As the continued lack of running water in some parts of Johannesburg, which is Africa’s wealthiest city, deepens, frustrated residents are facing health risks.
The DA’s ward councillor, Nicole van Dyk, claimed on Monday that residents of Ward 99, which encompasses more than 20 suburbs, including Randburg and the surrounding areas, have been without water for the past nine days.
According to Van Dyk, bathing with water from tanks poses health risks. The city and its residents have had to appeal to the province and Rand Water on previous occasions.
Tankers are not a solution
A fundamental human right is the availability of water, she said, noting that while tanker allocations to Randburg are growing, tankers will not work as the answer.
“Tanker water is not fit for residential use. This poses a growing risk to one’s health,” she said.
Van Dyk slammed Rand Water and Johannesburg Water, saying they were both providing relatively few updates. “In actuality, Rand Water, the city’s water supplier, has remained silent on this matter.”
While other leaders have attempted to address the issue and provide input, Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has not, according to Van Dyk.
“Over the past eight days, Democratic Alliance council members have been actively filling in the gaps left by the entities by issuing statements to their citizens.
“The mayor is the only one not responding accurately to questions from the media.”
Mayor missing in action
The council member went on to say that reggae festivals are more important to Gwamanda — who attended a reggae festival in Soweto on Sunday — than the water crisis.
According to Van Dyk, ward council members will meet with Johannesburg Water later on Monday to discuss the latest developments.
“The failure of the action plan that was implemented last night is extremely evident,” she said.
It has not been made clear at what levels Rand Water is pumping into Randburg at this stage.
Joburg Water said direct feeds within the system have improved; however, the high consumption rate can be attributed to the heat wave in the province and the systems undergoing a recovery phase.
