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The DA in eThekwini is alarmed at the Mayor’s claim that “leaks and bursts are repaired within 24 hours” 

This is a grotesque distortion of reality. Across Durban, residents endure repeated, prolonged outages, unreliable tanker deliveries, and collapsing infrastructure while official rhetoric pretends that the crisis is under control.

Broken infrastructure and massive water loss have turned treated water into a wasted commodity. The city is losing an enormous proportion of treated water to leaks, bursts and illegal connections, and those losses are being papered over with costly, ineffective stopgap measures. Millions of litres are wasted daily, while households go without safe water for days. The result is contaminated storage, ruined livelihoods, closed classrooms, and a mounting public-health threat.

The municipality is pouring large sums of money into tanker procurement and hire instead of fixing the network that delivers water to homes. Tens to hundreds of millions of rands have been spent on tankers and emergency hires, yet the fleet management is chaotic - vehicles sit broken in depots, licenses lapse, and drivers are in short supply.

The Northern areas of eThekwini are currently in operational collapse. The tanker fleet should be about 90 vehicles, yet only around 20 are on the road. Approximately 30 are unlicensed, and the remainder are either in workshops or parked off at depots because they are broken down. This results in wards relying on intermittent tanker deliveries. Many households wait up to three days or more for water, and some receive no tanker at all for extended periods.

To compound matters, vandalism and deliberate sabotage of water infrastructure have intensified the crisis, with pipes and pump stations repeatedly targeted. Yet the municipality has made no meaningful strides to investigate, deter or prosecute perpetrators. When criminals can repeatedly damage the system with impunity, the entire city pays the price in lost water, lost revenue, and lost dignity.

Words from Council Chambers will not fill a single empty bucket eThekwini residents deserve measurable fixes, not spin. The Mayor’s reassurances are meaningless unless matched by transparent data, accountable management, and immediate relief on the ground. Every day without reliable water is a moral and political failure that must be rectified now.

The DA is demanding a revised, time-bound, budgeted plan to repair failing water infrastructure, a full report on why leaks are not repaired within 24 hours as claimed by the Mayor, urgent restoration of the municipal tanker fleet to full capacity, and decisive action against vandalism and sabotage of water infrastructure.

Let’s get eThekwini working again, register and vote DA.

Issued by Cllr Yogis Govender - DA eThekwini EXCO Member