DA slams ‘chaos and inequality’ in Johannesburg’s water tanker response

Residents in several parts of Johannesburg continue to face severe water shortages following a planned 48-hour shutdown by bulk supplier Rand Water. While the maintenance was scheduled to conclude days ago, many communities remain without a reliable supply.

The water woes have extended nearly three days beyond the initial timeframe. While some areas are gradually stabilising, recovery efforts in Midrand have stalled. Rand Water stated that due to the size and complexity of the system, additional time is required to fully recharge the infrastructure.

Other heavily affected areas include Sandton and Linksfield, where taps remain dry despite the scheduled maintenance period having passed.

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku has criticised the situation, stating it is unacceptable that residents are paying the price for years of neglect and poor planning.

“Despite claims of an expanded water tanker fleet, the reality on the ground is chaos and inequality. Some areas are flooded with tankers, while others are left without a single drop. Councillors in neglected areas are forced to beg for basic assistance and clear information.”

In response to the crisis, the DA has written to the Ministers of Finance, Water and Sanitation, and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to raise concerns regarding the City of Johannesburg’s handling of the situation.

Kayser-Echeozonjoku confirmed the party is seeking an investigation into the escalating costs of emergency water tankers. She questioned whether the city has applied for available water infrastructure grants to address the root causes of the outages.

“In the same letter, the DA also requested an investigation into the escalating costs of water tankers, while the city fails to account for whether it applied for available water infrastructure grants and what the outcomes of those applications were. Instead of fixing what is broken, the city continues to burn public money on emergency tankers that do not address the root cause of the crisis,” she said.