Unchlorinated Water
Sizwe Dlamini|Published
THE Bronkhorstspruit water crisis is dealing a serious blow to Tshwane’s coalition government, exposing deep fractures weeks before the 4 November elections.
More than 400 people, mostly children under four, fell ill after the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works supplied unchlorinated water from 24 September to 14 October.
The Department of Water and Sanitation found high E. coli levels and a failure to warn residents. The City brought in Rand Water, but with no timeline for safe tap water, residents must use it only to flush toilets while tankers distribute drinking water.
Addressing the crisis, University of Pretoria academic Professor Onkgopotse Madumo highlighted the inherent instability of such alliances. “Coalitions are by their very nature fragile,” Madumo said. “These are founded on common interest which is not permanent, while disregarding their ideological posture.”
He suggested the EFF’s aggressive stance is performative, noting: “I just think that the EFF wants to find relevance and score political points during this last lap of election campaigning.”
Highlighting the EFF’s MMC positions, he added: “in which I believe this matter would have been discussed at length. If they were serious about it, they could have either announced their withdrawal from the coalition arrangement or could have facilitated a motion of no confidence against the executive mayor.”
Addressing blurred accountability, Madumo said: “A coalition arrangement makes it difficult for political and administrative accountability to take place, because political parties in the coalition will never take a collective responsibility over a matter.
“A procurement process, which is considered an administrative activity was disregarded,” he sad. “If indeed there is evidence that suggests that the Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for water in Tshwane and the executive mayor were informed of such challenges and they did not intervene, they should be held responsible for the negligence by the city.
“The municipal administration is accountable to the politicians in the executive and by extension to the municipal council.”
Clarifying executive responsibility, Madumo said: “The executive mayor is responsible and should account as to why this crisis had to get to this stage.
“In terms of the legislation, the executive mayor is responsible for among others, overseeing service provision to communities,” he said adding: “The magnitude of this crisis implies that the executive mayor may have been unaware of the crisis on the ground.”
On electoral damage, Madumo cautioned against a massive voter revolt. “The Bronkhorstspruit water crisis has dealt a serious blow to the credibility of a coalition government in Tshwane, but I do not see it having a major implication on the voting patterns of the communities affected.”
He predicted that this might affect the performance of ActionSA more than that of the ANC in the area. “The ANC has started to distance itself from the crisis, through the ‘apology’ announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ultimately Dr Nasiphi Moya as the executive mayor could end up being regarded as the face of the failing City of Tshwane.”
Rejecting the idea that metro coalitions are weaker, Madumo observed: “Coalitions in South African local government are relatively new and political parties, come into these arrangements with suspicion of sabotage and political ambition. It is not unusual for these parties to be competing while serving in the same coalition government.”
The political fallout has been swift. The EFF and DA opened criminal cases and SAHRC complaints. The EFF demanded Moya’s resignation, holding her “personally liable for this preventable failure of coordination and resourcing”.
“The City failed to chlorinate water from the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works for three weeks, causing a gastrointestinal outbreak that has made 408 people ill, mostly children under the age of four,” the EFF said.
The party accused Moya of misleading the public. “Rather than tell the truth, the mayor took to social media to blame ageing infrastructure and say the City only encountered a chlorine supply issue ‘last weekend’.
“However, the Department of Water and Sanitation found the water went unchlorinated for three weeks, from 24 September to 14 October. That is misleading the public.”
The EFF also demanded that the national government declare a disaster and investigate “water tanker mafias”, noting: “Some councillors have openly said water tankers would make them rich, and we do not believe they will stop.”
Moya accepted political responsibility but rejected stepping down. “I still have to take responsibility for what works or doesn’t work in the City of Tshwane. So I don’t mind that part; we will meet it in court,” she said.
The DA argued: “Moya’s admission of ‘negligence’ is enough grounds for her to vacate her office. An apology is not accountability; she must accept the political consequences.
“We warned the ActionSA-ANC coalition repeatedly about the collapse of the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant. They ignored the warnings. They continued to starve infrastructure of maintenance while pouring money into the water tanker mafia.”
Its recovery plan includes backup chlorine suppliers, tying the crisis to the election: “Ultimately, access to clean and safe drinking water, from an honest government which does not lie or delay public health warnings, is available at the ballot box on 4 November.”
Meanwhile ActionSA accused the EFF of hypocrisy over its Environment and Health portfolios. “Since October 2024, the EFF has governed Tshwane alongside ActionSA and other parties in the Multiparty Coalition Government,” ActionSA said. “The EFF cannot have one foot in government and another on the opposition benches whenever political convenience demands it.”
The criminal cases remain at the investigation stage. With partners demanding Moya’s resignation, the crisis threatens to deepen divisions ahead of the election.