Eswatini’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Prince Lonkhokhela Dlamini, and South Africa's Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, sign a revised treaty governing shared water resources in the Komati River Basin in March 2026.
Image: Supplied / DWS
The JSE has censured the Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA) and imposed a R500,000 fine, suspended for three years, following the latest failure to timeously inform the market of changes to the board of directors.
The JSE said in an announcement on its news service that KOBWA had failed to publish the announcement of the appointment of the executive operations director on August 11, 2025, timeously, and the announcement was only published on November 19, 2025.
An online search by BR showed KOBWA has registered loan stock listed as debt securities on the JSE Bond Exchange, a 13.5% coupon rate bond with a principal amount of R375 million maturing on October 31, 2027.
KOBWA is a bi-national entity formed in 1993 through a treaty on the development and utilisation of the water resources of the Komati River Basin, signed between Eswatini and South Africa, and includes cross-border flow obligations to Mozambique.
After constructing the Driekoppies Dam and Maguga Dam, the organisation is currently in an operation and maintenance phase to ensure that farmers get adequate water for irrigation.
“This is the issuer’s fourth recorded instance of non-compliance with the DSS Listings Requirements in recent years,” the JSE said.
There had been a late announcement in 2022 relating to executive management and board changes, there was a late announcement in 2023 relating to a board change, and there was a late announcement in 2025 relating to the appointment of new auditors.
“Despite repeated regulatory engagement and prior censures, the issuer has continued to demonstrate recurrent non-compliance, including repeated failures to ensure the timely disclosure of announcements,” the JSE said.
It said the timely publication of announcements was essential to maintaining transparency and ensuring a fair and orderly market, as it enables investors and potential investors to receive timely and pertinent information about an issuer. BR could not reach KOBWA for further comment on Monday.
“The JSE considers KOBWA’s continued failure to comply with its disclosure obligations to be unacceptable. The recurrence of delayed disclosures points to material weakness in the issuer’s compliance framework and reflects an ongoing disregard for the obligations imposed by the DSS Listings Requirements.”
KOBWA, in its financial results to end-March 2025, reported an R8.52m deficit compared with a R5.78m deficit the year before, after expenses of R121.6m, compared with expenses of R111.3m the year before.
A revised treaty of the KOBWA was signed between Eswatini and South Africa in March this year, which the organisation said in a statement, had paved the way for new infrastructure projects in the Komati Basin, modernisation of existing dams, and a stronger institutional role for KOBWA. Possible projects include new dams, bulk water systems, storage reservoirs, and booster pump stations.
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