Service Failure: EThekwini water failures leave Ward 105 residents dependent on streams

For residents in eThekwini Metro Municipality’s Ward 105, every sunrise begins with the same painful routine. Instead of turning on a tap, they pick up buckets and walk long distances to collect water from streams shared with cattle, goats and dogs. The community says it has not had a reliable supply of municipal water since 2020, with families seemingly waiting endlessly for promises from the municipality to materialise.A home with water containers in eThekwini Ward 105. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) Bongi Mkhize fills containers with water in Ward 105. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) Ward 105 is a predominantly rural area on the southern outskirts of eThekwini. Communities live in small pockets of settlements such as Mfume and Odidini that all face high levels of poverty, unemployment and limited access to basic services. Despite falling within the boundaries of a metropolitan municipality, the ward retains a distinctly rural character, with traditional leadership playing an important role in community life.Over the past few weeks, Inkundla Newspaper has visited this area a number of times to see and hear the community’s struggles first hand. Residents described years of suffering and frustration. They accused the eThekwini Municipality and their ward councillor of neglecting them. In this area, they said, there used to be wide access to piped running water. It was flowing well until a series of projects took place that disrupted that access. First, water meter installations in households caused interruptions. Then, in early 2020 a road construction project damaged a main pipe providing water to the community.A man collects water from a stream in eThekwini Ward 105 on 24 June 2026. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) A former construction worker on that project, Shadreck Mzulwini, recalled how the pipeline burst during roadworks in March 2020.“The pipe burst while we were working. We immediately reported it to our manager, who informed the head of construction. We repaired what we could, but the remaining section was left for the municipality to repair,” he said.Six years later, residents say that repair has not taken place. Furthermore, the water system that once served parts of Ward 105 relied on a borehole pump that fed water to the community’s taps. When the pipeline burst, the pump was also damaged, according to residents. Since then, neither pipe nor pump has been repaired. Resident Ezekiel Nkosi questioned why the municipality has failed to repair this common infrastructure for so long.“Every year we hear another excuse. First it was the pipe, then the pump. Are we expected to believe a broken pump can take five years to repair? A pump that costs less than R1-million cannot take five years to fix. A broken pipe cannot take seven years. It is clear they do not care. They are good at empty promises,” he lamented.‘We don’t have a choice’During our visit to Ward 105 we found Siyanda Malunga, a young man washing his clothes beside one of the streams that now serves as the community’s main water source. The stream, known locally as Kwanjapha esihosheni, is located in KwaMpule, about two kilometres from the residential area, and flows through the valley below the community.“I don’t have a choice. This is where we wash our clothes, collect water and sometimes even drink. The same stream is used by cows and dogs.”Nearby, elderly residents waited with buckets while women and children queued for water, then carried heavy containers back to their homes – some balancing them on their heads, others dragging them across the dust. The daily ritual is repeated by hundreds of families. The water crisis is also stealing valuable learning time from children. Grade 11 learner Fanele Njwara says every school day ends with another exhausting journey to fetch water.“We go to school, come back home, and then spend hours fetching water. By the time we finish, we are exhausted. How are we expected to compete with learners who have running water at home?”A resident carries water collected from a stream to her home in Ward 105. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) He added that despite years of suffering, he had never seen the current ward councillor Ayanda Ndlovu meeting residents to discuss their concerns. Residents say they have attended meetings, submitted complaints, and waited patiently for answers. They claim the ward councillor repeatedly promised that the problem would be resolved.Ntombenhle Makhanya of ward 96 faces angry residents who blocked off the R603 near Umbumbulu during a service delivery protest after having no electricity for two months, on 24 June 2026. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) “Ward councillor Ayanda Ndlovu even sent our school principal to take notes on his behalf so our complaints could be recorded. We believed something would finally happen, but nothing changed,” said a resident who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised by local leaders. Ntombenhle Makhanya, a ward committee member, said she had spent years forwarding residents’ complaints to the councillor.“He knows exactly how we live. I used to pass every complaint to him until he stopped taking my calls. Now the community believes I have betrayed them because nothing has changed.” She said the last time she spoke to the councillor was when he was celebrating his appointment as a regional ANC treasurer.“The community has become divided because people believe I am ignoring them and no one is fighting for them any more,” she said.In August last year, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said that water services had been restored to parts of Ward 105. However, residents interviewed by Inkundla disputed this claim.“Officials say water has been restored, but that is simply not true. No one from the municipality has ever come here to check that or explain what is happening. They are neglecting us because we are a rural farming community and uneducated. They remember us when they need our votes, but after elections, they disappear.”Basic services transfer cost burden to most vulnerable The health risks continue to grow. Simphiwe and Thokozile Nkosi, elderly pensioners who live in the heart of Ward 105, say they now spend R600 from their monthly pension buying water because municipal water tankers rarely reach their home.“We are old and cannot go to fetch water. When we ask tanker drivers for help, they tell us to phone the municipality or the councillor. Nobody takes responsibility,” said Nkosi.Former Ward 105 Councillor Simphiwe Kweyama, who served as the community’s elected representative and primary link to the eThekwini Municipality for several years, has watched his successor fail the community. He described the situation as unacceptable.“These water schemes were built to assist the community. It is disappointing that after all these years, residents are still suffering with no solutions. I have myself reported this to the municipality, and that is how some of these structures were built. But it is sad that after so much work, nothing seems to work, and no one is willing to assist the community.”Induna Thulebone Mkhize. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) The community’s Induna, Thulebone Mkhize, said the water crisis had reached breaking point.“Our people have suffered for too long. Water is a basic human right. The municipality must stop making promises and come here with permanent solutions.”Residents are now calling on the eThekwini Municipality to conduct an urgent site visit, meet directly with the community, and provide clear timelines for restoring water. Until that happens, Ward 105 residents will keep making the same lonely journey every morning, walking to the stream with buckets in hand.The municipality, however, disputes residents’ account that an unrepaired pipeline remains the primary cause of the crisis, saying the original pump was later decommissioned and that current shortages stem from ageing infrastructure, vandalism and growing demand.EThekwini, councillor Ndlovu respondInkundla submitted queries to eThekwini Municipality, channelling the frustrations of Ward 105’s residents. Mduduzi Nkosi, head of the municipality’s water and sanitation committee, responded.Asked whether Ward 105 had a reliable water supply, he acknowledged that the ward was on intermittent supply, saying water was rationed between communities. He maintained that most areas received water at least twice a week and that tankers covered the gaps in service.He was asked about residents’ complaints that water tanker services were unreliable and rarely reached affected households.A water reservoir that is alleged to have never been put into use in Ward 105. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) Protestors block the R603 near Umbumbulu during a service delivery protest after having no electricity for two months, on 24 June 2026. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) “Water tankers are dispatched based on the number of tankers available to serve the various areas within the South Region. Several communities rely on tanker services, and deliveries are scheduled accordingly; the distribution is done through the relevant ward councillor,” Nkosi said.He also denied that a long-reported damaged pipeline remains unrepaired, saying the vandalised pump had been decommissioned and supply reconfigured.“The ongoing supply challenges are attributed to the repeated vandalism of critical infrastructure,” he said.He added that any confirmed pipeline damage would be repaired, but gave no budget or timeline for upgrades.A resident gets water from a well. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) A water connection from a stream. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) Residents wash clothes in a stream where the surrounding community get drinking water in Ward 105, on 24 June 2026. (Photo: Rogan Ward / SA I AJP) Ward 105 Councillor Ndlovu also responded to queries. He said the area’s longstanding water shortages stemmed from ageing infrastructure inherited from the former Ugu District, population growth and illegal connections that had overwhelmed the existing water system.He said the municipal council had approved upgrades to key water infrastructure in the 2025/26 financial year, with projects including upgrades to the Mfume pump station and reservoir, the Umgodi pump station and the Vumelethu Reservoir funded for 2026/27.Ndlovu said the municipality had relied on water tankers and boreholes to supply affected communities while permanent infrastructure was developed, although tanker services were previously disrupted by procurement issues. He added that boreholes had so far been installed in six areas, with priority given to communities that had never had piped water infrastructure. DMThis report was produced by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP), an initiative of the Henry Nxumalo Foundation with the financial assistance of the European Union. It can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.