WATCH | MEC Maile apologises ‘profusely’ for Gauteng water crisis

Gauteng finance and economic development MEC Lebogang Maile has apologised for the recent water crisis that left many residents in the province without water.

The crisis was caused by Rand Water’s maintenance programme at the Eikenhof and Zwartkoppies pump stations.

The pump station which feeds systems including Soweto, Roodepoort and Randburg, Commando (Brixton, Crosby and Hursthill), Lenasia and parts of Johannesburg central such as Eagles Nest, Crown Gardens, Aeroton and Alan Manor reservoirs was shut down for maintenance, affecting thousands of residents.

Many residents expressed frustration over the inconvenience caused by the water outage, particularly during the heatwave. Some took to social media to vent their frustrations, while others struggled to find alternative sources of water.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Maile apologised to residents for any inconvenience caused. “Despite the fact that it might not be the incompetence of the province, but we'd like to apologise unreservedly and profusely to the citizens of our province, especially those that were affected,” he said.

“Though we understand the importance of maintaining and upgrading as it will help us in the future, but at no point should the citizens be affected and be inconvenienced. We just need to plan better in future whenever we do the maintenance and upgrade to ensure that there's no inconvenience on the part of the citizens.”

Though the maintenance was completed on Monday, it may take some time for the water to reach residents' homes. Rand Water has assured residents that they were working to restore water supply as soon as possible. “Water supply will not be noticed immediately but will gradually increase as the system builds capacity. Low-lying areas will recover first, with high-lying areas recovering later. This recovery is also affected by demand, so we need to observe water consumption,” Johannesburg Water said.

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