Entities ‘sorry’ about water crisis

As is becoming more and more common, civil society is taking the lead in trying to address critical areas of municipal dysfunction in Johannesburg.

Water outages across the metro are becoming increasingly regular, with some areas experiencing complete stoppages for months at a time.

A high-level meeting was also recently called by WaterCAN, an Outa (Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse) initiative, and other related organisations with the Department of Water and Sanitation, Rand Water and Johannesburg Water. The City of Johannesburg was notably absent despite being invited to the important gathering.

Dr Ferial Adam, executive manager of WaterCAN, a collective of citizen science activists, said, “This is a constructive engagement to find solutions together as we all have a role to play and we need to find that role.”

The Department of Water and Sanitation represented by director general Sean Phillips took the group through a presentation with the tagline, ‘Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity’. The irony of this was not lost on some in attendance.

After listening to his inputs, those from Rand Water – the bulk supplier of water to Johannesburg Water who then supplies the city, indicted that there is no ‘quick-fi’ solution for those suffering from erratic or non-supply of water anytime soon.

This journalist, after listening to all the presentations, asked if any entity was willing to apologise to residents, especially those carrying the burden of no supply. Logan Munsamy, operations manager of Johannesburg Water, said in response, “We are sorry, and we know people are suffering. We are working as hard and fast as we can to improve the situation.”

In some areas this journalist has covered the elderly are developing injuries from carrying heavy containers of water from tankers to their homes. Others are trying to cope with ensuring enough water is available in buckets to flush toilets, drink and cook with.

This and other crisis areas caused residents to form a Water Crisis Committee (WCC) to engage with the mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda.

He received a memorandum of demands after a peaceful protest at council and agreed to meet with the group within 14 days. That period has now lapsed. Spokesperson for the WCC Farrah Domingo said, “Despite multiple follow-ups, the mayor has not met his commitment. We finally received a response from his office advising that we will receive a date for the meeting soon. We are angered by this deliberate dragging of feet by the Office of the Mayor. It seems that our serious water issues have been relegated to a non-issue by the bureaucracy. We have decided to intensify our protests in the face of an uncaring city.”

Executive director for the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation Nishan Bolton asked participants to briefly explain their experience of water services. Domingo describes her experience, “Having to care for my elderly and unwell mother without water for months and months has become unbearable.”

With a common starting point established, it is hoped that the group, along with the entities present, will collaborate to relieve some of the frustrations and pressures water scarcity brings to the city. This includes among others, commitments to improving communication with communities about shortages and widespread education campaigns to better inform residents about the water network and its challenges.

Rand Water’s chief operating officer Mahlomola Mehlo took time to explain how the water network between the three organisations works. “We have to manage the network carefully to ensure – when we face a drought or other adverse event – that we have enough capacity.

Adam wrapped up the meeting by saying, “This is a starting point; now the work begins. We need to draw up clear plans and actions and use this forum to hold government accountable.”

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