South Africa: No Reliable Water in Cofimvaba Villages for Over Five Years

What the report says

Villages around Cofimvaba in South Africa’s Eastern Cape have lacked a reliable water supply for more than five years, according to residents quoted by GroundUp and republished by AllAfrica. The affected communities include Khayamnandi, Woodhouse and Lubisi, where households reportedly depend on rain tanks, nearby rivers, or water bought from private truck operators. The article places the problem in the Chris Hani District Municipality, which includes Cofimvaba and Tsomo.

The municipality said it spent more than R9-million in the past 11 months repairing water infrastructure damaged by theft and vandalism. Officials said the work covered equipment such as electrical panels, generators, pump engines and air valves across the district’s water and wastewater systems. For the Cofimvaba supply area, the municipality said the main system runs through the Ncorha Water Treatment Works and the Ngxabangu Command Reservoir, and that some parts still need repair while procurement continues.

Residents described severe daily strain. One woman in Khayamnandi said families without storage tanks could face thirst, while another resident in Woodhouse said his standpipe has been dry for years. In Lubisi, a resident said he spends part of his disability grant on getting water delivered by donkey from a river. The article also says the municipality has hired more than 300 security guards and planned additional recruits to protect treatment works and other sites, but acknowledged that water trucking has not fully met demand. The report underscores how infrastructure damage, distance and limited resources are compounding long-running service problems.