Since the OR Tambo District Council was inaugurated, 4,372 households across the district have been provided with water through the completion of various water schemes.
The Flagstaff and Port St Johns Phase 6 regional water supply projects are nearing completion and have provided water to more than 23,037 households.
Over the term, almost 21,708 households have also been provided with Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets.
The refurbishment of the Mthatha Wastewater Treatment Works is under way through a disaster grant, while the Tsolo wastewater treatment plant and reticulation have been completed.
The Qumbu plant is 98% complete, with the Libode plant at Phase 2 and Ngqeleni at the planning stage.
The municipality has also strengthened its disaster response capacity, purchasing firefighting and disaster-response vehicles and appointing eight additional firefighters.
“The district has concluded the construction of a state-of-the-art Disaster Management Centre in Libode.
“Over the period, we purchased seven disaster response vehicles to ensure that the unit has the necessary capacity to respond when there is a need.
“We transferred the environmental health and disaster function from the KSD Local Municipality to the district,” Ngqondwana said.
A R900m, four-year housing agreement signed with the department of human settlements did not go as planned.
However, the municipality is working through intergovernmental channels to address the challenges. The programme has so far delivered 1,187 houses across the district.
During the June 2025 floods, 3,995 families were affected and 78 people died, with one body still not recovered.
National government intervention resulted in 600 temporary residential units being provided — 400 in KSD and 50 in each of the other four local municipalities.
The district has also reported improvements in water compliance.
Its Blue Drop score for drinking water quality increased to 56.2% in 2023/2024, while its No Drop score for water conservation reached 51%.
Both were above the national average, with the district ranked first in the Eastern Cape for No Drop.
The Green Drop score improved from 21% to 41%, moving the district from a critical to a moderate risk rating.
For the 2026/2027 financial year, the municipality has allocated R571.7m to water provision projects across the district.
Of this, R158m will be used to provide 2,400 households with access to potable water, while R118.2m has been allocated to provide sanitation to more than 4,000 households.
The department of human settlements has also confirmed R60m for the construction of 100 houses across the district.
The municipality has increased its operations and maintenance budget from R44.9m in 2023/2024 to R97m in the year under review, excluding electricity.
A further R24m has been set aside for fuel for water schemes and R16.9m for water tankers, while the allocation for security services has increased to R91m to address vandalism.
A total of R7.259m has been allocated to support destitute and homeless households affected by disasters, while R6.461m has been allocated to ensure the municipality can respond to emergency incidents within the required time.