The hostel is owned by the City of Johannesburg but Joburg Water has denied that it is responsible for its condition, citing that the water problem is internal and must be dealt with by the owners of the building.
Women at the hostel pay rent but there is an irregular supply of water. A resident who did not want to be named told Alex News that water was only available from midnight to 3am and that there was no water to flush toilets, and the place stinks.
Another resident, who also did not want to be named, said the only source of water for the hostel was from three Jojo water tanks, and from time to time a truck from Joburg Water came and refilled them.
Communications manager at Johannesburg Water, David Sibiya said his department was not to blame. “The problem is internal. Joburg Water mains have water. Apparently there is a leaking pipe inside the hostel that needs replacing. Joburg Water has put in tankers to try and assist the hostel residents. There is a direct supply via our mains. The problem is the leaking pipe inside the hostel.”
Sibiya said his department did not know when the leaking pipe would be fixed. “At the time Joburg Water became aware of this problem, the housing department was in the process of appointing a contractor to replace the pipe,” said Sibiya.
Alex News was shown filthy pools of sewage close to where children play. Many drains in the facility are blocked and have not been fixed in many years.
Written by Itumeleng Tau – freelance journalist
