Half a Million Litres a Day: Babanango and Msinga Celebrate New Water Schemes This Mandela Day

Rural KwaZulu-Natal had double reason to celebrate this Mandela Day weekend as Deputy President Paul Mashatile unveiled the Babanango Community Water Supply Scheme and the Msinga Borehole Water Supply Intervention, bringing clean, reliable water to communities that have waited years for it.

The launches took place on Saturday, 18 July 2026, at the start of the Mandela Day Water Services Project and Acceleration Programme for unserved communities, SAnews reported. The Deputy President was accompanied by Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo.

Engineering Dignity in Babanango

The Babanango Water Supply Scheme is a substantial piece of rural infrastructure. It combines protected spring water sources, a borehole backup system, a water treatment plant, reservoirs, pipelines and distribution infrastructure to supply up to 500 000 litres of treated water a day to surrounding communities.

“Water is a fundamental human right enshrined in our Constitution. When a community has no access to clean and reliable water, it is denied more than a basic service; it is denied dignity, opportunity and the full enjoyment of its constitutional rights,” Deputy President Mashatile said.

Through the scheme, he said, government is declaring that access to water “cannot be a privilege enjoyed by some; but must be a reality for all”.

“We are saying that no community is too remote, too small or too poor to be affected by development. We bring hope where there has been doubt, dignity where there has been struggle, and opportunity where there have been obstacles,” he said.

27 Projects Across the Province

The Babanango and Msinga schemes were the centrepiece of a much wider effort. As part of the Mandela Day programme, government also symbolically launched and handed over 27 decentralised water supply interventions across KwaZulu-Natal.

The Deputy President said the projects demonstrate the value of cooperation between national, provincial and local government, traditional leaders and communities under the District Development Model, which coordinates planning across all spheres of government to speed up service delivery.

The rollout forms part of the National Water Access Acceleration Programme, which is expanding access to safe and reliable water for unserved and underserved communities through borehole development, spring protection, rainwater harvesting and the rehabilitation of existing water schemes, supported by the Water Services Infrastructure Grant.

“These interventions are helping us to reach communities more quickly while building long-term resilience and sustainability,” Mashatile said.

Honouring Madiba Through Action

Falling on Nelson Mandela International Day, the launch was framed as a practical tribute to Madiba’s legacy — improving lives through concrete action rather than words alone.

The Deputy President urged residents to take ownership of their new infrastructure so that it serves generations to come. “The sustainability of projects such as this one depends on community ownership and active participation. We must protect this infrastructure so that future generations can continue to benefit from these important investments,” he said.

For the families of Babanango and Msinga, the message of the day was simple and life-changing: clean water is no longer a distant hope, but a tap within reach.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org