WATER is life. It is the most basic necessity, the foundation of survival, and yet, across South Africa, millions of people are struggling to access it.

Taps have run dry, infrastructure has crumbled, and residents are forced to queue for hours just to fill a bucket with water. In the face of this disaster, those responsible for delivering this basic service remain protected, shielded by a government that has long abandoned its duty to serve the people.

It is for this reason that I stood in the National Assembly and declared: “Pemmy must go!”

It was not just a political slogan. It was a battle cry - a demand for accountability, not only from Minister of Water Pemmy Majodina but from every failed leader in this country, who has neglected their responsibilities while South Africans suffer.

The symbolism of "Pemmy Must Go! Pemmy must go!” is not just about one minister. It is about the entire culture of failure that has taken root in South African governance. At parliament, I was speaking for every community where water has disappeared, for every child forced to go to school unwashed, and for every family forced to spend their last few rand on bottled water because the state has failed them. This is not about politics. It is about human dignity.

The role of citizens in holding leaders accountable

In South Africa, we have accepted the unacceptable for far too long. We watch as our leaders fail, but we do not demand their removal. This is not how things work in other parts of the world.

In Iceland (2016), Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson was forced to resign after mass protests over corruption. In South Korea (2017), President Park Geun-hye was impeached and imprisoned after citizens took to the streets demanding accountability. In Lebanon (2019), the entire government collapsed under the weight of public pressure after years of mismanagement.

In these countries, people understood a fundamental truth: leaders stay in power only because the people allow it. South Africans must wake up to this reality. We cannot continue to be passive while our country is destroyed by corruption, incompetence, and indifference.

The truth about the water crisis

The collapse of our water system is not an accident. It is not simply the result of climate change, as some officials would have us believe. This crisis is the result of years of government failure - decades of neglected infrastructure, billions looted through corruption, and a complete lack of leadership at every level.

Municipalities that were once functional have become cash cows for the politically connected. Basic maintenance is ignored. Projects meant to bring water security are abandoned halfway, while funds vanish into the pockets of politicians and their allies. And who suffers? Not the ministers or their families. Not the mayors or the councillors. They live in secure estates with unlimited water supply. They do not wake up to dry taps. They do not carry buckets to communal taps. It is the ordinary South Africans who pay the price.

Why parliament protects the failing, not the people

The moment I raised my voice, parliament reacted - not by addressing the water crisis but by removing me. This is how the system works in South Africa. Ministers can fail without consequence. They can sit in their positions for years, overseeing complete collapses of basic services, and nothing happens to them. But the moment someone dares to challenge them, to say publicly what millions of South Africans are thinking, that person is silenced.

South Africans must see this for what it is - not just an attack on me, but an attack on the people's right to demand accountability.

Here’s what must happen next:

1. Mass mobilisation: Every town, every city, every community facing water shortages must organise. Peaceful but determined protests must make it clear: failed leaders must go.

2. Legal action: Civil society must take the government to court. The right to water is protected in our Constitution. Leaders who fail to deliver must be held legally responsible.

3. Boycotts and economic pressure: Business communities affected by water shortages must put financial pressure on the government to act.

4. A political awakening: South Africans must vote differently. Loyalty to failing parties must end. Every election must be a referendum on service delivery, not party history. South Africa is at a breaking point. We cannot afford to keep weak leaders in power.

The choice is ours. Do we fight for clean water, or do we accept dry taps and empty promises?

VISVIN REDDY, MK MP

Durban

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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Pemmy must go! South Africa’s water crisis and the cost of failed leadership