WeeklySA_AdminIMPUNITY: A total 350 corruption cases handed to prosecutors, billions traced and some recovered — yet criminal accountability, leaving Parliament asking: where does justice collapse?
By Steve Kretzmann
Members of Parliament have sounded the alarm over a glaring gap between widespread corruption in South Africa’s water sector and the near absence of criminal accountability.
Despite R1.1-billion in irregular contracts set aside since 2008, and hundreds of cases referred for prosecution, very few individuals have faced meaningful consequences — and almost none have been jailed.
The concern follows a briefing by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on Tuesday, detailing 16 investigations into fraud and maladministration across government departments, municipalities, and water boards.
Of these, seven investigations remain active, spanning projects across the country — from Limpopo and Mpumalanga to KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State
Yet, the criminal justice system has struggled to convert these findings into prosecutions — a failure MPs say is eroding public trust.
The total value of matters referred for civil proceedings since
2012 amounted to more than R6.2-billion.
So far, R593-million in cash or assets had been recovered, with
a further R264-million in the recovery pipeline – SIU
SIU acting chief operations officer Zodwa Xesibe said of the 16 presidential proclamations they had obtained to investigate fraud and corruption in the sector, seven are still active.
The investigations included campaigns within the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), a number of water boards, municipalities and private companies.
Xesibe said so far, 350 cases had been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution, and there had been 130 referrals for disciplinary action to be taken against government officials.
The SIU does not have powers of prosecution but can institute civil litigation to have contracts set aside and freeze assets.
Xesibe said the total value of matters referred for civil proceedings since 2012 amounted to more than R6.2-billion. So far, R593-million in cash or assets had been recovered, with a further R264-million in the recovery pipeline.
Sodi’s fatal Rooiwal debacle
One of the active investigations involves the refurbishment of the City of Tshwane’s Rooiwal sewage treatment works, where failures by the contractor, the City of Tshwane, the consulting engineer, and implementing agent are likely to have contributed to the death of 29 people in 2023 from the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal.
Investigation into the procurement side of the contract to LTE Consulting and Blackhead Consulting entity has resulted in 31 criminal matters being referred to the NPA, along with 13 referrals for disciplinary charges, and 39 administrative referrals to the South African Revenue Service, the Construction Industry Development Board, and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
Additionally, Blackhead Consulting, which is owned by Edwin Sodi – who is one of the accused in the R255-million Free State asbestos case – has been referred to the National Treasury for blacklisting.
When asked by ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe whether Blackhead had in fact been blacklisted yet, Xesibe said she would have to come back to the committee with a response.
The investigation into aspects of corruption in the Rooiwal case has also identified eight officials who have received unexplained wealth, and two private individuals who possibly received bribes from the contractor, stated Xesibe.
Other active investigations involve: the Lepelle Northern Water Board in Limpopo; the DWS Grootfontein and Grootdraai pump station contracts in Mpumalanga; DWS water-saving campaigns involving more than R2.7-billion; water and sanitation services in eThekwini; procurement in the Masilonyane Local Municipality; and the appointment of service providers in the Dihlabeng Local Municipality.
Top official dismissed
DWS deputy director-general Nthabiseng Fundakubi also presented an overview of disciplinary proceedings against officials. Fundakabi said 22 disciplinary cases were carried over from the 2023/24 financial year, with 27 new cases in 2024/25 and 21 additional cases in 2025/26. To date, 46 of these cases had been finalised, and 24 were still pending.
Of the 32 financial misconduct cases finalised over the last two years, only one resulted in a dismissal and two resulted in suspension without pay and a final warning.
It appeared from the DWS presentation that the one dismissal over the past two years was that of a manager who was also involved in the Vaal River East emergency procurement.
Lack of action
Malebo Kobe (ActionSA) said 350 cases were referred by the SIU to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
It seemed “somewhere, justice gets miscarried at the NPA”, he said.
Following the presentations, DA MP Stephen Moore said there were “repeated patterns across the water sector” and “in far too many cases, the people seem to get away with it”.
Moore said people might be fired, but they were not facing criminal prosecution in cases where “hundreds of millions have been stolen or improperly allocated”.
“Every time we touch on these issues we highlight the challenges with regard to actual consequence management.” – GroundUp
FACT FILE
Key Cases Awaiting Prosecution
• 350 cases referred to the NPA for prosecution
• 130 officials flagged for disciplinary action
• R6.2-billion in civil matters pursued
• R593-million recovered, R264-million pending
Major Cases Under Scrutiny
• Rooiwal (Tshwane): Linked to 29 cholera deaths; 31 criminal referrals
• Lepelle Northern Water (Limpopo): Procurement irregularities
• Grootfontein & Grootdraai (Mpumalanga): Pump station contracts
• eThekwini Water Services: Service delivery and procurement failures
• Masilonyana Municipality (Free State): Infrastructure refurbishment contracts
• Dihlabeng Municipality: Irregular appointment of service providers
• DWS national campaigns: Over R2.7-billion in questionable spending
