Joburg Water cuts off illegal connections in Lenasia

Residents of Phumlamqashi engaged in a protest, clashing with authorities over Joburg Water’s action of disconnecting their illegal water connections. Daily Maverick reported that Johannesburg Water technicians arrived at the Phumlamqashi informal settlement in Lenasia on Tuesday morning, 12 November 2024, to disconnect illegal connections that have been supplying water to residents for years. 

JOBURG WATER IGNITES THE PROTEST 

An hour after technicians began pulling out pipelines and cutting connections, a standoff ensued between the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), who accompanied the water entity to enforce the disconnections, and community members, who anticipated tensions. 

ANGRY COMMUNITY MEMBERS BLOCK ROADS AND THROW STONES 

Once they realised the disconnections were underway, over a hundred residents took to the streets, blocking the entrance to the informal settlement. SowetanLIVE mentioned that the angry community members responded to the disconnection by throwing stones and insults at the police, threatening to illegally reconnect the water again. 

They later went to the Golden Highway to block it with rocks and debris. EWN reports that the situation quickly escalated, with police firing rubber bullets to disperse the angry community members. 

The SAPS, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department officers, and a private security company are on the scene to de-escalate any potential violence. 

THE CAUSE BEHIND THE ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS

EWN added that resident Benji Kalanko said that the illegal connections were a last resort taken by the residents after their pleas for a stable, clean water supply were ignored by the city. 

He added that they would not stop until Johannesburg Water left them alone. 

“We are the voters; we have the right. They must give us water. We will embark on a strike every time,” he voiced out. 

SITUATION KEPT GETTING WORSE 

According to Briefly, the situation kept getting worse as residents took to the streets to block routes and loot passing vehicles. 

Police were called into action once again after community members attempted to loot a truck carrying alcohol. Residents said they would only return to their homes if the water was reconnected. 

According to GroundUp, Joburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala released a statement saying the connections posed “substantial challenges” to the municipality’s water network and contributed greatly to water losses and shortages across the city. 

Joburg Water added that the community doesn’t have formal water infrastructure. There used to be water tanks, but “due to the ongoing land invasions and subsequent illegal water connections, these tanks ended up vandalised, leading to increased strain on the local water supply network,” said Joburg Water. 

EWN mentioned that JMPD’s Xolani Fihla said that no arrests had been made.