Johannesburg residents and civil groups staged a peaceful protest outside the city council chambers in Braamfontein on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, starting at 10 a.m., demanding urgent fixes to water shortages. Organizers WaterCAN and the Joburg Water Forum said dry taps, intermittent supply, and governance failures have left neighborhoods without reliable service for weeks, hurting hospitals, schools, and businesses. They called the situation a human rights emergency. The march follows earlier actions this year as the metro battles aging pipes, power cuts that stall pumps, and rising demand that drives low pressure and outages.
In an open letter, WaterCAN and partners urged the city to restore running water to informal settlements, reform the Joburg Water board, ringfence funds, account for the reported R4 billion shifted from Johannesburg Water, carry out the Water Turnaround Strategy, and investigate tanker contracts amid sabotage claims tied to tanker mafias. Groups such as the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Defend Our Democracy backed the rally, while petitions and hashtags spread online. City officials had not responded by press time, though past pledges cited system upgrades.
In an open letter, WaterCAN and partners urged the city to restore running water to informal settlements, reform the Joburg Water board, ringfence funds, account for the reported R4 billion shifted from Johannesburg Water, carry out the Water Turnaround Strategy, and investigate tanker contracts amid sabotage claims tied to tanker mafias. Groups such as the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Defend Our Democracy backed the rally, while petitions and hashtags spread online. City officials had not responded by press time, though past pledges cited system upgrades.
