Ramaphosa says water crisis an ‘emergency that shouldn’t take so long to fix’

‘There’s just no reason why things that can be done, take so long to be done,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in an urgent address to the National Water and Sanitation Indaba.

The room was packed with government ministers, premiers, mayors, water sector leaders and industry executives at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Thursday.

Ramaphosa stressed that the Indaba should be action-oriented.

“We should not be here to diagnose the problem. We know what the problem is – what is needed now is course correction,” he said, calling for a comprehensive plan to expand access to water, improve infrastructure and bring stability to water services.

State of SA’s water resources

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina at the 2025 Water and Sanitation Indaba at at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng, on 27 March 2025. (Photo: GCIS)

Ramaphosa noted that SA was one of the 25 most water-stressed countries globally, and faced significant challenges despite progress. Ramaphosa acknowledged the country’s advancement in providing access to water to 88.5% of its population since 1994, but noted ongoing issues with ageing infrastructure, illegal connections, corruption and mismanagement, especially at municipal levels. 

While the national raw water supply is currently balanced with demand, regions such as Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town have suffered shortages due to droughts.

Gauteng and eThekwini are now grappling with water shortages, exacerbated by rising demand, high non-revenue water rates and delays in key projects such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 and the Umkhomazi Water Project – which are now finally in the implementation phase. 

Ramaphosa also noted that the government had secured R23-billion for major water projects, and its “Operation Vulindlela” is prioritising reforms to improve water quality, encourage investment in infrastructure maintenance and streamline regulations.

Core issue — nearly half of treated water is lost

“Non-revenue water is at the core of our problems with regard to water services in South Africa,” said Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation Sean Phillips.

Non-revenue water refers to treated water that does not generate revenue for the utility, primarily due to leaks, theft and unbilled usage. Shockingly, more than 80% of the country has non-revenue water rates exceeding 40%, with the national average at 44.7%, and the national average for physical losses at 32%. 

 

“We do not have a water availability problem,” said Ramaphosa. “We do, but the key problem is in bringing water to the people.”

He noted the World Resources Institute’s estimation that sub-Saharan Africa would face the biggest challenges in water demand by 2050, and that the climate crisis would exacerbate South Africa’s water security.

“Now, these factors make for what is called a ‘perfect storm’ – where dry taps, broken infrastructure and poor management of water resources at local government level [are] fuelling growing public discontent,” said the President. 

Phillips explained at the indaba that while South Africa’s overall raw water supply currently met national demand, several regions had faced or were facing shortages. Nelson Mandela Bay (2015-2023) and Cape Town (2016-2018) endured deficits due to severe droughts.

Gauteng is now struggling with shortages driven by rising demand, high levels of non-revenue water and delays in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2. Similarly, eThekwini is facing water supply challenges due to increased demand, high non-revenue water rates and setbacks in the Umkhomazi Water Project.

‘Perfect storm’ of challenges

Phillips outlined several factors that threatened to worsen the situation:

• Rising demand: Economic growth, urbanisation and population increases were driving water demand higher.


• High non-revenue water: The national average for non-revenue water was 44.7%, with municipal systems suffering major leaks.
  Environmental Degradation: Pollution from sewage and industrial waste reduced water quality.


• Climate change: The impacts of climate change were making water resources even scarcer.


• Infrastructure deficiencies: 66% of municipal wastewater infrastructure was in poor or critical condition.


• Financial constraints: Municipalities were struggling with rising debt and non-payment, with outstanding debts to water boards reaching R24.81-billion as of January 2025.


• Skills shortages: Lack of skilled personnel was contributing to the inefficiency in water management.

Phillips highlighted that Gauteng had the highest percentage of well-performing drinking water systems and the lowest shortfall of qualified staff, while Northern Cape had the highest percentage of poorly performing systems and the greatest staff shortage.

“So there’s a very clear correlation between your blue drop results and whether or not you’ve got the necessary qualified staff,” he said.

Solutions – a multipronged approach

To tackle the water crisis, Phillips proposed several key actions:

• Infrastructure development: Improve planning, procurement and project management to attract more financing.


• Diversifying water resources: Use groundwater, seawater and desalination and treat wastewater more sustainably.


• Water conservation: Implement better water conservation strategies and reduce physical losses in municipal systems.


• Financial reforms: Reorganise funding to focus on improving basic service access and support municipalities in managing their water infrastructure.


• Addressing non-revenue water: Municipalities must prioritise budgets for maintenance, close illegal connections, replace old pipes and strengthen water system management.


• Managing municipal debt: The National Treasury has agreed to withhold equitable share allocations from non-paying municipalities and has approved a write-off mechanism for historic debts, conditional on municipalities paying current accounts in full.

Holding municipalities accountable

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina addresses the 2025 Water and Sanitation Indaba at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng, on 27 March 2025. (Photo: GCIS)

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina said that while the national government recognised the need for collaboration, municipalities had to play their part.

Read more: Minister blames municipalities for Gauteng water crisis, offering four immediate actions

“It is disheartening. We send grants to municipalities … but that money is returned to the National Treasury. It is not returned to us. [and then] people don’t have water,” she said.

“We are not here to blame you, municipalities. But the fact is, the buck stops with you.”

She stressed that municipalities had access to various grants – including the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, Water Services Infrastructure Grant, Urban Settlements Development Grant and the regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant – but municipalities were not using them.

“Unless we agree that we don’t have the technically skilled people in your employment, municipalities,” she said, to a round of applause.

Ramaphosa echoed the sentiment, calling for better grant management and condemning profiteering from water trucking, saying, “there’s no dignity for our people to be standing alongside the street just tapping water from a truck where somebody is making a lot of money. This must end.”

Phillps emphasised that the funding gap, caused by non-revenue water, “must be addressed”, saying “there is no alternative”.

He implored municipalities to take urgent steps to address high non-revenue water, starting with prioritising budgets for maintenance and leak reduction in water distribution systems. He emphasised the need for swift repairs to reported leaks, the closure of illegal water connections and the replacement of old, leaking pipes.

Where funding was insufficient, he suggested exploring partnerships with the private sector. Additionally, he urged municipalities to improve water system management, such as through pressure management, and to strengthen metering, billing and revenue collection to ensure better accountability and efficiency.

‘Emergency’ 

“I am telling my colleagues that with every proposal, we must now focus on the time frame, in addition to financial, constitutional and legal implications,” said Ramaphosa

“Everything must be done quickly,” he said, likening the urgency to “saving someone from a burning house” and emphasising that water should be treated as an “emergency” in South Africa.

“When we take a decision, it should no longer be, ‘will it be implemented?’ It should now be, ‘when will it be implemented?’ ” DM