Melville residents collect water from a water tanker. Photo: Archive photo / Ihsaan Haffejee) The City of Johannesburg has spent more than R650-million on water tankers over the past five years, but who the money went to remains unknown to the public.
Last month, the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC’s) inquiry into the Gauteng water crisis flagged “serious concerns” about the proliferation of water tankers.
AmaBhungane has reported how two companies – Builtpro Construction and Nutinox – were awarded a R263-million tanker contract in 2024 that was deemed invalid by the high court in December 2025. The companies appear to still be providing the services while the judgment is being appealed.
But Johannesburg Water has refused to provide GroundUp with any additional information on new contracts that have been awarded, or whether any other companies have provided services or sold water tankering equipment.
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala told us to send a Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application.
There is no reason why a Paia application should be required for information on public expenditure. How public money is spent should almost always be publicly accessible.
‘Lack of transparency’
Dr Ferrial Adam, executive manager of WaterCAN, expressed serious concern over “a lack of transparency” about Johannesburg’s sprawling water tankering system, which, on average, takes up about 10% of Johannesburg Water’s annual capital budget (R132-million spent in 2024/25 off a R1.2-billion capital budget).
Adam said that the system’s secrecy created room for mismanagement and corruption.
In the 2024/25 Johannesburg Water annual report, R817,000 was identified as irregular because tankering services were rendered without an official purchase order after funds were depleted.
In May, SAHRC inquiry evidence leader advocate Afika Nqeto characterised this spending as a “costly and unsustainable substitute” for long-term planning and the maintenance of a water system with a R27-billion backlog of infrastructure that needs to be upgraded.
Speaking to GroundUp, SAHRC Commissioner Dr Henk Boshoff said SA’s growing reliance on water tankers was a systemic problem driven by corruption, financial mismanagement and theft rather than service-delivery failures.
Following investigations into water authorities across the country, he said that the scale of tankering was far worse than expected, with evidence suggesting infrastructure was sometimes deliberately sabotaged to create demand for tanker contracts that benefited officials, councillors and service providers.
‘A brazen form of financial mismanagement and corruption’
“It is a brazen form of financial mismanagement [and] corruption” that has turned a temporary emergency measure into an exploitative business, he said.
Boshoff argues that tanker dependence reflects municipal failure, with vast sums spent on emergency supply while infrastructure maintenance is neglected.
He attributes the crisis to “weak accountability, poor leadership and a shortage of skilled municipal officials”.
At the SAHRC inquiry, JW Managing Director Ntshavheni Mukwevho said that the City currently used about 60 tankers daily, mainly from third-party service providers, primarily to supply informal settlements.
Mukwevho said they had committed to phasing out external providers within 12 to 18 months, noting that Johannesburg Water had acquired 20 branded tankers and ordered an additional 20, which were expected by the end of June 2026. DM
This story first appeared in GroundUp.