Parliament, Sunday, 16 March 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy has expressed grave concerns over the continued failures and wasteful expenditure in the national solar water heater programme run by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
The committee received an update from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on the National Solar Water Heater Programme (NSWHP) today. The DMRE provided an update on the programme which has been plagued by issues since its inception. The committee heard that despite the procurement of 87,000 units by the department, only 59,000 have been successfully installed to date - 1% of the initial 5 million target set in 2015.
The committee was informed that the department has incurred over R324 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure on storage costs alone for the uninstalled units. The committee was of the view that this raises serious questions about planning, implementation and oversight of this programme.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Nonkosi Mvana, said: "The scale of wasteful expenditure and the complete failure to achieve the objectives of this programme is unacceptable. Hundreds of millions of rands of public money have been squandered with little to show for it."
The committee expressed outrage that despite the gross mismanagement, no officials have been held accountable. Members demanded that the department provide a full forensic report on the program and take decisive action against those responsible.
Members of the committee said this cannot be allowed to continue. Furthermore, it said there needs to be a complete overhaul of this programme with a focus on ensuring value for money, job creation and tangible benefits for poor households who were meant to be the primary beneficiaries.
The committee resolved to conduct site visits to assess the limited installations that have taken place and engage directly with intended beneficiaries. The committee has called for the department to present a comprehensive turnaround plan before embarking on any new solar water heater initiatives.
"The taxpayers of this country deserve far better than what has transpired with this programme. We will continue to exercise rigorous oversight to ensure accountability and value for money going forward," added Ms Mvana.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY, MS NONKOSI MVANA.
For media inquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Yoliswa Landu (Ms)
Cell: 081 497 4694
E-mail: ylandu@parliament.gov.za
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