Siyabonga Sithole|Published
The National Media Group's Town Hall debate at the Joburg Theatre on Monday shone a critical spotlight on Johannesburg’s ongoing water crisis and the broader challenges surrounding service delivery in the city.
Gathered under one roof were representatives from various political factions, including ActionSA, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah, the United Democratic Movement (UDM), and BuildOne SA (BOSA).
The heated discussions come just as Johannesburg Water recently advised residents in parts of Bezuidenhout Valley not to use tap water until safety tests confirm it is clean.
This warning followed pipeline damage caused when a tree stump fell during contractor excavation work. Municipal technicians isolated the affected supply line while laboratory testing takes place to ensure water quality standards.
In the heat of the discussion, DA's Luyolo Mphithi took the opportunity to underscore the “40% non-revenue water” wastage that plagues Johannesburg's water management.
“The biggest issue we have is the 40% non-revenue water lost due to poor infrastructure,” he declared, promising a strategy centred on infrastructure maintenance as a means to halt the crisis and end the practice of overcharging residents for inadequate services.
However, the EFF's Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng offered a sharp rebuttal to any suggestions of privatisation, vocally committing to the belief that “access to water is a basic human right”. She adamantly rejected the idea of involving private water service providers, stating that such moves deprive citizens of their necessary access to affordable water services.
For the UDM, Khayalethu Nyathi emphasised that the foundation of a clean and drinkable water supply lies in ethical governance.
He vowed to eradicate corruption within the tendering system that often benefits a select few at the expense of the community. “We are promising clean governance, and this will start with the eradication of water mafias,” he said, advocating for insourcing engineers and other professionals to ensure credibility and transparency.
Poignantly, BOSA’s mayoral candidate Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster shared her personal frustrations, having experienced days without reliable water in her neighbourhood.
“I know the pain of not having reliable water all too well, as I have spent more than a week without water. As BOSA, we believe that the lack of accountability is at the centre of the current water crisis,” she remarked.
Hlazo-Webster attributed the city's turmoil to the lack of accountability across its 13 governing entities.
“We need to collapse some of these entities and build a new system of accountability to deal with the crisis.”
ActionSA’s Bongani Mabizela put forth a compelling case for tightening internal city finances through stringent auditing, observing that the city has lost an astonishing R2.9 billion linked to the water crisis. Meanwhile, MKP's Bongani Baloyi echoed this sentiment, insisting that financial stability is paramount for improving overall service delivery.