Clean water is flowing through the streets of Evaton in the Emfuleni local municipality, where residents complain of enduring years of neglect as the township’s ageing infrastructure crumbles.
Gauteng co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Jacob Mamabolo said in a written reply to a DA question in the provincial legislature that the cash-strapped municipality lost 16,434,804kl of clean water in the 2024/2025 financial year valued at R880m.
“The municipal budget for the water section in the 2024/2025 financial year was R60m. The amount was used for activities such as water tankers, plant hire, replacement of valves and meter checks,” Mamabolo said.
He added that R57m was paid to 11 service providers to plug leaks in the municipality.
But for residents such as Winnie Ndlovu, the interventions have done little to ease their suffering.
“The water leaks are seriously damaging our houses. We reported the issue to the municipality years ago and we were told not to touch any water pipes or try to fix the problem ourselves,” she told TimesLIVE.
This points to financial recklessness and deeply entrenched corruption
— Kingsol Chabalala, DA Emfuleni North constituency head
Many homes are damp and unsafe, she said
“We worry that one day the houses will collapse. We have not received water statements for a while. Sometimes we use buckets to throw water out into the street because stagnant water collects in our yards.”
Emfuleni has long battled service delivery failures. In June 2018 the municipality was placed under administration due to corruption, financial mismanagement and ballooning debt. Though the intervention was lifted in August 2022, residents say conditions have worsened.
DA Emfuleni North constituency head Kingsol Chabalala said residents continue to endure intermittent water and electricity supplies, pothole-riddled roads and inadequate waste collection.
“It is scandalous that Emfuleni claims to have spent such a huge amount of money repairing water leaks, yet it continues to lose millions of kilolitres of clean, treated water daily due to persistent leaks in ageing infrastructure,” Chabalala said.
He accused the municipality of mismanagement and reckless spending, saying unresolved water leaks and failing infrastructure had left people without reliable access to water and sanitation.
“The gravity of the water crisis is worsened [because] Emfuleni senselessly returned R636m of its municipal infrastructure grant funds in the past five years, money urgently needed for water, sanitation and roads.”
Between 2019/2020 and 2023/2024 the municipality spent R561m on unnecessary overtime without any improvement in service delivery, he added.
“This points to financial recklessness and deeply entrenched corruption.”
TimesLIVE
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