R90 billion needed to address South Africa’s water infrastructure crisis

In a written parliamentary response to Build One South Africa (BOSA) deputy leader, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster MP and Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina MP disclosed a staggering financial requirement to overhaul South Africa’s ailing water infrastructure. The minister revealed that her department would need R89, 9 billion over the next decade to resolve persistent infrastructure backlogs that obstruct universal access to clean water across the country.

“These projections are for capital requirements needed to address water infrastructure backlogs over the next ten years. The funds will go toward the refurbishment and renewal of ageing infrastructure, upgrades to support rising service demands, and new installations for expanding human settlements and economic areas,” Majodina stated.

The minister highlighted that R53, 8 billion has already been allocated to water infrastructure projects over the last five financial years. However, in a notable gap between funding and implementation, R5, 1 billion of this amount remains unspent.

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Majodina has expressed frustration over perceptions about her department’s role, suggesting that responsibility for water provision rests largely with local municipalities.

“People do not seem to appreciate that the provision of water services is the responsibility of municipalities, not the national Department of Water and Sanitation. It would be a priority for us to correct this misunderstanding and encourage communities and leaders to hold their municipalities accountable,” she stated in an August press briefing.

However, the inability of municipalities to distribute water due to broken or missing infrastructure undermines this approach. The Water Services Act permits municipalities struggling with distribution to delegate water supply responsibilities to non-profit organisations and private service providers. Yet, such measures have rarely been implemented, leaving South Africans to endure water scarcity in regions where local governance is ineffective.

The call for a comprehensive water infrastructure overhaul has drawn significant attention to South Africa’s looming water crisis. The situation has been long in the making, with experts warning that inadequate and underfunded infrastructure- compounded by insufficient political urgency- has brought the nation perilously close to widespread water scarcity. The path to a secure water future for South Africa remains uncertain, as government leaders face mounting pressure to act on a crisis many believe has been years in the making.