Water mafias are killing this country – Minister

Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, said that government is still struggling to apprehend members of the “water mafia” that are sabotaging water infrastructure across the country. 

The minister spoke to the media at the Cape Town Convention Centre on the sidelines of the Africa Water Investment Summit and the launch of the G20 Presidential Legacy Initiative on Water Investments.

The so-called “water mafia” is a criminal syndicate that disrupts the municipal water supply through acts of vandalism in order to sell water to affected citizens at inflated prices. 

“Let us build a world where water is recognised as a human right and not weaponised against women, children and communities,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his keynote address.

While Ramaphosa announced the launch of global initiatives to scale up investments in water infrastructure to tackle a global crisis, Majodina made it clear that the department faces a more pressing national crisis – water mafias.

When asked if the government is on top of the “water mafia” issue, the minister said it’s a complicated problem, and the department is working closely with security forces to identify and eradicate those involved.

“They must pay for their sins,” she said. “Water mafias are killing this country. They should be charged with treason. They are sabotaging the entire continent.”

Majodina said that the problem is affecting municipal budgets, as municipalities can’t afford to repair the expensive, damaged infrastructure. 

Government vows crackdown on water sabotage

Speaking during a webinar held by the South African Human Rights Commission on the crisis last month, Deputy Minister David Mahlobo more initiatives will be put in place to combat the syndicate. 

He said the department would intensify its relationship with law enforcement to make sure the individuals involved are found and prosecuted. 

Additionally, the 2025 National Water and Sanitation Indaba Resolutions prioritise infrastructure protection strategies such as “surveillance systems, remote sensors and smart infrastructure to detect and prevent sabotage,” Mahlobo said. 

A report from the New Lines Institute in April found that water mafias function due to municipal corruption. 

National-scale projects aimed at addressing water scarcity, such as the “war on leaks” programme, are vulnerable to corruption. 

The report found that 20% of the $165 million that was invested in this project went to irregular expenditure. 

The New Lines Institute said that the issue affects both urban and rural communities, but is most prevalent in Kwa Zulu Natal and Gauteng. 

Municipal officials are often involved in this corruption, disrupting water access to broker new deals with the mafia and pocketing a portion of the tender money. 

Local officials also allegedly inform the syndicates about scheduled maintenance repairs, enabling the mafia to damage the newly repaired infrastructure to prolong their contracts. 

This affects not only the municipal water supply, but also emergency water supplies provided by Non-Governmental Organisations NGOs such as Gift of the Givers. 

In June this year, members of Gift of the Givers, providing emergency drinking water to residents in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape following intense flooding, were allegedly threatened by the syndicate. 

The G20 Water Summit will continue until the end of the week, aiming to encourage investments in African water infrastructure.

The summit will include a discussion on how the country can de-risk water investments, given the current challenges on the continent, including infrastructural sabotage.