The City always strives to provide the highest possible level of access to water, but this is sometimes constrained by factors beyond its control, such as settlements illegally established on railway lines, on sand dunes, or on a wetland. With the focus on basic hygiene as best defence against the spread of COVID-19, a plan had to be made to increase access to water in these areas.

 

The City is making every effort to ensure service delivery continues and contingency measures are in place as far as possible while ensuring the safety of our staff and the public.

 

However, on Sunday 24 May, two of our water trucks were targeted by opportunistic criminals in separate incidents. During these attacks, our staff and contractors were robbed of their personal belongings at gun point.

 

Criminal acts cannot be tolerated. Beyond the trauma suffered by dedicated workers directly, the impact is felt by the vulnerable communities in the form of disruption to service delivery. These attacks are inexcusable, and the City condemns them in the strongest possible terms.

 

The first incident occurred in the morning en route to the Hillstar depot, and delayed delivery of water to the Oasis and Ollieboom informal settlement areas along Weltevreden Road in Mitchells Plain.

 

Later in the afternoon, a second truck was targeted by criminals while delivering water in Capricorn, and the service had to be temporarily withdrawn for that day.  

 

The water delivery schedules resumed again on Monday. The two incidents have been reported to SAPS. Staff have been offered trauma counselling.

 

In the meantime, residents in the informal settlements across the City are reminded to:

 

During the delivery of water to the community, Water and Sanitation staff also reiterate the messaging of City Health officials in terms of maintaining hygiene practices of hand washing after sneezing, coughing or touching surfaces in public places.

 

I would like to thank our dedicated teams who are doing everything possible to ensure the stepped-up delivery of basic services during this time, as part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19.