Johannesburg Water technicians arrived at Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia on Tuesday morning, 12 November 2024, to disconnect illegal connections that have been supplying water to residents for years.
Johannesburg Water was accompanied by Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department officials during their disconnection operation in the Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia, Johannesburg South. (Photo: Julia Evans)
Johannesburg Water technicians remove illegal water connections in the Phumla Mqashi informal settlement. (Photo: Julia Evans)
Johannesburg Water’s planned disconnection operation in Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia led to a stand-off between JMPD and residents. (Photo: Julia Evans)
An hour after technicians began pulling out pipelines and cutting connections, a standoff ensued between Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) – who accompanied the water entity to enforce the disconnections, anticipating tensions – and community members.
Once they realised the disconnections were under way, more residents came out of their homes to watch as construction vehicles pulled cement slabs with rows of illegally connected taps from the mud, and technicians efficiently cut through pipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wycmq9aA9pw
Hundreds of residents mobilised, blocking off the two main entrances into the area, including the busy Golden Highway.
Residents then threw stones at Joburg Water and JMPD officials, who responded by firing rubber bullets to disperse the angry crowd. The operation was subsequently called off, with Joburg Water having performed only a fraction of the planned disconnections.
https://youtu.be/MoJBigWOOas?si=K3oqKxBDeMrooYLJ&t=33
Phumla Mqashi, home to an estimated 13,000 to 17,000 households, lacks formal water infrastructure.
The area was initially served by water tanks, on a directive from the Department of Human Settlements (by law, informal settlements must be provided with water and sanitation services through water tankering and chemical toilets), but Joburg Water said that due to ongoing land grabs and subsequent illegal water connections, these tanks were vandalised, leading to increased strain on the local water supply network.
Julia Tewfo, a resident of Phumla Mqashi, told Daily Maverick that she had been using water from the communal taps – connected illegally to the Lenasia system – since she arrived there seven years ago.
“Why now?” asked Twefo, as a front-end loader pulled a row of taps from the soil behind her, “Why did they come and register us to vote then?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn2Vn2bTIvY
‘You cannot leave us without water’
Tewfo and several residents expressed their deep frustration that Joburg Water did not warn them that the disconnections would happen today.
“They should have told us before so that we can be ready, they should have brought the water tanks before,” said Joyce Mbatha, who was called outside by residents when Joburg Water began pulling out pipes.
Tshepho Ngobeni, who told Daily Maverick he was a community leader in the area, said, “They never spoke to us, as leaders of this place.”
Residents of Phumla Mqashi fill buckets as Johannesburg Water disconnects illegal water connections on 12 November 2024. (Photo: Julia Evans)
Ngobeni, who has lived in the area for eight years, said that the leaders had engaged with their councillors and Joburg Water over the issue and were awaiting their response when this happened.
“There’s many people who live here. They cannot just cut the water without telling us anything,” said Tewfo. “You can not leave us without water – you cannot.”
Joburg water losses and illegal connections
Tuesday’s disconnection efforts were part of Joburg Water’s initiative to tackle mounting water losses, which the utility says are mainly caused by unauthorised connections.
Johannesburg Water severs illegal water connections in Phumla Mqashi informal settlement on 12 November 2024. (Photo: Julia Evans)
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s 2023 No Drop report, Johannesburg’s water loss rate is at 35% – more than twice the global standard of 15%.
Rand Water board chairperson Ramateu Monyokolo said at a briefing on Monday that at its maximum, Rand Water provided 5.2 billion litres of water to Gauteng municipalities daily, of which municipalities lost 48% (2.5 billion litres) a day.
Read more: Gauteng municipalities owe Rand Water R7.3bn, excluding three metros
Twefo acknowledged that as the settlement’s population increased, so had the illegal water connections. “But they were supposed to come and rectify [the water situation],” said Twefo.
Kagiso Manganye, Joburg Water regional manager of the Deep South, explained that Johannesburg’s Region G, which included Lenasia and other areas like Orange Farm and Ennerdale, had several such informal settlements contributing to the city’s non-revenue water losses.
Phumla Mqashi, in particular, is a “major contributor” to these losses, he said. Without official meters or water infrastructure, tracking or billing water use becomes impossible, exacerbating the city’s water deficit.
He explained that an informal settlement with no reticulation had to be provided with an alternative water supply.
Johannesburg Water severs illegal water connections in Phumla Mqashi informal settlement. (Photo: Julia Evans)
“Phumla Mqashi was supplied with water tanks previously, but then the residents took advantage of connecting illegally,” he said. “So, as a result, when they connect illegally into the system, they get rid of their water tanks, [as well as] affect our water consumption.”
Besides Phumla Mqashi, Joburg Water has identified five other informal settlements known to have illegal water connections in Lenasia alone, according to records from the Department of Human Settlements, including Water Works (3,232 households), Narrens Farm (about 2,000 households), Hospital Hill (1,600 households) and Marikana Mountain View (with an unknown number of households).
Manganye emphasised that if it was added up, at least 23,000 households were estimated to be using illegally connected water, placing tremendous pressure on a system designed to support a fraction of that demand.
“The thing is that the situation is worsening because more informal settlements are growing,” he said, “So that is the reason why the city is now managing this.”
Joburg Water said it remained committed to providing essential water services to all residents while addressing the challenges posed by illegal connections, and that it would restore water tanks for Phumla Mqashi to help maintain basic services for the community following the disconnections.
The entity also said that its operations team would discuss implementing disconnections following the standoff.
In terms of a more permanent solution – as Manganye acknowledged that water tankers were meant to be a short-term solution – Manganye said that installing more permanent water infrastructure, such as communal taps, would require a directive and a budget from the Department of Human Settlements.
Response from the Department of Human Settlements
“The provision of water and sanitation is a basic human right,” Nozipho Zulu, spokesperson for the Department of Human Settlements, told Daily Maverick. “The government, including the City of Johannesburg and National and Provincial Departments of Human Settlements, is constitutionally obliged to provide these services to all residents, including those in Phumla Mqashi.”
For the 2024/2025 financial year, Zulu said the government has allocated R8.7 billion for urban settlements and R4.5 billion for upgrading informal settlements nationwide.
For the City of Johannesburg, R1.9-billion was allocated through the Urban Settlements Development Grant and R739.7-million through the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant.
Zulu clarified that while the National Department provides funding, metros draft their own business plans and manage local priorities, so the department “cannot issue a directive to any entity or units of the metro to undertake a particular project or provide certain services.”
Zulu acknowledged that “the three spheres of government are committed to providing essential services, including water tankers and chemical toilets,” but she stressed, “we cannot condone illegal acts like land invasions or unauthorised connections to government infrastructure.” DM
This article was updated on 14 November to include comment from the department of human settlements.