JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — As South Africa grapples with persistent water service challenges, WaterCAN is calling for strict accountability and concrete timelines from the newly established Watercom. Dr. Ferrial Adam, Executive Director of WaterCAN, warns that the Presidency’s National Water Action Plan must translate into tangible action rather than repeating past promises, emphasizing that civil society involvement and transparent reporting are critical to holding institutions accountable.
While WaterCAN has welcomed the creation of Watercom and the broader National Water Action Plan, the organization stresses that many of these proposed solutions have been debated for years. The core challenge, according to Dr. Adam, remains poor implementation and a systemic lack of accountability. WaterCAN is urging the new committee to enforce strict deadlines, ensure transparent reporting, and actively hold responsible institutions to account when targets are missed.
A major concern raised by Dr. Adam is the absence of specific dates and measurable timelines in the current plan. “We need to know how to keep Watercom accountable by understanding what exactly they are going to be doing and the timelines from which they actually have deadlines, so that we can measure their success,” she explained.
Furthermore, WaterCAN has highlighted a lack of meaningful consultation with sectors outside of government. Dr. Adam noted that the National Water Crisis Committee, which birthed Watercom, operated without significant engagement with civil society or the private sector. This exclusion risks turning Watercom into an “echo chamber,” sidelining the very groups necessary for comprehensive water and sanitation solutions.
“We need capable public institutions, responsible private sector partnerships, and an empowered civil society,” Dr. Adam stated. She criticized the current plan for viewing water through a purely technocratic and investment-driven lens, rather than recognizing and treating water as a fundamental human right.
Empowering communities to play a meaningful oversight role is a practical step toward bridging this gap. Dr. Adam pointed to local resident associations in Johannesburg, who actively monitor the progress of the Hurst Hill 2 reservoir repairs. Because the community knows the project was slated for completion by August, their ongoing scrutiny revealed it is only 20 percent complete, largely due to the municipality’s inability to pay contractors.
This grassroots monitoring extends beyond infrastructure projects. Civil society groups have been pivotal in uncovering illegal activities surrounding water tankers, such as overcharging residents, unauthorized borehole drilling, and other illicit operations. By formally including civil society in the oversight process, Dr. Adam argues that South Africa can transform community vigilance into a structured part of the solution, ensuring sustainable and equitable water service provision for all.
