Social unrest warning for South Africa

The ongoing sporadic water shortages in parts of South Africa have been coupled with a rise in corruption in the supply of water, particularly tankers. 

This is fuelling public discontent with poor water and sanitation delivery, which is a key reason behind a number of protests across South Africa. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a dire warning during his keynote address at the National Water and Sanitation Indaba on 27 March. 

He praised the work done by officials to increase access to clean water in South Africa, from 70% in 1994 to 88.5% in 2023. 

Rampahosa also said it is encouraging to see the level of investment in water infrastructure projects, with around R23 billion secured for seven projects so far. 

However, the President admitted that the country is still a long way off from achieving clean water and sanitation for all. 

South Africa has been plagued by ageing and poorly maintained water infrastructure, with vandalism and illegal connections also on the rise. 

Local municipalities are also beset with financial mismanagement, insufficient revenue collection systems and high levels of water losses. 

“With this dire state of affairs, we have seen declining private sector investment in water infrastructure, a situation that is only now improving,” Ramaphosa said. 

“By equal measure, municipalities have not reinvested the revenue they earn from the provision of services to the upkeep of key water infrastructure.” 

Ramaphosa also flagged the rise of governance challenges at water boards across the county, with some being subjected to probes by the Special Investigating Unit for corruption and fraud. 

“These are problems impacting a country with a growing population, which is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world,” the President said.

If these problems are not addressed, Ramaphosa warned that South Africa will face a perfect storm that is already resulting in social unrest. 

“These factors make for what is called a perfect storm – where dry taps, broken infrastructure, and poor management of water resources at local government level is fuelling growing public discontent,” he said. 

“Grievances with water and sanitation delivery are behind a number of social protests across the country.” 

Economic collapse

For the past two years, experts have warned that South Africa’s ongoing water challenges threaten its economy and social stability. 

In particular, these experts have warned that shortages in the economic hub of Gauteng threaten thousands of jobs. 

“In the case of Gauteng, it is a very specific issue because three major metros contain a significant portion of our national manufacturing capacity. They are all at risk from water supply disruptions,” water scientist Professor Anthony Turton said. 

“Of course, when water supply is disrupted, businesses cannot operate. It means that there will also be an impact on the workforce,” he said. 

“You must appreciate that water is the foundation of your national economy. It is the foundation of social stability.”

“Once your water infrastructure starts collapsing, you start to see things like social instability, the flight of capital out of the country, businesses collapsing, and the loss of jobs.” 

“This is a national crisis. It is an existential threat to the very viability of our national economy.”

Another risk to social stability comes from the rise of criminal elements that benefit from supply disruptions through water tanker contracts and other means. 

The so-called water tanker mafia deliberately sabotages infrastructure to win or prolong contracts to supply water to affected areas. 

“There is a thriving tanker mafia in KZN that actively sabotages the water infrastructure. They do this to continue and prolong their contracts with the municipalities to provide water tankers across communities that need water,” Turton said.

“These elements thrive on chaos, and they need to be investigated with urgency.”

He mentioned that acts of sabotage on water infrastructure are often a precursor to widespread social unrest. 

“What we do know is during the 2021 looting in KZN, the precursor to that was tampering with valves and infrastructure. In fact, they destroyed valves in some municipalities.” 

“We have seen videos of activists damaging water valves and infrastructure during recent unrest in Durban.”

“This could well be a part of a trend, and it is important we get on top of this. This has the potential to be a national security concern.”