The water crisis crippling the western parts of Buffalo City has now reached a breaking point. What was once a silent suffering behind closed taps has now spilt into the streets in protest.
Today, residents took to the streets of Bhisho, blocking roads in a desperate attempt to be heard. Their demand is simple and just: access to clean, running water. This is not a request for luxury but a basic constitutional right. It is a cry for dignity and a powerful indictment of the ongoing governance failure at both the local and provincial levels.
Months ago, I raised the alarm over this unfolding humanitarian crisis. Since then, conditions have deteriorated further. Entire communities remain without water. The Bhisho Legislature itself continues to operate with intermittent water supply. Despite multiple written appeals to MEC Zolile Williams and the Buffalo City Metro city manager, no tangible progress has been made.
On 8 April 2025, the Eastern Cape Legislature unanimously adopted my DA-sponsored motion compelling the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) to intervene. The motion mandated CoGTA to engage urgently with Buffalo City Metro, the Amatola Water Board, and other stakeholders to develop short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to the collapse of water infrastructure.
That motion also required CoGTA to report back to the Legislature within 30 days with a clear action plan. That deadline has now passed.
We have written to the Legislature to determine whether this report has been submitted and, if so, to request immediate public access to its contents. If it has not been submitted, CoGTA must be held to account for its inaction and contempt for the Legislature’s directive.
Download letter.
This is no longer just a service delivery failure. It is a moral failure of leadership. The right to water is not negotiable. The continued silence from those entrusted with this responsibility is not only shameful, it is unconstitutional.
I stand with every resident who suffers daily under these conditions. Your voices will not be drowned out by silence or buried beneath bureaucracy.
We will continue to fight until every household has access to clean, reliable water. The people of Buffalo City deserve nothing less.