Image Source: News24
Local – South Africa’s ongoing water crisis has forced residents to become their own service providers, with communities now operating private water tankers to survive extended periods without municipal supply.
Water activist Sommaya Motala, a resident of Emmarentia in Johannesburg, has been coordinating community water relief efforts as the suburb enters its tenth consecutive day without water.
The situation reflects a broader crisis affecting approximately 80% of Johannesburg, with areas like Laudium and Pretoria recently experiencing 21 days without supply.
“We are on day nine or day 10. I’ve brought this tanker out four times since then. Today is day five that we’ve brought the tanker out in the 10 days,” Motala explained during a radio interview on Monday morning.
Infrastructure Failures and Contamination
The crisis has exposed deep infrastructure failures and contamination issues at key water facilities. Over the weekend, Motala and a local councillor investigated reservoir operations in Brixton, discovering what she described as a chaotic situation with minimal oversight.
“We were out at 11 in the evening trying to basically trace where our water had gone. What we found was that they were emptying the new and the old reservoirs in Brixton because they had so-called filled it up, but the water was contaminated,” she revealed.
Johannesburg Water has not explained the widespread outages, leaving residents in the dark about when services might resume. Motala described troubling reports of exploitation by municipal water tanker operators.
“I’ve had horrifying reports from people on the ground this weekend regarding the job tankers that have been coming out that are now charging people to fill their Jojo tanks, where the drivers are pocketing money,” she said.
Ramadan Preparations Underway
With Ramadan approaching next week, Motala and community stakeholders are implementing emergency contingency plans while simultaneously exploring legal action against water authorities for failing to deliver services.
Despite facing public criticism and accusations of political affiliation, she remained resolute about the humanitarian nature of her work.
“I’m not a political activist. I’ve never been. I don’t work with or am affiliated with any political party. I literally am a humanitarian, and I want to ensure that the poor person on the ground has access to basic needs,” Motala clarified.
