This is why taps run dry, Mr President
In his speech kicking off the R20 million first National Convention on 15 to 16 August, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that among the pressing issues is finding the answer to the question, “Why do taps run dry?”
However, experts say that the answer to the question posed by the President, whose party has been governing the country for over three decades, is much more straightforward than he may think.
“There is a 100% correlation with governance failure, as nowhere in South Africa do we have an absolute water scarcity,” water expert Professor Anthony Turton told Newsday.
“Taps are dry because municipalities have failed for a variety of reasons. These include the mismanagement of funds, inability to collect revenues, lack of ring-fencing for finances and the loss of technical skills due to purges,” said Turton.
WaterCAN’s Dr Ferrial Adam echoed this, telling Newsday that “the majority of dry taps we see today are not caused by natural scarcity but by governance failures.”
“Without competent governance, no amount of rainfall or dam storage will translate into reliable taps.”
Almost a decade after government launched its “war on leaks,” South Africa is still losing nearly half its potable water.
Non-revenue losses sit at 47.4%, with pipe leaks at 40.8%, far above the global average.
“Billions have been spent on upgrades that never materialised or were riddled with corruption,” said Adam. “The problem is less about not having water than not managing water.”
Turton likens the system to pouring into a leaking bucket: no matter how much bulk suppliers deliver, broken municipal infrastructure ensures it never fills.
The waste not only drains a scarce resource but costs cities billions in lost revenue that could fund urgent repairs.
Municipal performance has collapsed—from 93 “good” water systems in 2021 to just 59 in 2024.
The latest No Drop Report paints a dire picture:
- 24 Water Service Authorities (WSAs) failed to submit audit data
- Only 4 scored above 90% (excellent)
- 8 scored 80–90% (good)
- 65 scored below 50% (critical to poor)
Meanwhile, municipalities owe water boards R23.4 billion, most of it overdue, crippling maintenance and upgrades.
Exacerbating the crisis is a politically connected water mafia, accused of sabotaging infrastructure to profit from inflated tanker tenders, often charging residents again for access.
Lack of government urgency, endemic corruption, and more
Turton explained that since former president Jacob Zuma was in office, he had tried to get the Presidency to take the lead in driving the message that water is an economic enabler.
“Without reliable water supply no business can survive, no investor will be willing to invest, and no jobs can be created,” explained the Professor.
This is echoed in Coronation’s July 2024 Correspondent, where economist Marie Antelme and ESG analyst Leila Joseph say that “water security is arguably one of the most critical risks to South Africa’s social, economic, and political long-term future.”
The Professor said that when President Ramaphosa came into office in 2018, they had reached out to him via Roelf Meyer, who advised them to create a Business Water Chamber.
They did, but “still we have been unable to get the presidency to show any interest in water as an economic enabler.”
“Each attempt we have made to reach out to the Presidency has been undermined, short-circuited and blocked,” said Turton.
Adam said that “there is a clear lack of urgency when it comes to fixing governance failures.”
“Mismanagement of infrastructure, endemic corruption, political interference in appointments, and a collapse in technical capacity mean that even where water is available, it cannot reliably reach households.”
The WaterCAN executive director said that reforms have stalled largely because of political patronage networks, resistance to transparency, and the fear that independent monitoring would expose entrenched corruption.
There is also a chronic skills drain from municipalities, with many engineers leaving for the private sector or abroad.
Additionally, “national government oversight has been weak, with limited accountability for underperforming Water Services Authorities,” added Adam.
What needs to be done to fix South Africa’s ailing water infrastructure?
Turton said that in his professional opinion, the core problem is South Africa’s constitution.
“There is no accountability built into the constitution, and the Cooperative Governance Clause means that the Department of Water and Sanitation is unable to reach out across tiers and spheres of government to regulate effectively.”
South Africa either needs to change the cooperative governance clause, or get an independent water regulator if jobs are to be created and investors are to be enticed back into South Africa, explained Turton.
Speaking about practical reforms needed to turn around failing municipalities and prevent deeper water crises, the water expert urges for the government to:
- Ring fence finance in municipalities.
- Roll out Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to build capacity.
- Depoliticise the management of water by employing only technically competent people into key leadership positions.
WaterCAN has consistently called for:
- Professionalising water services by ending political appointments and hiring qualified engineers.
- Transparent reporting of water quality and infrastructure data.
- Ringfenced budgets to prevent diversion of water funds.
- Expanding citizen science initiatives like Water Testing Week.
- Stronger independent oversight through Chapter 9 bodies and civil society action.
Adam stressed that “South Africa is not running out of water; it is running out of time to fix governance.”
WaterCAN’s focus is on “empowering citizens through data, demanding professional standards, and exposing corruption” to turn failing municipalities around.
While welcoming the President’s call for civil society involvement, Adam argued there should be “no shock or surprise” about the crisis: “There are reports from his own government explaining the problem.”
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Whoever wrote that speech for Ramaphosa laid his and their total separation from reality bare for all to see.