The South African Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into Gauteng’s worsening water crisis has been welcomed as a critical but belated intervention, with communities enduring up to eight months without running water and facing dangerous health and safety risks.
Amandla.mobi organising spokesperson Zintle Tyuku described the situation as “very dire, very critical” and said communities are desperate. Speaking after the commission launched its probe following a surge in complaints about widespread water outages across the province, Tyuku noted that some communities last year had no water for eight months, with no Jojo tanks or water trucks arriving.
“They had to go to other communities and travel quite long distances to get water,” Tyuku said.
She highlighted that even where communal taps exist, they are not a real solution. Women returning late from piece jobs face danger collecting water after dark, and single mothers raising children are placed at additional risk.
“It’s not just about dry taps,” Tyuku said. “There are other social challenges that rise up because of not having water.”
One community member told the organisation that washing clothes properly requires fetching water for an entire day. Tyuku stressed the need for piped water infrastructure, saying “each yard should have a tap in their own yard.”
Profiteering at Communities’ Expense
Tyuku alleged that a profit-driven system has emerged around water trucks and Jojo tanks, with some parties benefiting financially while residents suffer.
“There’s a lot of profiteering of people suffering,” she said. “The more the city keeps on making profit, it is then prioritizing selling water at the expense of those whose rights are being denied.”
She called for the over four billion rand diverted to paying water truck owners and tank providers to be redirected toward installing permanent infrastructure.
However, she acknowledged that the SAHRC’s recommendations are not binding, adding: “We just need to push towards the right direction. The more we are all talking about it, the more we bring the plight of communities, it will make us take the step towards the right direction.”
Distrust of Tanker Water
Tyuku said Amandla.mobi spoke with 17 communities, mostly in the south of Johannesburg, where most people do not trust water from Jojo tanks or trucks. Reports indicate debris forms at the bottom of tanks, and grant-dependent residents are forced to buy bottled water for drinking.
“Some of the trucks that go into communities have rust around the edges,” Tyuku said. “You can tell the pipe going in is not clean. There’s no knowledge about how these trucks are serviced or how healthy and safe that water is.”
Health Hazards and Loss of Dignity
The SAHRC has also flagged environmental damage from acid mine drainage and raw sewage in residential and protected areas. Tyuku noted that some Johannesburg communities rely on pit latrines, and sewage mixing with natural water sources is creating severe pollution.
Community leaders from Pumlamonga reported that children now regularly go to school without having bathed — something that never used to happen.
“The standard of living of communities is being brought down by this,” Tyuku said. “It’s a man-made issue because it could be solved. The money being used for profits could be invested in proper infrastructure.”
Municipal Accountability Lacking
Tyuku said that while some municipal officials appeared at SAHRC hearings, others were absent.
“Accountability has always been such a problem at local level,” she said. “If communities have not had water for eight months, there should be cases already.”
She added that none of the 17 communities surveyed had ever seen their Jojo tanks cleaned, and the city does not service them. “There is no accountability,” she said. “Decision makers need to be held accountable. Municipalities need to be held accountable.”