UMKHANYAKUDE, KWAZULU-NATAL — The uMkhanyakude water crisis continues to challenge communities across KwaZulu-Natal, but the district’s leadership is rolling out aggressive infrastructure upgrades to bridge a massive supply gap. Executive Mayor of the uMkhanyakude District Municipality, Councillor Siphile Mdaka, has outlined a comprehensive strategy to address severe water shortages, aging reticulation networks, and the difficulties of extending services to remote areas for the district’s over 156,000 households and population of 755,000.
Despite being the fifth-largest district in the country and possessing abundant water sources, the municipality faces a critical mismatch between supply and demand. Currently, the district’s eight water treatment plants produce 200 megaliters (200 million liters) per day. However, the daily demand exceeds 350 megaliters. This 150-megaliter shortfall has left numerous areas, including Big Five Hlabisa, Jozini, Mtubatuba, and parts of the Hluhluwe area, grappling with unreliable water access.
To resolve this deficit, the municipality has partnered with the Department of Water and Sanitation on a massive infrastructure upgrade. Councillor Mdaka confirmed that approved plans are in place to increase production capacity by an additional 100 megaliters per day over the next three years. These expansion plans will be funded through national RP grants.
While waiting for the bulk infrastructure upgrades, the municipality is extending reticulation using its current 200-megaliter capacity. For remote and isolated areas, the municipality is drilling boreholes to tap into groundwater sources. Mdaka emphasized the need for caution, noting that groundwater must be carefully filtered to prevent contamination before it can be utilized for consumption. Additionally, the municipality is deploying its own internal water tankers to reach communities where piped water is not yet available. Mdaka stressed that the municipality deliberately avoids outsourcing this service to eliminate the risk of corruption, and plans are underway to expand the internal tanker fleet.
Addressing concerns about decaying infrastructure and historical project delays, the Mayor highlighted a significant turnaround in the municipality’s operational capacity. The local authority has built robust internal units for operations, maintenance, and project management. Mdaka reported that all projects under construction over the past three years have been completed on time, with grants remaining cash-backed in compliance with the Auditor-General and National Treasury requirements. Furthermore, a minimum of 5% of the municipal budget is now strictly allocated to operations and maintenance to ensure sustainability and ensure that water access meets RDP specifications.
Illegal water connections remain a persistent issue, exacerbating the strain on the system and causing surrounding areas to dry up. Mdaka linked the surge in informal connections to rapid population growth and historical poor planning. “A municipality has a responsibility to formalize what is informal,” he explained. To combat this, the municipality has enhanced its planning department to respond to population shifts and is engaging communities door-to-door and in community halls to find permanent, collaborative solutions.
Highlighting recent victories, Mdaka noted that about 70% of the current massive infrastructure rehabilitation is focused specifically on addressing aging infrastructure. He also pointed out that a decade-long water crisis in the CMB and Mini communities—caused by aging pipes and poor maintenance—was resolved just last week. Crucially, this repair was executed internally without the need for external tenders, showcasing the newly built internal state capacity.
While acknowledging that a gap remains before achieving universal access for every household, the Mayor remains confident in the district’s trajectory. “It’s a municipality that is hard at work… there is still a little bit of a way to go to ensure that we achieve universal access of a drop of water in every family,” Mdaka concluded.
