{"id":98362,"date":"2025-06-11T16:27:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98362"},"modified":"2025-06-11T16:27:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:27:57","slug":"mayfair-west-tragedy-highlights-devastating-cost-of-water-outages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/mayfair-west-tragedy-highlights-devastating-cost-of-water-outages\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayfair West Tragedy Highlights Devastating Cost of Water Outages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | <\/em>neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/em><\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n11 June 2025 | 10:45 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

A mother and child have died in a fire in Mayfair West, Johannesburg. (Photo: Gallo Images \/ Papi Morake – Daily Maverick)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely horrible because they don\u2019t seem to understand that people\u2019s lives are on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

This stark warning by WaterCAN\u2019s Dr. Ferrial Adam follows a devastating fire that claimed the lives of a mother and her daughter in Mayfair West, Johannesburg. The tragedy has once again exposed the dire consequences of Johannesburg\u2019s ongoing water crisis.<\/p>\n

The fire, which broke out in a five-bedroom home, left four others\u2014including two young children\u2014hospitalised with burns and smoke inhalation. Neighbours desperately attempted to help, but their efforts were hampered by a chillingly familiar problem: dry taps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been saying this is going to happen,\u201d said Dr. Adam. \u201cWater outages are not new. People in large parts of Joburg, including Mayfair West, have had little or no water for weeks or even months.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mayfair West area falls under the Hursthill 2 reservoir, one of several reservoirs where Johannesburg Water has implemented nightly throttling. This means water is deliberately restricted or completely shut off overnight in a bid to refill the reservoirs for daytime supply. But for emergencies, like the 2 a.m. fire in Mayfair West, this leaves residents helpless.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about water,\u201d Dr. Adam explained. \u201cIt\u2019s about health, food, fire safety, and dignity. It\u2019s a service delivery crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The infrastructure, she said, is collapsing. At least 43 reservoirs are leaking and burst pipes are frequent. While Johannesburg Water is blamed, the real issue is underfunding. \u201cThe City of Joburg holds the purse strings. They know the problem but won\u2019t increase the budget. Then they blame Johannesburg Water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent announcements that five reservoirs have been earmarked for repair offer some hope. However, Dr. Adam cautioned, \u201cThere is no short-term solution. We\u2019re looking at 12 to 18 months before real improvements\u2014if all goes according to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, elderly residents are paying youths to fetch water, children go to school without sanitation, and communities mourn lives lost not just to fire, but to failed governance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for residents to raise their voices,\u201d urged Dr. Adam. \u201cIn mosques, in churches, in schools\u2014this is a crisis that touches everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo water in the tap when a fire breaks out\u2014what kind of city is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Habib Bobat and Dr Ferrial Adam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 11 June 2025 | 10:45 CAT \u201cIt\u2019s completely horrible because they don\u2019t seem to understand that people\u2019s lives are on the line.\u201d This stark warning by WaterCAN\u2019s Dr. Ferrial Adam follows a devastating fire that claimed the lives of a mother and her daughter in Mayfair West, Johannesburg. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Mayfair-West.jpg?fit=557%2C396&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pAu","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 03:25:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}