South Africans are within their right to be outraged by the insensitive remarks made by Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng’s premier, in the middle of the water crisis gripping South Africa’s economic hub.
Lesufi was forced to apologise last week for saying that he was having to book himself into a hotel so that he could shower thanks to the water shortages. The comment, just days before the state of the nation address, backfired and he swiftly retracted it.
This shows how out of touch he is with the painful reality that Gauteng’s residents are experiencing daily.
For weeks now, parts of the province have been battling water shortages. Attempts to throttle water to deal with high demand have failed to solve the problem.
Unlike Lesufi, President Cyril Ramaphosa used his Thursday address to show empathy with South Africans affected by the water problems. He announced, among other things, that he would establish a task team, which he would chair, to deal with the crisis.
He asked his water & sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, and deputy, David Mahlobo, to skip his address and attend to the problem in Gauteng. He also announced punitive measures for officials who fail to do their job.
Ramaphosa’s measures, including setting aside more money for the problem, are to be welcomed as a start to resolving this longstanding crisis.
But it will take much more to fix the crisis. The problem has been in the making for years. Its root causes include poor planning and lack of maintenance. Incompetence, lack of consequence management and the collapse of local government have worsened the problem.
New tanker industry
As the problem grew, municipalities were forced to supply water through tanks. This created a new industry, which was not without controversy. Soon corruption thrived in the tenders to supply potable water.
Business, which is increasingly providing public services, tried to intervene by deploying skilled retired professionals to various municipalities. Though these professionals — accountants and engineers — were paid for by the private sector, they were not always welcomed. This initiative failed to gain traction.
Ramaphosa is correct to talk tough. He needs to back his promises with action.
The lowest-hanging fruit would be dismissing incompetent and corrupt officials. This will send a message that he means business. Clean officials who witness wrongdoing by their colleagues ought to be encouraged to blow the whistle.
Ramaphosa is correct to talk tough. He needs to back his promises with action.
With the protection of the new whistleblowing legislation — another promise by Ramaphosa — the fight against corruption will gain momentum.
It is conceptually appealing to suggest that the private sector can provide water efficiently. But it will take longer to bring the private sector into suburbs, townships and villages. This temptation should be resisted.
The private sector has a role to play in maintenance, but this role shouldn’t extend to water provision. Water provision should be the government’s responsibility.
As well as building an ethical state, the government should focus on strengthening the state’s capacity especially at the local government sphere. Among other things, this means revisiting initiatives such as the Technical Assistance, Mentorship & Development scheme by the National Business Initiative.
Ramaphosa should champion this business-government partnership as part of his priorities to fix local government. Municipalities that refuse to accept this assistance by business should face the music.
Also, the water crisis shouldn’t be politicised or turned into a political football especially during an election year like 2026. Already Helen Zille, the aspirant mayor of Johannesburg, has seized on the water crisis to drum up support for her candidature.
By appointing himself as chair of the water crisis commission, Ramaphosa has an opportunity to lift the issue above party politics.
His job is cut out for him. He needs to set clear goals and timeframes for tackling this crisis.
The lessons from the energy crisis are clear: first, appoint a minister who knows what he is doing; second, allow competent people to do their job without political interference and third, keep the public frequently informed.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.