By Levy Masiteng
Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo says one of the biggest successes since the October 2024 Local Government Turnaround Summit has been the stabilisation of the province’s water supply system through coordinated interventions between municipalities, national government and Rand Water.
Speaking during the Gauteng Local Government Turnaround Strategy progress briefing in Sandton on Sunday, Mamabolo said the province had made significant progress in strengthening cooperation across all spheres of government to tackle water disruptions, infrastructure failures and weak municipal performance.
A major breakthrough came in February when the Gauteng government established an Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Water Operations Centre to coordinate responses to the province’s escalating water crisis.
The intervention, announced by Mamabolo in early February, followed recurring outages linked to ageing infrastructure, leaks, high demand and maintenance backlogs.
The operations centre brought together national departments, Rand Water, metros and municipalities to improve real-time monitoring, coordination and emergency response efforts.
“As a province, we believe that we can tackle the challenges facing our people through cooperation and collaboration, and not through finger pointing,” Mamabolo said at the time.
Sunday’s briefing focused on the implementation of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy adopted after the October 2024 summit, with municipalities outlining interventions aimed at strengthening governance, financial recovery, infrastructure protection and service delivery.
Mamabolo described the turnaround strategy as a long-term programme to rebuild municipalities and restore public confidence.
“The Local Government Turnaround Strategy is not an event, but a sustained commitment to strengthening municipalities, improving governance and accelerating service delivery,” he said.
“We recognise that significant work remains to address long-standing challenges facing communities, and we remain convinced that progress is achieved through partnership, collaboration and a shared sense of purpose. Together, we are stronger.”
The province’s water crisis affected areas including Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City, largely due to pump station failures and major pipe bursts that disrupted supply.
In February, Deputy President Paul Mashatile convened a national Water Task Team after widespread disruptions left reservoirs depleted and exposed water losses averaging 33% in some municipal systems.
Government later confirmed that Rand Water had restored full supply capacity, while Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina authorised additional water abstraction from the Integrated Vaal River System to help stabilise Gauteng’s network.
Mamabolo said coordinated interventions under the turnaround strategy were beginning to show results through improved oversight, infrastructure maintenance and technical support to struggling municipalities.
Among the interventions highlighted were accelerated repairs to leaks and pump stations, pressure management systems, refurbishment of reservoirs, technical deployment teams and the ring-fencing of infrastructure grants to prioritise critical projects.
Mamabolo also highlighted efforts to reduce financial strain on municipalities after it emerged that Gauteng municipalities had spent R264 million on outsourced water tanker services over the past three years.
He recently urged municipalities to invest in their own tanker fleets to cut costs and improve emergency response capacity.
Sunday’s briefing also explored the province’s Smart City Region vision, with presentations focusing on digital innovation, integrated planning and stronger intergovernmental coordination as key tools to improve municipal performance.
Mamabolo said innovation and collaboration would remain central to the province’s efforts to strengthen local government and improve residents’ daily lives.
“Today, we are briefing the people of Gauteng on the work undertaken with all municipalities since the adoption of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy as a coordinated programme to address challenges affecting the local sphere of government,” he said.
The provincial government said municipalities would continue providing regular progress reports as the turnaround programme advances across the province.
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