President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcements during Sona of a water committee and the deployment of the SANDF were welcomed by GNU partners, with focus now shifting to implementation.

Johannesburg's water crisis and gang-related killings on the Cape Flats have finally caught President Cyril Ramaphosa's attention, and in this year's State of the Nation Address (Sona), he announced measures to solve these problems. Now, the focus turns to implementation.

During his speech, the President announced he would chair a national water crisis committee to address the ongoing water crisis.

"[Much like crime], water is now the single most important issue for many people in South Africa, from large cities like Johannesburg to smaller towns like Knysna and rural areas like Giyani.

"We have all seen the pain that our people have been expressing through demonstrations in various parts of Gauteng. These protests have been fuelled by frustrations over inadequate and unreliable access to basic services such as water," said Ramaphosa.

There has been growing political pressure for Ramaphosa to intervene in Joburg's water crisis, after a multi-system failure left many parts of the city with dry taps for weeks.

There have been at least three governmental interventions to address the water crisis in the province since 2023, including a water task team set up by Ramaphosa himself and chaired by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in March 2024, none...