy from a municipality will cost R40-R120 depending on local municipal water rates and the total volume you use that month.

That is a huge amount of money. A 28,000 litre tanker can sell over R1 million worth of water in a day or two.

Municipal miasma above water systems

In 2020, residents of Kgetlengrivier in the northwest were granted an injunction forcing the local municipality to hand over management of the area’s broken water and sewerage systems to the residents’ association.

In just six weeks, residents had abundant clean water and a functioning sewage system, but that order was later reversed.

The case is currently before the High Court, where residents argue that the local municipality has once again allowed infrastructure and amenities to languish, leaving residents at exactly the level where they started in 2020.

READ ALSO: SIU investigates OR Tambo municipality over water supply contracts

They want to regain control over their water and sewerage facilities from the municipality. That is the only way to guarantee an acceptable level of service.

Carel van Heerden, chairman of Kgetlengrivier Concerned Residents, who brought the case against the local municipality, tells Moneyweb that residents have been without water for three weeks now and that sewage is being pumped into the nearby Koster River. It did not take long for the water mafia to take advantage of the situation.

It is a business model that depends on broken or destroyed infrastructure.

“I am on a farm and have a borehole, but I am concerned about the residents who do not have one,” says Van Heerden. “That is why we as residents need to regain control over the local water supply and sewerage.”

Common Water Management Problems

The same is happening in the northwest, where private water suppliers have legitimate contracts with local municipalities to refill water when needed. The problem here is that the municipal water supply is deliberately cut, allowing the water mafia to make up the shortfall by supplying communities with tankers, says a whistleblower who asked to remain anonymous.

The Kgetlengrivier trial is being closely watched by residents’ associations across the country as it could lead to the large-scale removal of corrupt or incompetent municipalities in the area of ​​water management.

There seems to be little enthusiasm among the police to eradicate these mushrooming water mafias, so that too could become a matter for the private sector – private security.

READ ALSO: Gauteng won’t run out of water in summer, says Lesufi

The Water Services Act provides for the ability to bring poorly performing water services under the supervision of the regulator. However, a Constitutional Court case may be required to remove this from the hands of the local authority.

Municipalities were given a say in water management when the Municipal Financial Management Act was adopted in 2003.

Under the Water Services Amendment Bill introduced last year, municipalities risk losing their Water System Provider (WSP) licence if they fail to demonstrate they have the minimum competencies and skills required for the role.

Meanwhile, in the Free State…

The Free State’s Setsoto Local Municipality, which includes the town of Ficksburg, previously cut off water supplies between 7pm and 7am due to critically low water levels in the nearby Caledon River and Meulspruit Dam.

This week, the water supply was completely cut off and thousands of residents had to use 15 taps with water from a borehole at a nearby campsite.

“Yes, it is winter and there is drought, but these restrictions occur every two to three months, due to a water leak or broken pump. Sometimes we have to wait for days because the municipality does not have spare parts, so they have to ship supplies from Johannesburg,” says one resident.

“In the meantime, we see tankers delivering thousands of liters several times a day.

“We’ve been told this comes from farms in the area.”

KZN water mafia

Earlier this year, the Democratic Alliance visited the Ottawa Water Works in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal and reported that the water mafia was rapidly moving into the city, leading to severe water shortages.

“To make matters worse, it has been reported that a water mafia has established itself in KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly sabotaging critical water infrastructure to renew lucrative government contracts for the supply of water tankers, thereby profiting from the ongoing crisis,” the DA said in a statement.

“In other areas there have been reports of unmarked and privately owned trucks selling water from municipal taps to local residents at extortionate prices.”

READ ALSO: Rand Water set to cut supplies to municipalities with collective debt of R1.3 billion

This was the result of a concerted attempt by criminal elements in the province to use water as a weapon for their own illicit gain, while the collapse of governance at eThekwini “opened the door wide for these criminal syndicates to exploit vulnerable and desperate residents”.

Destruction of water infrastructure is not a new problem. In 2020, the Department of Water and Sanitation raised the alarm about vandalism in Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape, which resulted in theft of metal pipes, fittings and manhole covers, as well as water theft through illegal connections. The problem appears to have worsened since then and spread to other communities.

Nearly half of the water supplied nationwide does not generate revenue due to leaking pipes, malfunctioning or non-existent water meters, illegal connections and billing issues. That figure has increased from 37% in 2014, according to the Blue Drop Report published by the Department of Water and Sanitation in 2023.

A report by Coronation, Tackling Water Security, by Marie Antelme and Leila Joseph looked at the impact of the South African water crisis on the JSE Top 100 companies and identified it as one of the biggest risks to business.

SA is a water-stressed country, with about half the global average rainfall. This rainfall is highly concentrated and unevenly distributed. The problem is exacerbated by the “widespread breakdown of governance at the municipal level”, which has “exacerbated poor maintenance of water systems, leading to polluted systems, poor treatment and massive physical and revenue (non-revenue water) losses”, the authors say.

It is a perfect opportunity that the water mafia is only too happy to exploit.

This article is republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.