A multi stakeholder high level team has been formed to prevent Gauteng’s ongoing water problems from escalating into a full blown crisis.
On Monday political principals involved in the intervention in Johannesburg to announce some of the measures being put in place.
Key players in the response are the ministry of water and sanitation represented by among others the Minister Pemmy Majodina alongside her deputy David Mahlobo, the provincial government represented by the Premier Panyaza Lesufi and local government MEC Jacob Mamabolo.
The City of Joburg is a key player in the strategy with both Rand Water and Johannesburg Water playing crucial roles.
Existing shortages have been attributed to a number of factors including but not limited to infrastructure maintenance backlog, non payment by consumers, illegal connections, leakages caused by among others vandalism.
Minister Majodina said it is not just Johannesburg that is affected in Gauteng as the province generally consumes more than what it is allocated.
“It is not just Johannesburg that is affected here in Gauteng. Media houses will remember that on the 18th of September we had to put Gauteng on level 1 restrictions and the reasons for that was that Gauteng consumes more than they’re supposed to. They consume more than 280 per capita per day as opposed to the international norm of of 173,” said the minister.
Aging infrastructure across the province is among the factors contributing to current water shortages and Premier Panyaza Lesufi said refurbishments and upgrades are already underway.
“We are a generation that is inheriting infrastructure that is aging at a very faster pace so we needed to ensure that the infrastructure is improved in a manner that assists us to limit leakages and many other things but we are quite convinced now that each and every municipality reviews their budget to ensure that this infrastructure is attended to.
Areas in and around Johannesburg currently affected by water shortages include but are not limited to Winchester Hills near Eastgate, Brixton, South Hills, Klipfontein View and the Northern parts of Riverside View, Diepsloot, Stein City and surrounding areas.