Daveyton residents left frustrated over unplanned water outages
When the City Times spoke to the residents on October 4, water had been restored over the weekend. However, the pressure was low.
Residents in Daveyton Extension Two and Three are frustrated by the lack of communication from the metro since being left without water for eight days recently.
Some of the residents resorted to getting water from fire hydrants, while others forcefully opened a pipe near the metro service stands in Extension 14.
The residents said a water tanker was only in their area once, after six days without water.
They highlighted and questioned how some areas have water between midnight and 02:00.
One of the residents, Sifiso Mngomezulu, said it is unfair that they never received a notice regarding water cuts or any explanation about the water being off for so long.
“We couldn’t bathe unless we went to a friend’s house. We couldn’t wash dishes and clothing or clean our homes and water our gardens. We had no fresh drinking water without buying it from the shops,” he said.
Small business owner Kgomotso Zikode said the scarcity of this resource cripples her business as she has to wash her equipment and prepare her goods with clean water.
“I had to collect about 120 litres of water so I could produce my goods in the cleanest possible way.”
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Another resident, Mimi Mashedi, said she had to collect water twice a day, as she has two children, aged one and nine years, who need to go to school with clean clothes, but she couldn’t do her laundry for a week.
“We did not even flush our toilets or wash hands with soap and water as often as we’re used to, yet we have the right to basic water supply and basic sanitation,” said Mashedi.
Mpendulo Lukhele, an Ext Three (Emaswazini area) resident, said some of the youth and males in the community had to assist the elderly and female households by collecting water for them.
“The elderly should not be straining themselves by carrying heavy buckets of water and walking long distances.
“The ward councillor lacks interest in servicing the community, yet it is his responsibility,” said Lukhele.
“Even the Ward 70 candidate, Reggie Ndlovu, used his bakkie to collect water for the elderly and he organised with the customer care centre manager to get water tankers in the area.
“We are concerned about the lack of communication from our community leaders. However, now they will campaign and seek our votes when they fail to provide us with answers.”
When the City Times spoke to the residents on October 4, water had been restored over the weekend.
However, the pressure was low.
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