The press conference is expected to get underway at 12 pm at the Welkom Inn and comes on the back of two days of closed-door deliberations between the newly appointed minister and key stakeholders in the Free State and Northern Cape, including municipalities, water boards and members of Mchunu’s department. Whilst the Minister will likely speak on issues pertaining to Matjhabeng Local Municipality’s soaring debt to Sedibeng Water or the water crisis in the eastern Free State, it is anticipated he will also spend some time on Mangaung Metro’s service delivery failures, on the back of a march by the Mangaung Service Delivery Forum on said issue on Tuesday 24 August.

READ: Mangaung residents deliver memorandum with grievances

In early July 2021 Mangaung managed to avert water restrictions at the eleventh hour by paying R20 million to Bloem Water, following a scathing statement from the entity regarding the metro’s failure to honour its payment agreement. During a meeting between both parties it was agreed upon that Mangaung must inform the water board in advance if it is unable to make payments as outlined in their payment agreement. Regular meetings between Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Legal and Technical teams of both entities were expected to be held to discuss outcomes, challenges, and progress between the two entities. The current status of that arrangement is unknown presently.

READ: SA needs a trillion rand to fix broken water infrastructure - UFS professor 

On Tuesday, Affiliated Professor at the University of the Free State’s Centre for Environmental Management, Anthony Turton, who formed part of the panellists on the UFS’ Thought Leader webinar series, said R1 trillion is needed to repair the country’s broken water infrastructure. He stressed that water is an economic enabler and the private sector needs to come in to help mend the situation, as it cannot be done with taxpayers’ money alone. The UFS Affiliated Professor supports his statements by saying all over the world government can only do two things, which is regulate and incentivise, implying the state doesn’t have the capacity to repair water infrastructure.

Recap of Day 1 of Minister @Senzo_Mchunu_'s visit in the Free state.

1. Minister Mchunu met with senior officials of the Free State and Northern Cape provinces. Also in attendance were Deputy Ministers Mahlobo and Magadzi.

[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/LffZ9jpUVj

— Water&SanitationRSA (@DWS_RSA) August 25, 2021

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