South Africa

Protests erupt across South Africa’s richest city

Daily Investor • 12 February 2026

Protests have erupted across Johannesburg as water outages hit many parts of the city, leaving residents’ taps dry for weeks.

The water problems in Johannesburg are critical, with many residents and civil society groups describing it as “Day Zero.”

As of mid-February 2026, the city is grappling with a multi-layered crisis that has left many suburbs across the city without water for weeks.

Suburbs like Melville, Parktown West, Emmarentia, Brixton, and Midrand have experienced outages lasting weeks.

The impact of these water outages goes far beyond households having to find drinking water and wait for tankers to deliver.

Schools have had to close due to blocked toilets and hygiene risks, and there are reports of conflict at water tankers as residents compete for limited supplies.

Businesses in Johannesburg are particularly hard hit. The water problems have moved from a theoretical risk to a direct threat to survival.

The city contributes a significant chunk of South Africa’s GDP, which means that the water crisis is creating a cascade of financial and operational disruptions.

Business owners in areas like Melville report having to pay upwards of R2,000 per refill for private water tankers to keep their doors open.

Capital previously earmarked for growth is being redirected to emergency water storage and tanker services.

Hair salons, laundromats, and small restaurants are often forced to close entirely when taps run dry, as they cannot meet basic health and safety standards.

Manufacturing plants in industrial hubs like Selby and Lanseria Business Park have faced intermittent or zero supply for months.

Large-scale manufacturing is highly water-dependent, and experts warned that prolonged shortages could shave 0.5% off the national GDP in the short term.

Johannesburg is living Day Zero – WaterCAN

WaterCAN, a civil society initiative driving water justice in South Africa, said Johannesburg is living Day Zero now.

The organization leads a national initiative to safeguard South Africa’s water resources through citizen-driven action.

In a recent post, the civil society group said the water outages in Johannesburg are not a temporary inconvenience.

“It’s a citywide breakdown caused by years of underinvestment, poor maintenance, weak planning, and a lack of coordination,” it said.

“Where residents have been without water for nearly three weeks, the situation has already crossed the threshold of disaster,” said WaterCAN.

“Treating this as routine maintenance rather than an emergency is both dangerous and irresponsible.”

It added that Johannesburg residents are paying the price for this incompetence with dry taps and broken trust.

WaterCAN is leading protests to highlight the plight of residents in areas which have been without water for long periods.

Yesterday, it was on the ground with communities in Melville, Westdene, Parktown West, and Emmarentia.

“People have been without water for weeks. Tankers are scarce and inconsistent. Communication is unreliable. Enough,” it said.

It demanded a disaster declaration for Johannesburg to trigger emergency coordination and resources to resolve the problems.

It also wants to see daily, area-specific updates with realistic restoration timelines, with Rand Water engaging the public on bulk supply constraints and contingency plans.

It called on the national government to intervene decisively to protect the health, dignity, and livelihoods of Johannesburg residents.

“Day Zero in Johannesburg is not coming. We’re already there,” WaterCAN said in a statement.

The DA takes legal action

On 11 February 2026, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said it would ensure accountability and, most importantly, bring relief to Gauteng residents, whose taps remain dry.

These DA-led interventions reach from the national government to the local government, where they will also be lodging legal action.

“Johannesburg has an existing water action plan in place, one adopted by council, with inputs from the DA, amongst others,” it said.

“This plan gathers dust, as the mayor, Dada Morero, fails to act. No implementation, no funding, and no political will to solve Johannesburg’s water woes.”

The Democratic Alliance hopes that legal action, taking the city to court, will force the leaders in Johannesburg to act.

“Nationally, we have written to the Minister of Water and Sanitation. There must be engagement between her department and Rand Water,” the DA said.

It added that Rand Water’s license must be relaxed so it can pump more water into the system.

“Residents deserve water in their taps, and let’s be very clear, this crisis is not the fault of residents. It is the fault of the failing government,” the DA said.

It said that Johannesburg residents heading to the streets to march for their constitutional rights is the current leader’s problem to own.