Durban - The eThekwini Municipality’s controversial water tankers saga is set to be the subject of an investigation by the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), which blew the whistle on the grand-scale corruption in the Durban Solid Waste contract a few years ago.
The investigation follows a directive issued by eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda at an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday where he indicated that the investigation stemmed from questions that had been raised over the outsourcing of the water tankers service when the City had its own water delivery trucks.
The tankers are used to distribute and provide water to far-flung places where the City’s infrastructure falls short. In the past there have been rumours linking politicians to the contract, but nothing has ever been tested or proven.
On Tuesday, audit committee chairperson Siyabonga Shabalala once again raised questions about the hiring of tankers, pointing to internal capacity to provide water within the municipality. He questioned the value for money for the City in the transaction, warning that the issue was one of many that would pose a challenge to the quest to get a clean audit opinion from the auditor-general.
Kaunda noted that the tankers that had been purchased had proven not to be suitable for the terrain in which water was expected to be delivered, but stressed the need for the investigation to be conducted to ascertain whether everything was above board.
DA leader in eThekwini, Thabani Mthethwa, said the water tankers had been an issue for the municipality for a while. “We welcome the sudden change of heart from the mayor in calling for an investigation on the matter.
“We had been calling for such for a very long time because we had issues about the outsourcing when there is evidence of internal capacity,” said the Exco member. The continued silence by the municipality over the years had given rise to suspicions that the contract was linked to political figures, he said and expressed hope that the investigation would help put the suspicions to rest.
“The CIIU is a very important structure in any municipality and ought to be given all the support possible so that it is able to discharge its mandate, as that will ensure that the affairs of the municipality are properly handled,” he said. The DA Exco member pledged the party’s support for the unit, saying that they wanted to see the investigation drawing to a conclusion.
Speaking at the meeting, EFF Exco member Themba Mvubu decried the use of service providers when there were tankers that had been purchased by the municipality. This amounted to waste that could have been avoided, he said, and committed his party to dealing with wastage at the municipality.
ANC Exco member Nkosenhle Madlala welcomed the committee’s decision to refer matters that had been flagged by the audit committee to the relevant investigative bodies, including the CIIU, saying this was in line with the party’s commitment to clean governance.
He added that the ANC was committed to service delivery and would continue to improve the supply of water.
“We will dig deep into the discrepancies to take corrective measures,” said Madlala. The tankers had played a crucial role in aiding communities that would not have received water.