Lamateu Monicolo|Published 1 hour ago
In his State of the Union address, President Cyril Ramaphosa articulated a national response to the water crisis that is firmly grounded in constitutional obligations and strategic foresight. His articulation went beyond immediate symptoms and affirmed that water security is inseparable from human dignity and the long-term stability and development of our societies.
As the South African Water and Sewerage and Sanitation Authority Association (AWSISA), we welcome both the clarity of his analysis and the determination in his response. The President will reframe water issues as a national enterprise, calling for disciplined coordination, sustained investment, and shared responsibility across states, industry, and society. It calls not just to repair infrastructure, but to restore trust in the very architecture of governance that protects every drop.
His comments demonstrate a deep understanding of the institutional framework that defines water governance in South Africa, the causes of systemic failures at multiple levels of the water value chain, and the long-term imperatives for reform that must drive an industry-wide response.
Mr Ramaphosa confronted the roots of the crisis with candor and precision. He pointed to years of underinvestment and management neglect, citing systemic weaknesses in urban planning, maintenance and infrastructure management as central reasons for repeated water outages.
The President has made it clear that the government will use its powers under the Constitution and the Water Act 1997 to intervene in local governments whenever necessary. He added that the government had already brought criminal charges against 56 municipalities for failing to meet their obligations and would now prosecute municipal managers in their individual capacities for violating the National Water Act 1998. We welcome these statements as they confirm that accountability within the legal and regulatory framework is non-negotiable.
The constitutional and legislative context in which these commitments are embedded is well established. The President’s framework demonstrated a firm understanding of the dual structure of water resource management and water service provision.
Perhaps even more important was the president’s decision to approach the water emergency with the same lens that guided the country’s response to the power crisis. He recalled how a dedicated national coordinating body centered on the highest levels of government had contributed to stabilizing the energy system through clear planning and disciplined implementation, and suggested that a similar strategic focus would be placed on water in the future.
The establishment of the National Water Crisis Commission under his direct leadership sends a clear message that this issue is no longer a matter of peripheral municipalities, but a national priority that requires central coordination and sustained administrative oversight. Such an approach reflects a mature understanding that the complexity of water issues requires collaboration across government, measurable goals, and accountability at the highest levels of the nation.
The President also outlined an ambitious infrastructure renewal program that includes building new dams, renovating existing projects, and major upgrades to aging water and sanitation assets, signaling a decisive shift toward long-term system resilience. Central to this effort is a significant multi-year public funding allocation of over R150 billion earmarked specifically for water and sanitation infrastructure over the medium term. The scale of this investment reflects a clear understanding that deferred maintenance and deferred capital expansion have significant economic and social costs.
Without sustained infrastructure renewal, municipal balance sheets will be weakened, industrial production will be curtailed, and public trust will erode. By prioritizing capital expenditures of this magnitude, the President acknowledged that water security is a prerequisite for economic stability and long-term growth.
The water crisis is also linked to weak governance across the value chain, from resource protection and mass extraction to processing, distribution and wastewater management. It concerns non-revenue water losses, which exceed 40% in some municipalities. It is about revenue collection failures that undermine the sustainability of bulk providers. It concerns sewage treatment plants that pose ecological and public health risks if they collapse.
One of the most pressing structural threats to water security remains the financial instability of large water suppliers. Water boards cannot upgrade treatment facilities or expand bulk supply if their revenue base is systematically undermined. The president’s insistence on results management is therefore central to the sustainability of the system.
As AWSISA, we affirm that this moment requires coordination, not fragmentation. We pledge to support the President’s reform agenda through technical cooperation, policy engagement, industry mobilization, and advocacy for responsible governance across the water value chain. The industry must come together and respond with urgency. Water boards must strengthen governance and operational excellence while pursuing structured debt resolution. Local governments need to lock in water revenue and professionalize their technical departments. Development finance institutions need to treat water infrastructure as a catalytic investment.
Our approach is realistic and practical. From 23 to 26 November 2026, AWSISA will host the Africa and Global South Water and Sanitation Dialogue 2026 with the theme: “Accelerating climate-resilient water and sanitation solutions for Africa and the Global South – Every drop counts.” This dialogue will provide a continental platform to align South Africa’s reform trajectory with broader Global South imperatives.
AWSISA has consistently demonstrated a central role in shaping water security at both national and continental levels. In August 2025, AWSISA actively participated in the AU-AIP Water Investment Support Event in Cape Town, contributing technical expertise and policy guidance to promote sustainable water infrastructure investments across Africa. Building on this commitment, AWSISA once again played a key role in hosting the AU-AIP Investment Summit Progress Report in Addis Ababa last weekend, providing strategic insights on project implementation and progress tracking.
Looking further ahead, South Africa has been selected to host the 2030 AfWASA Conference under the auspices of AWSISA. This will be an opportunity for South Africa to demonstrate to the continent and the world that it has translated policy clarity into tangible results in water security.
These high-level interventions underscore AWSISA’s position not just as a state actor, but as a trusted continental partner promoting a coordinated, evidence-based approach to water security across Africa.
The president has shown the way. Through constitutional authority, legislative instruments, reorganization, and targeted funding, the State of the Union provides a strategic and grounded framework for evaluating the water value chain, from source to service delivery. From an AWSISA perspective, the path is clear. National leadership has reframed the challenge from a narrative of failure to a framework of collective responsibility and structured intervention.
At a time when water scarcity threatens to disrupt the rhythms of growth, investment, and stability, the president’s speech serves as a call to action for rational policy implementation and cooperative action. The question before this field is whether we will rise to meet that clear vision. AWSISA is ready to work with governments, local authorities, water boards, funders and continental partners to make this moment a turning point.
Our response must match his clarity of thought with disciplined execution and unity of purpose. This enables a transition from reactive crisis management to long-term water management. The era of fragmentation has passed. Now is the time for collaborative execution.
*Mr Ramatheu Monikolo is the Chairman of Rand Water and the Association of Water and Sanitation Authorities of South Africa (AWSISA).
**The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
