Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
1 February 2025 | 20:30 CAT
2 min read

Durban residents continue to struggle with severe water shortages, with many left without water for days—some even weeks—while access to water tankers remains limited. Communities in Isipingo Beach, Phoenix, and Chatsworth are among the hardest hit, but the crisis extends to many more areas across the city.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Ish Prahladh, spokesperson for the eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association, painted a grim picture of the situation. “If you look at Queensburgh, Northdene, Eskom, Moseley—these areas have been without water for 25 days. Twenty-five days! This is not on! Water is a basic human right,” he said.

The crisis is not just about prolonged outages but also about erratic supply in other areas. “Take Savannah Park, Montclair, and Crossmoor. They go without water for 17 hours, then it comes on for a little while, and then it goes off again. This is really, really a sorry situation, and there is no answer from the heads of the municipality in the water department,” he said.

Adding to the frustration is the lack of water tankers, which are supposed to be an emergency backup when taps run dry. The municipality had announced the purchase of 100 new tankers to assist communities, but residents are not seeing the relief they were promised. “If you read the papers, they say 100 new tankers were bought to ease the plight of the people. Where are those 100 tankers? Because if you drive to Queensburgh, if you drive to Northdene, you’ll see one tanker parked at a garage,” Prahladh explained.

He questioned how are the elderly supposed to get to the garage to fetch water? “We even said to them—listen, if you’re sending tankers, liaise with the ratepayers’ association. We’ll help guide the tankers through the neighborhoods to make sure everyone gets water. But they don’t listen. They just park at the garages and expect people to come to them,” he said.

Protests: The Only Way to Get Authorities to Listen?

With little to no response from the municipality, frustration among residents is spilling over into protests. Recently, Chatsworth residents took to the streets demanding action. Prahladh believes peaceful protest is often the only way to get authorities to pay attention. “Yes, it’s the only way, authorities only listen to protests. You must remember one thing—as ratepayers, we don’t start burning things, we don’t destroy property. We go on peaceful protests, standing with placards at the side of the road, saying to the municipality, please help us! But it seems like they don’t care,” he said.

However, he pointed out a troubling trend. “It looks like the municipality only acts when people burn things. You burn tires, you burn the roads, suddenly they react. But when we do peaceful protests, standing near the Higginson Highway, near the graveyard, asking them for water in a civilized way, they ignore us.”

Many residents had hoped that changes in the Durban municipality leadership would bring much-needed improvements, but Prahladh said the reality on the ground tells a different story. “They’re only cleaning certain areas. You saw them clean up the beachfront for December, they fixed the sewer near the beachfront for December. Come on, guys! Wake up and smell the coffee! It’s not just about the beachfront for tourists—people are suffering in the suburbs, and nobody wants to see it,” he said.

While some councillors are trying to help, Prahladh believes they are powerless in a dysfunctional system. “I’m not saying all councillors are the same. You do get some working councillors, but their hands are tied as well. The heads of departments are failing. They need to go—that’s the only way things will change,” he said.

With the municipality failing to act, residents are now exploring legal avenues to hold them accountable. “We’re trying to gather as many associations and residents as possible to figure out the best course of action,” Prahladh explained. “We’ve taken memorandums to City Hall before, and they always say, don’t worry, it will be sorted. And sure enough, they come out and fix things for a while. But then it goes right back to the same crisis. There is no stability in this municipality at all,” he added.

As Durban’s water crisis deepens, residents are left wondering how much longer they must endure dry taps before real action is taken. Until then, communities continue to struggle, with no clear solutions in sight.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Ish Prahladh, spokesperson for the eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association (ERRA), here.