Political parties in eThekwini has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the water crisis.
DA councillor, Johnson Chetty, in ward 106 has called for an emergency community meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the water crises that have affected the area this festive season.
The ward includes the Verulam area. Verulam and other parts of eThekwini were recently struck by water and electricity outages.
Asked for an update on the situation in the area, Chetty told “The Mercury” on Wednesday: “Due to the magnitude of the water crisis in Verulam and surrounding areas … I am calling for a community meeting in Mountview hall in Verulam at 5pm.”
Bradley Singh, DA MPL and political head for Phoenix, oThongathi and Verulam, said in a statement that Christmas Day had been a sad and bleak day for many homes across Phoenix and Verulam due to water and electricity outages.
“On Christmas morning, the DA ward councillors from Phoenix and Verulam were inundated with calls and text messages due to various wards not having electricity since Christmas Eve. Water in certain wards has also not returned, leaving thousands frustrated.
“The gross negligence of the ANC-run eThekwini Municipality has ruined Christmas Day for thousands of families. While the ANC officials enjoy their leave, the DA councillors are hard at work trying to find answers and solutions to the ongoing crisis,” he said.
He said the DA had earlier written an urgent letter to the mayor of eThekwini, Mxolisi Kaunda, and the chairperson of the human settlements and infrastructure committee, councillor Themba Mvubu, requesting that the city’s Water and Sanitation senior management not to go on leave during these holidays due to the ongoing water crisis in areas such as Phoenix, Verulam, oThongathi, Ntuzuma, Durban North and uMhlanga.
“It is now clear that the ANC and the EFF do not have a plan to fix the water and electricity problems that exist, and they see no urgency to end this misery for the suffering residents. The municipality has also failed to have contingency plans in place for the allocation of water tankers for affected residents that are in desperate need of water,” he said.
In a statement, the municipality said its teams were attending to the persistent water outages that are affecting some parts of the northern areas including Phoenix, where there had been a noticeable increase in static water tanks.
“The Phoenix 2 Reservoir Zone is struggling the most due to the increased number of static water tanks that residents have installed in their homes. The negative impact of having too many static tanks is that the available water supply is not shared equitably among residents. As water fills tanks, some families experience intermittent or no water supply, while the reservoir builds up storage.
“To conserve water supply, the City appeals to residents with static tanks to disconnect them from the municipality’s water reticulation network,” said the statement.
The Mercury