Providing water tankers to communities whose taps have run dry is draining coffers - eThekwini Municipality

DURBAN - The eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal said that providing water tankers to communities whose taps had run dry was draining its coffers.

Some residents in the affected communities said they’d not had water for weeks, while others had been without water for months.

The lack of supply and urgency to address it, led to protests this week. 

The eThekwini Municipality said water tankers were their immediate intervention in this crisis facing Durban communities. 

When asked if the short-term solution wasn’t more expensive than fixing the source of the problem, this is what city manager, Musa Mbhele, had to say. 

"It does cost more to tanker water and use that as a mechanism of providing to the community. It is expensive."

The municipality said a billion rand had been allocated for some projects to restore the damaged infrastructure.