By Thapelo Molefe
South Africa’s water crisis has reached a breaking point, with President Cyril Ramaphosa declaring it a national emergency. But outside the venue, angry protesters accused him of more empty promises.
At the Water and Sanitation Indaba on Thursday, Ramaphosa admitted that the country’s water infrastructure was failing millions, but he insisted that the time for diagnosing problems was over.
“We know what the problem is,” he stated bluntly. “Now, we must fix it.”
Yet, as he spoke, members of Build One South Africa (BOSA) demonstrated outside, holding signs reading “End Watershedding Now!”. They demanded immediate action.
BOSA chief party officer Steven Mokgalapa called the indaba a “talk shop” and blasted the government for failing in its constitutional duty.
A visibly frustrated Ramaphosa slammed the sluggish pace of service delivery, particularly in addressing dangerous sanitation failures in schools.
“We have children dying in pit latrines! That must come to an end,” he said. “We have the technology to fix this, so why is it taking so long?”
Ramaphosa emphasised that every decision made must now come with strict deadlines.
“Every proposal, every memo, every decision—before I approve it, I want to see a timeline. No more ‘mañana, mañana’ politics. This is an emergency.”
The president also issued a stark warning about South Africa’s future, saying water mismanagement could trigger wars in the next century.
“We can survive without food for a time, but without water, we perish. And if we do not radically change our approach, the next wars will be fought over water.”
While Ramaphosa promised urgent action, BOSA leaders outside the indaba were unimpressed. Mokgalapa said citizens no longer trusted government promises.
“We don’t need muffins. We don’t need scones. We need water,” he said.
“This is Human Rights Month and access to water is a human right. The government must deliver—or we will force them to,” Mokgalapa said.
When asked what he wanted from Ramaphosa’s speech, Mokgalapa did not mince words.
“I want him to say that from tomorrow, schools, hospitals and police stations will have water—no exceptions. If he’s good at setting up commissions, let him set up a water crisis commission that actually delivers.”
The indaba ends on Friday.
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