Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has signed off on the gazette to transfer staff, assets and liabilities of the Free State-based Sedibeng Water Board to the Magalies and Bloem water boards.
The gazette, published on May 20, is open for public comment for 40 days.
The decision to disestablish Sedibeng Water forms part of Mchunu’s commitment to review water boards to enable them to perform optimally while enhancing the delivery of water to municipalities and ultimately to households.
“The review is based on considerations of financial sustainability, servicing areas that are not currently serviced and is also intended to address institutional confusion caused by having multiple water boards serving the same area.”
The decision was initiated by Mchunu following working sessions with the provincial governments, various water services authorities and water boards over issues of governance, financial viability and accountability and broader service delivery issues, after he took office in August last year.
The disestablishment of Sedibeng Water is in accordance with Section 28 of the Water Services Act of 1997 which affords the Water and Sanitation Minister the authority to disestablish a water board.
The department has reiterated its commitment to ensure that there is a smooth transition following the disestablishment and that water service provision to communities is not affected.