A Cautious Celebration: Water Trickles Back to Merafong After a Dry Year

For nearly a year, the daily struggle for residents in Merafong City, on Gauteng’s West Rand, wasn’t about load-sheddingit was about finding water. Taps ran dry, forcing people to risk collecting water from rivers and stormwater drains. Yesterday, that gruelling chapter finally saw a turn, as water began flowing back into homes in Kokosi, Fochville, and Greenspark.

The restoration comes after the cash-strapped municipality reached a critical agreement with Rand Water, the bulk supplier that had restricted supply due to an unpaid bill totalling a staggering R1.4 billion.

A Deal Struck on a Repayment Plan

The breakthrough wasn’t a debt write-off, but a lifeline built on a structured repayment plan submitted by the municipality. Rand Water acknowledged the plan in a letter, agreeing to suspend certain interest charges and work on additional relief mechanisms.

The deal commits Merafong to immediate payments of R20 million for its November 2025 invoice and another R20 million for December, with any shortfalls to be settled by March 2026. A five-year programme to tackle the historic debt will start in July 2026.

“This wasn’t easy to watch our parents, sisters and children risk their lives… just to survive,” said community leader Eliot Mthembu, who led protests over the crisis. “Our hearts are filled with joy as water flows again.”

Relief, But Not Without Strings

The celebration, however, is tempered with caution. Municipal spokesperson Thabo Moloja made it clear that the return of water is not a full restoration. “The water will be restored in phases, since the agreement does not take away the restrictions completely,” he stated. Detailed schedules for the phased return are still to be communicated.

This means while the terrifying daily scramble for basic water may be over, mindful consumption and intermittent supply will likely remain a reality for some time. The underlying issuethe municipality’s financial sustainabilityis far from resolved.

A Victory of Community Resilience

For residents, the flowing taps represent a hard-won victory of persistent community pressure. The Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee called it a celebration of “the victory of our community’s spirit over injustice.”

The return of water to Merafong is a relief, but it’s a fragile one. It underscores a painful reality for many South African municipalities: service delivery is held hostage by deep financial mismanagement. For now, the people of Merafong can breathe a sigh of relief, but the path to a permanent, reliable solution remains a long and parched road ahead.