17 September 2024
An unmarked water truck being filled with free municipal water in Verulam for sale later. Archive photo: Tsoanelo Sefoloko
Five months since the eThekwini Municipality promised to investigate the illegal sale of water by its water truck contractors, no official information has been released to the public nor any updates on how the investigation is proceeding.
Earlier this year GroundUp sent proof to the municipality of how drivers of a tender company were illegally selling water to desperate eThekwini residents. In response, eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said that “the matter has been reported to the relevant unit and will be investigated”.
In March and in May, GroundUp exposed how at least two water truck drivers hired by Multi Solutions Trading had sold water in the Adams Mission area. Multi Solutions first won a tender in October 2023 to supply water trucks and drivers to deliver water to areas across eThekwini with limited or no running water.
Contacted in June for an update on the investigation, Sisilana refused to comment, saying, “the municipality does not investigate and conclude its investigations through the media”.
We received the same response in September. Pressed further, Sisilana referred us to the municipality’s website. But to date the website’s tender records have no updates regarding any new or cancelled water truck tenders.
Simphiwe Mzimela, who runs Multi Solutions, refused to answer our questions, having taken issue with our previous article.
A recent joint press statement by uMngeni-uThukela Water and eThekwini Municipality states that 100 water tankers will be delivered to the municipality in December 2024 to eliminate the need for hiring water trucks. The procurement tender is yet to be awarded.
Asked why the municipality was buying more water trucks instead of fixing its water issues, Sisilana listed several projects to upgrade and fix water supply infrastructure. These include the upgrade of water treatment works, such as Ogunjini, Mkhizwana and uThongathi, and reservoir upgrades and refurbishments at KwaNdengezi, Onwabi, Mobeni and Thandokuhle. The current budget for repairs and maintenance to rehabilitate water infrastructure is R509-million, according to Sisilana.