Durban - This month marks two years since the residents of Tea Estate in Inanda have had piped water.
The POST spoke to the residents last June and since then a 5 000-litre water tank had been installed by the eThekwini Municipality, they said. This tank services several families in the area. They previously waited for water tankers to arrive so they could fill their buckets at the roadside.
Last year, the city told the POST that they were aware of the matter and a plan was in place to ensure access to water.
"We anticipate that the project will be completed by September this year (2020). In the meantime, we are sending water tankers to the area to ensure that residents are receiving water," said Msawakhe Mayisela, the spokesperson for the city.
Marriamah Govender, 74, and her husband, Koopmoonsamy, 78, have lived in Tea Estate for 44 years. They own a vegetable farm and the produce is sold at a local market. She said they have carried multiple 5-litre water bottles and 25-litre buckets from their home to the tank situated a few metres away from their home.
“But there are so many families using one tank that sometimes there isn’t enough water. Also, when we get water, we struggle to carry it home.”
Govender said they bought water for drinking and cooking, and the water from the tank was used for bathing and cleaning.
“But I have to first boil the water on the gas stove, then carry it to the bathroom. Also, every time we use the toilet, we have to lift the ceramic top, which is quite heavy, and fill the water in the cistern. It is difficult to carry anything heavy as I fractured my thigh and shoulder and had plates implanted a few years ago. Also, my husband underwent surgery for a hernia two years ago. We are old now and should not have to suffer like this."
The Govender’s daughter, Sabashni Moodley, said she had sent numerous emails to the city officials requesting intervention.
“But, to date, we have had no joy. They continue to ignore my emails. The service delivery is questionable. They also don't have any compassion for the residents. My parents are elderly, and to see their suffering makes me heartsore. They like their independence and don't want to stay with any of the children even when we asked them to. But, why should they have to leave their home? I just want feedback as to why service delivery is so bad, especially when water is a basic human right.”
Ricardo Chetty, 28, has lived in the area for 17 years with his parents and two siblings. He said he was concerned about his mother's health.
“She has arthritis and while we are at work she struggles to collect water in the day. We were told two years ago that the pipes were damaged. But, how long does it take to repair?”
Poovie Gounden, 58, who shares a home with her sister, 60, son, daughter-in-law and grandchild, invested in a water tank. It supplies water to their main supply pipe in their home. She said the family spent between R300 and R350 a week purchasing water to fill the tank.
“It would be cheaper if we had water directly from the main supply, but this is the only option,” she said.
Yogis Govender, a DA member of the city’s executive committee, said one of the causes of the water outages was the lack of capacity within the municipality to deal with mechanical and electrical failures.
“It is also due to the depleted stocks. This comprises fixtures and fittings, and a deliberate reduction in the number of teams of contractors due to budget constraints. There had been a serious delay in the awarding of the maintenance contracts across the city.”
Govender said the city’s supply chain management processes dragged on for months and there was no forward planning.
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded by the time of publication.
The Post