The Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA), a bi-national entity between South Africa and Eswatini, has been publicly censured and fined R500,000 for failing to comply with listing requirements.
KOBWA is a bi-national company formed in 1992 through the Treaty of the Development and Utilisation of the Water Resources of the Komati River Basin.
The treaty was signed between South Africa and Eswatini, with the authority tasked with designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining two dams and associated infrastructure.
This resulted in the construction of the Driekoppies Dam in Schoemansdal, South Africa, completed in 1998 and the Maguga Dam in Eswatini, completed in 2003.
The dams were constructed primarily to ensure a water supply for irrigators in both member states, with tourism one of the spin-offs of their development.
A revised Kobwa treaty was signed by South Africa and Eswatini in March, expanding the role of the joint state-owned entities.
This includes future dam projects within the Komati Basin, revenue-generating initiatives to ensure financial sustainability, and enhanced river flow monitoring to ensure flows to Mozambique.
The bi-national company has now been censured by the JSE for failing to publish a SENS announcement regarding a senior leadership change.
Its Executive Operations Director was appointed on 11 August 2025, timeously, but the SENS announcement was only published on 19 November 2025.
The JSE found the late announcement was in breach of paragraph 6.42(a) of the Debt and Specialist Securities Listings Requirement.
Four breaches in four years
This is KOBWA’s fourth recorded instance of non-compliance with the DSS Listing Requirements in recent years, which includes:
- A late announcement in 2022 relating to key executive management and board changes;
- A late announcement in 2023 relating to a board change;
- A late announcement in 2025 relating to the appointment of new auditors; and
- The current late announcement in 2025 regarding a board change.
The JSE said that KOBWA continues to demonstrate recurrent non-compliance, including repeated failures to ensure the timely disclosure of announcements.
“The timely publication of SENS announcements is essential to maintaining transparency and ensuring a fair and orderly market,” it said.
The bourse said that SENS announcements must be on time to ensure that investors and potential investors receive timely and pertinent information about an Issuer.
It added that the DSS Listing Requirements prescribe clear timeframes for disclosures, and strict adherence to these timeframes is fundamental to sound corporate governance.
“The JSE considers KOBWA’s continued failure to comply with its disclosure obligations to be unacceptable.
“This is particularly concerning given that the Issuer has previously relied on its internal governance structures and advisory support as safeguards against further lapses.”
It said that recurrent delayed disclosures point to material weaknesses in the issuer’s compliance framework and reflect an ongoing disregard for the DSS Listings Requirements.
Due to the breach and repeated history of similar contraventions, the JSE has decided to impose a public censure on KOBWA and a fine of R500,000.00.
The fine is suspended for a period of three years, on the condition that the issuer is found not to be in breach of the DSS Listings Requirement during the suspension.
