PRETORIA, GAUTENG — Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo has laid out a comprehensive strategy to combat South Africa’s water crisis, championing regulated public-private partnerships as a vital tool to rescue failing municipal water infrastructure without privatizing state assets.
During a recent discussion regarding the African National Congress (ANC) 2021 local government election manifesto, Mahlobo reported that national water access has climbed to 91.3%, an improvement from the previous 86%. However, he clarified that this metric currently only guarantees the physical presence of a tap in a yard or at a communal stand, rather than a consistent flow. Severe reliability issues, driven by broken pumps and degrading pipes, have led the South African Human Rights Commission to advocate for a formal national disaster declaration.
Acknowledging the ANC’s January 8 statement, Mahlobo emphasized that stabilizing local government is a strict prerequisite to solving the national water shortage. Under the newly unveiled National Water Action Plan, the national government is empowered to intervene when municipalities falter. This includes redirecting municipal grants to more capable district-level entities. Citing data from The Water Project, Mahlobo noted that 35% to 40% of treated municipal water is lost to illegal connections, leaks, and burst pipes before it ever reaches consumers. Rectifying this massive deficit and achieving the party’s target of 80% water reliability by 2030 will require an estimated R400 billion in targeted investment.
To bridge this financial and technical gap, the government is advancing a new operational model centered on Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). These entities would be jointly formed by state water boards and local municipalities to manage service delivery. Mahlobo stressed that while private sector expertise and performance-based contracts are welcome to replace thousands of kilometers of piping at their own financial risk, ultimate asset ownership must remain securely in the public trust. This collaborative approach allows struggling municipalities to incubate their own technical and financial capabilities simultaneously.
Supporting this structural shift, the Water Services Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament. The legislation seeks to decouple municipal regulatory oversight from direct water provision, enabling specialized state entities, such as Umgeni Water, to operate under formal, performance-driven licenses. Mahlobo pointed to existing successes under the district development model to validate this approach, highlighting a Mpumalanga district municipality that successfully stabilized the water supply in Standerton, as well as local concessions like Caesar Water effectively serving communities in KwaZulu-Natal.
Addressing the predatory “water tanker mafia,” Mahlobo condemned criminal networks that collude with corrupt officials to vandalize functional infrastructure. These syndicates artificially manufacture shortages to sell water to desperate communities at exorbitant rates. To starve this illicit market and protect municipal revenue, several areas have begun insourcing their water tanker fleets, ensuring emergency supply remains a public service rather than a profiteering scheme.
Beyond physical infrastructure, Mahlobo highlighted the ANC’s accountability framework, which mandates the creation of localized “water committees.” Modeled after school governing bodies, these community-led structures would manage the security, operation, and maintenance of local water assets. He cited a decentralized groundwater treatment initiative in the Amajuba district’s Ghana Gardens area, where resident-led committees successfully safeguarded and maintained the facility. This example, he noted, proves that active community involvement is indispensable to achieving long-term, sustainable water security across the country.
