The Democratic Alliance (DA) criticised Rand Water’s decision to schedule extensive water shut-offs in large parts of Johannesburg during mid-December, calling the plan "ridiculous" and accusing the utility of poor planning and mismanagement.
The DA is calling for an immediate rethinking of this disruptive plan, which threatens to ruin Christmas for millions of residents.
Rand Water announced the maintenance schedule that will cause water shutdowns from December 13 to 16, lasting for a total of 86 hours.
The maintenance, which involves both the Eikenhof and Zwartkopies pump stations, is set to impact hundreds of thousands of homes across the city.
However, the DA argues that past experience shows that scheduled maintenance often exceeds the planned timeframe, with water supplies taking several days to recover.
“This maintenance is an indication of poor planning and utter mismanagement. In the past, similar maintenance has taken up to two weeks to recover, even with additional water being supplied to stabilise the system," Nicole van Dyk, DA Johannesburg Shadow MMC for Infrastructure said.
''Two weeks without water during the warmest month of the year, while families are trying to spend quality time together, is unacceptable-especially when taps run dry.''
Van Dyk emphasised that this shutdown could turn into a logistical nightmare for residents, especially in a month when many families rely on their water supply for holiday festivities.
"If the system requires emergency repairs, then Rand Water must be condemned for its failure to manage the infrastructure properly throughout the year," she said.
The DA argues that Rand Water’s failure to maintain its pump stations properly during the year should not result in a holiday disruption for Johannesburg residents.
The party is demanding that Rand Water and Johannesburg Water reconsider the timing of this maintenance schedule and reschedule it to avoid further hardship for residents.
"We will be writing to Rand Water and Johannesburg Water to demand the rescheduling of this process. We cannot allow Rand Water to steal Christmas like the Grinch that it is," said Van Dyk.
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