South Africa: Bronkhorstspruit Water Crisis Exposes Municipal Failure and Impunity

About 450 residents of Bronkhorstspruit, including many children under four, fell ill after drinking contaminated tap water. Nicky Sibanda told GroundUp that her one-year-old son was treated for diarrhoea after drinking the discoloured water. The government found that the water treatment works had not added chlorine from 24 September to 14 October; the facility draws water from the sewage-polluted Bronkhorstspruit River. The crisis underscores failures in local government oversight and accountability, despite promises of disciplinary action.