Unacceptable! Gauteng households and hospitals spend days without water

21 September 2023          

ActionSA has taken note of the water shortage and restrictions throughout Gauteng, which have resulted in an eruption of protests as residents demand for their water to be restored.

Although we are aware of the system failures at Johannesburg Water and Rand Water, this matter has placed many people’s lives on hold. A number of suburbs and townships have been impacted. This crisis has also affected hospitals, jeopardising the health of many who risk getting diseases and infections.

Areas such as Kwa-Thema and Tsakane in Ekurhuleni have been protesting for the past few days due to the taps being dry for nearly six weeks. This issue, however, is not solely the result of the shortage but also of the metropolitan government’s failure to restore water in the area despite efforts by ActionSA to find a workable solution.

Regardless, we have offered our assistance in the area and hope that the matter will be put to rest as we work with activists on the ground to engage with residents and ensure water tankers are delivered.

As a matter of urgency and great concern, we will be writing to the Gauteng Department of Health and requesting an update from Rand Water on when the water will be restored.

Furthermore, ActionSA continues to call for Cllr. Leshaka Manamela, EFF Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Water, Sanitation, and Energy, to resign following his department’s failure to tend to this pressing matter.

People’s rights to water and sanitation including quality healthcare have been violated repeatedly, subjecting many to smelly and unhygienic environments.

It has been disheartening to hear the circumstances patients and nurses have been subjected to, as they are forced to bring bottles of water and walk long distances to use the bathroom as a result of this water crisis.

This is not the first time this year that the health and safety of patients have been compromised. A video from earlier this year showed pregnant patients sleeping on the floor at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital.

The current state of public institutions and delivery services is a direct reflection of ANC’s neglect and failure to not only deliver on their promises but also their indifference to the difficulties faced by the people who rely on their governance.

We, as ActionSA, believe that for public institutions to strive, they should be modernised and void of political interference. Therefore, ethical, capable, and service-delivery-oriented public servants are crucial.

We encourage citizens to be active and participate in dialogue with the government. One of the outcomes of the policy conference was to propose various interventions that would address the trust deficit between the state and its citizens, including teaching communities to hold their leaders accountable.

In doing so, this would ensure that good governance is practiced, and leaders are held accountable. ActionSA is ready to apply the policies adopted and make a difference to the country.

Issued by Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 21 September 2023