Although the Merafong City Local Municipality is to blame for our current water problems as they did not pay the Rand Water account, many residents blamed the latter for the issues as our area battled with its worst water crisis ever this week.
The fury of those who had to make do with just a bit or absolutely no water for the past fortnight turned towards Rand Water for what seems to be incoherent communication.
The spokesperson, Ms Makenosi Maroo, claimed on 28 February that the bulk water service provider was curtailing the water supply “to all its customers to manage high consumption due to high temperatures and less rain.”
Despite many residents having no water at all, Rand Water said “Curtailment meant reduction, not no supply across all customers,”
Merafong’s municipal manager, Mr Dumisani Mabuza, said in a press release the same day that Rand Water had cut Merafong’s water supply by 70 per cent since the municipality had not honoured the payment agreements.
On 1 March, however, Rand Water seemed to make a complete U-turn on the matter, saying they had already reduced the water flow to the Merafong City Local Municipality and the Ngwathe Local Municipality (Parys) by 20 per cent on 24 February because they had failed to pay their overdue accounts or enter into an “amicable payment agreement”.
This was the first time Rand Water had notified Merafong residents that they had cut the water for any reason. To make matters worse, Rand Water threatened to cut the water supply by another 20 per cent on 25 March if the municipality does not pay the amount they want.
The Herald asked Rand Water about the issue.
“In February 2024, Rand Water implemented water supply curtailment to its customers to manage the high consumption precipitated by the soaring heatwave. The organisation did not cut water supply by 70 per cent due to non-payment. On Friday, 1 March 2024, Rand Water issued a statement regarding the escalating municipal debt that has accumulated due to failure to honour their bulk water purchase agreements. In the statement, we clarified the misconceptions about water supply reduction to Merafong Local Municipality and indicated that we had reduced water flow by 20 per cent due to its failure to honour the overdue account and failure to make payment arrangements. This happened after the first scenario,” said Maroo. Despite this, Rand Water had issued no statement regarding the “curtailment” due to the heatwave on its website by Tuesday night.
What was clear, however, was that the steps had wide reaching consequences for residents.
“This is ridiculous; it violates our human rights while we pay for services,” a person from Welverdiend fumed on Wednesday. This town’s residents have been without water for four days. “Who took the money we have been paying for services?” another resident of the town wanted to know. Other areas where people pay for services were just as badly affected at times, if not worse.
“Today is Tuesday. The people in Carletonville Ext. 8 have not had water since Friday,” a resident from this area complained.
Between 28 February and 2 March, taps in the higher part of Fochville, in particular, were dry, prompting the town’s retirement home, SAVF Fochville Aftree Oord, to ask the public for help. Many residents, business people and even farmers assisted the elderly with water. Fochville’s water woes persisted later in the week. Khutsong and Wedela were also without water at times.
An electrical issue at the Eikenhof pump station worsened the problems from Tuesday.
The municipality supplied water with trucks and tanks to various areas. Meanwhile, numerous groups geared up for legal battles over the matter. The Merafong Ratepayers’ Association, the Concerned Citizens of Fochville, and AfriForum all planned to take the issue to court. A local opposition party councillor, Carl Steenekamp, had also gained legal assistance on the matter.
By printing time the outcomes of these possible court cases, some of which would possibly take place as early as Wednesday, were still not known.
