JOHANNESBURG – National, provincial and local government remain out of sync in addressing the delivery, supply and demand challenges that continue to plague Gauteng’s water system.
Provincial Cooperative Governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo says the lack of coordination between the three spheres of government remains the province’s biggest obstacle.
“The biggest challenge in our view that has been critical to attend to is the need for the three spheres of government to work together. These problems cannot be solved by one sphere of government alone,” Mamabolo said.
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“We welcome the news that the President has taken a decisive step to say national, provinces, municipalities and water boards will be working together to deal with the challenge. That is going to address the issue of fragmentation and inefficiencies in the system.”
But he admitted integration and coordination remain difficult.
“Since 2024, we have been trying to integrate. When this current crisis came, it devastated the system and exposed its existing weakness.”
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Through Gauteng’s newly activated water war room, Mamabolo said stabilising the network is the immediate priority.
“The commitment made that by Sunday, we should stabilise the system moving forward is the primary issue. In our view, the task team established by the president should help us improve storage capacity and make sure the entire storage network in the province is increased. Our focus is really making sure we also coordinate with municipalities,” Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo added that there are early signs of improvement across the province’s water network.
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