The Association of Water and Sanitation Institutions of South Africa (AWSISA) welcomes the Free State High Court’s landmark ruling to dissolve the Ngwathe Local Municipality, citing persistent failures in governance, financial management and service delivery – particularly in water and sanitation. This ruling confirms what residents, civil society, and sector experts have long known: municipal dysfunction has become an existential threat to the constitutional right to water and dignified sanitation in South Africa.

Ngwathe joins a growing list of municipalities, including Matjhabeng, that have collapsed under the weight of poor governance, political interference, lack of professional capacity, and a profound disregard for the needs of citizens. The court’s call for ongoing judicial oversight is both necessary and emblematic of the systemic accountability vacuum that now defines much of local government.

AWSISA has consistently sounded the alarm on this crisis.

• In January 2024, at the Water Services Authorities Summit, AWSISA advocated for a paradigm shift in the delivery model of municipal water and sanitation services, pointing to institutional weaknesses across more than 100 municipalities identified by the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) Blue, Green and No Drop Report (December 2023).
• In March 2025, at the Presidential Water and Sanitation Indaba, AWSISA reaffirmed the urgent need for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model to ring-fence and professionally manage water and sanitation services at the local level, insulating them from political instability and maladministration.
• AWSISA has also called for the establishment of an Independent Water and Sanitation Regulator, which would protect consumers, ensure compliance, and bring predictability to a collapsing municipal service environment.

Municipal Debt: A National Emergency

According to the latest National Treasury report, as at 31 March 2025, total consumer debt owed to municipalities had ballooned to R416.1 billion, a staggering increase from R347.6 billion in March 2024. Municipalities owe Water Boards over R28 billion, this deepening crisis threatens the sustainability of water boards and undermines any effort to maintain infrastructure or deliver services.

AWSISA therefore calls on business, the state, and the private sector to urgently settle their municipal debts. This must be matched by strict financial discipline and consequence management within municipalities. Parliament, the executive, and provincial governments must focus less on protecting dysfunctional municipalities and more on enforcing credible financial governance frameworks, improving revenue collection, and enabling operational efficiency.

Key Recommendations from AWSISA:

1. Urgent Professionalisation of Municipalities

Only through the depoliticisation and professionalisation of municipal structures can South Africa ensure sustainable water governance. Municipal officials must be appointed on merit, governed by a professional code, and held accountable for service delivery failures.

2. Adoption of the Special Purpose Vehicle Model

An SPV approach, already endorsed in principle at national level, should now be accelerated to ring-fence water and sanitation functions and enable competent delivery through appropriate partnerships.

3. Enforcement of the User-Pays Principle

Citizens, government departments, and the private sector must all play their part in sustaining the water value chain. Non-payment undermines the ability of municipalities and water boards to maintain infrastructure, procure chemicals, and ensure water security.

4. Independent Regulation

A regulator – functionally independent from political structures – is essential to monitor performance, set standards, and protect the rights of users, especially the most vulnerable.

5. Immediate Intervention in Collapsing Municipalities

AWSISA calls on the water and sanitation portfolio committee, national and provincial governments, to stop shielding dysfunctional municipalities. The time for soft interventions and blame-shifting has passed. Leadership must be decisive, courageous and in the public interest.

The dissolution of Ngwathe must not be seen as a mere legal victory – it is a wake-up call. Communities deserve better. With crumbling local governance and politicised water service authorities (WSA) institutions, South Africa cannot achieve SDG 6 or realise its developmental aspirations. AWSISA and its members remain ready to support any interventions that restore the integrity, capacity, and accountability of municipal water and sanitation services to ascertain water security.