President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a stern warning to local authorities failing to deliver reliable water services, declaring that officials who neglect their duties could face criminal charges in their personal capacity.
Delivering the 2026 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening, the President said government would intensify accountability measures against municipalities that do not comply with water provision laws.
South Africa is grappling with a deepening national water crisis driven by ageing infrastructure, poor maintenance, and climate-related droughts. Several parts of the country have experienced prolonged outages, with major metros particularly in Gauteng reporting recurring supply disruptions that have renewed calls for the situation to be declared a national disaster.
Ramaphosa said government had already taken legal steps against non-compliant municipalities.
“We will hold to account those who neglect their responsibility to supply water to our people. Government has already laid criminal charges against 56 municipalities that have failed to meet their obligations. We will now move to lay charges against municipal managers in their personal capacity for violating the law,” he said.
He added that a key issue lies in how municipalities allocate funds, noting that water revenue is often diverted to other uses instead of being reinvested into infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.
To address the crisis, Ramaphosa announced a new R54 billion incentive package aimed at helping metropolitan municipalities reform and strengthen water, sanitation, and electricity services.
The message from the podium was unmistakable: fix the pipes or prepare for court.