Water crisis, political chit chat, and the reality South Africans live every day

In communities across Hammanskraal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, and rural villages like Nhlekiseni, water shortages are not intermittent inconveniences. They are prolonged and devastating. Families go for months without running water. There is often no explanation, no formal communication from municipalities just the normalised statement: “There is no water.” Over time, this silence becomes policy, and neglect becomes governance.

Thousands of households depend on water trucks, or rainwater collection. Yet what happens to communities that do not even have the luxury of consistent water truck deliveries or have a water tank for when the rain decides to pour? Are we to accept that some areas are simply “forgotten zones, “where residents can live three months without water and no one is held accountable?

The crisis goes far beyond inconvenience. Water insecurity breeds health emergencies. Communities are exposed to waterborne and airborne diseases linked to poor sanitation and unsanitary water sources. Those on chronic medication struggle to maintain hygiene and proper treatment routines. Families who depend on backyard food gardens for sustenance watch their crops wither. In rural areas already battling food scarcity, the absence of reliable water deepens hunger and economic vulnerability.

Women bear the heaviest burden. In many communities, women and girls walk long distances to fetch water for cooking, cleaning, and planting. This increases their exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) and physical harm. The lack of safe, clean water also contributes to urinary tract infections and other preventable health conditions caused by prolonged use of contaminated or insufficient water. Water insecurity is therefore not just a service delivery issue it is a gender justice issue, a health issue, and a human rights issue.

Despite this widespread suffering, the national discourse often narrows the crisis to high-profile urban centers. While cities like Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni are experiencing supply disruptions, millions in other provinces have endured water failures for over 15 years. When the narrative centers only what is visible and politically urgent, it risks gaslighting those whose suffering has long been normalized.

The repeated establishment of task teams, inquiries, and commissions often costing billions has yielded little visible consequence for failing leadership. Aging infrastructure remains neglected. Corruption within municipal management structures continues to erode public trust. Cadre deployment and political patronage have, in many cases, prioritised loyalty over competence. The result is a state that appears reactive rather than strategic, managing crises instead of preventing them. South Africans are increasingly asking difficult but necessary questions:
Why are municipalities allowed to fail without consequence?
Why are communities blocked or silenced when they demand accountability?
Why does it take media attention or trending outrage for action to occur?

The frustration is not simply about water it is about governance. It is about the perception that leadership responds to what is politically convenient rather than what is structurally urgent. It is about a nation tired of rhetoric and craving measurable action.

Water is not a luxury. It is a constitutional right and a foundational determinant of dignity, health, and economic participation. Without reliable access to water, poverty deepens, public health declines, food insecurity rises, and social tensions escalate.

South Africans are not asking for grand speeches or trending slogans. They are asking for functional municipalities, transparent communication, consequence management for corruption, and long-term infrastructure investment. They are asking for action not words.

If the State of the Nation Address is meant to reflect the lived reality of its people, then it must move beyond acknowledging crises and commit to tangible, time-bound solutions. The water crisis is not new. The suffering is not invisible. And the patience of communities is not endless. South Africa does not need another stage performance. It needs governance that works.