As Premier Panyaza Lesufi prepares to deliver the State of the Province Address (SOPA), ActionSA has called for accountability on his past promises, calling for a full update on the urgent interventions needed to tackle Gauteng’s deepening water crisis.
The party stated that citizens deserve concrete, data-driven progress with clear timelines to assess whether Lesufi’s administration’s interventions have had a meaningful impact.
“The people of Gauteng cannot afford another SOPA filled with empty promises and gimmicks—they need real, measurable progress. Premier Lesufi must provide clear updates, backed by data and timelines, on whether his administration’s interventions have made any impact.”
The party urged Lesufi to deliver a comprehensive report on Gauteng’s ongoing water crisis, as the province grapples with persistent shortages.
This was despite Joburg Mayor Dada Morero’s announcement on Friday that water had been fully restored across the city. He claimed to have fulfilled his promise to resolve the outages within seven days after residents endured weeks without water.
During his first 100 days in office at the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) last year, Lesufi outlined several measures to tackle the province’s escalating water crisis.
Last year, Lesufi emphasised that while Gauteng was not experiencing an outright water shortage, the province's water system was under increasing strain due to illegal connections, ageing infrastructure that had gone unreplaced for years, and severe water leakages.
“We are putting together a team of law enforcement agencies that will assist us in disconnecting all illegal water connections in the province,” Lesufi said.
Lesufi also introduced a pioneering “water data hub,” or “water dashboard,” which was meant to provide Gauteng residents with real-time insights into water levels, shortages, and repair updates across the province.
It was developed in partnership with the Platform for Water Secure Gauteng (PWSG) Dashboard Working Group, the hub aimed to improve transparency and enabled residents to make informed choices regarding water consumption.
He also proposed a major intervention by implementing Level 1 water restrictions across all eleven Gauteng municipalities to curb non-essential water use.
These restrictions banned activities such as filling swimming pools, washing cars with hoses, and watering gardens during peak hours.
Lesufi urged residents to adopt and support water-saving habits to ease pressure on the system.
In a statement, ActionSA called on Lesufi to provide feedback on the water-saving measures he introduced last year, specifically addressing the following:
- The formation of a specialised law enforcement team to crack down on illegal water connections.
- The implementation of Level 1 water restrictions across municipalities to manage demand.
- The launch of a water data hub to provide real-time information on water supply issues.
The Star