Water authorities plan to implement water shedding in Gauteng

3 October 2023

ActionSA has written to Rand Water and Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, following his directive for the utility to conduct water shedding, better known as power cuts, across Gauteng. We have asked for information about the duration of this water shift, an estimate of when water systems will be balanced, and which communities will be affected by it.

Further, we seek a schedule, including an outline of the factors that have led to the water crisis and a long-term plan to address the shortage.

The ruling government's failure to prioritise the maintenance of infrastructure throughout the province has subjected residents to dire conditions as they go about their daily lives without running water and electricity.

This is intolerable and must be put to an end. South Africans have been forced to accept inadequate administration and a lack of service provision, which violates millions of people's rights and reduces their quality of life.

The Minister’s order brings little to no hope as various townships and suburbs have already been without water for weeks due to Rand Water and Johannesburg Water system failures.

A viable solution is urgently needed to ensure that water shedding does not become a permanent feature of our lives, as load shedding has. Water should not be included among the many problems confronting the country.

We hope that our concerns can be addressed, and that water will be restored throughout Gauteng without depriving one community at the expense of another.

Issued by Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 3 October 2023