Water Is Life: A Call for Transparency, Accountability, and Moral Courage

I do not wish to sound alarmist. I am not a biologist, a scientist, or an engineer. I speak neither with laboratory authority nor technical expertise. I speak simply as a citizen, a pastor, and a communicator who knows one fundamental truth: water is a source of life. When questions arise about the safety of water, silence is not neutral—it is dangerous.

The televised water tests aired on the @Newzroom405 channel should worry us all. Although these tests were conducted in a few municipal towns in the Eastern Cape, their implications go far beyond provincial borders. Water infrastructure, governance failures, and institutional neglect are not isolated realities in South Africa. They are systemic. What we see in one part of the country often reflects what is happening—or what may soon happen—elsewhere.

The concern here is not the television station, the test kits, or even the exact scientific interpretation of the results. The concern is that ordinary citizens are learning about the possible state of their drinking water through media experiments rather than regular, transparent updates from the national Department of Water and Sanitation. That alone should trouble us.

A few years ago, South Africa’s water quality was regarded by international bodies as among the best in the world. This was a point of national pride, a sign that despite our many challenges, we could protect a resource so fundamental to life and dignity. What happened? How did we move from global recognition to growing public distrust? Why is there so little official communication when confidence is clearly eroding?

We are not naïve. South Africans know about the so-called water tenderpreneurs, often referred to as the water mafia—individuals and networks that have allegedly contaminated or sabotaged municipal water systems for selfish gain, sometimes with the protection or silence of politicians. These practices do not merely steal money; they endanger lives. Water infrastructure vandalism and neglect are not victimless crimes. They affect children, the elderly, the sick, and the poor first.

Recently, South Africa hosted an international water conference, reportedly with discussions that included the possible privatisation of water. In principle, dialogue is not the problem. The danger lies in allowing public water systems to deteriorate so badly that privatisation is presented as the only “solution”. When public services are deliberately weakened or allowed to collapse, private alternatives inevitably appear—often at a cost the poor cannot afford.

It is one thing to deal with small-scale water tanker thefts and illegal connections. It is quite another if powerful interests—whether within government or corporate monopoly capital—benefit from the decline of public water systems. Even if they are not actively contaminating water sources, allowing deterioration to worsen while bottled and filtered water markets expand raises serious ethical questions. Who benefits when tap water becomes unsafe? Who can afford alternatives? And who is left behind?

In places such as Madibeng/Brits, Emalahleni, and Bronkhorstspruit, many residents already rely on private bottled water companies because municipal water reportedly makes them sick. This is not a lifestyle choice; it is a survival strategy. Yet bottled water is not cheap, and it is not accessible to everyone. Clean water should not be a luxury reserved for those with disposable income.

As political leaders gather at events like the ANC January 8th celebrations, enjoying bottled water without concern, one hopes they remember why the ANC was founded in the first place: to defend the dignity, rights, and well-being of the people—especially the poor. One hopes they reflect on how far the movement has drifted from those ideals. Not all South Africans can afford bottled water. Many still depend entirely on what flows from municipal taps.

At this level of uncertainty, I must confess that I even struggle to place full trust in the manufacturers of the test machines seen in the video. That, too, is telling. When public trust collapses, it does not discriminate. It affects institutions, technology, leadership, and communication. Trust is rebuilt not through slogans, but through consistent transparency, independent testing, and honest reporting.

The Constitution of South Africa recognises access to sufficient water as a basic human right. Water must never be politicised to enrich the few at the expense of the many. For too long, we have allowed politicians to erode public institutions, hollow out accountability, and normalise mediocrity. We cannot afford to allow the same fate to befall one of the most sacred resources we receive freely from God.

This is not a call for panic. It is a call for prudence. It is not an accusation without evidence, but a plea for leadership to speak, explain, reassure, and act. Water is life. When its safety is questioned, those entrusted with power have a moral duty to respond—not tomorrow, not after elections, but now.

Silence, in this matter, is not an option.