Outa urges City of Johannesburg to triple water budget amid escalating crisis

‘They don’t have enough funds, and that is true,” said Dr Ferrial Adam, executive manager of WaterCAN, addressing a packed audience at the Joburg Crisis Alliance Summit in Brixton on 25 January 2025.

WaterCAN executive manager Dr Ferrial Adam. (Photo: Bruce Smyth / Outa)

Adam was speaking about Johannesburg Water’s insufficient budget to tackle the city’s crumbling infrastructure, which has left residents grappling with water outages for days, sometimes months.

WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), delivered a letter to the speaker of the City of Johannesburg Council, ActionSA’s Councillor Nobuhle Mthembu, at the summit held at the Brixton Multipurpose Centre on Saturday.

Residents of Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia South marched from the Golden Highway to Lenasia South Civic Centre on 2 December 2024 to deliver a memorandum to the mayor of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water, demanding access to clean running water from communal taps. (Photo: Julia Evans)

The letter, also addressed to Jack Sekwaila, member of the mayoral committee for Environmental and Infrastructure Services, calls for the City to table WaterCAN’s petition to adjust the city budget at the next City Council meeting.

This morning we handed over our petition to end the #WaterCrisis our city is facing. ?

Thousands of Joburger's heeded our call and signed the petition to ringfence and increase the water capital budget to the needed R3bn.

?Dr. Ferrial Adam with Council Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu pic.twitter.com/UpCITa0ynw

— WaterCAN (@WaterCANsa) January 28, 2025

WaterCAN’s petition, issued in December 2024 and signed by nearly 4,000 Johannesburg residents and members of civil society organisations, calls on the city to prioritise its water crisis by increasing Johannesburg Water’s capital budget from R1.2-billion to R3-billion.

Johannesburg Water, the water entity for the City of Johannesburg, has explained previously that the historical capital expenditure budget of R1.2-billion the city gives it to upgrade infrastructure is insufficient.

With 26% of its infrastructure expected to reach the end of its lifespan within the next decade, Johannesburg Water estimates that R3.1-billion is needed annually over the next 10 years to replace and upgrade the infrastructure.

Read more: With a R27bn infrastructure upgrades backlog, Joburg Water takes financial reins back from city

“Johannesburg Water should have sufficient revenue from the sale of water and sanitation services,” executive manager for local government at Outa Julius Kleynhans said when the petition was launched.

“Yet the maintenance, upgrading and extending of infrastructure is inadequate, and every day we see evidence of failing infrastructure. It is unacceptable that non-core services are funded or prioritised when the basic services and core functions aren’t met. This must change now,” said Kleynhans.

Residents of Dube and Meadowlands in Soweto fetch water on 18 March 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)

WaterCAN noted that the Johannesburg Water Business Plan 2024/25 clearly outlined the urgent financial  requirements needed to stop the decline, but highlighted how “the council's approved budget to Johannesburg Water in 2024 falls far short of these needs, putting the city’s water security and residents’ wellbeing at risk.”

Joburg Water reports that 25% of the water it purchases from Rand Water is lost daily due to physical losses, such as leaks and pipe bursts – which are affected by ageing infrastructure. This amounts to about 275 million litres of water a day, equivalent to filling more than 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Neeshan Balton, executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and co-organiser of the water summit, noted that more than 300 people from more than 100 organisations attended the summit on Saturday.

“People came from all parts of the city, finding commonality in their issues, which highlights how the city is breaking down in many areas,” Balton told Daily Maverick.

“No ward is unaffected by poor governance, mismanagement and ageing infrastructure.”

The petition’s demands

The petition outlines seven key demands for the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water:

• Increase the capital expenditure budget for Johannesburg Water to R3-billion in the adjustment budget for 2024/25 and 2025/26.


• Prioritise upgrading and maintaining water infrastructure to ensure a reliable supply.


• Guarantee water access for all communities, particularly those most affected by present deficiencies.


• Adopt sustainable water management practices to safeguard future water security.


• Ringfence revenue from water and sanitation services for infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.


• Improve governance and transparency by providing detailed breakdowns of Johannesburg Water’s operational spending, including maintenance and procurement.


• Publish up-to-date information on tenders, projects, bidders and awards to ensure procurement transparency.

Cost of inaction

“When water leaks and interruptions become the norm, it’s the marginalised communities that suffer the most,” said Adam when the petition was launched last December.

“Businesses flee to wealthier municipalities, leaving behind joblessness and despair. Health risks skyrocket and municipalities spiral into bankruptcy. We must act now to ensure water justice for all.”

In its petition, WaterCAN highlighted the risks posed by Johannesburg’s ongoing water crisis:

• Health risks: Increased prevalence of waterborne diseases.


• Economic impact: Business disruptions due to water shortages.


• Social impact: Critical services such as hospitals and schools affected.


• Environmental degradation: Water losses exacerbate strain on limited resources.

Finding the money

WaterCAN has identified areas in the city’s budget where funds could be reallocated to prioritise water infrastructure:

• Reduce spending in the City Manager’s office, which allocates R1.916-billion for operational costs in 2024/25.


• Cut costs in Group Finance, which absorbs R6-billion annually, despite poor revenue collection.


• Reassess councillors’ “Tools of Trade” expenditure, which has totalled R10-million since 2021.


• Redirect funds from Human Settlements’ R1.24-billion capital budget to address water and sanitation needs in informal settlements.


• Eliminate unnecessary spending on municipal entity boards and additional office rentals.

“Water is a constitutional right,” said Adam. “The city has a responsibility to provide clean, reliable water to all its residents.”

Speaker’s response

City of Johannesburg speaker Nobuhle Mthembu. (Photo: Luba Lesolle / Gallo Images)

Council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu indicated that the petition will not be tabled at this month’s council meeting, set to take place this Thursday, 30 January, as the agenda has already been set.

She explained that the petition had to first be reviewed by the Petitions Committee, which would engage with both Johannesburg Water and the City’s Budget Steering Committee under the member of the mayoral committee for finance.

“Once that process is complete, we will hear from the various stakeholders on the way forward,” Mthembu told Daily Maverick.

However, she emphasised the importance of the petition, saying that it was necessary and “shows that residents of the City of Johannesburg are making use of every avenue possible in holding the executive arm of council to account”.

She said that, “As the legislature, we will always encourage, fully support any efforts from residents who are offering practical solutions to the city’s problems.”

Adam said she hoped the petition would be tabled in February, and that public pressure would continue, echoing what she said at the summit on Saturday – “continue the pressure; engage, and then build a united voice”. DM