Rand Water at the Center of Community Demands

Growing frustration over persistent water outages has pushed residents of the Merafong Local Municipality to take their grievances directly to Rand Water, South Africa’s largest water utility. On Friday, community members from Fochville and surrounding areas marched to Rand Water’s offices, calling for urgent intervention and long-term solutions to what they describe as a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The protest, led by the Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee, highlighted residents’ anger over prolonged water cuts that have continued to disrupt daily life. Many say the ongoing shortages have left households struggling to maintain basic hygiene, forced businesses to close, and placed vulnerable groups—such as the elderly and those with medical conditions—at significant risk.

According to community leaders, the recent march was not a spontaneous action, but the result of years of mounting pressure stemming from repeated failures by local authorities. For many residents, Friday’s protest marked yet another attempt to push officials into addressing the failures that have left thousands without reliable access to water.

Rand Water Responds to Community Concerns

During the demonstration, residents blamed the Merafong Local Municipality for what they call chronic financial mismanagement and poor leadership. Protesters alleged that municipal officials, including senior leaders such as Nozuko Best and Dumisani Mabuza, have consistently neglected service delivery obligations while allowing the water crisis to escalate.

The Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee claims that decisions made within the municipality have worsened the region’s already fragile water supply system. Many residents believe the current outages are not simply the result of infrastructure challenges but are deeply tied to internal governance issues, including delays in payment to Rand Water and poor oversight of municipal operations.

Protesters said these leadership failures have forced ordinary people to bear the consequences, often left without water for days or weeks at a time. For families, this means additional costs for buying bottled water or relying on community tankers that are not always reliable. For local businesses, especially those in manufacturing and hospitality, the outages have caused substantial financial setbacks.

During the march, residents handed over a detailed memorandum to Rand Water, outlining a list of urgent demands. Among the central concerns was the municipality’s staggering R1.4 billion debt owed to the water utility—a figure the community says must be publicly explained.

In their memorandum, community members demanded:

• Full transparency regarding how the municipality accumulated the massive debt to Rand Water.

• A clear and immediate plan to stabilise and normalise the water supply system in all affected communities.

• Accountability from municipal officials accused of prioritising personal interests over essential service delivery.

• Regular communication from both Merafong Local Municipality and Rand Water regarding any changes or disruptions to the water supply.

Residents emphasized that this was not the first time they had taken to the streets to protest water shortages. Previous attempts, they say, have been met with empty promises and temporary solutions that fail to address the root causes of the crisis. This time, protesters vowed they would not back down until sustainable solutions are implemented.

In response to the march, Rand Water confirmed receiving the memorandum. Utility representative Mbuyiswa Makhubela acknowledged the seriousness of the community’s concerns and expressed the organisation’s willingness to engage.

“The issues here are very dynamic, but they are solvable if there’s a willingness to solve the issues from both ends. So, as Rand Water, we have received the memorandum and we will respond in due time,” Makhubela said.

While his comments offered a degree of reassurance, residents say they will wait to see whether meaningful action follows. Many remain skeptical, pointing to years of broken communication between the municipality and the water utility.

Despite the meeting and acknowledgment from Rand Water, the Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee said it will not stop mobilising. Community leaders reiterated that protests, public meetings, and awareness campaigns will continue until a stable and reliable water supply is restored.

For many in Merafong, the fight for consistent access to water has become a pressing daily battle—one that residents say they should never have had to wage in the first place. As the municipality and Rand Water prepare to respond to the memorandum, the people of Fochville remain determined to ensure their demands are finally taken seriously.

Source- EWN