Hundreds of residents of Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha are battling for water as communal taps in the area have been dry for the past two weeks. Around 5pm every day, scores of residents, including children, can be seen carrying 20-litre empty buckets to go fetch water from the nearby area of Harare.
The residents informed Vukani that they had no idea why the water supply had been cut off. They said it was exhausting and embarrassing to beg for water from other areas and sometimes those people refused to give them any. They said some residents had resorted to hiring bakkies to fetch water from their relatives.
Resident Yandisa Mgxebe said now he was unable to do his laundry and as soon as he comes from work, before he does anything else, he has to take a bucket and go looking for water. He said water was a basic right and people could not live without it. “We want water and that is all. Why have we not been informed about this issue?Our leaders are quiet about this matter. We don’t know how long it will be this way,” he said. Mr Mgxebe expressed his disappointment about the leadership of Endlovini, saying that when they need to show their leadership and inform them about what was going on, they did nothing.
He said leaders should have called a community meeting to inform them about this crisis.
Another resident, Gcobisa Mahlasela, said she had been living in the area for years and this had never happened before. She said sometimes there might be no water for a day because the taps were closed by the City but on those occasions the community would be informed. She said she had two young children and this had been a frustrating experience. Ward councilor Anele Gabuza said water testing was taking place and he had no idea how long it would take. He claimed that he had called a meeting to inform the residents. He called for residents to be patient, saying he understood their frustration.
Mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services; and energy, Xanthea Limberg, said the City investigated the matter and found that the disruption to the water supply was mainly due to the reduction in pressure in the adjacent reticulation network which is caused by many factors including illegal connections by private users.
She said this eventually resulted in certain higher-lying parts of the water reticulation network not receiving adequate water.
“During our investigations, our officials found residents at some street corners collecting water from communal standpipes, which meant that there were no burst pipes and that water was available and accessible in standpipes which had not been adversely affected by low pressure.
“We can confirm that Monwabisi Park was assessed and technical tests were conducted and it was established that water was available and accessible to the community of Monwabisi Park,” she said.