Morero defends Joburg water woes in parliamentary appearance
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has told Parliament that the city has invested R800 million in Coronationville, Westbury, and Auckland Park to refurbish water infrastructure.
Last week, angry residents of Westbury took to the streets to protest over the erratic water supply, which they claimed had been ongoing for years.
Morero subsequently promised residents that the city would fix the water supply within seven days.
READ MORE: Morero aims to restore water to 'full capacity' within 7 days
Morero appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on Friday to explain the measures the city is taking to address its water supply problems.
“This is an intention to correct the bulk infrastructure in the whole of that area so that in the future those communities are not faced with water challenges moving forward,” Morero told MPs of the R800 million infrastructure spend.
Answering a question on water and sewer problems at schools, Morero said his office was not responsible for overseeing education facilities.
However, the mayor said his office is working on a borehole programme to improve the situation at schools.
“Schools are not our function, but we do insist on going there when there are water issues or sewer issues. We do not even wait for the Department of Education.”
Regarding the water supply issues in Soweto, Morero labelled it a high-consumption area, with the many illegal connections leading to uncontrolled water consumption.
The refurbishment of three damaged water reservoirs will be finished in July 2026.
“This will reduce any form of water interruption because we will have sufficient capacity in Soweto,” Morero explained.
“Remember, the same area of Soweto is a deemed area, and there is consumption that is not controlled, so we are also rolling out prepaid meters to control consumption.”
He denied claims that the city has been overwhelmed by the number of leaking sewer pipes in certain areas, but acknowledged that ageing infrastructure often leads to burst pipes.
“It will not necessarily be true that there are sewer (problems) everywhere in Johannesburg. We do respond where infrastructure is under strain. We do, from time to time, conduct oversight of what is happening in our townshops and infrastructure.”
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