HAMMANSKRAAL, Gauteng — The South African government has officially launched the National Water Access Acceleration Programme, a strategic decentralised water supply scheme designed to expand safe and reliable water access across underserved communities. President Cyril Ramaphosa oversaw the landmark launch in Hammanskraal, emphasizing that the initiative directly addresses the basic service delivery priorities outlined in the recent State of the Nation Address. Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo provided detailed insights into the programme’s expected impact, highlighting a multi-faceted approach to solving the country’s water challenges through both immediate interventions and long-term infrastructure development.
Addressing concerns about the sustainability of newly drilled boreholes, Deputy Minister Mahlobo clarified that these are not merely interim measures, but integrated components of a broader, sustainable water policy. A centerpiece of the Hammanskraal initiative is the Klipdrift package plant, which features a modularized water treatment system. Described as the first of its magnitude in Africa, the four-component system will initially yield 12.5 million liters of clean drinking water, ultimately scaling to 50 million liters to support Hammanskraal and surrounding communities that have historically been denied reliable access.
Furthermore, the President launched 27 decentralised water treatment works in the area. These facilities extract groundwater or spring water, pump it through advanced treatment plants to resolve quality and chemical issues, and store it in tanks, replicating the reliable systems found in urban areas. This model is being replicated nationally: similar launches of 27 decentralised projects were conducted in KwaZulu-Natal’s Mapumulo community and in the Eastern Cape by Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina. This brings the initial rollout to 67 projects, with a strategic plan to continuously combine groundwater utilization with surface water from dams.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo also addressed the broader national conversation surrounding water security, particularly in relation to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which is viewed as the ultimate solution for landlocked provinces like Gauteng. He clarified that while South Africa does not face an absolute water scarcity crisis before 2030, proactive infrastructure development remains critical. Historical droughts in areas like the Garden Route and parts of Limpopo, which have endured nearly two decades of insufficient water, underscore the necessity of building more dams to capture runoff and guarantee water security for agriculture, electricity, and economic investment.
However, the most pressing challenge remains water management rather than absolute scarcity. Highlighting the crisis of non-revenue water, Deputy Minister Mahlobo noted that the City of Johannesburg receives 5.2 billion liters of water daily, yet nearly 50 percent (approximately 2.5 billion liters) is lost to the ground. This massive loss is driven by decades of underinvestment in aging infrastructure, with some pipes being 60 to 100 years old. Closing these leaks and replacing old infrastructure is a paramount priority.
In addition to infrastructure repairs, the department is pushing for aggressive water reuse policies. Currently, significant volumes of treated effluent are released into river systems, degrading water quality. The government aims to clean and repurpose this water to a standard suitable for alternative uses. To support these efforts, strict governance and financial reforms are being implemented to combat malfeasance and ensure that water and electricity grants are utilized properly, including refinancing mechanisms that maximize state resources before leveraging private sector funding.
Progress on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II was also highlighted as a major milestone. The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) has deployed massive machinery to advance the critical tunnel drilling required to transfer the water. Concurrently, a massive bridge is being constructed near the new Polihali Dam site to ensure communities remain connected once flooding begins. The dam’s impounding is scheduled for the 2028/2029 season, after which water transfers to South Africa will commence.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo emphasized that the LHWP is a definitive win-win partnership. Lesotho benefits from hydroelectric power generation and receives substantial monthly royalties from South Africa. In return, South Africa is assisting in building weirs in the Free State to help return water to Lesotho, supporting their local farming industry. Looking ahead, the government is reviewing the bilateral treaty for Phase 3 of the project and exploring expanded water-sharing cooperation with Botswana. This regional collaboration stands as a global model of how shared water resources can foster cooperation and mutual prosperity, rather than conflict.
