Another week of soaking rains in Gauteng, another week of water supply controversy.
The irony of the juxtaposition is not lost on long-suffering residents. With every new allegation of tender rigging and corruption involving the contracting of water tankers to supply communities whose taps have run dry, comes increasing concerns that the province has nosedived into a new cesspool of municipal looting.
At the centre of the controversy is Tshwane, which spent R77m on water tanker contracts in the 2025 financial year and is now the focus of a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe.
The Sunday Times reported this past weekend that the owner of a modest RDP house in Soshanguve, who drives a VW Polo and whose child attends a no fee school, scored a R95m payout from the City of Tshwane to cart water.
Records show that Eunice Nontobeko Mkhonza’s company did not even own a water tanker, even though delivering water at this scale typically requires storage tanks or reservoirs, a secured vehicle yard or depot, fuel and maintenance arrangements, trained drivers and support staff, dispatch and record‑keeping systems, and compliance documentation relating to water quality and safety.
The City of Tshwane is now alleged to spend more money trucking water than fixing pipes and upgrading water infrastructure.
The case has ignited suspicions that Mkhonza may have been a front. Her neighbours claim she is the sister of Mandla Jeffrey Mgcina, director of another water-tanker company — Ivoline Trading Enterprise — to which Tshwane officials paid R5.5m for trucking water, also in financial 2025. Mgcina is the nephew of leading taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni.
The city’s deputy mayor is also mired in controversy. Eugene Modise, who doubles up as the mayoral committee member for finance and chair of the ANC in the Tshwane region — was once a director of a company called Gofa-One, to which Tshwane paid R1.7m for water-transport services in 2024.
Although he stepped down as a director before he became a councillor, he still maintains ties to the company, which he founded with his late mother in 2010. Gofa-One’s registered address is Modise’s family home in Mabopane, northwest of Pretoria.
The City of Tshwane is now alleged to spend more money trucking water than fixing pipes and upgrading water infrastructure.
Meanwhile, politicians berate residents for using too much water, while doing little to stem the almost 50% of it that is lost to leaks and illegal connections.
After being brought to its knees by years of load-shedding caused by Eskom looting, South Africa simply cannot afford to go down this path again, this time with water.
Some dubious officials in government have a strong reason to ensure water infrastructure remains broken and unreliable. They are making millions from emergency relief tenders and the issue is becoming more imbedded by the day.
We hope the SIU probe into Tshwane exposes those who have been milking the system, and that these probes extend to other municipalities where the rot is yet to be uncovered.
While South Africa may be a water-scarce country, changing weather patterns suggest Gauteng will be seeing a lot more rain in the future, which will make it all the more tragic if our taps run dry just because officials want to build palatial mansions and buy luxury vehicles with our hard-earned monthly rates.
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