Water-shedding is the GNU’s gift to South Africa

12 November 2025

Yesterday the Minister announced to Johannesburg residents that indefinite cuts to water supply would begin later this week, enforced by Johannesburg Water. If loadshedding was the gift from the previous administration, water shedding is the gift from this administration. Johannesburg now joins scores of communities and towns across South Africa who have faced intermittent water supply.

Honourable Speaker, experts continue to argue that without urgent investment in infrastructure and strict accountability measures for all stakeholders, our water crisis will only worsen.

But, the Minister herself has acknowledged that R90 billion is required just to clear the existing infrastructure backlogs, not to mention funding for future projects to keep up with demand.

Yet, instead of taking accountability, there seems to be a blame game between the national department and the municipalities. In a press briefing in August, the Minister stated that people, and I quote,  "[d]o not seem to appreciate that the provision of water services is the responsibility of municipalities, not the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). It would be a priority for us to correct this misunderstanding and to encourage communities and leaders to hold their municipalities accountable.”

But, Honourable Speaker, let us remember that accountability does not stop at the municipalities. The Minister herself must answer for the audit outcomes of her own department, which are deeply concerning:

- Water Supply Projects: Out of a target of 5,453 projects, only 747 have been completed. (That’s just 13%)

- Bucket Sanitation System Eradication: A target of 12,000, yet only 696 completed by the previous year. (That’s less than 6%)

- Dam Rehabilitation: Out of nine planned dam rehabilitations, only one has been completed. (That’s only 11%)

How can municipalities be expected to supply water if the infrastructure remains broken or simply does not exist? And when municipalities are unable to supply water, the Minister’s hands are not tied.

The Water Services Act grants the power to hand over distribution authority to non-profits and private service providers where municipalities cannot fulfil this basic function.

The citizens of South Africa should not be surprised that we face an imminent water crisis. It has been hiding in plain sight, and it reflects the actions of a government either indifferent to the devastating impact of unreliable water supply on its citizens or lacking the political will to make meaningful change.

The Minister must take responsibility, not deflect it, for the state of our nation’s water infrastructure and delivery.

Issued by Roger Solomons, BOSA Acting Spokesperson, 12 November 2024