Dry taps spark protest in eMzinoni
“How can we live without water for two months without any alternatives while we have a reservoir near us that is useless?” residents asked.
Residents of Wellas Section in eMzinoni blocked all roads with stones and burning tyres on the morning of February 21 in an outcry for water.
They demand that the Govan Mbeki Municipality stop municipal electricity load reduction on top of Eskom’s load-shedding.
The residents have now been without water for months, and no municipal representative has addressed them to explain the situation.
They believe protest action is the only way to get the municipality’s undivided attention.
“How can we live without water for two months without any alternatives while we have a reservoir near us that is useless?
“Our children cannot go to school because there is no water, but they claim water is a basic human right. The authorities must accomplish what they always preach,” said a disgruntled resident.
“We have decided to bring everything to a standstill because we want those politicians to come and give us water as they do when they want our votes,” said a protestor.
The MMC for Water and Sanitation, Doctor Mtshali, finally attended to the protesting community.
He told the residents that the municipality is supplying them with only the remaining water in the pipes because the reservoirs are empty. Mtshali said the current problem is Rand Water not pumping water because of load-shedding.
“The municipality is aware of the affected area in Bethal and eMzinoni.”
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According to Mtshali, farmers that illegally connected to the pipeline between Trichardt and Bethal are part of the problem.
“Other issues uncovered are leaking valves, but we have fixed them,” said Mtshali.
Mtshali said the municipality wrote a letter to Rand Water requesting that the water utility adheres to the president’s call that all water-supplying facilities must be exempt from load-shedding.
Mtshali also said the municipality will deploy water carts to the affected areas.
When addressing the media on the water issues in the municipality on February 22, the Executive Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma said the municipality has laid criminal charges against those farmers allegedly connected illegally to the Rand Water pipeline that supplies Bethal and eMzinoni with water.
