The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Democratic Alliance will submit an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain all records relating to the water crisis in Tshwane, including emails, WhatsApp messages, meeting minutes, water treatment records and every warning received by Mayor Nasiphi Moya and her administration.

TThe latest revelations published by the Sunday Times confirm what the DA has maintained: the water crisis in Bronkhorstspruit was avoidable, and Mayor Moya's administration had been warned months before hundreds of residents fell ill.

According to the Sunday Times, the Department of Water and Sanitation issued a formal notice of non-compliance to the City in February 2026. The City responded with a remedial action plan in March, but failed to implement its own commitments.

Even more damning, the report reveals that Moya and senior officials received at least three reports about water quality in the months leading up to the crisis. Tests conducted in June, July, August and September continued to detect E. coli contamination.

Despite these warnings, the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works was allowed to operate for three weeks without chlorine, while residents continued receiving contaminated water through their taps.

Mayor Moya cannot continue claiming that she was unaware of the crisis when the evidence shows that her administration had been warned repeatedly.

The Mayor has now suspended the plant manager, but suspending one official cannot absolve her of responsibility for months of ignored warnings, unfulfilled commitments and failures to protect residents.

Mayor Moya failed to warn residents about contaminated water, leaving them exposed to serious health risks. She must resign.

The DA's PAIA application will demand the disclosure of all relevant records, including:

All emails, WhatsApp messages, correspondence and meeting minutes involving the Mayor, Mayoral Committee, City Manager, senior officials and relevant departments concerning water quality, treatment failures and public health risks.

Every warning, compliance notice, inspection report and communication received from the Department of Water and Sanitation, together with the City's responses and corrective action plans.

All laboratory results, water-quality testing reports, chlorine treatment records, operational logs and reports concerning the safety of drinking water supplied to residents.

Records relating to chlorine procurement, stock shortages, failed supply arrangements and decisions to continue operating treatment plants despite identified risks.

Internal reports, memoranda, recommendations and correspondence showing when officials became aware of water contamination, who was informed, what decisions were taken and why residents were not warned sooner.

The DA will also demand the immediate preservation of all relevant records, including electronic communications, to ensure that evidence is not deleted, altered or concealed. We will pursue the available legal remedies if access is unlawfully refused.

This goes beyond negligence. It is criminal. We will pursue criminal charges to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted, convicted and jailed.

Issued by DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Ald Cilliers Brink