The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is zeroing in on water tanker tenders on which billions were spent in Tshwane and Johannesburg.
In an interview with the Sunday Times on the sidelines of the anti-corruption forum launch in Pretoria on Thursday, acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho said their team was working with the two municipalities to lead to rogue water-tanker tenderpreneurs.
“As part of the process of allegations that were brought to us, we look at the process, we look at the tender system, and as a result of the system, it leads to water tankers being used. So it’s a value chain which, when it comes through for us, we look at.”
The DA has already raised the alarm about water tankers, with the party saying tenders rake in up to R1bn.
Former Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has claimed that spending on water tankers to areas that should have water has increased from less than R2m to more than R1bn.
A recent exposé by AmaBhungane revealed that a contract estimated to be worth R263m was awarded in 2024 to two little-known but seemingly connected companies: Builtpro Construction, run by Emmanuel Sserufusa (then 27), and Nutinox, run by Sivuyile Magingxa (then 29).
The report claimed the two companies were contracted to supply 70 water tankers to the City of Johannesburg for three years.
However, in December 2025, just one year into the contract, the court accepted a rival bidder’s argument that the tender had lapsed before it was awarded, making the contracts with Builtpro and Nutinox invalid.
Lekgetho said the SIU was looking at allegations of wrongdoing in Tshwane and Johannesburg. He said that for the SIU to start investigating, it would need to apply for a proclamation from the president.
“We need detailed information before we can apply for a proclamation. We are at the phase where we are engaging some of the whistleblowers who are giving us information to see what it is. In Tshwane, we are looking at Rooivaal; there was an issue with cholera. We are looking at those particular contracts that were there. In short, we are looking at the process, and that process will lead us to the water tankers; that is how we follow the tender process.”
The SIU has so far uncovered several irregularities in the water tenders, including inflated contracts, irregular appointments, payment for work never performed, overpricing and fraudulent claims as well as manipulation of procurement rules.
The SIU has so far prevented R717m in potential losses and set aside contracts worth more than R1bn.
Speaking at the launch of the anti-corruption water forum, a collaboration of the department of water and sanitation and the SIU, WaterCAN’s Ferrial Adam said the water challenges were a governance and corruption crisis that has hollowed out infrastructure and eroded trust.
She said the credibility of the forum depended on early visible action. Water tankers had evolved from being temporary measures to permanent infrastructure.
“If emergency procurement becomes routine, the risks increase. Fast-tracked contracts, repeated extensions, weak delivery verification, inconsistent pricing and limited transparency. All of this creates a dangerous incentive structure. The longer the infrastructure fails, the more entrenched the tanker economy becomes. The tanker system is large enough to avoid scrutiny but still early enough to reform decisively,” she said, adding that the forum should make tanker procurement its flagship intervention.
Water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina told the Sunday Times the department was looking to procure water tankers for municipalities to avoid outsourcing. She said water tankering was a basic failure of the government to provide water.
“My proposal is that the national government come up with a fleet of water tankers that are going to be dispatched to municipalities to be in their asset register so that when people are still waiting, there must be water. If we can master that and cancel all contracts on water tankers, we can solve this problem.”
Majodina said the water mafia were vicious, claiming they were not afraid of resorting to sabotaging infrastructure.
“We need a swift response from law enforcement. Those people must be arrested, and we need people-driven interventions in communities.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared water the single most important issue facing South Africans. During his state of the nation address, Ramaphosa blamed municipalities for poor planning and inadequate maintenance of water systems as the main cause of the problems and the reason that taps often run dry.
He elevated the government’s response to the water crisis to a National Water Crisis Committee, which he would chair.
“This structure will bring together all existing efforts into a single co-ordinating body. It will deploy technical experts and resources from the national government to municipalities facing water challenges. It will ensure that action is taken swiftly and effectively to address the problem.
“To address the challenges effectively, we will not hesitate to use the powers enshrined in the constitution and in the Water Services Act to intervene in municipalities where necessary.”
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