Johannesburg’s escalating water crisis has sparked furious protests in Coronationville, forcing Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to convene an emergency meeting with the mayor of Joburg as unrest spreads.
Angry residents of Coronationville, Johannesburg, took to the streets on Wednesday, barricading roads with burning tyres, stones, and garbage as they demanded an end to the prolonged water crisis.
The protest quickly escalated, drawing a heavy police presence. Officers fired rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd, but demonstrators stood their ground, vowing not to back down until their taps ran again.
According to reports, the area has been facing water shortages for over seven years.
Recently, residents in Soweto, particularly in areas like Protea Glen and Diepkloof, have frequently protested against severe and prolonged water shortages, barricading roads with stones and burning tires to demand a consistent water supply from authorities.
In light of this, Lesufi announced on Wednesday that he will convene an urgent meeting with all executive mayors in the province to address the surge of service delivery protests impacting several townships.
Lesufi explained that the meeting aims to develop coordinated strategies to resolve the ongoing crisis, which has seen widespread unrest rooted in water shortages and electricity disruptions.
Speaking to IOL at the Global Governance Space seminar in Johannesburg, Lesufi extended an apology to residents affected by the protests and highlighted the government’s commitment to resolving the situation swiftly.
“This unfortunate turn of events is regretted,” Lesufi said.
“The reality is that our people are raising genuine issues, and we also acknowledge that many are unemployed and therefore unable to pay for some services, which puts pressure on municipalities to provide free and adequate services.”
He assured that the voices of protesting communities have been heard, especially regarding the water supply interruptions.
“The matter of water has been brought to our attention, and we have engaged senior officials to address it,” he stated.
“Our communities don’t have to be on the street for their issues to be taken seriously. We have been working on these matters and continue to make strides to resolve them.”
However, Lesufi acknowledged that challenges such as illegal water and electricity connections, population influx, and crime complicate service delivery efforts.
“Unfortunately, some services are disrupted by illegal connections, the increasing influx into the city, and other elements of crime that the City is actively addressing.”
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero addressed the unrest, apologising to residents and acknowledging that crumbling infrastructure lies at the heart of the ongoing water crisis.
“We have been experiencing issues at the Eikenhof pump stations, which affect the Commando system, the one that supplies a large part of Johannesburg. As a result, recovery has taken too long, forcing us to implement throttling, which in turn affects many communities. Once the system is fully recovered, we will be able to restore the water supply. We sincerely apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience, especially in Ivory Park and the south of Johannesburg.”
He added that Joburg Water technicians had been working around the clock to resolve the issue and speed up the system’s recovery.
Political parties have argued that the water outages are not solely due to ageing infrastructure but are primarily the result of persistent governance failures and corruption.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said Johannesburg is losing almost half of its water supply to leaks, burst pipes, and illegal connections, problems the city has repeatedly failed to address with the urgency they require.
“These massive technical losses have pushed the city’s water consumption above the quota it is licensed to receive from Rand Water. The DA demands that the comprehensive Infrastructure Masterplan we’ve been asking for, for years, be brought to the table without delay.
“The only way to fix this issue, and ensure that residents never again have to take to the streets to have water in their taps, is by putting into work a feasible infrastructure masterplan.”
Meanwhile, ActionSA expressed solidarity with the communities of Mpumalanga in Kamaqhekeza, Block C, Dludluma, Ngwenyeni, and Steenbok, who have been driven to protest after years of neglect and corruption by the Nkomazi Local Municipality.
ActionSA said the crisis stems from the municipality’s failure to ensure reliable water access. Instead of developing sustainable infrastructure, residents have been forced to rely on irregular and exploitative water tanker operations, while councillors have deliberately withheld access to water, fueling corruption and deepening public frustration.
“ActionSA has been informed of allegations that certain councillors are deliberately withholding access to water to sell it back to residents for profit. If true, this is not only an abuse of public office but also a violation of the constitutional right to water. We therefore call for an urgent investigation into these allegations by the relevant authorities.”
AfriForum has urged the Auditor-General and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to broaden their probe into corruption and executive pay at South Africa’s water boards to cover all seven entities.
“This comes after reports that senior officials are earning exorbitant board fees, in some cases up to R100,000 per meeting, while ordinary South Africans struggle with water shortages, frequent cuts, and polluted rivers,” AfriForum said.
The Star
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