Residents turn the tide in water court battle
Platinum Weekly newspaper | Koster, Swartruggens – Years of fighting for clean water and functioning sewage services have delivered a significant court victory for the Kgetlengrivier Concerned Citizens (KCC).
On 2 November 2026, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court ruling and set aside Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality’s January 2021 appointment of Magalies Water to operate and manage its water and sanitation services.
The dispute followed persistent service failures, including raw sewage flowing into the Koster and Elands rivers, which serve as drinking-water sources in the area. Residents repeatedly approached the courts to compel the municipality to act.
Central to the appeal was the municipality’s decision to reappoint Magalies Water shortly after terminating its previous contract for poor performance. That contract was cancelled on 26 November 2020. On 5 January 2021, the municipality confirmed under oath that Magalies Water had failed to perform and said it would issue a new tender. Just a week later, it appointed the same entity again. The court found that neither the municipality nor Magalies Water explained what had changed to justify the reappointment.
The appointment also depended on a new service agreement being signed. None was concluded. Instead, the municipality produced an agreement linked to the earlier, terminated arrangement. The majority judgment further highlighted the absence of a council resolution and documented lawful funding for the proposed three-year appointment, which carried a projected cost of R37.5 million.
It made clear that urgently appointing another state entity does not remove the municipality’s duties of transparency, financial accountability and rational decision-making. The court also criticised the earlier decision to saddle the residents’ organisation with legal costs, recognising that its litigation sought to enforce constitutional rights to water and sanitation. The municipality must pay the costs of the original review and the High Court application for leave to appeal. Magalies Water must pay the appeal costs, including those of two counsel. The ruling overturns the disputed 2021 appointment. It does not appoint a replacement operator or transfer control of the waterworks to the residents.
For residents, the question now is: what happens next, and will this court victory finally bring reliable clean water and working sewage services?