About three weeks ago, sewage began running down our street. A call was lodged with the municipality, and days later, a Johannesburg Water crew arrived. After a brief inspection, they advised that we needed permission from the owner of the empty plot next door, as the leak was coming from that property.
When the owner was eventually found, somewhere in Trumpland, the Johannesburg Water team was nowhere to be seen. We later learnt they had embarked on a “go-slow”. Even after the dispute was resolved, no one has attended to our sewage problem.
“The main cause of our water problems is not high consumption — it is incompetence and corruption.” — Sibongakonke Shoba A few months ago, a PikitUp worker refused to collect bins outside our gate, suggesting that someone needed to pay a “cool drink” to entice them to do their job. Last week, DJ Fresh posted a photo of a burst pipe gushing thousands — if not millions — of litres of water not too far from my neighbourhood. The matter had been reported, but no one from Johannesburg Water came to fix it.
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Only the Lord knows if that leak has been repaired. One thing is clear: citizens are losing patience with the government’s nonchalant response to service delivery failures. Residents of Emmarentia, Parkhurst, Melville, and surrounding areas took to the streets on Wednesday.
In Johannesburg South, more residents picketed on Xavier Bridge along the N12 yesterday. These demonstrations highlight how dire the situation has become. Some of these areas have been without running water for the past 25 days.
We know about this because it was reported in the media. Black townships have been experiencing worse problems for years — but their plight does not make news unless they block roads with burning tyres or cause a ruckus. In some rural parts of the country, running water remains a pipe dream.
In Johannesburg, the water problem is far more widespread than what we see reported in the media. Power outages stretch from Orange Farm to parts of Soweto, Johannesburg South, central Johannesburg, and all the way to Midrand. Officials claim that water demand during these hot summer days exceeds available capacity, urging customers to reduce consumption.
But we know the main cause of our water problems is not high consumption — it is incompetence and corruption. For years, Rand Water and Johannesburg Water have left infrastructure to deteriorate. Leaks reported daily by residents are not attended to with urgency, leading to the system losing millions of litres of water.
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