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In a time of profound crisis for Johannesburg and Gauteng residents, the DA is deeply concerned to discover that Rand Water may be misleading the public, by claiming to provide more water to the urban networks than they actually are.

While Rand Water Spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo, has publicly claimed that the water board is "pumping at over 5 000 ML per day", the DA has uncovered that this is likely not so.

In the week ending on 15 February 2026, Rand Water's own data indicates average pumped volume of 4 726 ML/day — substantially below 5 000 ML/day. One Megalitre is a million litres. Their actual delivery is 274-million litres lower than their claim.

The question is: Did they give the wrong statistics? Or are they lying to the public?

Neither answer inspires public confidence.

If Rand Water has not misled the public, more water should be pumped into municipal transmission systems, which is demonstrably not the case in many areas on the ground.

If Rand Water's data is inaccurate, the water board does not have a firm grip over this crisis.

The DA will uncover the truth.

For weeks, Johannesburg and Gauteng residents have been deprived of their constitutional right to water. The least Rand Water can do is provide honest, consistent, and transparent communication about what is happening in the system — and why different areas are being affected differently.

Claiming high consumption while taps are dry and leaks are creating dams, does not cut it.

The DA will continue to push for Minister Majodina to demand more transparency from Rand Water, as well as her Department to temporarily allow Rand Water to pump more from the Vaal Dam.

The DA calls on Rand Water to step up its communications and provide on a daily basis: current pumping and demand figures, reservoir storage trends, constraints, and realistic recovery timeframes.

Confusion and contradictions erode public trust and make it impossible for residents and businesses to plan.

In a time of such crisis, effective communication also expresses solidarity and care.

Issued by Helen Zille and Stephen Moore