By Johnathan Paoli
A coalition of Johannesburg residents, community organisations, and civil society groups is preparing for a major peaceful protest outside the Johannesburg Council Chambers on Saturday.
They will be demanding urgent intervention in what they describe as a human rights and economic emergency linked to the city’s water crisis.
The protest, backed by more than a dozen civil society organisations, including the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Defend Our Democracy, Climate Justice Coalition, WaterCAN, and the Rivonia Circle, comes amid mounting anger over the city’s prolonged water outages, deteriorating infrastructure, and financial mismanagement within Johannesburg Water.
“Millions of Johannesburg residents are living without reliable access to water. Hospitals, schools, and small businesses are being forced to operate without this most basic necessity. This is not just an infrastructure problem, it’s a violation of constitutional rights,” the coalition said in a statement.
The march, set to begin at 10am along Civic Boulevard in Braamfontein, is being billed as a citizen-led movement that transcends political divides.
Organisers have explicitly urged participants to refrain from wearing any political party colours or insignia, insisting that the protest is “a united voice of ordinary Joburgers”, seeking accountability, dignity and the constitutional right to clean and reliable water.
The city’s water crisis, initially attributed to ageing and neglected infrastructure, has evolved into a full-scale governance failure.
Residents from Freedom Park to Yeoville, and from Soweto to Lenasia, report weeks of dry taps and erratic water tanker deliveries, while others say they have been billed thousands of rand for water they never received.
In a formal letter addressed to Johannesburg executive Mayor Dada Morero, the coalition outlined nine urgent demands to restore transparency, repair infrastructure, and ensure that water funds are properly protected.
Chief among these is the ringfencing of all water and sanitation funds by December 2025, a measure the group says will prevent the diversion of Johannesburg Water’s budget to unrelated city services.
The letter also calls for an immediate public accounting of the R4 billion reportedly swept from Joburg Water’s accounts, full implementation of the Joburg Water Turnaround Strategy, and a transparent investigation into the city’s reliance on costly water tankers.
“Tankers were meant to be an emergency measure, not a permanent substitute for reliable, piped water. Their continued use represents a failure of governance, systemic neglect, and an opportunity for corruption and profiteering,” the coalition said.
The coalition has urged the city to accelerate implementation of the turnaround strategy’s infrastructure upgrades, including reservoir construction and pipeline repairs in areas such as Meadowlands, Yeoville, and Crown Gardens.
It also demands a monthly public dashboard to track performance, repairs, and expenditure; a transparency measure the group says is critical to rebuilding public trust.
Beyond immediate repairs, the coalition is also calling for structural reform.
It proposes the creation of a single water forum with equal representation from civil society, community leaders, business, and government; effectively a co-governance body to monitor water projects, ensure equitable service delivery, and provide quarterly public updates.
Saturday’s protest is expected to draw hundreds of residents, many of whom have endured months without running water.
The coalition has invited Morero and senior officials from Johannesburg Water, the Gauteng Provincial Government, and the Department of Water and Sanitation to attend the protest and respond to residents’ demands.
Their presence, organisers say, would demonstrate a genuine commitment to listening to and working with the people they serve.
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