The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has intensified calls for Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya to resign, accusing her of failing to act on warnings about unsafe drinking water in Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding communities, where hundreds of residents have fallen ill following a water contamination crisis.
The party is demanding Moya’s immediate resignation and has called for her arrest, alleging that the City of Tshwane failed to ensure that water supplied to residents was properly treated and that communities were not warned timeously about the potential health risks.
The controversy escalated after information presented to Parliament on Friday, 23 October 2026, indicated that the municipality had received a non-compliance notice concerning the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works in February. The revelations have raised further questions about whether earlier warnings were acted upon and why corrective measures were allegedly not implemented before the crisis emerged.
The latest reports put the number of people affected at 595, including 262 children aged four and younger. Earlier official updates recorded 408 cases of gastrointestinal illness between 7 and 18 October, with investigations linking the outbreak to exposure to contaminated water.
The EFF argues that the incident represents a serious failure of municipal leadership and accountability, particularly because safe drinking water is an essential public service.
Moya has acknowledged that the municipality was negligent and that residents were not adequately informed. However, the extent of her personal knowledge of the earlier warnings, when the information reached her executive and who was responsible for the failures remain matters requiring investigation.
EFF says new revelations vindicate its allegations
The EFF has maintained that the water crisis could have been prevented if the municipality had responded appropriately to warnings about the treatment plant and the supply of chlorine, which is used to disinfect drinking water.
The party previously opened a criminal case against Moya and City of Tshwane manager Johan Mettler over the failure to chlorinate water supplied to affected communities. Its latest demand for the mayor’s resignation follows revelations that the Department of Water and Sanitation had issued a non-compliance notice in February.
The department’s findings, presented to Parliament, indicated that the municipality submitted a corrective action plan in March. The proposed measures included securing treatment chemicals, refurbishing filters, installing pumps and recruiting critical staff. According to the latest reporting, the plan had not been implemented.
The EFF argues that the failure to address these issues allowed the situation to deteriorate until the treatment plant was no longer properly disinfecting the water supply.
“These revelations vindicate the EFF,” the party said.
“When we opened a criminal case against the Mayor, we did so on prima facie evidence. What has now emerged goes far beyond that and warrants her immediate arrest.”
The party has also alleged that warnings about the risks came from within Moya’s executive but that no effective intervention followed.
It is important to distinguish the party’s allegations from established findings. The disclosures raise serious questions about municipal oversight, but the precise sequence of communications, the responsibilities of individual officials and whether any criminal offence was committed must be established through the relevant investigations and legal processes.
Three weeks without chlorine at the treatment plant
At the centre of the controversy is the failure to chlorinate water supplied by the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works.
Information presented by the Department of Water and Sanitation indicated that chlorine dosing at the plant stopped on 23 September, while water continued to flow for another 21 days without disinfection.
The department’s investigation also found that water from the treatment works was not chlorinated between 24 September and 14 October because of difficulties involving the municipality’s chlorine supplier.
Chlorination is a critical stage in the drinking water treatment process because it helps destroy disease-causing microorganisms and reduces the risk of waterborne infections.
The EFF says the duration of the failure, coupled with the alleged absence of timely public warnings, makes the incident more than a technical problem.
The party argues that municipal leadership should have ensured that the treatment plant had the chemicals and operational support needed to provide safe water, while also ensuring that residents were informed immediately if the supply became unsafe.
The February non-compliance notice and the March corrective action plan have become central to the political dispute because they suggest that concerns about the treatment works predated the October outbreak.
Moya admits negligence and accepts responsibility
Moya has publicly acknowledged that the City of Tshwane failed residents, apologising for the situation and accepting responsibility as the municipality’s executive mayor.
In a statement addressing the crisis, she said: “As the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane, the buck stops with me.”
She added: “We apologise to the residents of Region 7 that we have yet to resolve the issue of water that has plagued the area for years.”
Moya said the city’s immediate priority was to prevent further illness, ensure that residents understood the risks and put measures in place to resolve the problem.
“I am accountable to the people of Tshwane, and I must take responsibility. Hence, I’m at the forefront of making sure that this issue is resolved once and for all and that I communicate personally with the people so that we can arrest the situation,” she said during an interview on 702.
The mayor has attributed the breakdown at the treatment plant to difficulties with the chlorine supplier, including a sharp increase in prices that complicated negotiations.
“We do have an issue with the supplier. We’ve got one of those suppliers for chlorine where it’s a monopoly. The supplier basically increased the prices astronomically and we tried to negotiate but couldn’t. We take responsibility for negligence,” she said at a media briefing.
Moya has also indicated that officials in the city’s water and sanitation department failed to inform her executive timeously about the problems involving the supplier. She said action would be taken against officials implicated in the failure to escalate the matter.
Her explanation has not satisfied opposition parties, which argue that the mayor cannot distance herself from the failure of a critical municipal service by pointing to the actions of departmental officials or a supplier.
The EFF’s position is that accountability must extend beyond public apologies, particularly when the failure involves a service directly connected to residents’ health and safety.
More than 400 cases of gastrointestinal illness reported
The scale of the outbreak has intensified pressure on the municipality.
Between 7 and 18 October, authorities recorded 408 cases of gastrointestinal illness in communities supplied by the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works. The affected areas included Bronkhorstspruit, Zithobeni, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi.
The majority of those initially affected were children younger than four, raising particular concern about the risks faced by vulnerable residents.
Subsequent reporting placed the number of affected people at 595, including 262 children aged four and younger.
Investigations by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases detected norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella in three of four stool specimens analysed. These pathogens can cause gastrointestinal illness, including diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and vomiting.
Water quality tests conducted by the Department of Water and Sanitation on 14 October found elevated levels of E. coli and total coliform bacteria in water from the treatment works and the Ekandustria and Zithobeni reservoirs.
The findings supported concerns that residents had been exposed to contaminated water.
Authorities have stressed that cholera has not been established as the cause of the outbreak. No cholera bacteria were detected in the patient stool samples analysed, although the presence of other pathogens and the water contamination findings prompted urgent public health measures.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi previously said that most patients had been hospitalised for a short period and discharged after receiving treatment, including rehydration.
The outbreak has nevertheless placed pressure on families, healthcare workers and the municipality, with residents facing uncertainty over the safety of their water supply.
Did the city fail to warn residents?
One of the most serious allegations against the municipality concerns the time taken to inform communities that their tap water might be unsafe.
The EFF argues that residents continued using potentially contaminated water because they were not warned promptly, exposing households to avoidable health risks.
The party has questioned why a failure involving a critical disinfection process was not escalated earlier and why residents were not informed as soon as the city became aware of the danger.
The Public Protector has launched an investigation into allegations of maladministration, improper conduct and prejudice relating to the municipality’s handling of the crisis.
The investigation follows complaints alleging that the city failed to chlorinate the water, did not adequately warn residents and did not ensure that critical information reached the appropriate decision-makers.
The Public Protector’s investigation team visited the treatment plant to assess the allegations and establish what interim measures were being implemented to protect residents.
The office indicated that the plant had been decommissioned temporarily to facilitate cleaning and disinfection of the water system, while water tankers were being deployed to supply affected communities.
The South African Human Rights Commission has also been approached over the crisis, with the EFF arguing that the failure to provide safe water raises concerns about residents’ rights.
The investigations are expected to examine who knew about the treatment problems, when they were informed, why the corrective action plan was allegedly not implemented and whether the municipality complied with its obligations to protect public health.
EFF calls for city manager’s suspension and compensation for families
Beyond demanding Moya’s resignation, the EFF has called for Mettler to be suspended as a precaution while the circumstances surrounding the crisis are investigated.
The party wants an independent forensic investigation into chlorine procurement, treatment plant maintenance and the municipality’s handling of the warnings.
It has also called for affected families to receive appropriate medical care and fair compensation where harm and liability can be established.
The EFF argues that accountability should not end with the identification of a supplier problem. It wants investigators to establish whether municipal systems failed, whether officials neglected their responsibilities and whether senior leadership acted appropriately when the risks emerged.
The party has further urged the South African Police Service to investigate its criminal complaint without fear, favour or political interference.
The DA has also criticised the municipality’s handling of the crisis and opened a criminal case against Moya, arguing that the incident reflects a failure of leadership and management.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the crisis should not be dismissed as a simple infrastructure problem.
“It would have never happened under my leadership,” Brink said.
He also alleged that residents had gone weeks without properly treated water and were not informed about the danger.
Moya has accused Brink of exploiting public fears and drawing comparisons with the 2023 Hammanskraal cholera outbreak without adequately explaining the scientific findings.
“Brink has chosen to amplify fears of another cholera outbreak without adequately explaining the scientific findings,” she said.
The mayor has emphasised that no cholera outbreak has been confirmed in the current incident and that the identified pathogens point to other causes of gastrointestinal illness.
The political dispute has therefore developed on two fronts: the immediate public health emergency and the question of who should be held accountable for the failures that preceded it.
What happens next?
The City of Tshwane has closed the affected treatment works temporarily for cleaning and disinfection and has arranged alternative drinking water supplies through tankers. Residents in areas affected by the Bronkhorstspruit supply have been instructed not to drink tap water or use it for cooking, brushing their teeth, bathing or washing food until authorities confirm it is safe.
Tap water has been restricted to flushing toilets under the relevant advisory. Residents should continue following the latest official instructions for their specific area, as water safety conditions and advisories may change.
The municipality has also been working with other government bodies to address the treatment plant’s operational problems and restore a safe supply.
The Department of Water and Sanitation, the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission and law enforcement now have important roles in establishing what happened and whether the municipality’s response complied with its legal obligations.
For Moya, the political consequences could be significant. The EFF wants her to resign and has called for her arrest, while the mayor maintains that she is taking responsibility for resolving the crisis and addressing the failures within the city.
An admission of negligence is not, on its own, proof of criminal liability. That question will depend on the evidence gathered by investigators and any subsequent court proceedings.
For residents who have fallen ill or are struggling to access safe drinking water, however, the immediate concern remains practical: reliable access to clean water, clear communication from authorities and assurance that the treatment failures will not happen again.
