President Cyril Ramaphosa’s release of the National Water Action Plan (NWAP) marks one of the most significant milestones in South Africa’s democratic water journey. For the first time since 1994, government has adopted a comprehensive programme that not only confronts the scale of the country’s water crisis but identifies its structural causes and sets out a coordinated programme of reform to address them.
The National Water Action Plan is far more than another policy document. It is a national implementation framework aimed at restoring reliable water and sanitation services, strengthening institutional capability and securing South Africa’s water future. It recognises that South Africa’s greatest water challenge is no longer simply one of water availability, but of governance, infrastructure, investment and implementation.
This moment presents an opportunity to fulfil the democratic vision that President Nelson Mandela regarded as central to freedom itself: that every South African should enjoy a life of dignity, equality and opportunity. Reliable access to safe drinking water and dignified sanitation underpins public health, education, economic participation and social justice. Every community connected to clean water and every wastewater treatment works restored strengthens the constitutional promise that democracy must improve the daily lives of ordinary people.
South Africa’s Constitution recognises water as both a fundamental human right and a public trust. Since 1994, democratic government has invested billions of rand in dams, bulk water schemes, purification plants, reservoirs and pipelines, extending access to millions previously excluded under apartheid. These achievements remain among the country’s greatest democratic successes.
Yet these gains are increasingly threatened by ageing infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, climate change, pollution, municipal financial distress, inadequate maintenance and declining technical capacity. The consequences are evident in deteriorating wastewater treatment works, rising non-revenue water, vandalised infrastructure and unreliable services. The National Water Action Plan correctly concludes that these are systemic failures requiring structural reform rather than incremental intervention.
Its greatest strength lies in recognising that South Africa’s water crisis is fundamentally a governance crisis. Water revenues are too often diverted away from infrastructure maintenance, accountability is fragmented and institutional capacity has steadily weakened. The result is a vicious cycle of deteriorating assets, increasing water losses, declining revenues and worsening service delivery. By confronting these structural weaknesses, the Plan shifts the national conversation from managing recurring crises to building capable and sustainable institutions.
Its proposed reforms include strengthening governance and accountability, ring-fencing water and sanitation revenue, accelerating regulatory reform, mobilising infrastructure investment, expanding alternative service delivery mechanisms where appropriate, and intensifying the fight against corruption and criminality. Together, these reforms recognize that water security depends as much on capable institutions and sound governance as it does on engineering infrastructure.
The establishment of the National Water Crisis Committee under President Ramaphosa provides the political leadership necessary to coordinate this ambitious programme. Equally important is the Plan’s recognition that government cannot achieve water security alone. It requires stronger partnerships between government, municipalities, business, organized labour, academia and civil society. Within this collaborative framework, the Association of Water and Sanitation Institutions of South Africa (AWSISA) has an important contribution to make.
AWSISA was established to strengthen cooperation across the water sector by mobilizing expertise, encouraging innovation and improving institutional capability. Its mission aligns closely with the objectives of the National Water Action Plan, positioning the Association as a strategic implementation partner capable of translating policy into measurable outcomes.
This commitment is already evident in practice. During AWSISA’s Post-Budget Breakfast earlier this year, the Association reaffirmed its commitment to advancing water security and dignified sanitation. That commitment was translated into action on Mandela Day through the launch of 67 decentralised water systems, with AWSISA supporting implementation aimed at extending services to unserved and underserved communities. AWSISA has also offered its collective technical expertise to the Department of Water and Sanitation as an implementation partner, helping municipalities strengthen delivery where capacity constraints remain severe.
The National Water Action Plan identifies five priorities that will determine South Africa’s success: strengthening municipal water and sanitation services, accelerating structural reforms, increasing infrastructure investment, modernising regulation and confronting corruption and criminality. These priorities align closely with AWSISA’s strategic programme.
The Plan correctly acknowledges that public resources alone cannot finance the infrastructure required to modernise the sector. Greater private sector participation, blended finance and innovative funding mechanisms will be essential. Water must increasingly be viewed not merely as a public expenditure obligation but as a strategic national investment capable of driving economic growth, job creation and long-term resilience.
AWSISA has consistently advocated reforms that strengthen investor confidence while improving accountability. The Association has made formal submissions to Parliament supporting the establishment of an independent water and sanitation economic regulator, recognising that transparent regulation is essential for financial sustainability, consumer protection and long-term investment.
Similarly, AWSISA has argued that ring-fencing water and sanitation revenue is indispensable to restoring municipal financial sustainability. Revenue generated for water services must be reinvested in maintaining, operating and expanding infrastructure rather than diverted elsewhere.
Equally important is the need to modernise South Africa’s water service delivery model. AWSISA has advocated innovative institutional arrangements that combine public accountability with operational efficiency. This thinking has found practical expression in the establishment of the Vaal Corporation Water Utility, a Special Purpose Vehicle between Rand Water and Emfuleni Local Municipality. This partnership demonstrates how collaborative delivery models can strengthen performance while attracting private sector investment without compromising government’s constitutional responsibilities.
Institutional reform must also be accompanied by stronger environmental governance. AWSISA has consistently advocated for the polluter-pays principle and proposed the establishment of a dedicated Anti-Pollution Fund to finance rehabilitation, strengthen enforcement and ensure that the costs of environmental damage are borne by polluters rather than communities and taxpayers.
nnovation will likewise be central to South Africa’s water future. Digital monitoring systems, smart metering, advanced wastewater treatment technologies and data-driven management are becoming indispensable tools for reducing water losses, improving operational efficiency and strengthening climate resilience. AWSISA continues to champion research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange to improve sector performance.
At the same time, corruption, organised criminality, vandalism and infrastructure theft remain serious threats to reliable water services. Protecting public infrastructure has become as important as building it. Every act of sabotage diverts scarce resources away from communities and undermines confidence in democratic institutions. Strengthening accountability and restoring integrity across the sector must therefore remain central to South Africa’s reform agenda.
Ultimately, the National Water Action Plan’s greatest strength lies in recognising that water security is a shared national responsibility. Government must provide leadership and an enabling policy environment, but municipalities, business, organised labour, research institutions, civil society and communities all have indispensable roles to play. Lasting solutions will depend on a new social compact founded on partnership, accountability and collective action.
This philosophy lies at the heart of AWSISA’s mission. The Association exists because no single institution possesses all the expertise, resources or authority required to overcome South Africa’s water challenges. Progress depends on building partnerships, sharing knowledge and aligning institutions behind common national objectives.
The National Water Action Plan therefore represents more than a policy milestone. It signals the beginning of a new chapter in South Africa’s democratic development—one that places implementation, institutional reform and collective responsibility at the centre of national renewal. The country now has a clear diagnosis of the crisis, a coherent programme of reform and the political leadership to drive implementation. The challenge is no longer to determine what must be done, but to execute these reforms with urgency, discipline and accountability.
Nelson Mandela reminded us that freedom is ultimately measured by the lives we improve. There can be few greater expressions of that democratic promise than ensuring that every South African enjoys reliable access to clean water and dignified sanitation. AWSISA stands ready to work alongside the Presidency, the Department of Water and Sanitation, municipalities, business, organised labour, academia, civil society and development partners to help translate the National Water Action Plan into measurable results.
If we match the ambition of this Plan with disciplined implementation, future generations will remember this moment not simply as the time South Africa confronted a water crisis, but as the moment the nation united to secure one of its most precious resources and, in doing so, advanced the constitutional promise of dignity, equality and opportunity for all.
Ramateu Monyokolo is the Chairperson of the Association of Water and Sanitation Institutions of South Africa (AWSISA).
By Ramateu Monyokolo
