Honourable Speaker,
As we debate the Presidency’s budget allocation, I want to today speak on the President’s leadership in one of our gravest crises as South Africans: the national water crisis.
In February, the President acknowledged what residents already knew from their empty taps: water had become an issue of upmost national importance.
He promised a National Water Crisis Committee.
He promised a focused national response.
We were told that a Water Action Plan would be ready by March.
It is now June.
South Africans are still waiting.
I submitted a PAIA request to the Presidency to obtain this plan, to see what commitments had been made, what interventions were approved, what timelines were set, and how government intended to turn promises into water in people’s taps.
Instead of urgency, the Presidency asked for more time.
Another month.
That means that instead of an urgent plan in February, we are now in June with no public plan, no clear measurable targets, and no confidence that the Presidency is treating this crisis with the seriousness it deserves.
Honourable Speaker, South Africans do not live on promises.
They live in homes where taps run dry.
I come from Johannesburg. I know very well that budgets on paper do not mean service delivery on the ground.
A budget line does not repair a leaking pipe.
A strategy document does not fill a reservoir.
A press conference does not bring water to a mother who needs to bath her child, cook food, flush a toilet, or care for a sick relative.
This past weekend, after routine maintenance by Rand Water, suburbs across Gauteng were again left without water.
From Atteridgeville and Olievenhoutbosch in Tshwane, to Palm Ridge and Katlehong in Ekurhuleni, to South Hills, Diepsloot and Brixton in Johannesburg.
Black, white, indian and coloured.
Rich and poor.
Township, suburb, informal settlement and inner city.
This crisis does not affect only one community.
It affects South Africans.
And while planned maintenance is necessary, a resilient system should be able to absorb routine maintenance without leaving communities desperate.
That is the problem.
Our systems have become so weak, so under-maintained, and so poorly managed that ordinary maintenance can push communities into crisis.
The crisis abounds across our country.
In Phalaborwa, residents have had no water for days because of the failure of a single pump.
Families are suffering.
Businesses are suffering.
Public services are placed at risk.
And the question must be asked: how were the rights of an entire community left to hang on a single, dilapidated piece of infrastructure?
Honourable Speaker, I speak today not only as a Member of Parliament.
I speak as a husband and a father.
I have a two-year-old daughter.
My mother-in-law is staying with us after major surgery.
When there is no water, it is not a minor inconvenience.
It affects hygiene.
It affects health.
It affects dignity.
And for poorer residents, for elderly residents, and for people who cannot buy bottled water or install tanks, the impact is far worse.
South Africans understand how serious load shedding was.
The water crisis is as serious, and in some places even worse.
But there is no single Eskom to blame.
Instead, there are over one hundred failing water service authorities.
Municipal managers who did not maintain systems.
Mayors who did not prioritise infrastructure.
Water boards under pressure.
Pipes vandalised.
Pump stations neglected.
Reservoirs left to fail.
And communities left to suffer.
That is precisely why presidential leadership is required.
The Presidency exists to set national priorities.
The Presidency exists to coordinate government.
The Presidency exists to unlock blockages when departments, municipalities and entities fail to act with the speed required.
This Budget Vote must not be about more speeches and more promises.
It must be an action budget.
It must support real interventions where municipalities fail.
It must demand measurable targets for reducing water losses, repairing infrastructure, restoring wastewater systems, and ending the indignity of water tanker dependency.
Business as usual continues to fail.
Last year, 105 water service authorities were in distress.
Now there are 109 out of 144.
Things are getting worse, not better.
Stitching old plans together and calling them a crisis response is not enough.
South Africans need a real plan.
A plan with names, dates, budgets, targets and consequences.
Mr President, release the National Water Crisis Action Plan.
Show South Africans that this government understands the scale of the crisis.
Show residents from Katlehong to Phalaborwa, from Diepsloot to Atteridgeville, from rural villages to major metros, that they do not have to live without reliable water.
South Africa does not need more excuses.
South Africa needs action now.
Service delivery now.
Water now.
I thank you.