Cheap plumbing imports ‘threatening public health and jobs’

South Africa must crack down on dodgy plumbing practices, including the use of cheap and noncompliant imports that undermine public safety and contribute to water contamination and leaks.

That is the stark warning from the Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB) to the National Consumer Commission (NCC) in its bid to be accredited as a consumer protection group.

If granted, the accreditation will enable the PIRB to protect consumers, handle disputes and represent consumer interests before official tribunals and courts.

The PIRB, in its application to the NCC, said the country is in the grip of a scourge of noncompliance that is undermining public safety, consumer confidence and economic stability.

It said that despite the existence of sound regulatory instruments, including the National Building Regulations, South African National Standards (SANS) rules and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), a growing flood of noncompliant plumbing products continues to enter the market unchecked.

“These products are often cheap, untested and unsafe,” the PIRB said. “Their use exposes consumers to serious health and safety risks, including contaminated water supplies, product failures, flooding, scalding, and even structural damage to homes and buildings.

“The consequences reach far beyond individual households. As an example, every failed fitting or leaking installation contributes to massive water wastage, a direct threat to South Africa’s already fragile water security.

“The problem is not confined to consumers. The unfair competition created by noncompliant imports is crippling South Africa’s legitimate manufacturing base. Local manufacturers that invest in SABS-approved, SANS-compliant products find themselves competing on an unequal footing against inferior, uncertified imports.”

South Africa imports a large portion of its specialised plumbing, sanitaryware and valve components from global manufacturers while relying on strong local production for basic plastic and steel pipes.

Importing plumbing materials into South Africa requires strict adherence to compliance standards, such as the mandatory PVoC (pre-export verification of conformity) programme managed by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) to prevent substandard or counterfeit products from entering the market.

Despite the safeguards, substandard materials are still making their way into South Africa. The PIRB said the result is a steady erosion of domestic production capacity, factory closures, job losses and rising unemployment, a cascading effect that undermines both the industrialisation goals of the department of trade, industry & competition and the country’s broader economic recovery efforts.

The PIRB said the absence of a co-ordinated enforcement mechanism has created a gap between what the law requires and what happens in the market.

“While the professional plumber is legally accountable for ensuring compliance at the point of installation, the supply chain that feeds noncompliant products into the market largely escapes accountability. This imbalance has left plumbers exposed, consumers vulnerable, and regulators overstretched,” it said.

“The absence of co-ordinated, real-time, proactive enforcement allows unsafe products and practices to persist, creating a system where doing the right thing often comes at a commercial disadvantage.”

The PIRB has been in existence as a nonprofit organisation for the past 16 years.

When plumbing fails or is nonexistent, the immediate result is the spread of illness. For example, poor sewage plumbing can contaminate drinking water supplies, leading to outbreaks of dangerous diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid.

Leaky plumbing also creates damp environments, creating toxic moulds, fungi and bacteria-like leptospirosis, which can cause severe respiratory disorders and immune system weaknesses.

The NCC has asked members of the public for input on the PIRB’s application, with the comment window period closing at the end of October.

“On 16 October 2025, the NCC received an application from the PIRB for accreditation as a consumer protection group. Following a preliminary assessment conducted, the NCC required further clarity from the PIRB regarding its legal status as a proposed consumer protection group and its regulatory role,” Hardin Ratshisusu, the acting commissioner of the NCC, said this week.

“Further engagements were had with the PIRB during the course of 2026, with the PIRB clarifying that its consumer protection group functions would be limited to consumer awareness, reporting contraventions identified through inspections, and mediating disputes involving its registered plumbers. Complaints relating to non-registered plumbers would be referred to the consumer goods and services ombudsman or the NCC, as appropriate.”

A few years ago, the government launched the “War on Leaks” initiative to combat massive potable water losses caused by failing infrastructure and poor plumbing.

South Africa’s major cities face severe water crises and financial losses due to ageing, deteriorating municipal plumbing infrastructure and chronic under-maintenance.

With the country’s cities set to spend billions of rands rehabilitating water infrastructure, the quality of the plumbing will be key to building durable infrastructure.

“PIRB has already built a credible and proactive platform for protecting the public and promoting lawful conduct. Unlike reactive mechanisms that only intervene once harm has occurred, PIRB’s model is centred on prevention, early detection and education, ensuring that risk is addressed before it reaches the consumer,” the PIRB’s application says.

“However, the scale and persistence of systemic noncompliance demand a more formalised mandate, one that provides recognised legal standing, strengthens collaboration with the NCC, and enables the industry to proactively identify, report and escalate systemic risks, unsafe products and unethical supplier conduct directly to the appropriate authorities.”