Civic alliance weighs court action over Johannesburg water shortages

The Joburg Crisis Alliance is considering legal action against the City of Johannesburg over persistent water shortages, accusing municipal authorities of failing to respond with sufficient urgency.

Alliance representative Yunus Chamda said the gap between Johannesburg Water’s public messaging and what communities experience on the ground was deepening frustration. He said residents hear one message while the reality is very different, leaving them unsure what to expect.

According to eNCA, the alliance was examining possible legal avenues to hold the city to account for a reliable supply, he added.

Chamda pointed to a protest outside the council chambers on 1 November 2025, when the alliance presented 10 demands for urgent intervention. He said the campaign held the city’s attention for only a few weeks before the issue slipped down its agenda, and that people across Johannesburg were again without water.

The alliance has floated court action before. In September 2025 it said it would pursue every available avenue if the city and Rand Water could not meet their constitutional duty to supply water, the Independent on Saturday reported. In May it also warned that the city’s budget could face legal challenge for failing to meet Municipal Finance Management Act standards, The Citizen reported.

Court action over the shortages is already under way from another quarter. The Democratic Alliance filed papers in the South Gauteng High Court in May against the City of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Water and mayor Dada Morero, BusinessTech reported. EWN reported that the party wants Johannesburg Water compelled to implement its own turnaround strategy, adopted in 2024, and that the respondents had 10 court days to answer.

Morero told EWN last week that the city was not experiencing a water crisis. He was expected to address the situation at a media briefing on Monday. Also on 2 November, the Human Rights Commission was due to release its findings on water and sanitation services in Gauteng.

The eNCA report did not specify the form of legal action the alliance is considering, or any deadline for proceedings.

Sources: eNCA; EWN; BusinessTech; The Citizen; Independent on Saturday.