Nearly half of South Africa’s water infrastructure systems are failing, according to a new government report. The findings raise the stakes for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s policy overhaul aimed at tackling a crisis that resembles the early stages of the country’s national power grid collapse.
A national assessment by the water and sanitation department showed that 47% of municipal water systems are now in a critical state, up from 39% just three years ago. At the same time, the share of systems rated good or excellent has shrunk to by almost half to just 8%.
The scale of the decline has sparked protests, soured the mood in boardrooms, and eroded the dominant African National Congress’ electoral popularity. The problems have drawn comparisons with the crisis at state power utility Eskom, where years of deferred maintenance and weak governance led to rolling power cuts that crippled Africa’s most industrialized economy. Ramaphosa has responded to the water crisis by establishing and chairing a National Water Crisis Committee, elevating water to a presidential authority alongside electricity and logistics.
