A public meeting, called by Ward 99 councillor Hendrik Bodenstein at the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre to address ongoing issues with the Linden 1 and Linden 2 reservoirs and the Linden tower, including prolonged water outages, poor pressure, emergency relief and communication, was conspicuously missed by Johannesburg Water.

The absence of the officials raised questions about the utility’s commitment to engaging with residents on issues that directly affect their daily lives. Bodenstein expressed anger and deep disappointment. “Residents showed up. Johannesburg Water did not,” he said. “I organised this meeting because people are tired of dry taps, low reservoirs and zero communication. If residents can make the effort to show up, the officials paid to serve them can show up too. Their absence was disrespectful to every resident in that room.” He said he will formally submit the residents’ questions, demand written answers and escalate the matter through every available channel until they get a proper response.

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Some residents expressed frustration that, despite making time to attend, they could not get answers. Pierre van Wyk, who attended, said he expected answers and meaningful engagement from the utility, particularly as shortages continue to affect households. “I was hoping for more clarity on the challenges that we are facing,” he said. “I was extremely angry that we had all made the effort in our busy days to attend this meeting and they did not even have the decency to show up, let alone send any form of apology.

“Our lives and our livelihoods depend on water. The least they could do is attend when the community is demanding answers. Our level of trust in the entity is extremely low because we have seen how service delivery has got worse over the years.”

Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said engaging with residents, community structures and other stakeholder groups forms an important part of the utility’s mandate. The entity regularly participates in public and community engagements to listen to concerns, provide information, and respond to matters relating to water and sanitation services.

She said that, on this occasion, the entity was unfortunately unable to attend the meeting due to co-ordination and notice-related challenges. “The meeting was arranged at relatively short notice and without the necessary co-ordination through ward governance. In addition, the meeting notice had already been issued to residents before our officials had been consulted and their availability confirmed.”

She added that once ward governance was made aware of the request for the meeting, Johannesburg Water indicated that it would be preferable for the engagement to be rescheduled to allow the relevant officials to properly prepare and participate. “This is particularly important because community meetings often require representation from various Johannesburg Water departments to ensure that residents receive comprehensive and accurate information on the issues being raised.”

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She said that Johannesburg Water remains committed to attending public meetings, as it has done at previous engagements, provided that officials are given reasonable notice and the necessary co-ordination takes place to ensure that the appropriate representatives are available.

Bodenstein said he will formally submit the residents’ questions, demand written answers and escalate the matter through every available channel until they get a proper response.

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