Tanker mafia causing chaos in South Africa

The water tanker mafia is spreading across South Africa as water shortages become more common, with municipalities failing to adequately maintain their infrastructure.

This mafia has its roots in KwaZulu Natal but is steadily growing its influence in other areas of the country. Gauteng is particularly attractive to it as the province is hit by sporadic water shortages.

“It is difficult to tell how big the water mafia is. There are many reports about their activity, but it is hard to determine whether it is deliberate sabotage,” the Department of Water and Sanitation DG, Dr Sean Phillips, said.

Phillips told Newzroom Afrika that the department had noticed a sharp uptick in the theft of metal parts used in water infrastructure.

This is often attributed to the water tanker mafia, but it may also be due to criminal syndicates that steal metal parts and sell them as scrap metal.

While the water tanker mafia steals or breaks infrastructure, it does not do it to sell metal parts but rather to ensure the normal water distribution system remains disrupted so it can secure extended contracts.

In particular, the water tanker mafia targets electrical cables and equipment to ensure that pumping stations cannot get water to the end user.

Phillips also said the water tanker mafia sometimes does not even have to steal or break municipal water infrastructure as it steals water from the supply system.

He explained that, in some cases, the water tanker mafia would illegally connect to water supply systems to fill its tankers up for free and then sell this water in other areas at exorbitant prices.

In one such case, a water tanker company sold a 5,000-litre tanker for between R600 and R800. From the municipality, it would only cost R40 to R120 to fill such a tanker.

This reveals one of the easiest ways to catch the water tanker mafia. Phillips explained that it should be relatively easy to spot when they are overpaying for a service by looking through municipalities’ financials.

There has also been a rise in criminal elements targeting sewage infrastructure in the country, where wastewater works are targeted for the mafia to benefit from sewage pump rentals.

The water tanker mafia has been able to thrive due to the crisis of local governance at a municipal level and is proving a difficult nut to crack.

Phillips said the only long-term solution to the water tanker mafia is to ensure that criminal elements are prosecuted and punished harshly.

“We are working closely with the security cluster in government, and they are prioritising this kind of crime,” he said.

The government also introduced legislation to impose heavier sentences for crimes committed on essential infrastructure.

However, prosecutions have been slow to follow, with the water mafia seemingly continuing to operate unabated.

Water scientist Dr Anthony Turton said the mafia needs to be investigated with serious urgency as it threatens the entire country.

Turton pointed specifically to KwaZulu Natal as an example of how this type of mafia thrives.

“There is a thriving tanker mafia in KZN that actively sabotages the water infrastructure. They do this to continue and prolong their contracts with the municipalities to provide water tankers across communities that need water,” Turton said.

He added that these tanker suppliers do not source their water from safe, potable sources. Instead, they take unsafe water from dams or rivers as they are paid per tanker.

“These elements thrive on chaos, and they need to be investigated with urgency.”

“It is in the great interest of the majority of society to resolve this issue. If we do not get this right, there will be an external correction through legal intervention in the courts or a suspension of the Constitution through some or other kind of popular uprising and extrajudicial means.”

To prevent this in the short term, the government has implemented what it has called ‘water shifting’ to avoid the entire collapse of some local water systems.

“Water shifting is to the water sector as load-shedding is to the energy sector,” Turton said.

“This essentially prevents a local angry mob from taking to the streets and protesting. That is really all it does. It keeps some people happy for some of the time.” — dailyinvestor.com