Nearly Half Our Water Disappears Before It Reaches Homes
Johannesburg residents took to the streets over something that should never require protest: water.
Written By: Phenyo Matabane
Last week in Johannesburg, residents took to the streets over something that should never require protest: water. Not ideology. Not foreign policy. Not party politics. Water.
In parts of the city, taps have been unreliable for months at a time. Supply returns, disappears, then returns again. That unpredictability is what exhausts people. You cannot run a household on uncertainty.
Water sits at the centre of daily life. When it disappears, hygiene deteriorates, small businesses stall, schools struggle, and frustration builds inside homes. An empty tap signals that something essential is failing.
South Africa is a water-scarce country. Rainfall is uneven and climate variability adds pressure. But geography alone does not explain what is happening. Nationally, about 47% of treated water is classified as non-revenue water. Nearly half of what is produced never reaches paying consumers, lost through leaks, theft, faulty metering, or administrative breakdowns. Infrastructure ages. Maintenance slips. Oversight weakens. This crisis reflects governance failure more than climate stress.
In his 2026 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed over R156 billion to water and sanitation infrastructure over the next three years. He spoke about stabilising municipalities and rebuilding institutional capacity. The commitments are on record.
Yet while Johannesburg residents were protesting dry taps, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, was in Ethiopia. During a public event there, she was filmed singing what she described as an internal “water song” from the podium, explaining, “This is an internal song for water when we say clouds are gathering.” Symbolism has its place. But citizens waiting for tankers and checking empty reservoirs are looking for pipes, pumps, and pressure - not clouds.
Countries facing water scarcity have responded in different ways. Israel chose aggressive adaptation. Roughly half its land is desert, yet it built large-scale desalination capacity, wastewater recycling systems, and precision irrigation networks. Close to 90% of its wastewater is reused. Scarcity pushed innovation. Innovation produced resilience.
Over the past decade, Israeli officials and water specialists have on several occasions indicated willingness to share expertise with South Africa.
During Cape Town’s severe drought period, Israeli-linked desalination proposals were among the international options placed on the table. More recently, public reporting referenced Israeli technical engagement offers in the Eastern Cape during periods of extreme water stress. Discussions reportedly included water management expertise and infrastructure support.
At various diplomatic moments, Israel has signalled openness to cooperation in water technology - an area in which it is globally recognised. These signals have not been isolated. They have surfaced repeatedly. The question is not whether one agrees with Israel’s foreign policy. The question is whether technical capacity should be evaluated when citizens are without water.
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and Israel have deteriorated in recent years. The decision to declare Israel’s chargé d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata deepened that strain. Reporting around the decision referenced engagements connected to development discussions in the Eastern Cape, including water-related assistance.
In provinces where hospitals have faced water interruptions and rural residents have depended on tankers or long walks for supply, the priority should remain practical. Does the proposal reduce losses? Does it restore reliability? Is it financially viable? Those are measurable standards.
Political leaders across the spectrum have described infrastructure reform as long-term or generational. Water shortages, however, are immediate. There is nothing abstract about a dry tap. If Israeli desalination expertise offers value, assess it. If Dutch water engineering offers value, assess it. If Singapore’s recycling systems offer value, assess them. Rejecting evaluation because of diplomatic discomfort does not strengthen sovereignty. It weakens delivery.
The Johannesburg protesters were not staging a geopolitical argument. They were asking for functionality. In the end, the measure will be simple: repaired pipes, functioning reservoirs, consistent supply. When this period is judged, the decisive question will not concern which alliances were emphasised. It will be simpler.
Did the water flow?
Phenyo Matabane is a consultant and economics master’s candidate, passionate about Africa’s development. He has served in student governance at the University of Pretoria and continues to support community-based projects in townships for the youth.