The eThekwini Municipality said the city was aware of the plight faced by residents of the partly rural area of Folweni. It said in recent years the population in the area and increased demand for water supply. In 2020 the eThekwini Municipality said illegal connections and vandalism were two contributing factors to its R602.6 million water bill. Picture: File picture.
DURBAN - AN elderly resident of Folweni, south of Durban says she has to fork out at least R20 daily for water that will enable her to cook, take her medication, and still have enough to drink.
This means that 67-year-old Mavis Mkhize spends over R500 each month to get access to water. The is due to the water outages that the community has had to endure for nearly five years.
Mkhize said buying water at R10 per bucket puts strain on the family’s finances as no one was employed and they live on her old age grant and her daughter’s social grant.
“We have had no running water in our taps for a very long time now. I have high blood pressure and diabetes, and I have to eat before I can take my medication. We have resorted to paying people for them to get us water, and I have to boil the water to clean it before I can consume it. The only time I can get clean water is if it rains, and it hardly rains during winter,” Mkhize said.
A disgruntled resident, who has written emails to several different authorities including the department of water and sanitation in the eThekwini Municipality, in a plea for assistance regarding the water outages, said he was out of solutions.
“I’ve lost count of the emails I’ve sent to alert authorities about this issue and there has been no change. The water is off most of the time, if it does come back it’s only for a while and you can’t even fill a 20 litre bucket,” Dion Ngidi said.
Another resident raised concerns about how the issue is affecting schoolchildren.
“There have been incidents where pupils are sent back from school because of this issue. This is worrying because these kids have already lost out due to rotational attendance.
“We need water to wash our hands as per the Covid-19 regulations, we need to wash our masks and keep our surroundings clean. Our laundry is full and we have to travel to a dangerous river that is far away from us. The situation is frustrating and we are in dire need of water,” the residents said.
Folweni ward councillor, Thokozani Xulu said he is not the person to talk to about the water issue.
“I am not a technician, the relevant people would know,” he said.
The eThekwini Municipality said the city was aware of the plight faced by residents of Folweni.
“Please note that the area is partly rural and we have seen the population grow exponentially in the past years. More people have moved to the area and the need for water supply has risen,” said Msawakhe Mayisela, the city’s spokesperson.
Mayisela said the city had been in constant communication with the residents to assure them that their issue was receiving attention.
“The city has projects planned for the area for the next financial year,” he said.
THE MERCURY
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