Johannesburg’s water crisis is heavily restricting the daily lives of citizens.
For the past month, the City of Johannesburg has been struggling with a water crisis that has exposed serious cracks within local governance and infrastructure. What started off as a short outage has now spiralled out of control.
Residents have been frustrated by the lack of water services across Johannesburg the city. From Melville, Westdene, Parktown west and Emmarentia, some residents have gone more than 20 days without water.
Johannesburg can not claim to be a world- class African city, while its residents are standing in queues at water tanks for over three weeks. This lack of service delivery is inhumane. Water is a basic need, and the municipality needs to ensure at that this service is delivered to all residents efficiently.
Volunteers in Melville have organised communal water tanks with strict limits per household simply to ensure survival. For elderly residents and families with small children, the daily act of securing water has become exhausting.
Frustration has spilt onto the streets as peaceful protests are being carried out. Protests have erupted in Melville. Residents are angry at the lack of urgency shown by the government. All the while, some are missing school, work, being put through unhygienic conditions and emotional stress.
City officials point to ageing infrastructure, pressure management systems, maintenance backlogs and lack of coordination with Rand Water as part of the problem. The Government has announced intervention plans and committees aimed at stabilising the water supply. But for residents living day to day without running water, these long-term strategies offer little immediate relief.
The lack of planning and leadership is now being highlighted as residents are being impacted. The city of Johannesburg must move pass crisis management and implement sustainable and reliable service delivery.
When taps begin to run dry, this is an indication that governance has failed and South African citizens have to now pay the price.
FEATURED IMAGE: Two plastic containers of water, half empty. Photo: Bonolo Mokonoto
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