News

Increase Joburg Water’s capital budget to R3bn now

WaterCAN demands urgent action on Johannesburg’s water crisis

WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), calls on the City of Johannesburg to urgently address the escalating water crisis by allocating sufficient funds in the City’s adjustment budget to its entity Johannesbu...

18.12.2024 00:14:37

Ensure basic water access before cut offs

Joburg and SA failure to manage water crisis is inexcusable

Routine water cuts lasting weeks in Joburg suburbs. Desperate residents on the streets begging for water tankers that don’t arrive. Inadequate management of leaks. Informal settlements “stealing” water cut off. This is what failed governanc...

06.12.2024 23:36:35

Postpone Rand Water’s December Shutdown

WaterCAN slams poor timing of Rand Water's planned shutdown amid ongoing Johannesburg water crisis, asks for shutdown to be reconsidered or alternatives to be explored to mitigate disruptions.

WaterCAN has expressed reservations about the planned maintenance by Rand Water at the Eikenhof and Z...

04.12.2024 21:24:08

Urgent High-Level Action Needed to Solve Sanitation Crisis

Inadequate sanitation facilities in South Africa, particularly in schools, highlight an urgent need for intervention, says WaterCAN. According to WaterCAN’s executive manager, Dr Ferrial Adam, the prevalence of pit latrines, the failing state of wastewater treatment, and children’s safety risks in s...

19.11.2024 20:53:18

Joburg’s water challenges: an ongoing struggle

As a nation, we must urgently change our relationship with water

Johannesburg is facing a severe water crisis that demands immediate and sustained action from authorities, businesses and residents. The recent water crisis meeting between the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, the Gauteng Premier, Rand...

13.11.2024 22:30:07

Municipalities continue to fail communities on water

Department spends billions on infrastructure, but communities still battle daily for water due to municipal ineptitude

Municipalities remain the biggest blockage in the water and sanitation systems. WaterCAN welcomes the detailed 100-days update provided by the Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy ...

07.11.2024 23:11:20

No power and poor contractors affect water and sanitation delivery

MTBPS 2024 underlines the need for municipal reform to get basic services delivered

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS 2024) illustrates how widespread and unmanaged government dysfunction affects delivery. This is one of the most illuminating sentences in the MTBPS, found in the Water an...

04.11.2024 23:35:47

Navigating Waterborne Diseases in a Changing Climate: South Africa’s Urgent Challenge

This opinion piece was written by Dr. Ogone Motlogeloa

South Africa is confronting a severe crisis where climate change and declining water quality intersect, leading to a significant impact on public health and the environment. This crisis affects all facets of South African life, demanding a ...

25.10.2024 18:10:33

Gauteng’s water crisis: Rand Water's messaging on the crisis

Gauteng consumers and municipalities should use water as though Day Zero is upon us, and get used to that as a way of life.

The recent Rand Water announcement about the constraints in Gauteng’s water supply systems has not successfully raised awareness among residents about the urgent need to reduce ...

21.10.2024 20:44:48

Half the Joburg water reservoirs leak and WaterCAN wants answers

As Day Zero looms in Joburg, the news of the City’s 42 leaking reservoirs underlines the need for transparency

The revelation that half of the City of Joburg’s water reservoirs leak and that the City plans to repair only half of those is shocking, but the release of this information is welcome. “It’s...

08.10.2024 17:29:48