Political parties expressed mixed reactions to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), criticising the announcement of the National Water Crisis Committee (NWCC).

On Thursday, Ramaphosa declared the ongoing water crisis as the most critical national concern and announced that he will chair a NWCC, which will provide a coordinated national response to water supply disruptions.

The President warned that municipal managers would be held personally liable for failing to supply water, noting that 56 municipalities already faced criminal charges.

On Wednesday, Ramaphosa instructed Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to skip SoNA and attend to water challenges in the City of Johannesburg and in the City of Tshwane.

ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said water infrastructure took decades to collapse and equally long to rebuild, stating that Ramaphosa’s “sudden flurry” of promises is too little, too late.

He said Ramaphosa’s latest commitments “ring hollow”.

“He has sleepwalked into yet another crisis of his own making. Gauteng municipalities' taps have dried up whilst the Vaal river and dam system is overflowing, this is the worst indictment of the national, provincial and local governments,” Trollip said.

He noted Ramaphosa’s promises in last year’s SoNA to fast-track major water projects, finalise the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency, introduce licensing and enforcement for water service providers, and unlock large-scale investment in water infrastructure.

“…yet the national water crisis has only worsened,” Trollip pointed out.

The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party described the committee as another “empty promise” by government, while the Economic Freedom Fighters accused the Government of National Unity (GNU) of lacking capacity in the ongoing water challenges.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen pointed out that despite Ramaphosa’s admission that some local municipalities were not providing basic services as they should, he said the President’s SoNA did not go far enough to deliver action to fix the “broken” municipalities.

He said South Africans and all local businesses needed municipalities that worked.

He claimed his party had long called for accounting officers to be held personally liable for local government spending that fails the annual audit, welcoming the commitment by the President to charge municipal managers for failing to provide services as called for in the Constitution.

Steenhuisen noted the ongoing water crisis and blamed it on African National Congress mayors and cadre deployment.

“…the situation will not recover unless voters choose a new government with a proven track record in honest, transparent governance. Where the DA governs, we deliver water within the existing framework, proof that it can be done,” he challenged.

Earlier this week, the party threatened legal action against Johannesburg Water and Majodina.

Meanwhile, Steenhuisen, who is also Minister of Agriculture, welcomed Ramaphosa’s declaration of a State of Disaster to combat the foot-and-mouth disease, currently ravaging farms.

He said the State of Disaster would strengthen the work already underway, accelerate rollout, tighten movement controls, and unlock the resources the country’s veterinary teams and farmers urgently needed.

He said economic recovery under the GNU was now underway.

“Inflation has moderated. Investor confidence is showing signs of recovery. The country has exited the grey list. Government debt appears to be stabilising. These are important signals that, with the adults in the room in government, South Africa can rise,” Steenhuisen said.

However, he said South Africa needed faster reform, which he claimed the DA had been working towards and fighting for in government.

“South Africa must accelerate economic growth if we are to meaningfully reduce unemployment and lower the cost of living,” he said.

The party said it supported the changes on energy reform, particularly private investment in transmission.

And while it welcomed the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to support the South African Police Service in the Western Cape and Gauteng to combat gang activity and illegal mining, Steenhuisen warned that this was a short-term intervention, and that it would not solve the crisis.

Lasting safety required proper intelligence and investigative powers, stated Steenhuisen.

Meanwhile, GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron welcomed Ramaphosa’s intervention in the water crisis in towns and cities, and in Johannesburg in particular.

He said government would have to move rapidly to ensure that municipalities had access to funding and technical support to build the infrastructure and maintain it since the water crisis was an immediate one.