No access to water despite R65 million spent on water tankers

EMFULENI. – According to Kingsol Chabalala, a member of the provincial legislature and the DA’s constituency head in Emfuleni North, many residents claim that they go weeks without getting water from the tankers.

Chabalala says, “This is unacceptable as access to water is a basic right, and the contractors are paid to render this service. The affected residents are now forced to either buy water or commute to neighbouring areas to fetch it.”

Chabalala says that in the past three financial years, the three companies were hired and paid millions to distribute water with tankers to Emfuleni residents.

These companies are Downtown Spares CC, Plexiphon 213 CC, and Alsandro Construction Pty.

In the 2020/2021 financial year an amount of R12 514 656.13 was paid to contractors, whereas in the 2021/2022 financial year an amount of R24 862 798.26 was paid.

The amount paid to contractors in the 2022/2023 year was R27 873 566,00.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Khumalo, all contractors were awarded a three-year contract.

Chabalala says: “Emfuleni must learn from the previous DA-led multi-party coalition in Mogale City, which procured 12 water tankers instead of outsourcing.

“Over R65 million is too much to be spent on outsourcing water tankers. The DA proposes that Emfuleni prioritises investing in fixing existing water infrastructure to ensure residents have access to an uninterrupted water supply.”

Chabalala says follow-up questions will be tabled to MEC Khumalo to ascertain how many people have benefited from these water tankers and if the municipality has plans to procure its own tankers.