The water mafias are killing us

Democratic South Africa's biggest failings are rooted in the capture of its institutions, leadership structures and production chains by criminals.

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We have written extensively on the issue in this editorial space. At a national level in the form of state capture and the mismanagement of parastatals; at a local level in the hijacking of urban buildings and abandoned mines.

Water has been a separate but equally important topic. Our reporting has focused on the incompetence and petty criminality that contribute to the water crises we are perpetually faced with throughout the country. Shoddy, unmaintained infrastructure has not been treated with the urgency or creativity it demands from government structures.

But this week Sheree Bega's story reveals that water, too, has been penetrated by organised crime. The evidence suggests that water mafias are in play.