JOHANNESBURG - Leadership expert Mazwe Majola says Johannesburg’s water crisis is a direct reflection of governance failures.
He says the City of Gold is grappling with an increasing population rate but, at the same time, instability in leadership.
“The city in the last five years has had about nine mayors. This adds to the instability, coalition failures, mismanagement, corruption, and chaos.
“Leadership is about providing solutions and solving problems. If you can't do that, you must step aside and give an opportunity to those who can,” he says.
Protests over water shortages have turned violent in Coronationville, in the west of the city. Residents are on the streets demanding an end to the water cuts that have plagued them for years.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds yesterday. Several people were injured.
A number of roads, including major routes, were blocked. The community is vowing to continue protesting until the matter is resolved.
Majola slams the conditions in which communities have been left, saying they are unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the Department of Water and Sanitation is urging Johannesburg Water to address the crisis.
Its director-general, Sean Phillips, says Johannesburg Water is not a fully-fledged service. While it receives a budget allocation from the metro, its revenue from water sales is also controlled by the city and often diverted to other purposes.
This, he says, is the underlying reason Johannesburg Water has not had enough money for required maintenance to infrastructure, to fix leaks and to invest in infrastructure.
READ: Coronationville community vows to keep protesting until water returns
According to Phillips, this compounds the reality that water is scarce.
While Johannesburg relies on the integrated Vaal River system, he says it simply does not have enough water.
Phillips says there is an urgent need to make Johannesburg Water responsible for billing and revenue collection, and allow it to retain and allocate its revenue.