South Africa’s water supply crisis may fester

Significance Johannesburg and various other municipalities have faced water restrictions for over a year due to persistent supply problems driven by excessive wastage, crumbling infrastructure and serious unresolved debt issues. Provincial governments have been reticent to intervene and national government interventions have been largely unsuccessful. Impacts Electricity supplies face a very similar crisis of decaying infrastructure and unpaid debts. Municipal debts weaken state utilities’ capacity to deliver and consumers’ debts to municipalities weaken their ability to repay utilities. Voter discontent at unstable water and electricity supplies will be a threat to GNU-supporting parties in the 2026 municipal elections.