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The City of Tshwane and Emfuleni municipality have spent a combined R189.69m on water tanker services in the 2026/27 financial year so far, citing poor infrastructure as the cause for lack of reliable water supply.
This revelation comes a week after Gauteng CoGTA MEC Jacob Mamabolo held a meeting with municipalities on service delivery and heavy reliance on outsourcing provision of water to private tanker services.
Tshwane mayoral spokesperson, Samkelo Mgobozi, said tanker services are only a temporary intervention and not a long-term solution.
“The city has significantly reduced reliance on outsourced tanker services as part of the transition towards a municipal-led operational model.
“The proposed 2026/27 budget reduces contracted tanker expenditure to approximately R126.7m, representing a reduction of approximately 79% compared to previous peak expenditure levels,” he said.
Mgobozi said the city currently has more than 35 municipally owned water tankers in operation, with additional tanker units expected in the next financial year.
Communities currently under tanker support services include Hammanskraal, Rooiwal, Sokhulumi and parts of Bronkhorstspruit.
The city said water interruptions are largely linked to longstanding infrastructure challenges, including ageing pipelines and reservoir instability. “These are precisely the challenges that the Water Stabilisation Plan and the broader Water and Wastewater Master Plan are intended to address through sustained infrastructure investment, pressure management, leak reduction and bulk network upgrades,” he said.
Mgobhozi said Tshwane is investing a total of R788.8m during the 2026/27 financial year to enhance infrastructure under its Water Stabilisation Plan and Wastewater Master Plan.
Meanwhile, Emfuleni local municipality has spent R53.99m over the past three financial years, with informal settlements still relying on water deliveries while permanent infrastructure is developed.
Expenditure amounted to R20.8m in the 2023/24 financial year, R23.9m in 2024/25 and R9.2m in 2025/26.
Chief director at Metsi-a-Lekoa, the municipality’s water unit, Madoda Besani, said the municipality does not have its own water tankers that are operational.
“The communities that rely on water supply through water tankers are communities in the informal settlements.”
Areas in the municipality like Skietfontein, Sebokeng, Kanana, and several surrounding communities rely on water supplied by water tankers.
Sowetan
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