No water-sector corruption investigations finalised since forum launched

Systemic delays continue to paralyze anti-corruption efforts in the water sector despite the establishment of the Water Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (WSACF).

Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers

Despite the strategic launch of the Water Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (WSACF) to accelerate accountability, deep-seated delays continue to prevent the finalisation and closure of active corruption investigations.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) revealed that since the WSACF was established in March 2026, none of the active investigations have been finalised, delaying prosecutions and subsequent arrests.

This comes after the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) raised concerns regarding the WSACF progress. 

The forum is currently monitoring 44 criminal cases that are under the Hawks investigation in the water sector. 

The cases involve an estimated total of R3.2 billion and include, among others, procurement irregularities, damage to essential infrastructure and extortion. 

The SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said progress on these investigations is reported to the WSACF quarterly.

The SIU also revealed that it has made two criminal referrals in relation to the Giyani Water Project, adding that questions must be sent to the relevant law enforcement agency.

Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale on Friday acknowledged questions but did not respond.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said: “I am not sure it is possible to respond by your strict deadline. Especially since it's Friday midday already.”

However, records show that no criminal arrests or successful prosecutions were made.

The SIU, during its recent briefing to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) raised concerns about the lack of consequence management and the failure by some state institutions to implement its referrals.

Outa’s chief executive officer Wayne Duvenhage said the forum’s silence on the progress is suspicious, adding that this could mean not enough has been done. 

“We don’t see any accountability in all of these that have gone wrong,” he said. 

This comes as South Africa faces the scourge of corruption in its municipalities, which has severely crippled infrastructure and led to widespread water shortages in many parts of the country.

According to the 2026 No Drop Progress Report, the country lost an estimated R26bn in lost water and financial mismanagement while leaving millions of residents with dry or contaminated taps.

According to the report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) in partnership with the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), criminal syndicates, often referred to as ‘water mafias’, are exploiting South Africa’s water crisis, recognising that damaged infrastructure creates demand for alternative supply systems.

The report stated that when water shortages occur, intense public pressure forces immediate action because communities cannot  survive without water. Water tank syndicates exploit this crisis by intentionally watching or causing shortages, knowing they will leverage the community's desperation to secure lucrative municipal water-supply tenders. 

The report also stated that water mafias are able to convert what are meant to be short-term emergency tenders into long-term contracts.

Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the North West have been identified as the provinces hardest hit by both structural water shortages and criminal “water tanker mafias”. 

According to the report, focusing on Johannesburg, criminal groups make money by sabotaging public water infrastructure, a modus operandi that has been used in other provinces. 

A report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) also found that organised criminal syndicates intentionally destroy or damage municipal water infrastructure, including pump stations, valves, and pipelines, adding their sole objective is to cut off piped water supply to communities, creating artificial shortages that force residents and local governments to rely on their private water tankers. 

The report also highlighted that municipal officials frequently collude with these mafias, providing information on planned infrastructure repairs so syndicates can re-sabotage the systems, or rigging procurement tenders to guarantee lucrative contracts for specific tanker companies.

In regions like KwaZulu-Natal, this has triggered a wave of targeted assassinations. Municipal workers, plant managers, and community leaders who refuse to award inflated tenders or who try to fix the pipes are systematically gunned down by hitmen. 

In Gauteng, the Public Protector has launched an investigation into the City of Tshwane over allegations of maladministration, improper conduct and prejudice. 

The investigation was fuelled by the city's alleged failure to properly chlorinate the water supply provided to Bronkhorstspruit residents between September and October 2026. 

The Public Protector’s spokesperson, Oupa Segwale, said the office also has a pending national systemic investigation into the water crisis. Segwale said the scope of that investigation is wider and considers all possible root causes of the water supply challenges affecting the country.

This probe comes amid intensifying scrutiny from Parliament, which has raised fierce alarms over local governance failures, infrastructure neglect, and the role of organised corruption in South Africa's worsening water crisis.

Parliamentary committees and public representatives raised concerns over systemic enforcement failures, slow prosecutions, and growing case backlogs across both the water sector and law enforcement. 

This follows the SIU’s parliamentary briefing, which highlighted a significant push toward financial accountability alongside lingering delays in consequence management. 

The SIU revealed it had made roughly 270 to 350 criminal referrals to law enforcement agencies. However, a significant bottleneck existed within the Hawks and NPA in processing and finalising these dockets into jail time.