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A group of white Afrikaners was so opposed to majority Black rule when apartheid ended some three decades ago that they carved out a separatist enclave, the only town in South Africa where all residents, including menial workers, are white.

Now, the residents of Orania - population, 3 000 - in the semi-arid Karoo region want US President Donald Trump to help them become a state.

Last week, community leaders from Orania visited the United States seeking recognition as an autonomous entity. South African authorities acknowledge it as a town that can raise local taxes and deliver services.

"We wanted to... gain recognition, with the American focus on South Africa now," Orania Movement leader Joost Strydom told Reuters, on a hill strewn with bronzes of past Afrikaner leaders, including from the era of racist white minority rule that was ended by internal resistance and international outrage.

The 8 000-hectare settlement is riding an unprecedented wave of support from right-wing Americans for Afrikaner nationalists, who irrevocably lost power when apartheid ended in 1994 and Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first Black president.

In New York and Washington the Orania leaders met influencers, think-tanks and low-ranking Republican politicians.

"We told them South Africa is such a ... diverse country that it's not a good idea to try and manage it centrally," said Strydom.

Three senior Orania officials interviewed by Reuters were vague about the help they sought in the US. They said they were not seeking handouts but wanted investment to build houses to keep up with its 15% population growth, infrastructure and energy independence that it has almost half-achieved with solar.

Strydom declined to say whether his delegation had contact with the Trump administration. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South African foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told Reuters: "(Orania's) not... a country. They are subject to the laws of South Africa and ... our constitution."

Other Afrikaner nationalist groups have also visited the US to build alliances with overwhelmingly white, Republican audiences, prompting accusations back home that such trips stoke racial tensions.

The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) last week accused Orania's leaders of "destroying the unity of this country", a charge they reject.

'START OF SOMETHING'

Afrikaners are descendants of Dutch settlers who began arriving in the 1600s. They resisted the British Empire in South Africa, but once in charge of the country, they hardened racial segregation using discriminatory laws.

"There were 17 000 laws on land alone," foreign ministry spokesperson Phiri said. "We had... to reconstruct South Africa into a country that represents all those who live in it."

In 1991, as the end of apartheid neared, a group of about 300 Afrikaners acquired Orania, previously an abandoned water project on the muddy Orange River, to create a homeland exclusively for white Afrikaners.

"It's the start of something," former Orania Movement leader Carel Boshoff, said of his community, comparing its desire for independence - Orania even uses its own informal currency - to that of Israel, established after World War Two despite stiff resistance from Arabs living in that territory.

Boshoff, whose father founded the town and whose grandfather, Hendrick Verwoerd, is widely viewed as the architect of apartheid, dreams of a territory stretching to the west coast nearly 1 000 miles away.

Orania's activities are funded through local taxes and donations from supporters and residents.

Its leaders were dismayed to find the only solution that anyone in the United States was interested in discussing was US residency, after Trump offered in February to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.

"We can't be exporting our people," Boshoff told Reuters beside a framed photo of his late grandfather. "We told them ... 'help us here'," he sa...

ActionSA said on Thursday it rejected the spread of "reductionist, malicious, and outright false narratives" perpetrated by "bad faith actors", with regards to developments around the Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals.

On Tuesday, ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and the African National Congress (ANC), voted for a report that supported the fiscal framework, including a VAT increase, instead of amending or withdrawing the report, as suggested by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

"These do nothing to reassure South Africans and, in fact, cause more harm, especially when they come from those who offer no practical solutions.

"No amount of petulant, childlike behaviour - such as ripping up speeches or storming off the podium after delivering nothing more than an attack soundbite - will protect South Africans from unfair tax increases," said ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.

On Wednesday, the DA accused ActionSA and the IFP of betraying South Africans by supporting what it calls the ANC's "anti-growth, anti-poor VAT hike".

Trollip agreed that government expenditure was a victim of widespread wastage, and placed the country's fiscal position in jeopardy, however he called for political maturity.

"This demands tough yet responsible decisions. Engaging in grandstanding and political brinkmanship does nothing to resolve this crisis - in fact, it only deepens it. Without responsible action, we risk finding ourselves months down the line without a set Budget and with an economy in tatters," he averred.

He explained that his party chose to recommend changes to the Fiscal Framework rather than amend it outright because an amendment would have required the Minister of Finance to redo the entire Budget process.

"…this would have caused delays, instability, and - critically - allowed the VAT increase to take effect on 1 May with little recourse, the very outcome we are fighting against.

"Instead, our approach allows for the necessary time to table alternative revenue proposals, and - most importantly - gazette the postponement of the VAT increase, without triggering a full Budget revision," he explained.

Trollip said the budgeting process still involved multiple Bills that would be voted on over the coming months.

He said ActionSA's alternative kept the Fiscal Framework intact while preventing fiscal instability and procedural deadlock.

"While the ruling coalition failed to agree on a solution, ActionSA is taking the lead in protecting South Africans from unfair tax hikes. We are not just rejecting VAT and tax hikes - we are providing a practical, revenue-generating alternative," he added.

The party noted the ANC's, or government communications', misrepresentation of the facts of the report, saying it did not change the substance of ActionSA's recommendations or lessen their importance, which were put forward in the best interests of South Africans.

He pointed out that from the outset, ActionSA had fiercely opposed any increase in VAT and the stealth tax of personal income tax bracket creep.

"We remain resolute in our commitment to shield ordinary South Africans from unjust and unnecessary tax hikes," he said.

COMMITMENTS

Meanwhile, the ANC reiterated that the process of the adoption of the 2025 Fiscal Framework by Parliament was not about "political point-scoring".

"We note that several parties engaged with the process in good faith, placing the country above narrow interests. The ANC acknowledges these contributions and emphasises that our collective responsibility is to protect South Africa's democratic and developmental gains," said ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.

She said the ANC supported the reconsideration of the proposed 0.5 % VAT increase owing to its potential impact on low-income households, especially during a time of economic pressure.

The party also supported the adjustment of personal income tax brackets in line with inflation.

LEGAL ACTION

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday expressed confidence in its case that challenges the legality of the 2025/26 National Budget process, stating that it will succeed in its plan to stop the value-added tax (VAT) increase on May 1 as announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly adopted the 2025 Fiscal Framework as tabled by Godongwana in March.

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to challenge the legality of the Budget process, seeking an interdict to stop South African Revenue Service from implementing the VAT hike on May 1.

"This interdict request is based on our legal challenge to suspend the Finance Minister's announcement of the VAT hike and overturning Parliament's adoption of the Fiscal Framework," she said.

The party also seeks to suspend the operation of Godongwana's announcement of the VAT hike based on the constitutionality of the Minister's power to raise VAT by announcing it in his Budget speech.

"…If this is found to be unconstitutional, Minister Godongwana's announcement on March 12 of the VAT hike would not be binding," she noted.

She said the party was "absolutely determined" to succeed in its plan to stop the VAT increase on May 1, and believed that it had a strong and solid case.

Zille pointed out that by voting for the Fiscal Framework in Parliament on Wednesday, ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party, and several smaller parties were complicit in hiking VAT for South Africans, which she said would have a "devastating effect" on those already struggling to make ends meet.

"All of those people who are under the mistaken illusion that ActionSA has stopped VAT, are just that deluded. Because in fact the Fiscal Framework as passed by Parliament on Wednesday, that Fiscal Framework includes VAT increase, and the notice put out by Parliament itself says that VAT increase would come in effect on May 1," she highlighted.

She said the DA had, after weeks of negotiations, put on the table a package of economic reforms that would have enabled the country's economy to grow and created jobs enabling government to increase its tax package by having far more people employed.

She pointed out that the DA was about to achieve its plan, until the "smaller parties", which had promised to be the opposition to the ANC and which rejected the Government of National Unity (GNU) when it was set up under "very difficult circumstances," jumped ship and allowed the ANC to increase VAT without any conditions.

Zille said the DA was not in the GNU for blue lights, cars or ministerial homes or status, but to get South Africa's economy to grow at the rate it needed to absorb more people into productive employment and reduce poverty.

She said the DA would not play any games that enable the "ANC to retain its profligate spending".

"The DA has been consistent from the beginning that without meaningful economic reforms to grow the economy, we could not support a VAT hike," said Zille.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday accused ActionSA and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) of betraying South Africans by supporting what it calls the African National Congress's (ANC's) "anti-growth, anti-poor VAT hike", but ActionSA defended the move arguing that amending the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals would result in delays, instability, and would allow a 1% VAT increase, over two years, to take effect on May 1.

Parliament's vote on the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals is being debated in the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, ActionSA, the IFP, and the ANC, voted for a report that supported the fiscal framework including the VAT increase, instead of amending or withdrawing the report, as suggested by the DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

DA Spokesperson on Finance Dr Mark Burke said ActionSA and the IFP either thought they were changing the budget with their "flimsy pointless recommendations" and didn't come to that committee with even a basic understanding of the Money Bills Act.

"…or these parties knew exactly what they were doing and were trying to make South Africans the victims. Selling us out by voting through an ANC VAT budget with flimsy recommendations," he said.

ActionSA's support of the framework was for "five minutes of media coverage or promises of future cabinet positions," he added.

"Certainly not to stop taxes, because those tax increases are still very much baked into this fiscal framework that ActionSA chose not to amend," he said.

The DA believes that the report that does not amend the fiscal framework, supports a "bad budget, the very same bad VAT budget tabled on March 12."

"Now, sure, supporters of this April Fools day farce are very quick to point out that this report makes recommendations to relook at the tax increases. Madam Speaker, the archives are full of reports with ignored recommendations.

"Ask the auditor general how delinquent ANC local governments across the country respond to their recommendations year after failed year," Burke said.

He noted that if it is forced to exit the Government of National Unity (GNU) for driving a growth and jobs agenda, "then so be it".

Meanwhile, ActionSA defended its position by arguing that it chose to recommend changes to the Fiscal Framework rather than amend it outright because an amendment would have required the Minister of Finance to redo the entire Budget process.

"This would have caused delays, instability, and - critically - allowed the VAT increase to take effect on 1 May, the very outcome we are fighting against. Instead, our approach allows for the necessary time to table alternative revenue proposals, and - most importantly - gazette the postponement of the VAT increase, without triggering a full Budget revision," explained ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.

He believes that ActionSA's alternative keeps the Fiscal Framework intact while preventing fiscal instability and procedural deadlock.

While the ruling coalition failed to agree on a solution, he said ActionSA is "taking the lead" in protecting South Africans from unfair tax hikes.

"We are not just rejecting VAT and tax hikes - we are providing a practical, revenue-generating alternative," he argued.

He said the party's solution focuses on strengthening South African Revenue Service's (SARS's) ability to collect revenue efficiently, broadening the tax base, and cracking down on illicit trade.

The party proposed that SARS's Revenue Recovery Programme, if funded with just R2-billion a year, could recover between R20-billion and R50-billion each year, according to SARS's own estimates.

The additional R1.5-billion allocated to SARS in 2025/26 (and R4-billion over two years) will significantly improve SARS's capacity to boost revenue collection, he laid out.

"SARS's own figures prove the effectiveness of targeted fiscal interventions: As per SARS's press statement yesterday, net revenue collection for the year was R8.8-billion higher than the revised ...

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George has welcomed State-owned utility Eskom's ongoing commitment, reaffirmed on April 1, to waive registration fees and provide free smart meters for residential small-scale embedded generation systems up to 50 kVA until March 2026.

In place since March 2023, this policy continues to encourage South African households to adopt solar PV systems - typically sized at 16 kVA for most residential installations - supporting the urgent transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

In a media release, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) says this aligns with George's decision, announced on March 31, to impose stringent conditions on Eskom's coal-fired power stations under the minimum emission standards exemptions, signalling a broader push for environmental accountability and energy transformation.

However, the Minister encourages Eskom to extend this waiver indefinitely and take bolder steps to accelerate South Africa's shift from coal.

While the current exemption, covering registration fees, smart meter costs and connection charges until March 2026, is a positive measure - saving households with typical 16 kVA systems up to R9 132 - it remains a temporary fix, the DFFE states.

"We urge Eskom to make these benefits permanent for residential customers. The looming reinstatement of fees after March 2026 risks creating a financial barrier that could deter investment in solar PV and other renewable solutions, slowing progress when rapid, widespread adoption is essential to meet our commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act," it adds.

It notes that Eskom's approved 12.74% tariff increase for direct customers also kicked in on April 1, further raising electricity costs and underscoring the need for accessible renewable alternatives.

"If Eskom is serious about reducing emissions and advancing the just transition to a low-carbon economy, it must eliminate obstacles for households eager to embrace renewables," the DFFE expresses.

It notes that permanently waiving registration and associated costs for residential systems up to 50 kVA would unequivocally demonstrate Eskom's commitment to empowering South Africans to reduce reliance on coal-fired power and support the Minister's call for faster renewable-energy integration into the grid.

"We stand ready to collaborate with Eskom, and the private sector to deliver practical, long-term solutions that hasten this energy transition. A sustainable future is within reach, but it demands bold, consistent action - starting with the permanent removal of financial disincentives that hinder residential renewable energy adoption," says George.

Owing to the Private Member's Bill and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill seeking to address the same issues, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Portfolio Committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize advised that the Bills be integrated into a single Bill.

Mkhize expressed concerns that otherwise this may lead to duplication, delays and possibly public confusion during public hearings.

"Presenting two similar Bills separately for public comment within a short space of time would be procedurally inefficient and impractical; the public and Parliament would be forced to consider overlapping Bills twice. We must avoid that," he said.

The Private Member's Bill was introduced by member of the National Assembly George Michalakis, who highlighted that following the 2026 Local Government Elections, coalition governments will be the "new norm".

He explained that this would mean political parties and independent candidates would have to come together and form "workable coalitions" for the good of South Africa, noting that currently many local government coalitions are "highly unstable and plagued by frequent motions of no confidence, impacting their capacity to ensure stable, consistent and quality service delivery to residents".

"…these motions of no confidence are often used by smaller parties, in cooperation with opposition benches, as a political tool, rather than a way to hold government accountable for failing to fulfil their duties adequately. This will continue in the absence of much-needed legislation to ensure stable coalitions," he explained.

Mkhize acknowledged the need to process and finalise the legislation speedily ahead of the local government elections next year, noting that the committee resolved that Michalakis must engage with Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to find ways to integrate the proposals into a single Bill.

The committee stated that this must be done within one month, after which the Minister must brief the committee.

"During this briefing, the Minister must provide an update on the status of the department's Bill and its readiness for introduction to Parliament, the department's proposals on integrating the private member's proposals, and provide the committee with a timeline for the expeditious tabling and processing of the Bill to ensure that the legislation is in place ahead of the 2026 local government elections," said Mkhize.

He explained that following this, the committee would deliberate and decide on the best course of action, including consideration of the motion of desirability on the Private Member's Bill.

The committee stressed that the process must be without unnecessary procedural delays.

Mkhize pointed out that the process must also be done in a manner that respects both parliamentary procedure and the public interest.

South Africa needs an effective and fair land expropriation law to help ignite economic growth and revamp its dilapidated cities, the country's public works and infrastructure minister said.

The comments by Dean Macpherson - a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-biggest party in the unity government which opposes the current act - highlights the complexities surrounding the debate on land reform in South Africa. The law led US President Donald Trump to halt aid and claim that property is being seized from White people in Africa's biggest economy without compensation. No land has been confiscated since apartheid ended in 1994.

Restitution for Blacks stripped of their right to own property during Whites-only rule is given as the primary motivation for the law that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed in December, angering Afrikaner rights groups. But Macpherson, argues a "just and fair" policy is necessary for development.

"You can't grow an economy, which requires expanding ports, railways, harbours, airports, transmission servitudes, without the ability to expropriate," he said in an interview in Johannesburg. "The real problem with expropriation is that it's been weaponised by both the right and left."

The DA is challenging the law because of what it sees as vague wording around compensation or, in some cases, the lack of it. The party and Ramaphosa's African National Congress are the leading parties in a ruling coalition.

The government can't be expected to pay whatever owners ask for on land it needs to carry out development as that would lead to speculation, Macpherson said, adding that equitable compensation needs to be paid.

"It's in the country's interest for an act that is fair and allows the courts to make a determination on what is just and equitable to be able to move forward," he said.

South Africa's coalition government is placing massive infrastructure investment at the heart of an attempt to kick-start economic growth. Among the projects planned are the expansion of the transmission grid to accommodate a growing amount of renewable energy.

"We've got to find a clear path through because without an efficient and effective act, how do we roll out 14 500 km of transmission lines," Macpherson said.

Expropriation could also be used to take over abandoned buildings in cities including Johannesburg, which are now dilapidated and home to thousands of squatters living in dangerous conditions.

"In those instances where those buildings are contributing to crime or contributing to decay, there may very well be a case for expropriation," he said.

Lobby group AfriForum on Tuesday called on the international community to impose sanctions against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and others who are "guilty of gross human rights violations through their public calls for violence against Afrikaners and farmers".

Last week, the organisation lost its appeal in the Constitutional Court to have the chant declared hate speech.

AfriForum has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to publicly condemn the anti-apartheid 'Kill the Boer' chant, recently sung by Malema during a Human Rights Day Commemoration in Sharpeville.

AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the call for personal sanctions is part of its international campaign against the "Kill the Boer" chant, and added that the organisation's legal team was preparing a dossier against Malema and his colleagues, which would apparently show how they violated human rights and expressed their support for terrorist organisations.

"It will also highlight the serious allegations of corruption against them. The dossier will be presented to governments worldwide to emphasise the need for personal sanctions," he added.

Kriel said those who violated human rights by inciting violence should not be "untouchable".

"…if justice is not served locally, AfriForum will continue to use alternative remedies abroad," Kriel said.

He described the call for international punitive measures against Malema as "necessary", by arguing that the Constitutional Court's "legalisation" of the 'Kill the Boer' chant, in an earlier ruling, meant that Malema could not be called to account in South Africa for his hate speech against Afrikaners and farmers.

AfriForum said it would also request international governments to express concern through diplomatic channels to the South African government and to take issues with what AfriForum believes is Ramaphosa's refusal to condemn calls for violence against Afrikaners and farmers, by not publicly denouncing the chant.

Meanwhile, the EFF insisted it would continue singing the struggle song.

African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula expressed confidence, on Tuesday, that the Budget will be passed, although negotiations are ongoing.

The Standing Committee on Finance is on Tuesday scheduled to vote on the fiscal framework, focusing on the National Treasury's challenges in stabilising the debt trajectory and addressing inefficiencies in network industries to enhance economic performance.

In February, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other opposition parties refused to support Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget, with proposals to raise value-added tax.

Mbalula said the ANC was in engagements with all the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), explaining that the process of the negotiations was fluid.

"…so, there is a lot of engagements in different levels that are happening and taking place with the aim of finding a solution and it has been a long process until this far," he said.

Mbalula said the ANC had "shown commitment" and that the party was working with all the parties to find solutions to the Budget, noting that his party had a draft framework to engage all parties.

"Having spoken to everybody, we think now there is a basis for us to have an agreement with everyone, not only with the DA (Democratic Alliance) but everybody in the GNU and even beyond those who agree with us," he said.

The issue in question for the ANC, he said, was VAT, highlighting the party had disagreed with National Treasury's proposed 2% increase. He also said the party believed the 0.5% VAT increase would be withdrawn and was not permanent.

Mbalula further noted that there were other issues such as spending.

He explained that some of the issues raised by the DA were not relevant to the Budget, saying parties needed to engage on them.

"…but people want agreement that there should be guarantees that these matters will be addressed. We are addressing the question of devolution in terms of government in the rail policy," he said.

He said the DA had a catalogue of issues, which he claimed shifted from time to time.

He pointed out the ANC was all for economic growth.

"We believe that there is a lot that can make us to move all together to cross. We need to pass the Budget for the sake of people of South Africa but at the same time we need to be alive and talk to others and that is what we are clear [about] as the ANC. We are the largest party, we need to talk to others, but it is not really concessions, it is about what the Minister presented before us, that we think does not address most of the concerns most people have raised in their political parties," he said.

Mbalula expressed confidence that a solution would be reached, and that the Budget would be passed.

He noted that concerns raised by other political parties, including those who not in the GNU, would be followed up on.

He said he believed parties were moving close to each other, saying this closeness would be consolidated into an agreement.

"…because this our first Budget in the GNU that we need to pass and what that agreement will entail is going to be important for everyone to have oversight of it and agree on the way forward.

"If you engage with this process on the basis of political scoring, it may lead to situations wherein the GNU would have to be reconfigured," he explained.

He announced that the ANC was committed to the GNU, however the maturity of its partners was very important.

"But if people come with political agendas that they want to be seen doing things in a different manner, it will affect the GNU in the long term, that is what we need to understand," he explained.

A new course will be charted for South Africa's water sector following the landmark Water and Sanitation Indaba held last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

In his weekly 'From the desk of the President' newsletter, he said that the recommendations emanating from the Indaba "give cause for great optimism", with focused, evidence-based solutions and suggestions with clear delivery timelines.

"As the suggested solutions are implemented, we will chart a new course for the management of this most critical of resources," he said.

The National Water and Sanitation Indaba was held from March 27 to 28 to develop a clear plan for resolving challenges in the sector, building on the structural reform processes initiated under the sixth administration.

These include reinstating the Drop water quality monitoring system, significantly improving the turnaround time for processing water-use licence applications and developing a raw water pricing strategy, as well as work toward establishing the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency, which will be responsible for developing and managing national water infrastructure and mobilising financing for water infrastructure.

He further pointed to the upward trajectory of water infrastructure builds in South Africa, with the Infrastructure Fund having secured R23-billion to date for seven large water infrastructure projects, including Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, the Polihali dam and the Ntabelanga dam on the uMzimvubu river.

Among the resolutions of the Water and Sanitation Indaba was deeper collaboration between the Water Partnerships Office and the private sector to mobilise financing over the next three years with several innovative financing models being explored, including Green and Blue bonds.

Forging more noncommercial water provision partnerships with industrial sectors, similar to that of the successful Olifants Management Model project in Limpopo, which is in partnership with mining houses, was also part of the resolutions moving forward.

Further, water delivery implementation models and processes will be subject to rigorous review, Ramaphosa said, citing examples such as standardising the process for the appointment of capable water service providers and introducing capacity assessments for water boards.

"A large percentage of South Africa's purified water is being lost to leaks from municipal distribution systems. Water services authorities will have to develop mitigation programmes that include adequate budgets for maintenance, reducing leaks, closing illegal water connections and strengthening metering, billing and revenue collection," he explained.

Further, all efforts need to be made to support municipal authorities to fulfil their service delivery mandate, with minimum competency regulations for water service providers developed, and municipalities required to urgently fill key technical positions.

It was further resolved that mechanisms should be urgently developed to capacitate municipalities to use their Municipal Infrastructure Grant and Urban Settlements Development Grant for infrastructure upkeep.

"The Indaba further resolved that communities should be more actively involved in the protection of our country's water infrastructure. One of the promising proposals that will be considered is setting up water committees in communities," Ramaphosa commented.

Water demand management is also crucial, with government set to roll out an extensive public awareness campaign to encourage people and businesses to use water sparingly.

Meanwhile, to eliminate corruption and organised crime in the water sector, a National Water and Sanitation Anti-Corruption Forum will be established in collaboration with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

"A number of SIU investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption at several water boards have already been completed, and have resulted in resignations, dismissals and criminal charges."

Water service author...