Durban - eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has blamed escalating water losses in the municipality on the illegal construction of houses by those migrating to the City every year.
The City was “powerless” in dealing with the illegal construction of houses due to the sheer vastness of the metro, he said.
He was referring to water lost through leaks, illegal connections and theft, among others. The illegal building of homes was one of the primary causes for the escalating water losses in the City, he said.
Water losses currently stand at 58%, representing an annual revenue loss of about R2 billion for the municipality.
Speaking on a radio show last week, Kaunda said part of the problem was the high migration to the City, with some illegally constructing homes and tapping into the City infrastructure, damaging it in the process.
He was asked about the escalating water losses, which have apparently climbed from 40% to 58% over the past three years.
“In the metro there is a huge influx of people. They build houses, and connect themselves illegally. It adds to the burden because when people connect to our system illegally, they break pipes and we are bound to have leaks.”
The mayor was challenged on the claim and it was noted that the City is the ultimate authority when it comes to people building homes in its territory. “We’d like to have capacity (to control where people are building) but you can’t have it in a big metro like ours of 4 million people.”
Kaunda said his officials were doing all they possibly could to deal with the challenges. “We are one municipality with a land invasion unit supported by metro police, but you can’t be all over, the geographical spread of eThekwini is 60% rural so it becomes impossible.”
Asad Gaffar, the chairperson of the Westville Ratepayers’ Association, which is locked in a legal battle with the municipality over tariff increases, said
the issue of non-revenue water was a crisis. “It’s not a challenge, it is a crisis,” with millions of rand being lost.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said illegal buildings were not the only factor in non-revenue water. “There’s a department that deals with illegal buildings … this means that the unit is failing in its duties.”
ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango said, “out of 58% of water losses, 40% is a result of ageing infrastructure.
“Regarding illegal building, each area is in a ward. The councillor should be reporting on illegal building. They have no plans to rescue the City, there is a solution for every problem in the City it just requires political will.”
DA leader Thabani Mthethwa said: “There does not seem to be a plan to reduce non-revenue water because no one knows if it is because of failing infrastructure or illegal connections. Until that is understood, eThekwini will continue losing more than half of the water bought from Umgeni Water. The mayor and the city manager must be held accountable for that.”