City of Joburg does not have the R4 billion it owes to Joburg Water

THE Democratic Alliance (DA) today reveals that the City of Johannesburg does not have the R4 billion in cash that Johannesburg Water's financial statements show as "cash including cash held at CoJ - sweeping".

- STEPHEN MOORE

In a meeting of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation with National Treasury, the Auditor-General and the Department of Water and Sanitation, the DA probed the Auditor-General's representative with our PAIA records showing that Johannesburg Water's own bank accounts do not have the money and that the entity struggles to access cash from the City.

This is cash that it is owed to Joburg Water by the City of Johannesburg.

The Auditor-General's representative confirmed that, based on the City's own (still to be audited) figures at 30 June 2025, the entire City of Johannesburg did not even have R4 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

In short, the R4 billion on Johannesburg Water's books is a paper entry - not real, accessible cash that can be used for pipes, pumps and contractors.