The Ministry of Water and Sanitation commends the swift action undertaken by the City of Tshwane (CoT), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) together with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in response to the incidents of typhoid cases reported in the Hammanskraal and Bronkhorstspruit areas. Forty-eight cases of typhoid fever have been reported in Hammanskraal, Bronkhorstspruit and East of Pretoria since January.
Minister Pemmy Majodina together with Deputy Ministers David Mahlobo and Sello Seitlholo; Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo; and the Acting Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Eugene Modise convened a meeting on Monday, 3 November 2025 to receive reports from technical teams on the recently reported typhoid fever outbreak in Tshwane and efforts taken thus far to keep the outbreak under control.
Preliminary reports at this stage confirm that water was not the source of the contamination. From the samples taken by the City of Tshwane in all its water supply and distribution systems including the systems of Magalies and Rand Water, as well as its boreholes and water tankers, no detection of Salmonella Typhi bacteria, which causes typhoid fever, has been recorded so far.
The meeting was encouraged by the City’s continuous water quality tests and monitoring from various points in its network to ensure that any possible spread of the bacteria may be contained. In addition, the Department of Water and Sanitation has been instructed to request the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to assist with independent monitoring and testing.
The meeting noted that there were still challenges of water supply in some areas of Tshwane and that water is an important component of health and hygiene.
The Ministry is concerned that the current incidents of typhoid are occurring in a community which has recently recovered from a cholera outbreak. Both cholera and typhoid can be spread through either through consuming contaminated water or through poor food handling and hygiene.
The meeting also noted the erratic functionality of the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works which is currently operating at 38 megalitre per day (ML/d) out of its design capacity of 54 ML/d due to its poor condition. The Ministry welcomes the City’s intervention plan to bring the water treatment works to operate at full design capacity and its future plans to upgrade the plant to increase its treatment capacity.
The Ministry reiterated that its commitment to respond to water challenges in Tshwane continues. Substantial progress has been made in completing the Klipdrift Package Plant to alleviate water supply challenges in Hammanskraal, but more work still needs to be done. Progress is being closely monitored by the Ministry, provincial government and the City. In the meantime, in areas that experience intermittent or no water supply at all, Tshwane will continue to provide water using alternative means of supply such as water tankering, with a clear tankering plan and monitoring mechanism.
Members of the public are urged to avoid consuming raw water from rivers, dams and streams as the water is untreated and could pose serious health risks.
Communities are further advised to always observe hygiene protocols, which include but are not limited to washing their hands with soap and water, and to observe basic hygiene and safe storage of water and handling of food.
