JOHANNESBURG - In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa made a bold and unequivocal promise that water would reach people where they live.
He acknowledged the suffering, the frustration, and the daily struggle for something that should be as basic as turning on a tap.
But a year later, that promise has not materialised for many communities.
Buckets, bottles and empty containers line homes where taps often run dry.
Sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks. One such community is Coronationville.
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The water crisis reached a breaking point last year, and anger spilled onto the streets.
Five months later since the residents took to the streets, they say the uncertainty has become a way of life.
Never knowing when there will be water in their taps.
READ | Coronationville taps still dry despite mayor’s promises
Caren Jacobie a resident in the area says they have already been alerted of repairs that will be conducted resulting in water outages between 6 and 12 February.
She says once again they will be subjected to dire conditions.
The same elderly residents that Ramaphosa promised would get water are the ones who suffer most, among those is Julie Fahmay.
Civil society organisations warn that communities are paying the price for recycled promises and stalled delivery.
WaterCAN says without accountability, the same empty commitments are repeated year after year.
Governance experts argue that the President’s commitments on water were never grounded in the realities of failing infrastructure and municipal collapse.
eNCA’s Nabeelah Shaikh reports.