Ladysmith residents at breaking point over months of water cuts

RESIDENTS in Ladysmith are facing financial and emotional strain after enduring months of persistent water cuts, with some areas going without water for up to two weeks each month.

Community members have accused the uThukela District Municipality of neglect, poor communication, and mismanagement of the crisis.

For residents in Rose Park and Acaciaville, dry taps have become a norm which they claimed was taking a toll on them emotionally and financially.

Terrance Singh, a policeman, from Rose Park, said he had been battling water issues for more than 10 months.

“Presently, we do not have water. It costs me a fortune to fill our JoJo tank. Sometimes we go for over two weeks a month without water. We do not even have tankers coming around to supply us with water. We receive free water only from private companies,” he said.

According to Singh, the municipality often offered excuses for the water crisis, but little or no relief. 

“The municipality gives us a variety of reasons as to why we have water issues, including that the water pipes had been stolen or the dam needed cleaning. It is always an excuse with no help. 

“My family of five needs a lot of water. We collect up to 500 litres a day, which lasts a maximum of two days. We pay R500 each time to fill our JoJo tank. This does not include the drinking water which we have to buy. In addition, we still have to pay our water bill a service we do not have most day,” Singh added.

He said he had a teenager who was currently writing the matric final exams.

“We set buckets of water aside every night so in the morning everything goes smoothly and my child is not delayed in getting to the exams. It is difficult to carry on like this. This life requires extra money which we do not have.”

He said many residents also faced higher electricity costs because they relied on pumps to extract water from the Jojo tank. 

Long-time Ladysmith resident and real estate agent, Ralph Pandoy, from Acaciaville said the crisis had persisted for years without meaningful solutions.

“Some areas do not have water for more than 10 days at a time. This is often blamed on burst pipes and not the poor management by the municipality. Wards 10, 13, and 20 are hardest hit by this crisis.”

Pandoy believes residents also need to take stronger action. 

“We are partly to blame because we never follow through with our complaints. We complain when there is no water, but once the water is back, we stop complaining.”

He added that communication from the municipality had also worsened. 

“A month ago, the uThukela Municipality did not keep us informed about issues. Having water is a basic human right which we pay for,” said Pandoy.

Ladysmith Community Association (LCA) chairperson, Maseehullah Gaffar, said residents’ frustration has reached its peak.

“The water situation has not improved at all. The uThukela District Municipality has failed the paying residents of this town. They do not send out any communication regarding the water outages, especially for the high-lying areas. In fact, they do not care about us at all.”

He criticised the municipality for focusing on public celebrations instead of service delivery. 

“Whilst they enjoy having parties to show their success, they are not interested in making sure paying wards are adequately serviced without any interruptions.”

Gaffar added that efforts to engage the municipality have been futile. 

“You can phone the call-center but they never know what is happening. We are on the same WhatsApp group with uThukela management but they never respond to our concerns. It seems like we are living in a mafia state.”

Despite repeated complaints, many residents say there has been no sign of improvement or transparency from local municipality.

“Water is not a privilege. It is a basic necessity and we are tired of begging for it,” said Gaffar. 

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