MEDIA ALERT
To: All Media
Issued by: Masifundise Development Trust
Date: 24 November 2025
Subject: Government Non-Compliance takes Centane Communities back to High Court over Water Crisis
On Tuesday, 25 November 2025, Masifundise and Coastal Links Eastern Cape will return to the Mthatha High Court for the Part B hearing of their application compelling government to provide basic water services to the communities of Nombanjana and Nxaxo in Ward 28, Centane. The organisations first approached the Court in 2021, yet four years later national, provincial and local authorities have still not delivered water. Residents continue to rely on a polluted river, shared with livestock, as their only source of water, despite a previous court order directing government to act.
Ward 28 communities have now endured eight years without a sustainable or reliable water supply.
Part A of the case was heard between 2021 and 2022, during which the Court ordered government to develop concrete plans to deliver potable water, to this day, it has not been implemented. The community is now proceeding with Part B in an effort to secure a permanent, enforceable solution.
Part B asks the Court to declare government’s ongoing failure unlawful, the Amathole District Municipality for violating the Water Services Act, and the Ministers of Water and COGTA, along with the Eastern Cape Premier, for failing to intervene as required. The applicants are further seeking an order directing the Water or COGTA Minister to establish a multi-departmental task team to design and implement a long-term plan to ensure safe, reliable water for all Ward 28 residents. They also request strict reporting obligations, including submission of the full water plan within two months and sworn progress reports every three months outlining completed work, effectiveness and next steps with clear deadlines.
This prolonged failure has severely affected livelihoods and continues to violate residents’ constitutional rights to water, dignity and a healthy environment.
Vuyolwethu Nosix Tolbadi from Qolorha (Ward 29) notes that the crisis extends beyond Ward 28: “We vote every five years, and the municipality promises water each time, but there is only silence after elections.”
Boyisile Mafilika, Project Officer at Masifundise, adds “It is deeply concerning that the Ward 28 community is still waiting for basic water services nearly four years after the court issued an interim order. Access to water is a fundamental human right, and the prolonged delays are causing unnecessary hardship. We call on the relevant authorities to urgently implement the court’s judgment and ensure that communities like Ward 28 are not left behind.”
Please note: The hearing will be held online with limited access to the link.
For further queries contact:
Boyisile Mafilika- Project Officer
082 621 4420
Nobathembu Ndzengu- Media and Communication officer
078 593 4230
Carmen Mannarino – Co-director/Programme Manager
071 283 3179