Water is considered essential to survive; however, residents of Bethal and some areas in Secunda are forced to survive with little to no water.

Some areas in Bethal have been without water since the beginning of December, while other areas are on day 43 days. Secunda residents of specifically Ext 22 and 23, and Sunset Park, are on day 17 of no water today.

Bethal residents endured water problems for several years, and now their taps are dry for months.

AfriForum opened a criminal court case against Rand Water in 2024 to fight this battle, but they lost the case because both Rand Water and Govan Mbeki Municipality’s representatives then said in court that they did not throttle the water.

AfriForum approached the court last year again and handed in an interlocutory application to receive specific information from Rand Water to determine whether Rand Water’s decision to minimise water pressure to seven municipalities was legal.

They appeared in the High Court in Pretoria again on February 7 and are now waiting for feedback.

“We at AfriForum are of the opinion that Rand Water and Govan Mbeki Municipality are not transparent with their decisions when it comes to water supply, and as a result, residents have to suffer,” said Hennie Bekker, AfriForum’s district coordinator for the Highveld.

“Since we started with this litigation process, the excuses Bethal residents got from Rand Water and the municipality for not having water include production shortages, maintenance problems and power failures, to mention a few.”

According to the court order, it is illegal for Rand Water to throttle water supply to residents as a way to get money in from municipalities.

“This urged us at AfriForum to start looking for information that is otherwise withheld from residents.”

Farmers around Bethal and AfriForum did not let residents down and continued to supply water in tankers. AfriForum’s two emergency water points in Bethal are filled up regularly, and residents can obtain water from there.

“We have also ensured that the schools and two old age homes in Bethal regularly get water,” said Bekker.

Only this year, AfriForum and the farmers have already provided 300 000 litres of water to residents and in 2024, they provided 2.5 million litres of water.

The Bethal community organised a march on February 20 to hand over a memorandum to officials of the Govan Mbeki Municipality.

About 60 people took part and marched to the Bethal town hall. In the memorandum, the community urged the municipality to take urgent action on the water crisis in Bethal.

The memorandum stated:

For an extended period, households across Bethal and eMzinoni have been without reliable water in their taps, forcing residents to rely on temporary and inadequate relief measures such as irregular water tankers.
Access to water in our homes is not a privilege – it is a basic human right guaranteed by the Constitution of South Africa.
The ongoing situation constitutes a serious violation of residents’ rights to human dignity, health, sanitation and sufficient water.
This violation has caused unnecessary suffering, health risks and indignity for vulnerable people of the community, including children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.
Our solution and demands are clear and non-negotiable: Immediate actions required.
1. Declare a local disaster in Bethal and eMzinoni to mobilise urgent resources and support.
2. Repair and restore pump stations and major water pipelines to ensure water flow into residents’ taps without further delay.
3. End corrupt and unreliable water-tank practices, replacing them with a transparent, accountable, and professional system.
4. Place water services under professional management with clear performance accountability and measurable outcomes.
5. Provide weekly progress reports to residents detailing water restoration, maintenance activities, and any challenges encountered.
Water Tankers do not bring relief.
Problems with tanker systems are: 1. Physical burden – 20l containers weigh 20kg.
That is dangerous for older people.
2. Irregular supply – Tankers do not always arrive on schedule.
3. Long queues – People wait hours.
4. Conflict and crowding – Tension rises when water runs low.
5. No dignity – It feels like emergency aid, not proper service delivery.

The community further stated in the memorandum that the municipality previously suggested boreholes to fill reservoirs during water outages, but to date residents have not seen any tangible relief from their water problems.

They demanded answers on where these supposed boreholes are located and why they are not supplying water, if proper geological and hydrological tests were conducted before drilling the boreholes, how deep the boreholes were drilled and if they were fitted with pumps capable of supplying sufficient water, when these boreholes will come operational to serve as an alternative water source and how the contractors were appointed .

The memorandum further stated that accountability, communication and fair billing to residents are other concerns and that the municipality failed to provide transparent communication regarding the true states of water supply from Rand Water.

Residents are still receiving inflated water bills despite not having water for longer than 30 days. Residents demanded credit for water not supplied and full accountability from the municipality about the Rand Water account.

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According to Desiré Kranz, DA councillor in Bethal, the DA has, over the past six months, twice opened a case at the Human Rights Commission.

In May and June last year, Bethal was also facing water shortages, and the DA approached the Human Rights Commission. But as soon as the water was back, the Human Rights Commission’s representative said there was no need then to investigate the matter further.

“We approached them again now, because the community requested it, but it does not really help. We are now exploring options to rather open a criminal case at court,” said Kranz.

“It is now getting to a point where water is scarce even at boreholes and fire hydrants in Bethal. If there is a fire now somewhere in Bethal, there is no water to extinguish it.”

Donald Green, spokesperson of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, said Bethal is situated at the furthest point of the Rand Water supply line.

“When there is high demand or low pressure anywhere else in the system, Bethal is the first to lose water and the last to get it back,” said Green.

“As of middle February this year, we confirmed that Bethal Rand, Extension 5, Extension 4, and Van Heerden reservoirs have been at 0% to 5% capacity.

“Without pressure in these reservoirs, gravity cannot push water to high-lying areas like Extension 3 and 8.”

When asked when the people will have water again, Green said there is no fixed date for water restoration, and even if Rand Water increases water pressure today, it will take roughly about seven to 10 days for the massive network of pipes to refill and for the reservoirs to build up enough power to reach the high-lying areas, which include Ext 3 and 8.

On the question if residents’ water bills will now be less, Green said: “While residents are not being charged for water consumption they do not use, they are still subject to fixed costs like minimum basic charges.

“A monthly minimum basic charge is levied on any premises where municipal water supply is available, even if it is not used or the premises are vacant.”

According to Green, the municipality deployed a limited number of tankers to Region 1.

“Rand Water continues to perform large-scale maintenance on its systems (such as the Bloemendal and Trichardt pump stations), though these often cause further short-term outages during the repair periods.

“For long-term plans, the municipality is investigating alternative water sources.”