DA Reports water outages in Germiston to HRC

by Cllr Wendy Morgan — DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni

and Cllr Graham Gersbach — DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni

Date: 06 September 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Press Statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni believes that Rand Water is throttling the water supply to numerous areas in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) and large parts of Germiston were affected. We have reported this matter to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for an investigation following requests from residents to do so.

In our letter to the HRC, we highlighted that every year, for the past seven years, the area of Germiston has been affected by water supply issues during the months of August, September and October.

Water is a basic essential that no human being can live without. The right of access to sufficient water is accorded to everyone in the South African Constitution, which states that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water.

Rand Water has a responsibility of ensuring that there is a free flow supply of potable water from its sources to the cities of Gauteng. It is incredibly alarming that each year, Germiston experiences complete water outages.

This year, on the 26 August, large parts of Germiston reported water issues and many households were without water for six days. As the DA, we had community meetings and ensured regular feedback sessions to keep residents and businesses updated with the information we received.

Often Rand Water’s distribution network is under severe pressure with water demand consistently exceeding water supply, and the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is always quick to blame Rand Water for widespread water outages.

As the DA councillors in Germiston, we are serious about amplifying the voices of the communities of Germiston, who have been so badly affected by these yearly outages. We stand together with the community. It is for this reason that we have requested the HRC to urgently investigate the real cause of these outages and compel the failing ANC and coalition-led administration to act.

Residents are growing tired of the ANC and its coalition partner’s inability to provide sustainable and reliable services. As the DA, we will get the job done. It is time for change. At the upcoming Local Government Elections, it is time to vote for a capable and caring party.

#Time4Change

*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Wendy Morgan

DA Councillor in Ekurhuleni

Cllr Graham Gersbach

DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni