Joburg residents, fed up with water outages, block roads

Byron Oosthuizen was among those protesting against water outages in Johannesburg’s high lying areas. Photo: Silver Sibiya

Residents from Claremont, Newlands, and Newclare in Johannesburg, frustrated with prolonged water outages, blocked the Ontdekkers Road and Plateau Drive intersection with burning tyres, wood and rocks on Wednesday.

Throughout the day, police unsuccessfully tried to clear the road. Even a police helicopter circling overhead failed to make an impression on the protesters. They would only allow emergency vehicles to pass.

Claremont residents say they have endured water interruptions for more than a decade, but the past two weeks have been unbearable.

Resident Basheerah Van Royen said she had to pay R20 for just 20 litres of water. “What if people don’t have money to buy water?” she asked.

“We just want water to come out of our taps. We can’t even flush our toilets.”

“We want a motion of no confidence against Mayor Morero,” she said.

Some protesters held placards demanding to see the mayor.

Nikita de Jager, a daycare worker, said children were being sent home from crèches early because there was no water.

The nearby suburbs of Westbury and Coronationville, which also faced outages, had their water restored after protests last week. Residents in Claremont and Newlands feel they have been ignored.

Johannesburg Water says it dispatches water tankers daily. But residents we spoke to said they have not seen any tankers in days, and when tankers had come, the water is hopelessly insufficient.

Community leader Bianca Olivier said they had complained to then-Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu and Johannesburg Water executives at a meeting in December last year.

“They never came back to us. Now the Speaker has been removed, and we must start all over again,” she said.

Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said there was no timeline for full restoration, but promised long-term upgrades to the system.

In a statement, the water utility confirmed that high-lying areas supplied by the Commando system (comprising the Brixton, Hursthill and Crosby reservoirs) were suffering from poor pressure and intermittent supply. Low-lying areas, meanwhile, continued to receive a “relatively stable supply”.

It said the Brixton and Hursthill outlets were closed early on Monday “to build capacity” in order to supply the high lying areas.

Claremont, Newlands and Newclare residents blocked Ontdekkers Road and Plateau Drive intersection with burning tyres on Wednesday.

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