The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says four provinces have been slow in implementing its recommendations following inquiry reports into their water situation.
There was also non-adherence to the time-frame stipulated in the reports, said SAHRC commissioner Henk Boshoff.
Most WSA struggle with collection of revenue due to various factors such as unauthorised water connections, water metre meter bypasses, billing inaccuracies, nonpayment for water services due to households being indigent and unable to afford payment service
— Henk Boshoff
He told Sowetan on Tuesday that the non-cooperation rendered the commission ineffective in securing redress for communities when human rights have been violated.
Earlier on Tuesday, the SAHRC briefed the portfolio committee on water and sanitation into inquiry reports into KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Free State water problems.
Boshoff said the department of water and sanitation should exercise oversight over relevant organs of state to ensure that water challenges in the various provinces were addressed.
Municipalities across the country have been battling with disruptive water supply and infrastructure maintenance.
Boshoff on Tuesday listed the key systematic water issues which he said were gleaned from the inquiry reports. These include inadequate skills and capacity on water units within water services authorities as well as infrastructure decay.
"Neglect or underinvestment of municipal water and wastewater infrastructure. WSA [water service authority] not setting aside or spending the 8% norm set by National Treasury for operations and maintenance of infrastructure," he said.
There was also a high vacancy rate in technical water units, he said.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his state of the nation address that the government placed urgent priority on ensuring a secure and reliable supply of water across the country.
"Many people in our cities, towns and villages are experiencing more and more frequent water shortages as a result of failing water infrastructure. It is impossible to live without water and it is impossible for the economy to grow without water," Ramaphosa said.
Boshoff said there was also high levels of indebtedness of WSA to water boards threatening the sustainability and financial viability of water boards.
"Most WSA struggle with collection of revenue due to various factors such as unauthorised water connections, water meter bypasses, billing inaccuracies, nonpayment for water services due to households being indigent and unable to afford payment services."
He added that there was sabotage and theft of infrastructure as well as vandalism or the purposes of being paid overtime and profiteering through water tankers.
Boshoff said challenges with the tankering system included manipulation and commercialisation of the system as "politicisation" of the tankering system.
Part of its recommendations to municipalities in KZN, Mpumalanga and Free State was for them to "tackle emerging water tankering corruption and infrastructure vandalism".
The provinces were also urged to deal with the poor state of infrastructure by complying with recommendations of 8% budgeting provision for operations and maintenance of water infrastructure.
The provinces were also urged to tackle non-revenue water and deal with high water losses, and to address the ballooning debt to water boards.
Boshoff told Sowetan that in instances of non-implementation of the recommendations it made, it had various alternatives which include approaching a court of law, as well as engaging with the relevant role players such as the legislature to ensure that they exercise oversight.
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