Wembezi residents took to the Ntabamhlophe road today (June 4) to protest about the ongoing water shortages in the township.

Community members say they have had water problems in the township for a long time and have now entered the fourth month with dry taps. The affected areas are Enkwezela, Five Rooms, Emahhashini, Depho and VQ.

Their anger reached boiling point after a recent incident in which an elderly woman fainted while running after a tanker to get water.

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The community vowed not to open the road until uThukela District Municipality came and explained to them why they are not getting water, as the municipality promised in a recent meeting that the township would get water within five days of the meeting.

While the community waited for representatives from uThukela to arrive, police – including Pietermaritzburg, Mooi River and Newcastle POP – were on scene to monitor the situation.

uThukela eventually arrived and Deputy Mayor Mbuzeleni Mkhize explained to the people that the problem is with the pumps. He added that the contractor would be there at 14:30 to fix the pumps and that water tankers would be dispatched as needed.

However, the protesting community refused to accept the explanation and the supposed solutions, saying they want water ‘NOW’, not water tankers.

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