Madar (Johannesburg) - South African authorities said on Monday, November 2, 2026, they were working to restore reliable water supplies to Johannesburg, the country's main city, after nearly two weeks of disruption that has become a major issue ahead of Wednesday's local elections on November 4, AFP reported via Africanews.
Mayor Dada Morero acknowledged that taps had been dry for at least 10 days in parts of the city, where public frustration has sparked several protests. Many parts of Johannesburg, the economic hub with roughly five million people, have faced severe outages and low pressure since October 19, he said.
Morero blamed high consumption and leaks in the ageing system, which would cost billions of rands to repair, but said the city's overall storage had improved to 41 percent by Monday. "Restoring a reliable water supply remains our priority," he said. Gauteng provincial premier Panyaza Lesufi linked the drop in reserves to high temperatures and the El Nino weather pattern, saying: "We were indeed caught off guard."
An inquiry by the South African Human Rights Commission released on Monday found that nearly 45 percent of the water flowing through Johannesburg's municipal pipes was lost because of poor infrastructure, and that several Gauteng municipalities suffered from weak financial management and a shortage of qualified staff such as engineers.
Failures to deliver essential services such as water, electricity and garbage collection are a key issue in Wednesday's vote, in which the African National Congress, the largest party in the government of national unity, is expected to suffer a further slide in support ahead of the 2029 national elections. Lengthy water shortages have also been reported in other cities, including Durban, and around two weeks ago residents of parts of Tshwane, which includes Pretoria, were told to stop drinking tap water after around 800 people fell ill.
