City of Tshwane says it needs more skilled artisans to address water and electricity problems

31 January 2023 - 13:00
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Mayor Randall Williams says more skilled artisans are needed to improve service delivery in the City of Tshwane. File photo.
Mayor Randall Williams says more skilled artisans are needed to improve service delivery in the City of Tshwane. File photo.
Image: Screenshot

City of Tshwane mayor Randall Williams says more skilled artisans, especially plumbers and electricians, are needed to improve service delivery in the city.

This comes after Soshanguve, Mooikloof, Grootfontein and Laudium grappled for days with little or no water.

According to the city, ongoing load-shedding has resulted in reservoirs not filling to sufficient levels, which affects the pressure in the distribution pipe network.

It said low pressure led to high-lying neighbourhoods experiencing reduced supply or no water.

Williams said the city is working on increasing the training of artisans such as plumbers to address the crisis.

He said the city has more than 300 students training in plumbing, electrical, welding and boilermaking.

“All our artisan training programmes are accredited, and we want to expand the plumbing trade to take more so we can have skilled plumbers to fight water leaks,” said Williams.

“It’s important for municipalities to have skilled artisans to respond to service delivery challenges. Annually, we take 120 students for a three-year artisan skills training programme.”

Williams said the city suffers about 40% of water losses, largely due to old pipes.

“To replace these pipes, we need trained plumbers. This is why we are working to increase the training of plumbers so that we can address water leaks and other challenges.”

On Sunday, the city reported there was no overnight supply from the water utility to the Garsfontein reservoir, and the level had dropped to 23%.

“Elardus Park reservoir is at 53%, which is comforting, while Mooikloof slightly improved overnight from 16% to 21% on Sunday morning. Grootfontein reservoir is battling to recover and is at 2.8%,” said city spokesperson Selby Bokaba.

“The Bronberg reservoir that supplies Lombardy, Shere AH, Silver Lakes and parts of Mamelodi East improved overnight and is at 40%. Residents have confirmed they are receiving water this morning. Some started receiving water from Saturday night.”

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