ActionSA acknowledges the formal responses received from both the Nkomazi Local Municipality and the City of Mbombela regarding the ongoing water crises in Ward 17 (Mangweni) and Ward 41 (Emjindini Trust), respectively. While we note that both municipalities have finally engaged following our complaints submitted to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), their replies, though varying in tone and detail, reveal a shared failure to deliver urgent, sustainable water solutions. Both responses fall short in transparency, accountability, and meaningful relief for communities that have endured years of neglect.
While the Nkomazi Local Municipality has acknowledged water shortages and outlined some interventions, including infrastructure upgrades, new contractors, and a standby raw water pump, the reality on the ground tells a far more serious story.
Their explanation places the blame on recent pump failures and infrastructure strain, yet our evidence, gathered over months of constituency work, community engagement, and formal legislative oversight, shows a decades-long pattern of water deprivation in Mangweni. This isn’t about a few isolated outages in late 2024; it’s about generations of residents living without reliable access to clean, safe water, despite the existence of pipelines, taps, and water meters.
Nkomazi’s claim that 97% of residents have piped water access is flatly contradicted by reports of families pushing water drums over long distances, paying extortionate prices to private water vendors, and collecting water from polluted streams shared with animals. The reliance on 2011 census data also raises concerns about the municipality’s grasp of the current scope of the crisis.
Furthermore, while new projects are mentioned, including additional tanks and household connections, the municipality provides no clear timelines, cost breakdowns, or contractor details. We have seen too many failed tenders and abandoned infrastructure projects to accept vague commitments without full transparency.
The City of Mbombela’s response to the SAHRC regarding the water crisis in Ward 41, Emjindini Trust raises more questions than answers about the municipality’s capacity, urgency, and follow-through.
According to the response, a project to refurbish and upgrade the package plant, improve water reticulation, and provide new household connections in KaMdakwa has been awarded under Bid 149/2023. A practical handover to the community took place on 14 January 2025, and the project was initially set for completion in January 2026. However, residents remain in crisis because the contractor has since been stopped—without explanation or an alternative plan shared with the public. The municipality claims this matter is “being handled” and that the ward councillor is aware, but no clear resolution has been communicated.
This lack of continuity, project disruption, and vague accountability mechanisms reinforce the same failures we’ve seen across many municipalities: poor project planning, limited transparency, and insufficient community consultation.
In the interim, the municipality admits that residents rely on a communal borehole and receive water from four municipal water tankers, a system that is far from sustainable. The Agnes Mine package plant is said to be under upgrade, currently supplying KaMdakwa sections, but the municipality itself acknowledges that demand far exceeds supply. Illegal connections are cited as a challenge, but this issue is not new and speaks to long-standing failures in infrastructure security and public engagement.
ActionSA will not be discouraged by bureaucratic silence or incomplete answers. We will continue to fight for the residents of Mangweni and Emjindini Trust, and demand:
• Full transparency and public disclosure of all past and current water infrastructure projects, budgets, and contractors.
Sustainable water solutions, including the construction of local reservoirs to replace unreliable tanker services.
• Clear timelines and oversight mechanisms to ensure communities are not kept waiting indefinitely.
• Accountability from public officials and municipalities, especially those that delay, deflect, or fail to act in good faith.
Our people are not asking for favours, they are demanding their constitutional right to water, dignity, and a functional government. We will not stop until those rights are realised.
The revision of the Bill of Quantities to accommodate the newly installed white tanks is a positive step, but retroactive adjustments like these indicate poor initial planning. Without public access to the revised project scope, cost implications, or a new timeline, residents are once again left in the dark.
ActionSA Slams Inadequate Municipal Responses to Water Crises in Mangweni and Emjindini Trust
ActionSA acknowledges the formal responses received from both the Nkomazi Local Municipality and the City of Mbombela regarding the ongoing water crises in Ward 17 (Mangweni) and Ward 41 (Emjindini Trust), respectively. While we note that both municipalities have finally engaged following our complaints submitted to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), their replies, though varying in tone and detail, reveal a shared failure to deliver urgent, sustainable water solutions. Both responses fall short in transparency, accountability, and meaningful relief for communities that have endured years of neglect.
While the Nkomazi Local Municipality has acknowledged water shortages and outlined some interventions, including infrastructure upgrades, new contractors, and a standby raw water pump, the reality on the ground tells a far more serious story.
Their explanation places the blame on recent pump failures and infrastructure strain, yet our evidence, gathered over months of constituency work, community engagement, and formal legislative oversight, shows a decades-long pattern of water deprivation in Mangweni. This isn’t about a few isolated outages in late 2024; it’s about generations of residents living without reliable access to clean, safe water, despite the existence of pipelines, taps, and water meters.
Nkomazi’s claim that 97% of residents have piped water access is flatly contradicted by reports of families pushing water drums over long distances, paying extortionate prices to private water vendors, and collecting water from polluted streams shared with animals. The reliance on 2011 census data also raises concerns about the municipality’s grasp of the current scope of the crisis.
Furthermore, while new projects are mentioned, including additional tanks and household connections, the municipality provides no clear timelines, cost breakdowns, or contractor details. We have seen too many failed tenders and abandoned infrastructure projects to accept vague commitments without full transparency.
The City of Mbombela’s response to the SAHRC regarding the water crisis in Ward 41, Emjindini Trust raises more questions than answers about the municipality’s capacity, urgency, and follow-through.
According to the response, a project to refurbish and upgrade the package plant, improve water reticulation, and provide new household connections in KaMdakwa has been awarded under Bid 149/2023. A practical handover to the community took place on 14 January 2025, and the project was initially set for completion in January 2026. However, residents remain in crisis because the contractor has since been stopped—without explanation or an alternative plan shared with the public. The municipality claims this matter is “being handled” and that the ward councillor is aware, but no clear resolution has been communicated.
This lack of continuity, project disruption, and vague accountability mechanisms reinforce the same failures we’ve seen across many municipalities: poor project planning, limited transparency, and insufficient community consultation.
In the interim, the municipality admits that residents rely on a communal borehole and receive water from four municipal water tankers, a system that is far from sustainable. The Agnes Mine package plant is said to be under upgrade, currently supplying KaMdakwa sections, but the municipality itself acknowledges that demand far exceeds supply. Illegal connections are cited as a challenge, but this issue is not new and speaks to long-standing failures in infrastructure security and public engagement.
ActionSA will not be discouraged by bureaucratic silence or incomplete answers. We will continue to fight for the residents of Mangweni and Emjindini Trust, and demand:
• Full transparency and public disclosure of all past and current water infrastructure projects, budgets, and contractors.
Sustainable water solutions, including the construction of local reservoirs to replace unreliable tanker services.
• Clear timelines and oversight mechanisms to ensure communities are not kept waiting indefinitely.
• Accountability from public officials and municipalities, especially those that delay, deflect, or fail to act in good faith.
Our people are not asking for favours, they are demanding their constitutional right to water, dignity, and a functional government. We will not stop until those rights are realised.
The revision of the Bill of Quantities to accommodate the newly installed white tanks is a positive step, but retroactive adjustments like these indicate poor initial planning. Without public access to the revised project scope, cost implications, or a new timeline, residents are once again left in the dark.