Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Marieta Visser and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL. See attached pictures here and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will formally escalate the ongoing water crisis in Brandfort to provincial authorities to secure urgent intervention, transparency, and a clear recovery plan, as the continued failure at Pumpstation C has left residents without potable water for 11 consecutive days.
On Monday, 29 December 2025, Masilonyana Local Municipality issued a statement confirming a pump breakdown at Pumpstation C. However, it remains unclear when the pump seized before it was discovered. Pumpstation C is the third of three stations responsible for transporting raw water from the Sandvet Canal to the Brandfort Water Treatment Works, and its failure has left Brandfort without potable water.
At the time, it was stated that water would be provided through boreholes, with strong advice to boil water before use.
On 31 December 2025, it was announced that the pump had been transported to a workshop for specialised repairs. Water will be provided through available boreholes and supplemented by water tankers.
On 1 January 2025, the community was informed that the pump sustained extensive damage and that most manufacturers are closed, which may delay the procurement of a new pump.
Today, 9 January 2026, marks day 11 without water in the taps for around 13,000 residents.
Two tankers are delivering water from the available boreholes in Brandfort. This means that instead of providing borehole water through the taps, we now pay water tankers to transport the very same water.
Finding huge numbers of people with buckets on every corner in the township, hoping and praying that the tanker will arrive in the scorching heat, is a witness to the failure of this exercise. Adding to the futility is the added cost and the suspicion that the provision of tankers is corrupt. In Masilonyana, all efforts to monitor water tankers’ logbooks and invoices are brushed off.
Brandfort community members are going much further than a kilometre to provide water to all areas. Residents are utilising their own resources to fetch water from existing private boreholes and to transport it as far as possible. However, the need is simply overwhelming, and the water that reaches the residents is literally a drop in the ocean of the dire need during a heatwave.
All efforts to obtain an official update from the Administration have been in vain, and the Mayor, Maki Modise, is also silent on any progress toward relieving the community’s plight. The last update was on 1 January 2026.