WATER: AMANZI

The great and talented wordsmith, artist Mick Jenkins once said "Water more important than the gold

People for the gold

Everybody do it for the gold

People save your souls

Thank God for the waters, waters

Thank God for the waters, waters

Thank God". I always appreciate when these writings lead us to a path wherein we get to combine what we are writing about with the shit we like. I did not know before putting the first word on paper that, this Mick Jenkins Albums- The Waters, would be a soundtrack in the writing of this piece and how the message of the song will provide perfect context in certain portions of this piece.

Todays piece was sparked by the recent media statement by our Gauteng Premiere, Panyaza Lesufu wherein he said “People think that if there is no water, ourselves and our families have got special water – we don’t. In some instances, I had to go to a certain hotel so that I bathe to go to my commitments,”. So today we will be discussing Water within various context, including the Legal context, Political context, Chemical context and Water within a Societal context- wherein we will dive into it through the prism of Class. We remain legal minds, and although we will touch on the other prisms, we will go deeper when dissecting the Legal and Political context, due to the interesting relationship between the two.

Before we dive into the subject of water through these four prism, let quickly look at Water in general.

0. WATER IN GENERAL:

Now, it does not take deep intricate observations to understand what water means in the general scheme of things. We dont need, social commentators, scientists and intellectuals to to help us understand the impact of Water within the fabric of the human reality.

Water is Life. Thats it, full stop. Water is the anchor that holds every single living organism's existence in its hands. Water is the Micheal Jordan of ensuring this ship keeps moving on sea. We must never slip on water, because without it, its curtains for the race, the human race. We are paying serious homage to water with one, and its essential we recognize the importance of using it without the spirit of wasteful in the equation.

Lets delve into Water within a Science, Chemistry perspective.

1. WATER WITHIN A CHEMICAL CONTEXT:

To have an understanding of water, we need to begin with understanding what is in water, in particular, the water that serves to preserves the continued human existence.

Water, or $H_2O$, is a chemical compound consisting of two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom. The oxygen atom’s high electronegativity creates a polar molecule, where the oxygen end carries a partial negative charge and the hydrogen atoms carry a partial positive charge. This polarity is the primary driver of water’s unique physical and chemical properties, including its status as the "universal solvent

The following table represents the Chemical property of Water and its Biological and Systemic Importance:

Chemical Property of Water	Biological/Systemic Importance
Polarity	Enables dissolution of nutrients and waste; drives molecular transport.
Dielectric Constant ($\approx 80$)	Weakens ionic bonds to allow for electrolyte activity and enzymatic reactions.
High Specific Heat	Stabilizes internal body temperature and prevents rapid environmental fluctuation.
Hydrogen Bonding	Creates surface tension and supports the structural integrity of cells.
Auto-ionization	Determines the pH of the internal environment, essential for enzyme function

In the context of the Gauteng water crisis, the chemical necessity of water remains absolute. While a Premier might bypass a local outage by relocating to a hotel, the chemistry of the human body cannot wait. When water is absent, the concentration of solutes in the blood increases, leading to a rise in osmotic pressure that the body must desperately manage through homeostatic mechanisms. Do not play with water, its chemical properties alone, are holding the entire human biology intac, for the love of the game.

1.1 Waters Relationship to Biology:

With our new understanding of the importance of the Chemical properties found in water, we can see waters huge impact to the biology of human being. Its the lifeblood of human existence, serving as the medium for all metabolic activities. The human body is approximately 55% to 65% water, and maintaining this balance is a primary function of homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to the state of biological equilibrium required for the survival of cells and organs. This balance is maintained through a negative feedback system involving the hypothalamus, the kidneys, and the endocrine system.

When water levels drop—a condition known as hypohydration or dehydration—the body initiates a series of physiological responses. The hypothalamus detects increased blood osmolarity and stimulates the pituitary gland to release antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which signals the kidneys to reabsorb water into the bloodstream rather than excreting it as urine. Thirst is the behavioral manifestation of this biological deficit, acting as a drive to restore the "set point" of hydration.

The physiological cost of water scarcity is severe due to the fact that Dehydration can lead to cellular shrinkage and potential neurological impairment.

Water is not just a commodity; it is the fundamental requirement for the maintenance of plasma pH and the functionality of enzymes, without which the human organism cannot exist.

In the 2026 Johannesburg crisis, where residents were forced to travel to municipal tankers or use fire hydrants, the risk of a cholera or typhoid outbreak became a tangible threat to public health. The Premier’s comment about hotel facilities highlights a biological inequity: the "hotel class" can maintain their internal homeostasis and hygiene through private capital, while the rest of society is left to suffer the cellular and systemic consequences of a state-led infrastructure failure.

2. WATER WITHIN A CLASS PERSPECTIVE: The "Hotel Class" vs. The Rest of Society.

The divide in class in our city has always been there. Its just the Premiere of Gauteng Bab Panyanza Lesufu has given us language to describe that divide. Through his statements, he has solidified a new class stratification, dividing the city into the "hotel class" and the rest of society who are tethered to the failing municipal grid. Essentially, our good sir Bab Lesufu, has went deeper into really explaining the social construct of Class. Its no longer a divide between Poor & Rich. Its a divide between the Hotel Class & Rest of Society.

2.1. The "Hotel Class"

This group, encompassing political elites, the wealthy, and corporate executives of fortune 500, possesses the financial "wherewithal" to insulate themselves from state failure. For this class, water is a commodified luxury rather than a public service.

• Asset Liquidity for Basic Needs: As demonstrated by Premier Lesufi, this class can afford to relocate to luxury hotels to bathe and prepare for their "commitments" when residential supply fails.

• Infrastructure Privatization: The wealthy invest in private boreholes (costing R80,000–R150,000) and multi-kiloliter storage tanks, effectively creating a private water utility at the household level.

• Corporate Security: Major business hubs maintain independent water security systems, allowing elite economic activity to proceed while surrounding areas collapse.

  
  

2.2. The Rest of Society: The Tied and Dispossessed

The "rest of society" represents the working class and the poor who cannot afford the "let them shower in hotels" solution. They are biologically and economically dependent on a broken system:

• Economic Crippling of Small Business: Small business owners, such as car washes and informal traders near taxi ranks, lose R400 to R500 in daily revenue during outages. They often resort to buying water in garbage bins for R20 to wash just three cars, further eating into their meager profit margins.

• Time Poverty: Residents in affected suburbs and informal settlements spend hours queuing at municipal tankers or carrying heavy buckets from illegally opened fire hydrants, diverting time from work and education.

• Dignity and Hygiene Risks: For those without vehicles or the means to buy bottled water, a 25-day outage means washing with buckets and choosing between drinking and basic sanitation, leading to a significant loss of human dignity.

3. WATER WITHIN A POLITICAL CONTEXT: Electioneering and "Air Fryer Promises"

Water security in Johannesburg has increasingly become a tool of political optics rather than a baseline of governance. Within the current political landscape, water only enters the high-priority discourse when the electoral cycle approaches, transforming a biological necessity into a campaign pawn.

1. The Proximity of the Polls

The 2026 local government elections have cast a long shadow over the current crisis. Residents have noted that while taps remained dry for months in areas like Selby, political urgency only spiked as mayoral candidates began their campaigns. This has led to the emergence of "air fryer promises"—flashy, high-tech, or surface-level commitments designed to placate constituents with immediate (but often temporary) solutions while ignoring the structural rot of the 80-year-old pipe network.

2. Optics vs. Execution

The political response is frequently characterized by performance over progress:

The "War Room" Phenomenon: Every major outage is met with the announcement of a new "task team" or "war room", the third such intervention in four years(eg the National Water Task Team Established in 2024) which critics argue are mere bureaucratic decoys for a lack of technical expertise.

Optical Maneuvers: Mayoral candidates have been seen filming campaign videos dipping their feet into the "dams" created by burst pipes, utilizing the visual evidence of state failure as an electoral prop.

The Funding Flash: Announcements like the R760 million for infrastructure upgrades are often timed for major political addresses (like the SOPA) to create a narrative of action, even when such figures are a fraction of the R27 billion actually required.

This political cycle ensures that for most of the year, water management is a "back-office" failure, only to be "air fried" into a front-page promise when votes are on the line. Once the ballots are cast, the "hotel class" returns to their insulated facilities, while the rest of society remains tethered to a grid that continues to decay in the absence of a genuine, non-electoral commitment to service.

4. WATER WITHIN A LEGAL CONTEXT: Section 27 and the Evolution of Water Rights

The South African legal framework for water is enshrined in Section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution: "Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water". This is a "second-generation" socio-economic right, requiring the state to take positive action.

The Statutory Definition of Sufficiency

Regulations under the Water Services Act 108 of 1997 define the minimum standard for a "basic water supply" as:

• A minimum quantity of 25 liters of potable water per person per day, or 6 kiloliters per household per month.

• Availability within 200 meters of the household.

• Effectiveness such that no consumer is without supply for more than seven full days in any year.

The 2026 Johannesburg outages, lasting up to 25 days, represent a clear breach of these statutory requirements.

The Goat of Water Judgments- The Mazibuko Judgment: Reasonableness vs. Minimum Core

-The landmark case of Mazibuko and Others v City of Johannesburg (2009) remains the definitive word on water rights. The applicants challenged the City's 6-kiloliter policy and the installation of prepaid meters. Citing that the 6kl per/month is not enough and that shit must be run up and seeing the installation of prepaid metre as unlawful due to its ability to switch of the tap after that 6kl per month drip has been used.

-The Constitutional Court rejected a "minimum core" approach (a fixed quantitative entitlement), holding that:

• Section 27 does not confer an immediate individual right to a court-determined amount of water.

• The state’s obligation is "progressive realization" within its "available resources".

• Courts should not dictate resource-allocation judgments to the executive.

The 2026 crisis underscores the limits of this "reasonableness review". If the state can justify 25 days of dry taps as "reasonable" due to system failure, the constitutional right becomes unenforceable for the citizen who cannot afford a hotel.

Conclusion: Reclaiming the Right to Water

The Johannesburg water crisis of 2026 is a multidisciplinary failure. Chemically, water is the non-negotiable solvent for life. Biologically, its absence triggers homeostatic collapse. Sociologically, it serves as the ultimate marker of class privilege. Legally, it is a right whose realization is stalled by a "reasonableness" standard that offers no immediate relief to the thirsty.

To resolve this crisis, structural changes are required:

1. National Disaster Declaration: As recommended by the SAHRC, to mobilize emergency funds and ensure coordinated oversight.

2. Ring-Fenced Funding: The R760 million announced by Premier Lesufi for upgrades must be protected from "sweeping" into general municipal funds.

3. Governance Reform: Implementing a "utility model" to separate water services from political interference and "cadre deployment".

4. Legal Re-evaluation: Challenging the Mazibuko precedent to ensure that "progressive realization" includes a minimum floor of service that cannot be breached by the state.

The apology of Premier Panyaza Lesufi for his "hotel" comment was a necessary political act, but it does not fix a leaking pipe or hydrate a resident in Brixton. For as long as water remains a privilege of the "hotel class" rather than a guaranteed right for all, South Africa’s constitutional promise of human dignity remains unfulfilled.

Disclaimer: The views and analyses expressed on this blog are for informational and educational purposes only. This site serves as a self-guiding diary intended to facilitate my personal understanding of specific subjects and does not serve as an authoritative reference. Information is provided "as is" without any guarantees of completeness or accuracy. Please consult a local, professionally trained individual in the subject matter or you can conduct your own research for any formal inquiries or professional advice. PSA, dont corner an attorney at a Maza or a Braai on a weekend and consult there. Preferably arrange an appointment with the office