Johannesburg – According to the DA in Emfuleni, thousands of residents in parts of Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) are being deprived of access to an uninterrupted water supply despite the municipality paying contractors R65 251 020,39 for water tankers.
According to the DA, residents claim that they go weeks without getting water from the tankers.
“This is unacceptable as access to water is a basic right, and the contractors are paid to render this service. The affected residents are now forced to either buy water or commute to neighbouring areas to fetch it.
In the past three financial years, the following companies were hired and paid millions to distribute water with tankers to Emfuleni residents: Downtown Spares CC, Plexiphon 213 CC, and Alsandro Construction Pty,“ said the DA.
Below are the monies paid to the contractors in the past three years:
• In 2019/2020, DWS implemented the project in Emfuleni.
• 2020/21: R12 514 656, 13
• 2021/22: R24 862 798, 26
• 2022/23: R27 873 566
The DA said that this information was revealed by Gauteng MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Mzi Khumalo in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
“Over R65m is too much to be spent on outsourcing water tankers. The DA proposes that Emfuleni prioritise investing in fixing existing water infrastructure to ensure residents have access to an uninterrupted water supply.
“We will also table follow-up questions to Khumalo to ascertain how many people have benefited from these water tankers and if the municipality has plans to procure its own tankers,” said the DA.
The Star