Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on Rand Water to urgently reconsider its unreasonable water shutdown set for mid-December, which would deprive millions of Johannesburg residents of their Christmas celebrations.
Rand Water has announced maintenance work at Eikenhof Pump Station from 13 to 16 December, resulting in an 86-hour interruption in water services.
In reaction to this announcement, Nicole van Dyk, the DA Johannesburg Shadow MMC for Infrastructure, remarked: “Rand Water will turn into the Grinch who steals Christmas unless it delays this poorly planned water shutdown.”
Van Dyk also stated: “The scheduling of Rand Water’s December maintenance in Johannesburg reveals a serious lack of planning and total mismanagement.
“This maintenance is anticipated to last 86 hours, from 13 December to 16 December; however, previous experiences show that maintenance timelines seldom proceed as intended, and it often takes several days to restore the water supply.”
She pointed out that the forthcoming maintenance at both the Eikenhof and Zwartkopjes pump stations will affect the water supply for hundreds of thousands of households.
“In past instances, this particular system, even with extra water provided by Rand Water for stabilization, has taken up to two weeks to recover after maintenance,” Van Dyk noted.
“A two-week recovery period during the warmest month of the year, while families are trying to enjoy precious moments together, is utterly unacceptable – especially with taps running dry.
“The DA urges Rand Water to reconsider this harmful decision; failures in maintaining pump stations throughout the year should not rob Joburg residents of their Christmas festivities.
“This seems more like an ’emergency repair’ than proper maintenance planning. If it is indeed an ’emergency’, Rand Water must be held accountable in the strongest terms possible.
“We will be contacting both Rand Water and Johannesburg Water to request a rescheduling of this work to ensure Rand Water does not end up stealing Christmas, just like the failing Grinch it has become.”
