Emfuleni's water woes significantly impacting businesses, households, says daycare owner

JOHANNESBURG - A local daycare owner in Evaton, south of Johannesburg, has deplored the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s failure to consistently supply safe drinking water for the community. 

Evelyn Mbatha is one of many residents who had to contend with dry taps over the past few weeks after the water was contaminated due to a sewage spill.

Mbatha, who owns Lesedi Daycare Centre in Evaton, said the water issue in Emfuleni has crippled businesses. 

This has forced some owners and households to find other ways to get supply.

Apart from the water challenge, the once quaint township is now riddled with makeshift dumping sites, puddles of sewage mere meters apart and a pungent stench. 

Backyards and gardens of homes have made way for the storage of JoJo tanks and bins intended to collect rainwater, which residents use as a “safer alternative” to the water supplied by the municipality.

Mbatha shared how she was ensuring the safety of the toddlers at the daycare. 

“For the children, I boil the water, even before cooking, I ensure that I boil the water.”

She has lived here since birth and told Eyewitness News she has witnessed first-hand the deterioration of her neighbourhood.