Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu and eThekwini Municipality Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda will on Wednesday host a water imbizo at the King Zwelithini Stadium in uMlazi, south of Durban, to address water supply challenges in the city.
The Department of Water and Sanitation announced the event on Monday as the issues around water in the city compound, with more data and information around the most precious liquid coming to light.
“The Imbizo will be held at the King Zwelithini Stadium and will be attended by various government stakeholders from national, provincial, and local governments, including the deputy ministers and MECs.
“The imbizo is part of efforts by the government to directly engage with communities on basic services and other issues affecting their livelihoods and devise means to address these challenges,” the department said.
The supply of water in eThekwini was heavily impacted by the floods in 2022, which destroyed a number of key water infrastructure assets, including major pipelines and wastewater treatment works facilities.
Residents in Tongaat, northern eThekwini, went as long as 160 days without water following the destruction caused by the floods, local media reported.
Residents in other northern areas like Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu have also experienced ongoing water supply challenges after the floods and after a fire broke out at the Ntuzuma pump station in April this year.
Besides flood and fire damages, sabotage was another disaster that affected the supply of water to Durban residents, as the most recent outage in the northern parts of the city came as a result of vandalised air valves in the network.
This was confirmed by the head of water for eThekwini, Ednick Msweli.
Violence within the water department has also affected the delivery of water to Durban residents, to an extent, as employees within the department work in fear due to the number of assassinations and threats.
Two employees in eThekwini’s water unit were killed in 2023: Khumbulani Khumalo and Emmanuel Ntuli, both of whom were in management positions.
Ntuli, the manager overseeing the plants and logistics of the unit, was killed in November.
Khumalo, the Community Services manager, was shot dead and found in a white Toyota Hilux bakkie bearing ‘NDM’ (Natal Durban Metro) licence plates in the Inanda area in September.
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