Communities in the uMhlathuze Local Municipality are enduring a severe water crisis, with residents in both rural areas and the city center reporting that their taps have been dry for three months.
In the rural area of Esikhawini, the situation has reached a level of desperation. Zakithi Ndebele, a resident affected by the outage, described the daily struggle to secure water in scorching temperatures. With no water since November, she is forced to beg neighbors for access to the resource. Those with home water tanks have become beacons of hope for the community.
“The municipality posted on social media that it was fixing the pipes, but we’ve had no water since last year. The taps are dry,” said Ndebele. “They keep promising the pipes are almost repaired and even post pictures, but nothing comes out. No one comes here to explain what is going on. Last year, a water tanker came once and never again.”
The physical toll of the crisis is evident as residents, including Ndebele, trek long distances home carrying 20-kilogram containers on their heads and pushing wheelbarrows full of buckets, ensuring that every drop counts.
The water shortages are not isolated to rural areas. Residents in the city of Richards Bay are also battling supply interruptions, hampering basic activities like cooking and bathing.
“You can’t live without water to cook, to bath here in Richards Bay. It’s a massive problem,” said one resident. “It is maintenance that is not being done properly. They are waiting up until the problem to become this big thing and then we don’t have the manpower, the people, or the finances to deal with it accordingly.”
The uMhlathuze Local Municipality has acknowledged that the Esikhaleni and Vulindlela water supply systems are under significant strain. Officials attribute the failures to ageing infrastructure and high industrial demand.
A critical upgrade project for the system has stalled. According to the municipality, the project was halted after the Auditor General flagged discrepancies during an audit, forcing the city to terminate its contract with the previous service provider.
“That project has not been finished. The AG during the audit actually picked some issues and we had to part ways as admin with the service provider that was actually implementing that project,” said a municipal spokesperson. “We are in the process of the appointment of the new service provider.”
While the municipality states that it has invested millions to bridge the gap between industrial needs and residential requirements, it is also taking a firm stance on revenue collection. Plans are underway for a major roll-out of water meters in townships and rural areas. Officials argue that this move is to ensure that residents and businesses with the means to pay are not inadvertently benefiting from free basic water provision, which is intended strictly for indigent community members.
“Something was planted in the minds of the people that if someone stays in the areas of kwaMbonambi is poor,” the spokesperson added. “There are so many employees of the city who are employed permanently who stays in the areas of kwaMbonambi; if they have water meters they can pay for water. Councillors who stays in the areas of course they can pay for water. Businesses, those who provide student accommodation facilities or houses to let to employees who are employed here in Richards Bay and surroundings.”
Until the municipality’s planned investments translate into running water, residents say those with home water tanks remain the only lifeline. For the people of uMhlathuze, the weight of the crisis is being carried on their shoulders, one bucket at a time.