Rand Water agrees to respond to Fochville residents’ memorandum of demands

Rand Water has agreed to respond within the stipulated period to a memorandum of demands handed over by Fochville residents in the West Rand.

Locals from Merafong Local Municipality marched to the water utility's offices on Friday, calling for urgent intervention in the ongoing water outages.

They said the prolonged water cuts make life unbearable and are a result of financial mismanagement and failed leadership at the Merafong Local Municipality.

The Fochville Water Crisis Committee is accusing municipal officials, including senior leaders Nozuko Best and Dumisani Mabuza, of neglecting service delivery and engaging in bad faith.

This is not the first time the residents have protested over water outages.

In the memorandum, residents demanded transparency on the municipality's R1.4billion debt to Rand Water, an immediate plan to stabilise the water supply system and accountability from officials accused of prioritising what they say are personal interests over basic services.

Rand Water has confirmed receipt of the memorandum.

Utilityrepresentative Mbuyiswa Makhubela said, "The issues here are very dynamic, but they are solvable if there's a willingness to solve the issues from both ends. So, as Rand Water, we have received the memorandum, [and] we will respond in due time."

Meanwhile, the Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee said it will continue to mobilise until a reliable water supply is restored.

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