DA Slams “Exorbitant” Water-Board Fees Amid South Africa’s Growing Water Crisis
Viable News Team 
Image Credit: Andreas Lischka, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised alarm over what it calls “exorbitant” fees paid to water-board chairs and members, at a time when millions of South Africans are without reliable access to water.
According to 2023/24 records, some board members earned over R100 000 per meeting, despite persistent service failures at the municipal level.
Shocking Remuneration Figures
The DA highlighted several examples from water boards across the country:
- The Chair of uMngeni-uThukela earned R109 500 per meeting, with another member earning R54 000.
- The Chair of the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority received R120 300 per meeting.
- The Chair of Lepelle Northern Water earned R103 600 per meeting, while the Chairs of Amatola Water and Magalies Water were paid R77 833 and R70 831, respectively.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has defended these payments, arguing that they fall within approved policy frameworks. The DA, however, insists that compliance with policy does not make the payments fair—especially when water infrastructure is crumbling.
“Every Cent Should Go to Basics”
The DA stressed that funding should prioritise essential services such as repairing leaks, managing pressure, maintaining reservoirs, metering and billing, and ensuring bulk-water accounts are paid.
“These board fees are very difficult to justify given the state of our water crisis,” the party stated.
DA’s Calls for Reform
The opposition party has tabled a six-point plan to improve accountability and redirect resources:
- Full Transparency: Publish all fee policies, per-meeting rates, attendance records, and 2023/24 totals.
- Hard Caps & Tighter Rules: Introduce annual caps and prevent payments for ceremonial events.
- Independent Review: National Treasury and the Auditor-General to benchmark remuneration against comparable SOEs.
- Link Pay to Performance: Tie remuneration to clean audits, reduced non-revenue water, better collections, and infrastructure recovery.
- Distressed-Entity Relief: Temporarily lower board fees at financially unstable entities until turnaround targets are met.
- Municipal Turnaround: Launch blitzes to repair leaks, manage pressure, recover revenue, and settle arrears to water boards.
Accountability in the Spotlight
The DA confirmed it will press the Minister of Water and Sanitation and each board in Parliament to review these remuneration practices, while keeping the focus on municipal turnaround strategies to restore water security to residents.
About the Author
