20 July 2026
Unpaid contractors protested outside the gates of the water services depot in Pinetown, Durban, in an attempt to stop work at the site. Photo: Joseph Bracken
On Monday, about 50 water and sanitation contractors gathered outside the eThekwini municipality water services depot in Pinetown, Durban, in an attempt to stop its operations.
Contractors arrived at 6:30am and began closing gates and stopping vehicles from entering or leaving the premises. The group told GroundUp that they are demanding an in-person meeting with the municipality.
The contractors are responsible for servicing sewer systems and fixing burst water pipes. They say they have been trying to get answers from the municipality surrounding their contracts for months.
In April, contractors downed tools, with some not having been paid since December 2025. GroundUp also reported on how some contractors are still owed hundreds of thousands of rands by the municipality.
According to the group, the Pinetown depot is a major centre for municipal water and sanitation operations, including valve operation, water trucks, meter maintenance, meter reading, and waste management.
“We are stopping a lot of services here, but the idea is not to do that, the idea is to get management to come out,” said a protesting contractor.
All the contractors we spoke to asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
Management have been “playing hide and seek,” said one.
Previous scheduled meetings with the municipality have been cancelled. This includes a meeting with then acting water and sanitation director Bavna Soni and deputy director Lungi Ngidi, following a picket on 10 July.
Recently, the municipality changed its policy, requiring contractors to apply as managing contractors. Out of the 500 who applied, only five were appointed.
The municipality promised that the managing contractors would hire those who previously held contracts, but this has not happened.
The protesting contractors claim the municipality has started using contractors who are inadequately trained to do municipal work.
“They are getting plumbers that work on things like home geysers to work on municipal infrastructure,” said one.
The group plans to block work at the depot until Friday.
It is unclear to what extent operations were disrupted.
No response had been received at the time of publication from municipal spokesperson Luthando Ngubane.
