Residents protested outside the Makana Fire Department on Saturday afternoon, wanting answers from the municipality after they'd gone for days without water.
Residents protested outside the Makana Fire Department on Saturday afternoon, wanting answers from the municipality after they'd gone for days without water.
"We are at a stage where we can't handle this any more," said Grahamstown resident, Des Bekker, who had organised the protest, attended by a small group of residents who'd been without water for four days.
Bekker said the water had stopped on Wednesday and they had been promised it would return by Friday. But yesterday, they were still without water. "We got Councillor Les Reynolds to be there also… he has really been taking flak from the residents." Even he had extracted answers with difficulty.
"One of the excuses he was given was that it was because of K-Day and that the visitors had consumed a lot of water," Bekker said. "Another councillor also came around and said a pump had been sent to Port Elizabeth for fixing and would be back on Monday."
All the residents wanted, Bekker said, was to be kept informed. "Everyone is in the dark. Water is a basic need. I have heard of people in the township going without water for as long as six months. This is unacceptable," she said.
Shirley Pinchuck, from Southey Street near Graeme College, said she'd had no water for five days. "It is disgraceful that no one from the municipality lets us know what is happening. It would be much better if we were to receive flyers in our post boxes, just to let us know about the situation."
Yesterday morning she was told by the municipality's engineering department that a pump was broken and there was nothing they could do. A resident in a different part of town said she'd had a stream of people coming to her house. "My friends and family have been coming to my house to bath. Some have babies and needed a place to wash them," she said.
Yesterday, Bekker invited residents to email their complaints about water in Grahamstown to her at the following address: waterght@hotmail.co.za She would then take these complaints directly to the municipality. "I am really outraged. We pay so much for our water and electricity," Bekker said.
She said she didn't understand how R250 000 could be spent on awarding President Jacob Zuma the Freedom of the City, "when there is so much more that can be done with the money, like buying a pump".
At a recent Ordinary council meeting, Municipal Manager Ntombi Baart announced that Joza, Cradock Heights and the Industrial area were experiencing water outages. She said some pumps at Howieson's Poort dam had been damaged by the storm on Thursday 9 June.
Municipal Spokesperson Thandy Matebese said a pump had been sent for repairs. "We expect the pump motor back on Monday and the water supply will be back to normal," Matebese said.
