ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS GAUTENG ON THE WATER CRISIS IN THE CITY OF JOHANNESBURG
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng strongly condemns the ongoing water crisis that has once again plunged the people of Johannesburg into misery, frustration, and indignity. According to the City, these water outages are as a result of over consumption and the power outages at the Emfuleni Local Municipality, thus disrupting pumping to Rand Water’s Forest Hill and Eikenhof systems.
For years, the people of Johannesburg have suffered through recurring water cuts, erratic supply, and growing uncertainty regarding access to this basic human right. This is not because residents are using too much water—it is because the infrastructure is old, dilapidated, and neglected. The City’s water pipes, reservoirs, and pump stations have been allowed to collapse due to poor maintenance, lack of
investment, and the deployment of incompetent ANC cadres who are more interested in looting state resources than serving the people.
The EFF in Gauteng rejects Joburg Water’s explanation of overconsumption as a lazy excuse for a complex problem that requires decisive, farsighted, and visionary leadership that truly cares about its people. The ongoing water shortages across multiple regions of the City of Johannesburg are the direct result of decades of incompetence, corruption, and neglect by different administrations in the municipality
and the national government. This is not a sudden crisis, nor is it simply a matter of so-called overconsumption, as claimed by the Joburg Water leadership in a desperate attempt to shift blame.
Johannesburg’s water infrastructure is in a state of severe neglect and decay, leading to the over 35% of technical water losses due to leaks and bursts. This means millions of liters of water are wasted before arriving to residents, not because of overconsumption but due to years of municipal failure, incompetence, and corruption. A hydrological report even found that the Jukskei River at times contains more leaked water from broken pipes than natural water, highlighting the extent of the crisis. The
city’s inability to repair its crumbling network has turned a basic necessity into a symbol of systemic mismanagement.
The City has a R27 Billion backlog in infrastructure renewal and upgrades and the situation is compounded by corruption, maladministration and incompetence in budget project management. Unfortunately, funds that should have been used to build new reservoirs, upgrade pump stations, and repair aging pipelines have disappeared into the pockets of corrupt officials and tenderpreneurs.
The impact of this water crisis has been devastating, undermining every progress made in other departments and affecting service delivery in general. Hospitals and clinics are under severe strain, as they struggle to function without a reliable water supply, placing the lives of patients at risk and worsening the already fragile state of public healthcare.
Already struggling businesses are compelled to overstretched their resources buying water in order to keep afloat in the already difficult economic situation. In the Johannesburg High Court, court operations have been repeatedly disrupted, with cases postponed due to water shortages, delaying justice for countless people.
Schools and tertiary institutions, including the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg, and the Central Johannesburg College, have been severely affected, with students unable to access clean water for sanitation, disrupting classes and interfering with their studies. This is not just a crisis of water—it is an assault on the future of young people who are trying to secure education in unbearable conditions.
Meanwhile, the lack of sanitation and hygiene has created a humanitarian crisis, as toilets remain unflushed, sewage overflows, and people are forced to endure the indignity of living without proper sanitation.
It is disgraceful that in 2025, millions of residents in a metropolitan city like Johannesburg must still struggle for access to water, while politicians in power continue to enjoy luxurious lifestyles at the expense of the people. The EFF is outraged by this crisis and will not allow it to continue without accountability. The people of Johannesburg deserve answers, and they deserve urgent action.
The EFF calls on Joburg Water to provide an emergency turnaround strategy to return water supply back to normalcy as soon as yesterday. We call on the City together with the national Department of Water and Sanitation to invest resources in order prioritize the repair and replacement of aging water infrastructure, expansion of reservoirs, and improvement of pump stations to meet the needs of City’s growing population. We also call for the appointment of competent professionals and engineers in the Joburg
Water Board, as such a crucial entity cannot be left in the hands of ANC cadres who are only there because of patronage and not their skill set.
We continue to echo the call for Johannesburg Water to take lessons from the City of Ekurhuleni Department of Water and Sanitation led by the EFF, in building water and energy capacity, pump stations, reservoirs and towers in to avoid over reliance on Eskom to dispense water to communities.