An Athlone Park resident is gatvol over the ongoing water supply problems plaguing the suburb. Anton Janse van Rensburg said he wants answers from eThekwini Municipality. “Once again Athlone Park had no water this morning (Thursday, 30 May), the second time this week and I have lost count of the number of times residents in Athlone Park have had no water over the past few months.”
After being assured by the municipality’s call centre that the problem was close to being resolved at 6am and the water supply will be reinstated shortly, Janse van Rensburg said he felt a false sense of “all will be fine now”. “At 3pm I phoned my wife to find out that we still didn’t have any water. After another call to the call centre and yet another well rehearsed progress report from the operator that the water supply will be sorted out shortly, I accepted that it’s all just lip service. We are being told exactly what we want to hear and not what we should hear,” complained Janse van Rensburg.
“The water supply issues experienced by residents was due to a burst pipe on Fynn Road. The pipe has since been repaired. The water was shut off in order to allow for our repair team to work. We apologise for the inconvenience,” said eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela.
However, the municipality failed to respond to the SUN’s queries about what is being done to sort out the ongoing supply problems once and for all, and Janse van Rensburg was not placated by the standard response.
“This has been an ongoing problem in our area. Yes we know the infrastructure is old, we know it needs to be replaced, we all know it’s not been maintained for many years, but the question is, what is really being done to resolve the problem? Is there a plan in place and how long until this whole water issue in Athlone Park is resolved?
READ ALSO: Athlone Park plagued by more water outages
“Stop telling us what we want to hear, the elections have come and gone. Tell us the truth, give us facts. As residents we need to know what’s being done and we need to know the truth. It’s time the councillors do what they promised to do. Stop shaking hands and kissing babies, we need results not lip service, or should the residents of Athlone Park resort to blocking highways and thrashing the CBD before we will be heard? It would be interesting to hear the view of the local councillor, the chief engineer for water and sanitation, the mayor or whoever has the backbone to stand up and tell the truth publicly.”
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