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Today, the DA opened a criminal case at Pretoria Central SAPS against the City of Tshwane for failing to maintain safe drinking water standards at the treatment plants serving Bronkhorstspruit.

Residents have paid the price for this failure. More than 160 people have already been hospitalised. Hundreds more have been treated for dehydration and severe stomach illness. The City’s own records and whistleblower evidence confirm that cholera bacteria have been detected in samples from the Bronkhorstspruit Wastewater Treatment Works.

Neglect created this public health crisis.

The City failed to chlorinate water at the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant for three weeks. We warned Mayor Nasiphi Moya and her ANC-ActionSA coalition repeatedly about the collapse of this plant. They ignored the warnings. They continued to starve infrastructure of maintenance while pouring money into water tankers.

In the 2024/25 financial year, the ANC-ActionSA administration spent R777 million on water tankers and only R181 million on repairs and maintenance of water infrastructure. That is not a coincidence. That is a choice. The water tanker mafia has been enriched while the taps of Bronkhorstspruit, Zithobeni, Ekangala and surrounding communities ran dirty or dry.

Mayor Moya must release the full water-quality test results immediately. Residents have a right to know what is in their water. She must also explain why the City failed to chlorinate the plant, why residents were not warned in time, and why this administration continues to prioritise tanker contracts over fixing the infrastructure that should deliver clean water to every home.

We have demanded a forensic investigation into the R777 million spent on water tankers. We want to know who authorised the contracts, who benefited, and why essential maintenance was left to rot.

If elected to govern, in accordance with our 2026 Manifesto, I will maximise water and sanitation revenue that is reinvested directly into maintaining, repairing, and expanding water and sanitation infrastructure. We will focus on replacing aging pipes, fixing leaks, upgrading wastewater systems, and extending services to growing communities.

Stable infrastructure will attract investment and grow the economy, creating job opportunities.

The people of Bronkhorstspruit deserve clean water. They do not deserve excuses from a coalition that has sold the City to the water tanker mafia.

The ANC-ActionSA administration will be held accountable.

Issued by DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink