<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa released the National Water Action Plan (NWAP) on July 23 following a meeting of the National Water Crisis Committee (WATERCOM) at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The plan sets out short-, medium- and long-term interventions to address water supply interruptions affecting several municipalities across SA. It aims to ensure reliable access to quality water by tackling weaknesses in municipal water systems, improving infrastructure investment and strengthening accountability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WATERCOM was established after the 2026 State of the Nation Address in response to worsening water supply disruptions in parts of the country. The committee is chaired by Ramaphosa and includes government departments, public agencies and the SA Local Government Association (SALGA).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The NWAP focuses on increasing investment in water infrastructure, including through private-sector participation. It also proposes legal and regulatory reforms to improve municipal service delivery and measures to address corruption and criminality in the water sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said government intends to apply lessons from energy reforms to the water crisis. \u201cBy acting boldly and decisively to improve the performance of Eskom and reform our energy system, we were able to end load shedding and achieve a secure and reliable energy supply,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, we are applying the same approach to the water crisis that has been unfolding in many parts of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said the NWAP provides a practical framework to ensure water security for all communities. \u201cThe National Water Action Plan outlines a clear, practical and focused approach to ensure water security for all South Africans, no matter where they live,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The plan was developed after consultations across national, provincial and local government, including inputs from SALGA.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WATERCOM will work with municipalities to mobilise resources, technical expertise and new partnerships to stabilise failing systems, recover essential services and expand access.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A key focus will be ring-fencing water revenue to ensure that money collected for water services is used for maintenance, infrastructure investment and skilled personnel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40435,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-40434","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa's (SA) President Cyril Ramaphosa has released a national plan aimed at stabilising water supply, improving municipal services and addressing infrastructure failures across SA.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa's (SA) President Cyril Ramaphosa has released a national plan aimed at stabilising water supply, improving municipal services and addressing infrastructure failures across SA.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40436,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40434\/revisions\/40436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}