Striking workers blamed for water woes
Residents of some areas in uMkhanyakude District Municipality have been without water for four weeks.
TENSIONS are running high as residents in parts of the uMkhanyakude District are still without water and reliant on the whims of striking workers.
In a statement released on Monday, uMkhanyakude District Municipality confirmed that workers at WSSA, the district’s water contractor, have been on strike since last Thursday.
‘WSSA employees have locked the gates of the water plants and they have also switched off the water supply,’ said Mduduzi Dlamini, spokesperson for uMkhanyakude District Municipality.
He said the striking workers were ‘intimidating and throwing stones’ at district municipal workers attempting to undertake their duties.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for Mtuba residents who only last week were promised that a number of newly recommissioned boreholes would see the end of three weeks of water shortages and, for those at the end of the line in St Lucia, no water at all.
During an urgent meeting with WSSA CEO Mr Zwane, the District Municipal Manager allegedly warned him that WSSA will be held responsible for any damage to municipal property. He further indicated that action will be taken against WSSA employees who intimidate and injure municipal employees.
Although the newly recommissioned boreholes adjacent to the Mfolozi River are yielding sufficient water for the greater Mtubatuba area, the strike has effectively shut down all the pumps.
Temporary pump operators spent the weekend manning Mtubatuba’s pump station, but only one of the three pumps could be used. Mtubatuba residents reportedly received water for 24 hours from Saturday night to Sunday night.
St Lucia and Monzi residents, however, received nothing. This is because the new Monzi reservoir must be three-quarters full before the system sends water to St Lucia and by Sunday afternoon there was only 30cm of water in the reservoir.
While some areas have been without water for a few days, others such as the greater Mtubatuba area are well into their fourth week.
This raises major health concerns. Hospitals, shopping malls and the tourism sector are deeply affected.
