(Photo: health.usnews.com / Wikipedia) 
On 13 June 2025, Johannesburg Water told the Children’s Memorial Institute (CMI) it intended to cut water supply due to noncompliance with the city’s by-laws. Less than 24 hours later, the supply was cut off.
The CMI, in Braamfontein, is a centralised hub for services to the province’s most vulnerable and special needs children. It houses more than 20 NGOs and is historically linked to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital; the hospital’s laundry is housed at the CMI.
NGOs such as the Teddy Bear Clinic, Thusanani Children’s Foundation, Sunshine Centre Association, Sunlight Safe House, Philile Foundation, Malamulele Onward Association and the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre are at the site.
“The services provided by these NGOs fulfil gaps which are not presently covered by the Gauteng Department of Health, or which have been neglected due to resource constraints, or lack of political will,” said the CMI in an urgent court interdict challenging Joburg Water.
Daily Maverick reported on Wednesday that, according to an agreement with the Gauteng government, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital would pay for the CMI’s water and electricity costs. The hospital stopped paying in 2018, which CMI discovered years later, leaving it with significant debt.
Read more: Gauteng special needs children’s NGOs face closure amid deadlock with state over unpaid bills
CMI board member Dierdre Blackie said the water cuts had “severe and far-reaching consequences”.
“For example, organisations such as Malamulele Onward Association, which provides therapy for children with cerebral palsy, and the Philile Foundation, which offers pre-school education, have reported that children have been left without access to drinking water. Many of these children are unable to walk the long distances required to obtain water,” she said.
“If water is not urgently restored, many of the organisations will be forced to close down, and this will have an adverse effect on rights and critical services provided by the organisations.”
She said children with special needs had been without water for more than 20 days, “resulting in grave health and hygiene risks”.
‘Flawed process’
CMI said it wasn’t given a chance to address the alleged by-law violations, saying the decision was “haphazard” and would affect the hundreds of children who benefit from the NGOs on the property.
“We were not afforded an opportunity to make representations and to take steps to remedy non-compliance in terms of the by-laws,” reads the founding affidavit from Blackie.
In the court papers, Blackie contends that by disconnecting water supply without affording CMI a chance to make representations and without reasonable prior notice, Joburg Water was in violation of parts of the city’s water by-laws.
In its termination notice, the City of Johannesburg said CMI had gained unauthorised access and connection to the water supply system or sewage system without council agreement and that a part of that system had been interfered with.
Joburg Water also said it was disconnecting services due to the CMI’s outstanding debt. CMI officials met leaders of the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development, who agreed that restoring the water supply was a priority – but nothing happened.
Blackie cited Section 11 of the city’s water by-laws, which state that the city must give customers 30 days’ notice and an opportunity to rectify violations before cutting off services.
“In this case, Joburg Water failed to comply with this procedure. Instead, Joburg Water terminated water supply without affording applicants any opportunity to take steps to remedy noncompliance.”
CMI is represented by public interest law group SECTION27, whose attorney Khuselwa Dyantyi told Daily Maverick: “We have instituted urgent proceedings in the high court in Johannesburg, for an urgent relief to restore the water supply on the property and interdicting JHB Water and CoJ for any further termination of services without providing these organisations with adequate time to make their representations to the city council.”
She continued, “There are about 25 organisations operating on the property. The water disconnection has caused severe disruption to their operations and significantly compromised their ability to deliver essential services to the vulnerable beneficiaries they serve.”
Johannesburg Water
Johannesburg Water maintained that the entity would cut off customers who didn’t comply with the by-laws.
Spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala told Daily Maverick, “Customers found to have connected water illegally are issued with an Illegal Connection Compliance Notice by the City of Johannesburg. This notice requires them to regularise their connection and settle any associated penalties.
“Failure to comply with the notice results in the disconnection of water supply and the imposition of additional fines in line with the city’s by-laws.”
Shabalala continued, “If a customer’s water supply has been disconnected due to an illegal connection, they are advised to visit their nearest CoJ Customer Service Centre to pay the applicable fine or make payment arrangements.”
“We urge all residents to ensure their water connections are legal and in compliance with the city’s bylaws to avoid penalties and service interruptions.”
CMI said the matter was scheduled to be heard in court on 15 July. DM