The City of Tshwane says it’s considering to increase water tankers in Kanana in Hammanskraal following a shortage as a result of a transformer that was struck by lightning over a week ago.
The affected residents are complaining that tankers delivering water are being prevented from reaching their area.
Water shortages in Hammanskraal have reached crisis status. The situation earlier prompted the Human Rights Commission to investigate but it seems a solution remains far fetched.
Residents have now resorted to digging up fountains along the streams in the area to access underground water. Many say the water is contaminated but they have no choice.
“We dig water in the sand and we have to boil it before we could use it. It is so dirty.”
One of the frustrated residents Mbali Malinga says the situation has affected schooling in the area.
“The problem is water here, because the trucks that are supposed to come and give us water are blocked on the road. So it has been days that we did not get water at all because the truck cannot get through. The problem is our water supply has been halted. We are told the transformer has fallen into water and it is poisoned since last week Tuesday. They are saying they’re cleaning the water and they’re making a plan of giving us water which is not happening right now.”
City of Tshwane executive mayor, Stevens Mokgalapa, says technicians are working around the clock to repair the water-pump transformer.
“We are aware of the water challenges in that area in terms of the water trucks. We will be evaluating the situation. We will provide more water tankers. Since it looks like the ones that we have provided are not enough. I will engage with the MMC for Utility to ensure that we increase the capacity of the water tankers.”
Residents say they’ve been queuing since early in the morning with containers to get just a little water to survive but the water trucks never show up. It is alleged the drivers of water tankers have parked their vehicles citing safety issues. The mayor could not say how long it will take to fix the broken transformer.
