Helen Zille takes Joburg to court over ‘man-made’ water collapse

DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille has launched a court bid against the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and Joburg Water, alleging that the city’s deepening water crisis is not merely the result of failing infrastructure, but a consequence of financial mismanagement and deliberate underfunding that has crippled the utility’s ability to maintain and repair its collapsing network.

In papers filed before the Johannesburg high court on May 8, the DA argues that while residents endure prolonged outages, leaking pipes, sewer overflows and failing reservoirs, billions of rand that could be used to stabilise the system remain inaccessible to Joburg Water under the city’s financial controls.

Zille ultimately seeks an order compelling the city and Joburg Water to implement the utility’s own 2024 Water Turnaround Strategy, which the DA says has largely been ignored since its adoption.

In her founding affidavit, Zille describes Johannesburg’s water crisis as “man-made”, saying the collapse of basic services is the result of years of neglect and governance failures.

“Johannesburg is facing an unprecedented water crisis. Whole suburbs go without water for days, weeks and months. At the best of times, water supply is intermittent and unreliable,” the affidavit reads.

According to the court papers, Joburg Water itself has acknowledged that the city’s water and sanitation system is “not sustainable” due to long-term underinvestment, weakening finances and declining service levels.

The city also does not permit Joburg Water to use all the money that should be available to it. There is R4bn that sits on Joburg Water’s books, but it cannot be used to fix pipes, pay contractors or build new reservoirs.

—  DA affidavit

The DA claims the city has imposed a financial structure that prevents Joburg Water from operating independently, despite the utility generating revenue from consumers.

“The city also does not permit Joburg Water to use all the money that should be available to it. There is R4bn that sits on Joburg Water’s books, but it cannot be used to fix pipes, pay contractors, or build new reservoirs,” the affidavit states.

Central to the dispute is the so-called “sweeping arrangement”, under which money collected by Joburg Water is allegedly transferred daily into the City’s central accounts. The DA argues this deprives the utility of the funds needed for infrastructure maintenance and expansion.

The court papers paint a bleak picture of deteriorating infrastructure and declining operational performance. Between 2012 and 2022, water main bursts allegedly increased by 30%, while sewer overflows rose by 35%.

The affidavit further states that only 41.27% of water bursts were repaired within 48 hours, well below the utility’s target of 90%.

The DA also alleges that Johannesburg is effectively losing a third of its water through leaks and other forms of “non-revenue water”.

Physical losses of water in Johannesburg are about 33% which means the city is “literally throwing away a third of the water they obtain from Rand Water”, the papers state.

The application details the impact of the water crisis on schools, hospitals, businesses and courts across Johannesburg.

In one example cited in the affidavit, a Midrand school principal said learners had to be sent home after taps ran dry. The papers also describe hospitals struggling to maintain sanitation and patient care during prolonged outages.

The DA argues that the ongoing collapse violates several constitutional rights, including the rights to water, dignity, healthcare and education.

Though the city and Joburg Water adopted the Turnaround Strategy in July 2024, the DA claims there has been little meaningful progress in implementing its key reforms, including increasing capital investment and restructuring the utility’s financial relationship with the City.

The papers further allege that Johannesburg Water’s required capital investment target of R3bn for the 2025/26 financial year has still not been met, with only R1.7bn allocated.

“The city and Joburg Water have identified the causes of the crises and developed a plausible solution, but they have demonstrated that they are either unable or unwilling to implement it,” the affidavit states.