WaterCAN is deeply alarmed by evidence showing that Johannesburg’s critical water infrastructure projects are grinding to a halt because of the City’s failure to pay contractors and the ongoing dysfunction of its financial management system.
Furthermore, WaterCAN’s Executive Director, Dr. Ferrial Adam, says that new information shows how the City of Johannesburg’s sweeping of funds - like the well-publicised R4 billion from Joburg Water’s (JW) account - is directly harming service delivery and worsening the city’s ongoing water crisis.
During a recent Johannesburg Presidential Working Group meeting on water, as of 30 September 2025, Joburg Water reported R666 million in unpaid invoices across 203 suppliers, including:
- R381 million owed to Rand Water,
- R102 million in capital expenditure (Capex), and
- R161 million in operational expenditure (Opex).
Excluding Rand Water, R284 million remains overdue. The result has been contractors downing tools, project extensions, and interest costs piling up, as was the case with delays in the new Brixton Reservoir and Tower.
See the documents we are referring to here
Under the “sweeping” system, all Johannesburg entities — including Joburg Water, City Power, and Pikitup — have their funds swept into a single City of Johannesburg (CoJ) primary account each day. Positive and negative balances are merged and redistributed — a process intended to manage cash flow but which, according to the documents, has resulted in a “missing R4 billion” from Joburg Water’s books.
WaterCAN warns that the City’s internal “sweeping” system — designed to consolidate cash — is crippling the ability of essential utilities to function. “The result is the same every time: no payments, suspended works, and a worsening crisis for residents already facing chronic water cuts,” said Adam.
WaterCAN believes it is fair to conclude that the sweeping arrangement and high levels of non-payment are playing a critical role in delays to the R307-million Brixton Reservoir and Tower and the Hursthill No. 2 Renewal Project.
The Hursthill No. 2 Reservoir, which serves more than 6,800 households across suburbs including Emmarentia, Greenside, Melville, and Westcliff, currently operates at only 25% of capacity because of severe structural leaks.
One critical project, the Hector Norris Pump Station, faced a 20-day delay in September 2025 — a major setback for stabilising supply to the eastern parts of Johannesburg. These repeated disruptions are leaving large areas without reliable water supply, sparking growing frustration and protests.
“The City is prioritising administrative efficiency over people’s lives,” Dr. Adam said. “We are facing a perfect storm of decaying infrastructure, poor financial management, and political leaders who are both unresponsive and uncaring toward residents living without basic water services.”
Mayor Dada Morero has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the City’s “cash-sweeping” practices are standard — which may be true — but WaterCAN says these explanations ignore the reality that money meant for water infrastructure and service delivery is being diverted, leaving JW unable to function properly.
WaterCAN is calling for:
- Full transparency on all financial movements from the Joburg Water account;
- An independent investigation into the financial management of City entities; and
- Immediate ring-fencing of funds for essential water infrastructure and operations.
“Every delay, every unpaid contractor, and every day without water is the direct result of leadership failure,” Dr. Adam concluded. “Johannesburg deserves leaders who act with urgency and care — not indifference and denial.”
For Media Enquiries contact WaterCAN Communications Manager on Jonathan Erasmus 073 227 6075 or email media@watercan.org.za.
