City of Joburg keeps tanker suppliers secret despite R650m spending

The City of Johannesburg has spent more than R650 million on water tankers over the past five years, but the identities of the companies receiving that money remain undisclosed to the public, according to Moneyweb.

City refuses to name suppliers

Moneyweb reports that Johannesburg Water would not provide GroundUp with details of newly awarded tankering tenders or information on which companies have supplied or sold tankering equipment. Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala told GroundUp to submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application to obtain the information, Moneyweb says.

Scale of tankering and budget impact

According to Moneyweb, the city’s reliance on tankers has a measurable budgetary footprint: tankering services account for about 10% of Johannesburg Water’s annual capital budget, with R132 million spent on tankering in 2024/25 from a R1.2 billion capital budget.

Concerns raised about transparency and planning

Moneyweb reports that the South African Human Rights Commission inquiry into the Gauteng water crisis flagged serious concerns about the proliferation of water tankers. The reporting notes broader debate over whether tankering has become an entrenched substitute for long-term infrastructure maintenance and planning.

What Johannesburg Water says about its fleet

Moneyweb records that Johannesburg Water’s managing director told the SAHRC inquiry the city uses about 60 tankers daily, mainly from third-party providers, and that the utility has committed to phasing out external providers within 12 to 18 months as it expands its own branded fleet.

All financial and transparency claims in this article are attributed to Moneyweb.