Matjhabeng residents were left frustrated and furious after enduring over seven days without water.
On 15 July, Vaal Central Water (VCW) issued a notice of routine winter maintenance for the 2024-’25 period. What was initially communicated as a 36-hour shutdown turned into a prolonged crisis, severely impacting households, schools, and businesses.
Schools across Matjhabeng braced for two waterless days but were forced to shut down from 24 July, due to health and sanitation concerns.
At the Wessel Maree school, Odendaalsrus a water truck stopped at the hostel on Sunday morning.
Estelle Dansey, DA ward councillor
I have been begging for water for some 113 children in the area since Thursday last week. The severe crisis affected schools within the Matjhabeng region that were subsequently forced to close.
“Despite repeated pleas from the DA councillors for clarity and assistance, the Matjhabeng Municipality failed to respond with any meaningful action. Notably, water tankers were deployed to selected outlying areas, yet DA-led wards in Welkom were deliberately bypassed – further deepening the community’s sense of abandonment,” says Coreen Malherbe, DA caucus leader in Matjhabeng.
Malherbe says this gross mishandling of a basic service delivery issue left residents desperate, with significant financial implications, and a growing sense of outrage.
The crisis severely impacted multiple communities across Matjhabeng. Water eventually, after many false promises and alerts, started coming through late on 28 July.
“Shockingly, VCW continued with their scheduled evening water cut-offs, in areas like Welkom and Hennenman that had just begun to receive some water after days without. This lack of sensitivity and coordination is unacceptable. As of Tuesday morning, Odendaalsrus remained without water, and no explanation or update was provided to the ward councillor or affected residents,” says Maxie Badenhorst, DA councillor for ward 3.
She says that throughout the crisis there was no communication, no transparency, and no accountability from either Matjhabeng Municipality or VCW.
“Residents were left in the dark, and councillors had no answers to give their communities.
“Even more disturbing was the clear political bias that emerged in the response to this crisis. DA-led wards were disproportionately excluded from receiving assistance, and this quickly became a humanitarian issue,” says Badenhorst.
Despite countless reports and follow-ups, the situation remained unchanged.
“While residents rightly demanded answers, we as councillors had reached the limits of what we could do without the cooperation of the municipality or VCW. The silence was deafening.”
Although water was restored late on Monday afternoon, no water tankers were supplied at any point during the crisis to ward 3.
“We reminded all involved that access to water is a constitutional right, protected under Section 27 of the Constitution, and the failure to ensure alternative water supply arrangements during outages constituted a violation of that right.
“This may have criminal implications, especially if it can be proven that neglect or discriminatory practices contributed to this violation,” Badenhorst says.
The residents of Matjhabeng deserve more than silence and mismanagement. This crisis has made one thing painfully clear: poor communication is just as dangerous as poor infrastructure.
The time for excuses is over.
Malherbe says the DA Matjhabeng caucus has since escalated the matter to provincial structures for urgent investigation and intervention.
