{"id":854493,"date":"2026-03-28T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=854493"},"modified":"2026-03-27T15:41:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:41:46","slug":"south-african-engineers-warning-over-critical-infrastructure-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/854493\/south-african-engineers-warning-over-critical-infrastructure-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"South African engineers’ warning over critical infrastructure collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Engineers are warning that South Africa\u2019s water crisis is not about a lack of water, but rather the collapse of municipal infrastructure\u2014an issue they argue is both man-made and fixable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts noted at the Infrastructure Africa event in Cape Town that the country loses nearly half of the treated water, around 47% being lost even before it reaches taps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is estimated to cost the broader South African economy a staggering R15 billion a year. Many of the experts pointed to Johannesburg as a clear example of the severity of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the situation is not unique to one city, and the engineering community is increasingly aligned in its view that the crisis is largely self-inflicted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent interview, the CEO of engineering firm AvenirHoldings, Tshidi Mndzebele, said she agreed with that statement when asked if the crisis is self-inflicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe encouraging thing is that many of the solutions already exist if we focus on protecting and managing the water systems we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pushed back against the narrative that South Africa is simply running out of water, noting that technical evidence suggests otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTechnical analysis actually shows us that outages frequently occur when dams are not even empty, and treatment plants are operational. This indicates that there\u2019s a failure in downstream distribution networks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mndzebele, the real issue lies in deteriorating infrastructure such as leaking pipes, burst mains, illegal connections, faulty meters and inefficient systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn practical terms, leaking pipes can be resolved, burst mains can be resolved, illegal connections can be resolved, faulty meters can be resolved, building inefficiencies can be resolved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that while municipalities have historically invested heavily in bulk water infrastructure like dams, they have neglected the distribution networks that actually deliver water to households and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese investments cannot deliver their intended benefit if the distribution infrastructure is failing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem can be resolved within one budget cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
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CEO of engineering firm AvenirHoldings, Tshidi Mndzebele<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

She stressed the need for stronger engineering leadership, better governance and more structured infrastructure management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf municipalities can be a lot more structured in terms of infrastructure discipline, strong engineering leadership, transparent governance, as well as coordinated national implementation, I promise you, we will get somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mndzebele said practical, short-term solutions are readily available and could stabilise the system quickly if implemented correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are able to put rapid system diagnostics in place, which will help municipalities conduct water balance assessments and identify high-loss zones so that interventions are targeted rather than reactive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also highlighted the importance of addressing skills shortages within municipalities through partnerships with the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, collaboration between municipalities and private engineering firms remains a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s probably a two-way street. Local authorities would not want to deal with us, and on the other hand, we as engineers don\u2019t want to get involved in the political landscape,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Payment issues are also a major deterrent. \u201cMunicipalities need to ensure that their governance structures are in place so that payments are made when service providers are offering a service.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these challenges, Mndzebele stressed that cooperation is essential. \u201cThis is not a municipal problem, it\u2019s not an engineering problem\u2014it\u2019s a South African problem,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should be working together as a team because this is not a finger-pointing exercise; it\u2019s a national crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, she believes that meaningful improvements could be achieved far quicker than many expect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we look at the current issues\u2014water leakage and downstream failures\u2014the problem can be resolved within one budget cycle,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engineers are warning that the collapse of important municipal infrastructure in South Africa is both man-made and fixable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":757935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[25062,853],"class_list":["post-854493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-avenirholdings","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":855188,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854493\/revisions\/855188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}