Church Square in central Makhanda, with the City Hall clock tower, seat of the town’s civic life (Photo: Lysippos, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons)

A South African mayor has admitted that the Makhanda water network is broken and promised uninterrupted supply next year. The plant upgrade meant to deliver it is only 12% complete and runs to September 2027.

Makhanda, formerly Grahamstown, is a town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, home to Rhodes University and the annual National Arts Festival. It is run by Makana Local Municipality, one of 257 municipalities that supply water, power and sanitation across the country.

On Friday 2 October, Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara told reporters in Makhanda that the town’s water infrastructure is broken, News24 reported. She promised residents uninterrupted water next year.

A mayor concedes the obvious

Vara spoke alongside council speaker Mabhuti Matyumza, a month before South Africa’s local government elections on 4 November. News24 described her as the political head of one of the province’s most dysfunctional municipalities, with her term drawing to a close.

Many residents get water for only a few hours early in the morning, they told the news site GroundUp in September. Some go without for two days.

Businesses, institutions and households that can afford it now fund their own supply, independent of the municipality. Outages have been frequent for at least 14 years, GroundUp reported.

Water exists, but the system fails

The problem is not a lack of water. South Africa’s national water department testified to the Human Rights Commission that local rivers and dams hold enough raw water.

The commission, an independent body set up under the constitution, issued its final report on 10 June. It found “structural and systemic” failures and recommended dissolving the council, News24 and the local paper Grocott’s Mail reported.

The council was not dissolved, and Vara remains in office. Voters will now give their own verdict in November.

The upgrade that never ends

The promise rests on the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works, the town’s main plant. A national upgrade aims to double its output from 10 million to 20 million litres a day.

Work began in 2015 and was due to finish in 2018 at a cost of R102 million (about US$6.1 million). Amatola Water, the state-owned agency running the project, says it has cost R279 million (about US$16.7 million) so far.

A third and final phase started in March 2026 at an added cost of R223 million (about US$13.4 million). That takes the total above R500 million (about US$30 million), roughly five times the original budget.

Six months into the 18-month phase, the work was 12% complete, Amatola Water spokesperson Nolitha Mbangcolo told GroundUp. The phase is due in September 2027, late in the year the mayor promised steady taps.

Even after the second phase was completed, the plant still does not deliver 20 million litres a day. Grocott’s Mail reported in July that two of the plant’s pumps were away for repair, leaving a single pump running.

The money behind Makhanda water

Makana’s 2026/27 budget shows operating revenue of about R959 million (about US$57.6 million), excluding capital grants. Its capital budget is R116.6 million (about US$7 million).

About 71% of that capital spending, or R83 million (about US$5 million), comes from government grants. The municipality plans to add R33.6 million (about US$2 million) of its own, which the budget says depends on better revenue collection.

The same document says old debts weaken its finances. They include the bulk account with Eskom, the state power utility, and a Development Bank of Southern Africa loan.

National debt relief schemes for electricity and water have brought some write-offs, the budget adds.

Council agendas in August showed water maintenance funding cut from R31.68 million (about US$1.9 million) to R26.29 million (about US$1.6 million). The council approved pay rises for senior managers that month, Grocott’s Mail reported.

Amounts are converted at about R16.66 to the US dollar, the rate at the close of trading on Friday 2 October.

Who gains and who loses

High-lying and informal areas suffer most from the cuts, according to residents and the Human Rights Commission. They would gain most if the upgrade finally delivers.

Rhodes University, the arts festival and local firms also depend on steady water. Some now budget for their own tanks and boreholes, a cost that deters new investment.

The Special Investigating Unit, a state anti-corruption body, has probed water contracts in the municipality since October 2024. It told Parliament in August that the probe had led to two referrals to prosecutors.

The broader South African bind

Makhanda water failures reflect a wider pattern in South Africa. Many towns depend on national grants and state agencies for big projects, while weak collection and maintenance undermine daily supply.

This story fits the wider scramble for functional infrastructure across the continent. Read more in Africa: The New Scramble.

What to watch next

The first test is the 4 November election, which will decide who runs Makana and inherits the mayor’s promise. The second is progress on the final upgrade phase at the James Kleynhans plant.

Watch also whether the plant’s pumps are repaired and its second pipeline restored. Without both, doubled capacity on paper may not end Makhanda water cuts.

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