Msunduzi turns to use of water tankers amid ongoing outages

Msunduzi Municipality is considering increasing the use of water tankers as ongoing infrastructure failures leave large parts of the city without water, a proposal that has drawn mixed responses from councillors and warnings over potential corruption and weak oversight. The crisis deepend last Thursday when taps across the central business district, including the Magistrate’s Court and City Hall, ran dry following a valve failure at the Seymour Reservoir. The breakdown forced the shutdown of the reservoir to allow repairs.

Deputy municipal manager for Infrastructure Sabelo Hlela said the fault was discovered during routine maintenance and required the reservoir to be drained before a new valve could be installed. The outage spread beyond the city centre, leaving communities in Greater Edendale, Imbali, Westgate, Bisley and parts of the northern areas without water. Tabling the proposal at a special council meeting Hlela said current tanker provision was inadequate, citing wards where a single tanker was expected to serve thousands of residents.

We are pushing for the water tankers to work extra hours. One water tanker for ward 21, for example, is a drop in the ocean. “We need more water tankers until our water supply is stable,” said Hlela.

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EFF councillor Chuma Wakeni supported the move as a short-term intervention but warned of potential abuse. “We know these processes can be manipulated for corrupt purposes,” said Wakeni.

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