WaterCAN says the City of Johannesburg’s worsening water crisis is no longer only about ageing pipes, broken reservoirs, sewage spills and dry taps, but also about a city that cannot manage its finances responsibly.
The organisation said National Treasury’s intervention this week confirms that Johannesburg’s water failures are now deeply connected to the collapse of the city’s financial health.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has warned Mayor Dada Morero that the city may be breaching municipal finance laws, citing unfunded budgets, poor cash flow management, weak financial systems, unrealistic revenue assumptions, overspending and serious noncompliance with reporting requirements.
The minister’s letter also warns that creditors have increased from R17 billion to R25.2 billion, while cash and cash equivalents amount to only R3.9 billion. The city has also been directed to halt implementation of the R10.3 billion salary agreement because it cannot afford it.
“For years residents have been told Johannesburg’s water crisis is about infrastructure failure alone. Treasury’s letter confirms what many people already suspected, this is also a governance and financial management crisis,” said WaterCAN Executive Director Dr Ferrial Adam.
“When cities cannot manage money properly, residents eventually experience it through dry taps, sewage spills, delayed repairs and failing infrastructure.”
WaterCAN said the warning is particularly serious because Treasury specifically flagged Johannesburg Water’s over estimation of revenue from service charges and cautioned that, if current trends continue, under recovery could worsen by year end.
“This is significant because it links the city’s financial collapse directly to water services: if Johannesburg Water’s revenue is overstated, if money reflected in budgets is not cash backed, and if creditors are not paid within 30 days, then contractors responsible for repairs, maintenance, leaks, pump stations and emergency water work may not be paid, leaving residents to face the practical consequences through dry taps, delayed repairs and worsening infrastructure failure,” said Adam.
At the same time, WaterCAN has raised alarm over the city’s proposed increase in the water demand management levy charged to households each month from 1 July 2026.
While the city states in its draft tariffs that the levy will increase by 12.5%, the actual increase for residential users appears to be about 65.6% according to a Moneyweb report, with the fixed monthly charge rising from R65.08 to R107.74 before residents even open a tap.
“What is deeply concerning is not only the scale of the increase, but the lack of transparency around it,” said Adam.
Adam said the situation was untenable.
“On the one hand, residents are being told to pay more and more for water and services. On the other, the city cannot, or will not, even pay the contractors needed to keep the water system operating or properly capitalise the entities responsible for this work,” said Adam.
WaterCAN said the crisis raises urgent questions about whether money collected for water and sanitation is being properly ring fenced and used for water and sanitation services.
The organisation also warned that National Treasury’s threat to withhold the Equitable Share Grant as a mechanism to force the city to correct its financial infringements could ultimately harm vulnerable households who rely on basic municipal support for water and electricity access.
“Treasury is right to intervene. But poor communities cannot become collateral damage in a crisis created by years of political and financial mismanagement. There should rather be consequence management, and officials and the MMC for finance should be fired,” said Adam.
WaterCAN said Treasury must ensure that any corrective action protects vulnerable residents rather than punishing them for failures they did not create.
“The poor should not be punished for a crisis they did not create. A workable, socially responsible plan is required,” said Adam.
WaterCAN is calling on the City of Johannesburg to urgently disclose how much is owed to Johannesburg Water contractors and service providers, publish a credible 30 day creditor payment and recovery plan, end sweeping account practices, and ring fence all water and sanitation revenue so that money collected for water is used for water.
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