The DA will request the Chairperson for the portfolio committee on Water and Sanitation, Leon Basson, to investigate Lepelle Northern Water’s (LNW) continued inability to provide reliable bulk water supply across Sekhukhune.
LNW is a state-owned water utility established under the Water Services Act, with a mandate to provide bulk water services to water services authorities and industries and sanitation related services where legally authorised in 64% of Limpopo’s geographical area.
Despite this enormous responsibility, LNW is only providing services to 42% of its mandated area, with Sekhukhune District being the most underserved.
According to the 2024 Limpopo Spatial Development Framework, only 47% of households in Sekhukhune District have access to piped water on site; the lowest rate in Limpopo.
Sekhukhune District has the highest poverty rate in Limpopo at 54.6%, while Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality stands at an even higher 60.2%. Inadequate access to reliable water only deepens the hardship faced by these communities.
Indigent residents of Mabintane, Phokoane and Kutupu villages in Makhuduthamaga Municipality, who qualify for 6 kL of free basic water per month, are now being forced to pay up to R350 for just 2,500 litres – despite being among the communities most in need of reliable access to water.
In response to written questions, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, declared that LNW reported revenue of R1.673 billion and a surplus of R441.287 million for the 2024/25 financial year.
A state-owned entity can record a R441 million surplus while communities in the province it serves continue to battle dry taps. A surplus means nothing to families without water.
The LNW’s board received R6.466 million in board fees and claims and subsistence and travel during 2025, while senior managers received a combined R11.841 million in remuneration and related benefits.
That amounts to more than R18 million a year going to the board and senior management, while Sekhukhune residents are left to struggle on their own.
If taxpayers and water users are paying millions to LNW, then its management must be held accountable for the quality and reliability of the service being delivered.
The upcoming Water Services Amendment Bill provides Parliament with an opportunity to strengthen licensing, compliance, enforcement and accountability in the water sector.
The days of state-owned entities enriching themselves and their connected elites while communities are left without basic services must come to an end.
The DA will ensure where chronic failures persist, water boards and Water Services Authorities are held accountable and compelled to deliver reliable access to water for every community.