Media Statement

The African National Congress (ANC) welcomes the National Water Action Plan unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa as a decisive intervention to address the water challenges confronting the country. The Plan seeks to stabilise water services, strengthen municipal capacity and enable local government to fulfil its constitutional service-delivery mandate.

The National Water Action Plan comes at a critical moment in the life of our country. It gives practical expression to the commitments made by President Ramaphosa in the 2026 State of the Nation Address and advances the ANC’s priority of investing in people and improving their quality of life. It is also aligned with the ANC’s declaration of 2026 as “The Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government and Transform the Economy.”

The Plan is anchored in fixing immediate challenges in municipal water delivery, accelerating reform of the water-delivery system, increasing investment in water infrastructure, tackling corruption and crime in the water sector, and reviewing water laws and regulations.

Local government remains a strategic vehicle for delivering basic services. Its proximity to communities places municipalities at the centre of implementing the Plan. Properly capacitated and supported municipalities must manage water resources responsibly, prevent the diversion of water revenue, stabilise distressed water-supply systems and accelerate practical, sustainable and fit-for-purpose solutions for communities that continue to lack safe and reliable drinking water.

The ANC has consistently identified crime and corruption as serious impediments to development and service delivery. Communities cannot continue to be denied essential services because funds intended for infrastructure are stolen, misappropriated or diverted. Tackling criminality in the water sector is therefore essential to safeguarding public resources, protecting infrastructure and ensuring that available resources are used strictly for their intended purpose.

The National Water Action Plan forms part of government’s broader infrastructure investment programme of more than R1 trillion across the national, provincial and local spheres. This investment targets strategic sectors, including transport, energy, water and digital infrastructure, to support economic growth, industrial development and job creation.

The Plan builds on the more than R156 billion committed over the next three years for water and sanitation infrastructure. It also complements major projects such as Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which will strengthen regional water security and increase water-transfer capacity to South Africa’s Integrated Vaal River System. The R2.4 billion Senqu Bridge forms part of this wider project.Through decisive implementation, effective oversight and meaningful consequence management, the National Water Action Plan must restore reliable water services, strengthen municipalities and deliver measurable improvements in the lives of communities.

The work of the ANC continues to change the lives of the people for the better.

END//