SA’s Water Emergency, with Phumi Mashigo and WaterCAN's Dr Ferrial Adam
12 February 2026

SA’s Water Emergency, with Phumi Mashigo and WaterCAN's Dr Ferrial Adam

Democracy Unplugged

About
What has changed since last year’s State of the Nation (SONA) promises? At last year’s SONA, water infrastructure was particularly framed as a national priority yet in parts of Johannesburg, the heart of South Africa’s economy, and in municipalities across the country, taps still run dry. Treatment plants fail. Maintenance collapses. Phumi Mashigo, along with Dr Ferrial Adam from WaterCAN, a civic organisation focused on water accountability, look at how this all came to be and whether we can have hope that the dire situation will actually improve. The Burning Platform