Mchunu wants Gauteng to lock its gates to preserve water

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has also blamed population growth and summer as the reasons Gauteng residents were facing water challenges.

Last week, Johannesburg Water senior networks manager Logan Munsamy blamed the population growth in the city as one of the reasons for water shortages. Chief operating officer, Derrick Kgwale, blamed high temperatures for the water crisis, saying heat was part of the reasons for their problems.

Speaking in Kempton Park as part of the ANC national executive committee delegation on the water infrastructure plan, Mchunu said Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi should consider announcing that the province was full – and lock all the gates of the province.

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He said some of those who come to settle in Gauteng connect to water illegally and put a strain on the supply of water.

“As we speak, I can assure you that between this morning and now, several people have settled in Gauteng,” he said. “They already have homes, they will be having their first night in Gauteng as we go and sleep. These are people we didn’t enjoy the morning with; they will demand water before they sleep.

“Some of them have illegally connected and some of them even connect to illegally connected people. I’m not blaming them, I am just stating facts about the impact,” said Mchunu.

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The minister said there was nowhere in the world where people would be allowed to settle people any time of the day, week and they were not registered or planned for.

“In rural areas, there is no one that will come and settle under induna (chief) unbeknown. It doesn’t happen,” Mchunu said. “These people are the ones who toyi toyi (protest), saying ‘we want roads, we want schools, we want this and that’.

“Unpalatable as it may be, these are things we need to get to terms with.”

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The minister said if human settlement was not controlled in Gauteng, the government would always be trailing behind when it came to service delivery.

Mchunu also defended Johannesburg Water’s utterances about summer or heat being part of the reasons Gauteng residents were facing water cuts. He said all that the water agency was saying was there was high consumption in summer and that was a fact.

“They are saying ‘be careful and don’t overuse’.

“They are saying be cautious with your water usage and I want to say we stand with them,” Mchunu said. “We have been meeting with them since September last year. It is correct for water entities to issue a call to say ‘please let’s conserve water’.”