A new study has found that social media is playing a significant role in shaping public debate around South Africa’s water crisis, with political parties increasingly amplifying public frustration into campaign messaging ahead of the upcoming local government elections.
The findings come from the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change’s factsheet titled Water Access as an Election Issue on Social Media Ahead of the 2026 South African Local Government Elections, which examined online discourse around water access as a political issue.
The research, released as the country marks World Water Day on Sunday, focused particularly on Gauteng, where ongoing water shortages have fuelled public anger and political debate.
A key moment highlighted in the study was public reaction to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, after he revealed that he showers at hotels during water outages before attending official duties. His remarks sparked widespread criticism from residents experiencing persistent water interruptions.
Researchers said the backlash quickly evolved into a broader political conversation about service delivery. The study recorded 9,280 online mentions from more than 6,000 users across multiple social media platforms.
According to the findings, political parties subsequently amplified the debate through campaign-driven messaging, including hashtags such as #FixDryTaps, turning public frustration into election-related content.
The report concludes that online political narratives are increasingly shaping voter perceptions and influencing how parties frame service delivery issues during election periods.
Meanwhile, separate findings indicate growing voter apathy in parts of the country. KwaZulu-Natal has been identified as one of the provinces with the highest levels of electoral hesitation.
Data from the Socio-Economic Surveys Unit of the Knowledge System Group shows that nearly one-third of respondents who do not intend to vote cite a lack of voter registration as the main reason.
Local government elections are expected to take place later this year, with voter registration scheduled for 20 and 21 June. The Independent Electoral Commission says more than 260,000 new voters have registered since November, with most registrations completed via its online platform.