Corruption in water and sanitation sector has 'severe' impact on communities: report

Corruption in the water and sanitation sector has damaged lives and livelihoods in many communities, a new report reveals.

The report, titled “Money down the drain: Corruption in South Africa’s water sector”, was released on Thursday by Corruption Watch and the Water Integrity Network. It highlights the extent to which corruption is rife in both private and public sectors.

The report states that while there are laws and policies in place, in reality, informal rules apply.

“Resources that could have improved services have gone into private pockets and been used to consolidate the power of ruthless politicians.

“The performance of water service institutions has deteriorated so seriously over the past decade that ministers stopped providing the data. Many strategies used to achieve personal and political benefit at the expense of the public have been documented,” the report found.

Corruption in SA, the report noted, was evil “in that it preys disproportionately on the most disadvantaged communities and individuals, it undermines economic growth and development, and it corrodes democratic governance systems which rely on trust between those in authority and the citizenry”.

“Once supply infrastructure has been built, it must be operated and maintained and the initial decisions on how to provide it can have long-term implications on the viability of the service.

“But if users’ circumstances and preferences change, the original solution may no longer be workable and, as we see every day in SA, supplies fail — leaving communities desperate,” the report said.

The report looked at a number of cases, drawing on various sources including the media, the auditor-general and Special Investigating Unit, which it said revealed the involvement of players that benefited “richly” from corruption and or promoted it.

“Many of these projects and the systemic corruption that ensued flourished under the stewardship of former minister of water and sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane (between 2014-2018).

“But it is important to note that problems in the sector existed even prior to Mokonyane’s tenure, as investigations into criminal cases were under way from that time, to the tune of R50m. However, by the time Mokonyane left her post, irregular expenditure had ballooned to well over R4bn, with new cases being uncovered,” the report said.

The report also pointed out that as much as government is to blame for corruption in the water and sanitation sector, the private sector is as much to blame as its actions “exploit” weaknesses in the public sector.

“Other abuses have occurred in areas as mundane as the provision of portable toilets, a form of sanitation service to poor communities which is a frequent focus of tender and procurement irregularities,” the report shows.

The report characterises corruption as falling into three areas: the manipulation of procurement and operational processes; influence on policy and regulatory decisions; and private interests prevailing over those of communities.

“ ... the much-lamented lack of institutional capacity in many water sector institutions is the result of deliberate institutional weakening in order to facilitate corruption.”

Some of the recommendations the study makes include: designating the water sector as an “island of integrity”, ensuring the appointment of honest, ethical and committed leaders to run key institutions, improving and strengthening procurement systems and practices and facilitating transparency in regulatory decisions.