Residents and business owners from various suburbs of Johannesburg took to the streets in protest against ongoing water outages.
The protesters lined the streets of Parktown West, Melville and other suburbs and called on the City of Johannesburg and its water utility, Joburg Water, to remedy the situation.
The demonstrators expressed frustration over what they described as a lack of communication and accountability from the service provider.
They described the situation as a violation of their basic human rights, as some endured nearly a month without a consistent water supply.
Sunday World went to Melville, one of the affected locations. A Ward 87 resident, Jonathan Thompson, labelled the situation a total failure by city authorities.
“This is a total failure for Joburg Water, the mayor, and the MMC for infrastructure and services because they have not been communicating with us about what is going on,” said Thompson.
Councillor not to blame
He emphasised that, although Melville falls under the DA, the local councillor is not to blame for the ongoing crisis.
“We are in constant communication with our councillor, and they’ve told us that Joburg Water is silent.
“There are no substantial responses from the city. Hopefully now that we have protested, they will feel the pressure, listen to us and get our pump restored quicker,” he said.
Thompson warned that the issue points to broader systemic challenges in the province.
“The fact that Midrand went through this and now it’s us shows that we have a bigger water problem in Gauteng,” he added.
Peter Digby, another resident, reported that his household has been without water for ten days. He accused the city of providing inconsistent explanations for the outage.
“The City of Johannesburg keeps changing the reasons why they’re not supplying us with water. It’s a different reason every day,” he said.
Digby further revealed that several schools in the area have been forced to close due to the lack of water, while courts and clinics have also been severely affected.
“Courts, clinics, and schools cannot run, and the entire community is affected by this. I’m surprised that the mayor [Dada Morero] does not understand that the lack of water is not just an inconvenience; it grinds everything to a stop.
“You can’t have school because children can’t use toilets, wash their hands, or have water to drink in this scorching heat.”
Local businesses take a knock
He also rejected claims that residents are to blame for excessive water usage.
“They’re blaming us, which is not entirely fair. We don’t use any more water than we did six months ago,” Digby said.
Local businesses said they, too, are suffering. The owner of a shisanyama and car wash, who asked to remain anonymous, said the ongoing water crisis has significantly impacted operations.
“This area has always had water issues; it’s a well-known problem. I had to get a water tank; however, it is also running out. We do not feel prioritised by our government,” he said.
The other areas that have experienced intermittent water supply include Westdene, Emmarentia, Brixton, Vrededorp, Mayfair, Greenside, and Parkview.
