Westbury residents vow to protest if water supply is not restored

While water supply is slowly returning to some parts of Westbury and surrounding areas, residents have not ruled out a return to the streets should Mayor Dada Morero fail to live up to his promise of a full water supply restoration by Thursday.

This comes as Joburg Water has dispatched new water tank trucks to service affected Westbury and Coronationville, following the adoption of a masterplan and targeted interventions to resolve the challenge.

In Westbury, Coronationville, and Claremont, some residents who have endured prolonged water outages, sparking violent protests in the area, have revealed that of the 15 new trucks, only five are servicing their area, with reports that the city does not have enough drivers to operate the rest of the new fleet.

Bianca Olivier, a resident of Westbury, said the residents are questioning the mayor's promise to send more trucks and fix the water challenges, as some areas are still without water, while trucks have not been enough to ensure proper servicing of the people.

"The water had been returned, but not completely, as some streets either have low pressure or no water. We are thankful that the city has sent the trucks, but only five of the new trucks with bigger capacity have been sent out. The mayor promised us 15 trucks, but only five have come to Ward 82. When we asked why, they said they have a shortage of drivers, with 10 brand new trucks sitting at the depot," Olivier said.

Sainy Van Zyl, another resident, confirmed that water is returning intermittently to some parts of the affected community.

He said the community is giving the mayor until Wednesday before residents decide on their next plan of action.

"Water has not been restored completely, but comes back intermittently. We had water tankers over the weekend. However, on Monday, water tankers were diverted to Alexandra Township, with our communities having to rely on one water tanker per affected area,'' he said.

Van Zyl, who has been helping water tankers distribute water to affected communities, said that should the mayor fail to live up to his promise, the community is ready to return to the streets later this week.

"If water is not fully restored by Wednesday, there will definitely be a community standing together in all corners of the Coloured community protesting. We will continue to protest because this government has taken away the basic human right to water provision. We will not tolerate that anymore. We will then advocate for this country to turn into a two-party state, and we will remove the oppressive government we have right now." 

Speaking on behalf of the mayor, mayoral spokesperson Khathutshelo Mulaudzi confirmed that the mayor's commitment to Westbury residents still stands, with the mayor still to review high water bills. 

"The mayor has committed to returning within seven days, on 18 September (Thursday), to ensure that the water supply has been fully restored. The issue of high water bills will be reviewed, with corrective measures to ensure fairness and accountability. Furthermore, a comprehensive master plan will be communicated, outlining sustainable solutions to address our community’s ongoing water challenges," she said.

Regarding the restoration of the water supply, Morero stated that the city has implemented a master plan to address the water crisis, focusing on fixing water leaks.

He added that the crisis results from high demand and aging infrastructure, with some reservoirs reaching critically low levels.

“The bigger issue we have to deal with is pipe replacement and dealing with leaks and illegal connections, and of course, some of the infrastructure is old, even the technology is old, and we will be bringing new technology into that infrastructure. Those are the four main issues, and lastly, reducing and maintaining consumption within acceptable levels and encouraging residents of Johannesburg to conserve water since we all know it’s a scarce resource," the mayor said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, during a media briefing by ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, on Monday, said:" We also feel the pain when bulk water supply is there but reticulation and distribution fail to reach our people. In the City of Johannesburg, over and above the infrastructure which is decaying, the population is growing daily, with a growing number of informal settlements.''

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za