Corruption, cadre deployment, favouritism, cronyism, and ineptitude are at the heart of the service delivery crisis; as a result, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) is deeply concerned about the looming Johannesburg water crisis, which has left several communities in the city without running water.

Its citizens and businesses are bearing the brunt of the city’s protracted water problems, which has left people believing that the Joburg Metro and Johannesburg Water do not care about their basic human right to receive water.

To add to the stress, Johannesburg Water has asked homeowners/residents to adhere to level-1 water restrictions from September 1,2023 to March 31, 2024.

The power outage at Zuikerbosch Water Treatment has impacted the majority of Johannesburg’s water reservoirs and towers. As a result, most water systems have lost storage capacity and are now dangerously low to empty, causing homes to experience water shedding.

Some of the affected areas are: Linbro Park, Morningside, Midrand, Cosmo City, Bryanston, Naturena, Berea, Bluehills, South Hills, and Coronationville.

Dilapidated infrastructure is at the heart of this crisis; water infrastructure has not been properly maintained, and building new infrastructure has been a non-priority. Fighting water leaks due to burst pipes and other infrastructure defects has been neglected, and no proper monitoring, evaluation, or consequence management for managers has taken place.

This is heinous for a city that serves as not only the country’s, but also Africa’s, economic capital. Good administration and proper service delivery should be the foundation of any city aspiring to be a world-class African city, not the Mkhukhu-class we see today.

We call on the powers that be, the mayor and city management, to collaborate with the department of water and sanitation to resolve this issue, which has left our people without the fundamental necessities of life.

The UDM recognises the frustrations caused by a scarcity of water supply. However, as tragic as this is, we encourage homeowners to be water-wise, use less water, and limit the use of hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars, clean driveways, and fill swimming pools and water features.

Let us all optimise our individual water usage, which will result in less strain on the system and a diminishing supply-demand mismatch. Let us all work together to save water.

Issued by:
United Democratic Movement National Office
Mr Yongama Zigebe
UDM Secretary General