The eThekwini Municipality is still struggling to maintain and upgrade its ailing water infrastructure that seems to leave residents around the City without water for long periods at a time, with the latest incident occurring this week in the northern parts of the municipality.
Residents from areas like Glen Anil in Durban North up to uMhlanga have been without water since Monday, sources in the area have confirmed.
In La Lucia ridge area, in ward 35, Rajen Laloo said they have been without water since Monday, but have been updated about the situation by their local councillor.
“I live in la Lucia ridge and we don't have water since Monday. Our ward councillor has been updating us, but there's no solid info from the municipality,” Laloo told IOL.
In the Ilala Ridge area, in uMhlanga, business owner Sudhir Balli, who operates a karate and fitness studio, said they have also been without water since Monday.
Balli teaches children’s karate.
“I think it was Monday, I came in and there was no water in the taps. I checked with some of the other tenants as well and they also didn’t have any,” Balli told IOL.
The City issued a statement on Tuesday, confirming their acknowledgement of the situation, citing low pressure problems at the “main northern aqueduct pipeline” since Monday, September 18.
“The Municipality is aware of the interruption of water supply in uMhlanga, Durban North and surrounding areas. Municipal teams are working on the ground to ascertain the cause of the low pressure. They will fix the problem once it has been detected,” eThekwini Municipality said.
Ward 35 councillor Nicole Bollman, who has been issuing regular updates about the situation, said water tankers would be delivered to various areas in uMhlanga and La Lucia.
“To be blunt, we have not had a bath with water over our bodies since Monday,” Bollman said.
Bollman also told IOL on Thursday that the reservoirs supplying the affected areas were not at desired levels, as per investigations on the ground that she was kept in the loop on.
The issue of water in the eThekwini Municipality came under an even brighter spotlight than it already has, after the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said it violated the rights of residents by not providing access to clean drinking water.
The SAHRC report, which was released on Monday, found that eThekwini, like many other municipalities within KwaZulu-Natal, had failed to deliver water to its people.
The Commission cited poor management, a reluctance to deal with corruption and an inability to plan for the future as some of the reasons behind the City’s water woes.
Earlier this week, IOL reported on the misuse of the water tanker system, which SAHRC Commissioner Philile Ntuli highlighted on Monday, claiming the system did not work and may have possibly been turned into a profiteering system for those administering it.
Further up the Municipality, in the Tongaat area, residents concurred with the Commission on the issue of water tankers and how it did not serve the purpose it was intended for.
“These include, but are not limited to: inadequate and disproportionate supply to communities; manipulation and commercialisation of the system, such that those community members with connections and money receive regular delivery and supply at the expense of others; the politicisation of the tankering system; possible financial benefit from the system by municipal officials and members of municipal councils,” Commissioner Ntuli said.
To add fuel to the fire burning in the hearts of angry residents who pay exorbitant amounts of money for services that are delivered in a highly inconsistent manner, the City this week announced it will host the World Water Conference in 2025.
City Manager Musa Mbhele, who is currently in Beijing, China, received the symbolic baton from the President of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), and the Minister of Water Resources in Beijing.
— eThekwini Municipality (@eThekwiniM) September 17, 2023
This marked the official handover to Durban. pic.twitter.com/zPxaCtHcTE
Municipal manager Musa Mbhele was all smiles in Beijing in front of the international community, while residents of his City were left without water.
The post on Twitter drew a negative reaction, to say the least, from South Africans, some of whom found it ironic.
It was later deleted from the City’s Twitter page.
The SAHRC also acknowledged the City’s announcement about the World Water Conference and said it hoped they would use the platform constructively.
The City is also aware of the SAHRC report, according to spokesperson Gugu Sisilana.
“We are studying the report and will issue a statement in due course,” Sisilana told IOL.
IOL