QwaQwa residents in South Africa complain of years-long water and power outages — Daily Maverick
In the QwaQwa region of South Africa’s Free State province, residents report prolonged disruptions to water and electricity supplies that complicate the work of schools, small businesses and government institutions. According to residents, problems in some communities have persisted for more than two decades, and they have to collect water from public taps located far from their homes.
As Daily Maverick reports, Ntabiseng Tshotseti, a resident of the outskirts of Phuthaditjhaba, said that after a month without water, the supply was restored, but the water was not fit for drinking. She walks for about 20 minutes to a tap near the local church to fill two five-litre bottles of water. The woman also reported several power outages during the day, making it difficult to prepare her five-year-old daughter for school.
Problems for schools and families
The disruptions affect the work of educational institutions. Tshotseti gives her daughter a bottle of water for school every day because she is not sure there will be water there. At the Lehlohonolo Educare Centre for early childhood development in the village of Moeding, electricity has never been available due to the lack of a connection, according to director Matseleng Moloi. The institution cares for about 40 children aged from six months to five years.
Moloi said that each month she spends about 700 rand on gas and another approximately 500 rand on filling a JoJo tank. When there is no water, she buys it or asks parents to bring 20 litres of water per child to the institution.
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Mantsubise resident Jennet Moloi said that her area sometimes has no electricity for up to 10 hours a day. Her children, aged 12 and 17, do their homework by candlelight. Another Phuthaditjhaba resident, Isaac Phiri, said that prolonged water supply interruptions force him to order tank refills from private suppliers for 1,000 rand.
The municipality’s position
Thabo Kessa, a representative of the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality, explained the water shortage and supply stoppages by outdated infrastructure and vandalism. According to him, the municipality sought assistance from the Department of Water and Sanitation, which engaged a service provider to resolve the problems.
Kessa said that electricity supply disruptions are also linked to old infrastructure, vandalism and illegal connections that overload the grid. Residents, meanwhile, link the crisis to inadequate maintenance of the systems; the municipal representative did not directly respond to these allegations. Community representatives sent a letter to the Minister of Water and Sanitation on July 23, 2026, requesting urgent intervention.
