Staff were not injured during the incident, Johannesburg Water said. Photo: Supplied
Johannesburg Water said it strongly condemns the setting alight of one of its water jetting trucks by Lenasia protesters, who it said also robbed staff of their cellphones and wallets.
The incident occurred in Lenasia South on Monday after the water utility’s officials had responded to a sewer blockage and were making their way to their next job.
When officials in the truck saw the protestors, they tried to get away, but protesters followed them and threw rocks at the truck, forcing it to a stop.
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“The protestors pulled the team out of the truck, stole their belongings, and set the truck on fire. Fortunately, the officials were not physically harmed,” said spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala.
“Johannesburg Water strongly condemns any acts of vandalism to the City’s infrastructure, and violence shown to the entity’s officials,” she said.
Shabalala said communities should note that theft and vandalism of infrastructure hinder Johannesburg Water’s ability to do its work and has a negative effect on service delivery and the city’s response time.
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She added that a case has since been opened with the police and the matter is under investigation.
Also, counselling services are being arranged for the officials who were left shaken by the incident.
“These kinds of violent acts are not uncommon, where City of Johannesburg officials are intimidated and attacked while on duty and stopped from performing their service delivery duties.”
This is while the water utility has been doing necessary repairs to its infrastructure. The latest maintenance project started on 22 June 2024 and will run until 29 July 2024, with work rotating between several pumping stations.
Rand Water has completed work at Eikenhof, Zwartkojes and Daleside pumping stations.
Phase 2 maintenance at the Palmiet station started on Monday, 15 July, and will continue until Wednesday 17 July 2024. Pumping will be decreased for three days.
Additional reporting by Oratile Mashilo.
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