Civil organisations needed to curb water crisis in 2025

Serious water problems across the country have highlighted that water security in South Africa requires more than just promises, but actual action by the government. The government’s efforts must be backed by civil organisations, such as AfriForum, who has the knowledge to deal with South Africa’s water crisis effectively. This need was proven once again in the new year when vacationers on the KwaZulu-Natal coast and the residents of Johannesburg had to endure the serious consequences of South Africa’s water crisis. Sewage pollution that led to the closure of popular beaches in Durban and the prolonged water outages in Johannesburg highlighted serious deficiencies in infrastructure and again placed the management of water and sanitation systems under the magnifying glass.

“The lack of capacity, funding and political will, especially at municipal level, is expected to continue to present significant obstacles for the country’s water security in 2025,” says Marais de Vaal, AfriForum’s Advisor for Environmental Affairs.

An important starting point in facing the crisis in 2025 is the fact that in 2024 the South African government recognised the seriousness of the country’s water and sanitation challenges and introduced various measures to tackle them. Key among these is the amendment to the Water Services Act 108 of 1997, which aims to improve the regulation and management of municipal water services and hold municipalities accountable for their failures.

“The amendments to the relevant laws may strengthen supervision over municipalities, but implementation remains a critical issue. Many municipalities do not have the technical capacity or resources to comply with the proposed standards, which may cause further non-compliance,” warns De Vaal.

Although recent water crises have already provided valuable lessons, such as when Johannesburg Water’s forced maintenance work highlighted residents’ need for better communication, as well as the urgency to improve emergency planning and a proactive approach to infrastructure maintenance, the single biggest threat to continued water security is municipalities’ enormous debt burden of R23 billion owed to water boards.

“This puts the sustainability of water boards, which are responsible for the supply of water in bulk to municipalities, in jeopardy and emphasises that underperforming municipalities, which do not have proper systems for the collection of water bills in place, must be straightened out,” adds De Vaal.

Where municipalities fail to rise to the occasion, AfriForum has ensured that emergency water points are set up in towns. In this way, it’s ensured that communities across the country have access to almost 100 emergency water points, with a combined capacity of 800 000 litres during unplanned water interruptions. Furthermore, the civil rights organisation plans to train its local neighbourhood teams this year to repair sewer and water leaks in an attempt to nip unnecessary water losses in the bud.

Forums such as the Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng and the Vaal River Anti-Pollution Forum, in which AfriForum is also involved, have in the meanwhile been set up to bring together government entities, players in the private sector and civil societies to share expertise on dealing with water issues. Yet the impact of these new forums is limited without adequate funding and clear mechanisms to ensure accountability.

“Although the future of South Africa’s water security largely depends on the government’s ability to convert plans into action, AfriForum will continue to offer much-needed training and engage in discussions with role players to prevent unnecessary water wastage, which is caused by inadequate infrastructure and maintenance,” concludes De Vaal.