14 September 2026
Residents in villages around Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape have been battling water outages for years. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso
Chris Hani District Municipality says it has spent over R9-million in the past 11 months repairing water infrastructure damaged by theft and vandalism. Of this, about R900,000 was spent in Vuyisile Mini Local Municipality, which includes Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
Villages such as Khayamnandi, Woodhouse and Lubisi around Cofimvaba have been without a reliable water supply for years, according to residents.
In Khayamnandi this situation has persisted for five years, said resident Nosecond Mgcobo.
“If you don’t have a Jojo tank here that will fill up when it rains, you could die of thirst,” she said. “Crops are dying because there is no water and rain is scarce. Most residents have to fork out R20 for a 25-litre drum of water from privately operated trucks,” she said.
Households try to make 1,000 litres of water, which costs R400, last a month. They may require more if holding a traditional ceremony or building a house. 2,500 litres costs R1,000.
In Woodhouse, Thandanani Mqolo said his standpipe has been dry for eight years.
“At least they should be providing us with water tankers but they are not doing it. We feel rejected and not taken care of,” he said.
In Lubisi, Mxoleleni Simangele said he uses R200 of his disability grant to pay someone to fetch 500 litres of water by donkey from a river 2km away.
District municipality spokesperson Sandiso Tyembile said theft and vandalism have been a major cause of water supply problems in the district. He said over R9-million had been spent on replacing or repairing infrastructure, including electrical panels, generators and engines for pumps, bulk water air valves and other components at water treatment works across all six local municipalities.
The Cofimvaba area is mostly supplied by the Ncorha Water Treatment Works pumping water to the Ngxabangu Command Reservoir before it is distributed to the villages. He said pipeline chambers and more than 20 bulk air valves in the Ncorha scheme need repairing, and the municipality is still procuring parts.
“The scourge of vandalism and theft has been on a rampage for at least five years or more now in the district,” Tyembile said.
In July 2026, the municipality employed more than 300 security guards on six-month contracts across the district, each guard receiving a stipend of R5,895 a month. They protect water and wastewater treatment works, pump and fire stations, and municipal offices. Another 150 guards will be recruited by October.
With 100 wards across a vast, mountainous area and a “fragmented data system”, the municipality cannot provide an exact number for incidents of vandalism, Tyembile said.
He admitted that trucking water “hasn’t been adequate” because of the vastness of the district and limited resources.
