South Africa is marking World Water Day on 22 March 2026 amid growing concern over the state of its freshwater resources, particularly in agriculture and rural areas. The country faces severe water stress from climate variability, droughts, ageing infrastructure, poor maintenance, pollution, and mismanagement, with many rivers, boreholes, and reserves no longer delivering clean, reliable water. Farmers worry about producing safe food when water sources are compromised.
Clean water is a fundamental human right — it's explicitly recognised in South Africa's Constitution (Section 27) as part of the right to sufficient food and water, and it's also enshrined in international law (e.g., UN resolutions and the Sustainable Development Goals).Unfortunately, the reality on the ground in South Africa today is deeply concerning and widely shared frustration.
The South African Government has destroyed our water resources over the years. The state of being incompetent- lacking the necessary skills, knowledge, or capacity to do something successfully and corruption as well as their lack of maintenance in keeping our dams and rivers clean.
On 10 December 2025, South Africa’s Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, published proposed new groundwater protection regulations in the Government Gazette, open for public comment until 27 March 2026.The draft rules would apply to all groundwater users — new and existing — including those with current water-use rights, permits or court orders. Key requirements include registering all boreholes (even for basic household or livestock use) in the National Groundwater Archive within 12 months, strict technical standards for borehole contractors, tighter controls on high-risk activities like fracking and mine-water extraction, regular monitoring of water yield and quality for all boreholes, and heavy penalties for non-compliance (fines, up to 5 years imprisonment for first offences, or up to 10 years for repeats).
Some people supports sustainable groundwater management and stronger monitoring, but warns the regulations must be legally sound, practically workable, aligned with the National Water Act (protecting existing lawful uses), and realistic — especially with phased deadlines, technical support for rural users, and clear assurances that registration will not reduce or revoke existing water rights.
Some is concerned that overly strict or unclear rules could sharply increase costs, reduce borehole services in rural areas, and harm small farmers (for example, by applying the same monitoring standards to remote livestock boreholes as to large irrigation schemes).AgriSA is preparing formal comments and urges adjustments to avoid unintended damage to agriculture, rural economies, and food security while still protecting aquifers. Submissions close on 27 March 2026.
The root causes — corruption, incompetence, mismanagement, lack of maintenance budgets, cadre deployment over competence, and failure to enforce bylaws — lie with leadership at national, provincial, and local government levels.It's time to shift the focus and energy:
- Demand accountability from ministers, MECs, mayors, and directors.
- Push for prosecutions of those who steal water budgets or award dodgy tenders.
- Insist on competent, qualified people running water utilities.
- Support peaceful, organised pressure (protests, petitions, court cases, media exposure) that targets decision-makers instead of infrastructure.
South Africans deserve clean, reliable water — it's a constitutional right — and the people in charge need to be held personally accountable until it happens.
Want to join our popular weekly viewpoint? Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.! You can make your own Viewpoint. - Our Professional civilized approach to your option is respected.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by CRA and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
