Protesters demand mayor takes action over water crisis
Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has 14 days to respond to demands and meet with protest organisers before a joint public meeting is held to communicate a way forward to residents.
Residents from communities across Johannesburg congregated to hand over a list of demands to Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda in a bid to have water services improved.
Spokesperson for the Water Crisis Committee Farrah Domingo said, “It is totally unacceptable that residents are going for long periods of time without water. Water is life and without it the suffering on top of other stresses like load-shedding, life becomes incredibly difficult.”
Council was sitting at the Brixton Multipurpose Centre which was a hive of activity as councillors, city administrators and protesters peacefully gathered.
A large crowd gathered and spent a few hours in the freezing cold snap with biting rain, but it did not deter them from their mission.
Domingo describes having no water for seven days recently which prompted the forming of a WhatsApp group which now has over 700 members. Others in the group have gone without for much longer as reported in the Northcliff Melville Times recently from Westdene, Jan Hoffmeyer and other areas.
“Nothing is happening, and nobody is listening to us despite letters being sent to everyone from the Human Rights Commission all the way up to the president, so we decided to protest at the council and target the mayor for help.”
She says the group are not politically affiliated and has members from across the spectrum.
One of the demands was a commitment from the mayor to meet with the leaders of the group within 14 days. “We have spoken to experts across the field and would like to discuss a kind of roadmap that we think will go a long way to helping the city provide water to residents. After that, we want a public meeting with the mayor and our members.”
Wayne Duvenage from Outa also braved the weather to peacefully protest as part of their Water CAN initiative. “We are very concerned about how the city is being managed across the board and water is a specific issue on which we need to bring a lot of pressure to council.”
He describes losing ‘far too much water through leaks, badly maintained infrastructure including reservoirs with a constant tug of war between Rand Water and Johannesburg Water’.
Ward 86 councillor Chantelle Fourie-Shawe said, “Eighty per cent of my ward had no water 80% of the time. It is unbelievable how far we have collapsed as a city. At least in Cape Town, they planned for Day Zero – in Johannesburg we have done nothing.”
Ward 69 councillor Genevieve Sherman said, “If there are residents here from my ward – they have the right to protest as they have been severely affected by water shortages.”
The mayor came outside to receive the MOU from Domingo and spoke to the crowd before he agreed to a meeting within 14 days.
“I have taken note of the fact that you are tired of a blame game. We live in a world-class African city, however, the conditions in which our communities are subjected are contrary to that.”
He acknowledged that there is a trust deficit between the municipality and its residents. “We are committed to addressing the historical inadequacies of the past which are beginning to show its ugly face.
“Our turnaround strategy will be presented to you, and we will communicate with the representatives to move forward. I have listened to the grievances, and I know them well.”
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