Water and sanitation projects in the North West and Northern Cape provinces continue to struggle with delays, with residents facing chronic, decades-long water instability. While some progress is reported via Municipal Infrastructure Grants, significant challenges include collapsed borehole projects, failed infrastructure management, and slow implementation, leaving many rural communities in a continuous, severe water crisis.
The Constitution acknowledges water as an inalienable right, yet many South Africans in the North West and Northern Cape still struggle to access it. According to a Department of Water and Sanitation report, 59.7% of households in the Northern Cape reported dysfunctional water supply in 2023. The department has since decided to intervene.
One municipality facing acute water supply challenges is the Phokwane Local Municipality, where the deputy minister is visiting to assess whether the department’s recommendations and interventions have taken effect. The deputy minister is also scheduled to travel to Jen for meetings with municipalities to discuss projects that will deliver long-term solutions to the water supply challenges in the area.
An additional community in the region has been without reliable water for the past 10 years.
The head of the provincial department of water and sanitation outlined the specific difficulties and the steps being taken to address them. “There are water challenges that the communities of Phokwane and under Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality face. A community called Baga Mothibi has been facing water challenges for a number of years,” the provincial head said.
The municipalities have reported aging infrastructure as a core problem. The Baga Mothibi area is serviced from the Phokwane Local Municipality, although it falls under the Dr Ruth district municipality, requiring the two municipalities to work together to supply water.
“The infrastructure under Phokwane is old. Number two, it’s not performing optimally and the municipality is also having asbestos piping which is creating problems of intermittent water supply,” the head explained. “So the water supply is unreliable and also because of the aging infrastructure the quality of water the municipality has to put in extra effort to make sure that the water is of a good quality and standard to the community.”
The two municipalities have developed short-term, intermediate, and long-term plans to restore reliable water supply. During the deputy minister’s visit, agreements were reached to ease the immediate crisis. As a short-term measure, the Dr Ruth district municipality is providing water tankering.
For the longer term, Dr Ruth is preparing a plan to service 21 villages. That project is currently at the feasibility stage. The head noted that challenges remain because implementation will not be immediate.