04 April 2019
Immediate Release

Joburg Water (JW) officials rendering service delivery have been exposed to criminal activities that are life threatening mainly in Eldorado Park, Klipspruit West and Hostels in Soweto and neighbouring communities. Our Operations staff has been subjected to constant mugging and robbing incidents by criminal elements in the above mentioned areas, which have been steadily rising from 2017.

Employees have been robbed of tools from their vehicles as well as personal belongings such as money and cell phones, usually at knife and gun point. JW vehicles have also been damaged and employees physically attacked by these criminal elements.

This has led to our employees requiring medical attention and trauma counselling to help them deal with challenges experienced in the course of serving the residents of the City. Furthermore, as of Monday 25 March 2019, our teams are refusing to enter these areas for fear of their lives, and service delivery is suffering as a result.

We appeal to all residents, community leadership of the mentioned areas to look after our staff as they render service that is vital for all. JW won’t compromise official’s lives if the community is unable to ensure their safety while on duty.

Incidents on Record
a) A cellphone and company vehicle keys were taken at gunpoint in Van Zeeberg Street in Eldos ext. 6 in 2017.

b) JW team in 2017 was held at knifepoint at Cummings Road near the Eldorado Park stadium, tools and personal belongings were taken.

c) In 2018, tools and cell phones were taken from a team near the police station.

d) In 2018,our foreman for sewer was grabbed from behind while another thug took his cell phone and R50.00 in Van Zeeberg Street.

e) In 2018 a thug grabbed a bag which contained an identity document, wallet, cell phone and lunch box through a company vehicle window at Fuschia Road in Klipspruit West.

f) In 2018 our officer was held up at gunpoint, tools and a cell phone were taken.

g) November 2018, our Foreman parked his vehicle (a brand new Ford Ranger) on a street in Eldos ext. While he and his team were inspecting our sewer line some short distance away, his spare wheel was stolen.

h) July 2018, our team was held up at gunpoint and robbed of money and cell phones while working in Union Road in Eldos ext.

i) Again in December 2019, the JW team were held up at gunpoint in Eldos ext1, tools and cell phones were taken.

j) Early March 2019, while busy working in Merafe hostel our team was threatened with a fire arm.

k) 21 March 2019, team were held up at gunpoint at Ascot Street in Eldos ext 8, tools and cell phones were taken. The company vehicle window was also broken.

Johannesburg Water as the employer, we are really concerned about the safety of our employees and as such we appeal for all hands on deck to bring this unscrupulous behaviour to an end. Johannesburg Water is committed to provide a sustainable service to all residents of the City without fear of favour.

Ends

Issued by
Mr Isaac Dhludhlu
Communications Manager
011 688 1577/072 638 5346
isaac.dhludhlu@jwater.co.za

03 April 2019
Immediate Release

According to the National Treasury and as per the National Water Policy, Municipalities across the country are no longer providing free basic water to all residents, but only to registered indigent who qualify according to the means test, as such the City of Johannesburg is offering the Expanded Social Package (ESP) to qualifying vulnerable residents such as the unemployed, youth, people with disabilities, displaced persons and senior citizens.

In line with our commitment to care for the poorest members of our society, we will continue to provide free basic water to residents on the City’s indigent list. Depending on household income, our poorest residents will receive between 10
and 15 kilolitres of free water per household, per month and those qualifying are encouraged to register at their nearest City of Johannesburg offices across the seven regions.

Johannesburg Water as a municipal entity is required to implement the National Water Policy as such we have already started with the programme to remove the free basic water in household that are not part of the ESP program. At the same time Johannesburg Water will take this opportunity to upgrade these meters with the latest technology. Residents in the following areas are urged to allow officials from Service provider, access to their properties to do the necessary
work.

We plead with the residents of the City of Johannesburg to work together with JW teams and service providers by allowing our contractors into their homes to do the required work.

People with different levels of need will qualify for different levels of subsidy according to the City’s measure of affordability. For more information on who qualifies, how and where to apply residents can log onto www.johannesburgwater.co.za

Ends

Media enquiries:
Cllr Nico de Jager
MMC: Environment and Infrastructure Services Department
083 899 2127
NicoDe@joburg.org.za

Mr. Isaac Dhludhlu
Communications Manager
011 688 1577
072 638 5346
Isaac.Dhludhlu@jwater.co.za

18 March 2019
Immediate Release

Johannesburg Water (JW) would like to advise residents of the City of Johannesburg to check load shedding schedule for their respective arrears on the Eskom and City Power websites as water supply does get affected by power outages.

In the event of load shedding for the duration of 4 hours and more, pockets of areas will have water shortages or even low pressure because JW uses electricity to pump water from the reservoir into the towers.

Residents are urged to make arrangements by ensuring they have water to last the duration of the outage when they are affected by load shedding. Joburg Water unfortunately does not have enough water tankers to be able to assist as a form of alternative supply because of the size of areas that get affected by load shedding.

Customers are also encouraged to check our social media platforms ( Facebook: Johannesburg Water and Twitter @JHBwater) for regular updates on the status of water levels in the towers and reservoirs. Johannesburg Water is committed to provide a sustainable water and sanitation supply to all residents of the City and level 1 water restrictions are still in place and will be enforced by fines to consumers who contravened the Water Services By-laws. Consumers are urged to report noncompliance to the JMPD 24/7 hotline on 011 758 9650.

Ends

Media enquiries:
Cllr Nico de Jager
MMC: Environment and Infrastructure Services Department
083 899 2127
NicoDe@joburg.org.za

Mr. Isaac Dhludhlu
Communications Manager
011 688 1577
072 638 5346
Isaac.Dhludhlu@jwater.co.za

08 March 2019
Immediate release

Johannesburg Water has a staff complement of just two and half thousand employees servicing seven regions of the City of Johannesburg. Staff development and training is part of the Human Resources strategy to improve efficiency and turnaround times, as such the entity proudly invested five million rand in a first ever water and wastewater learnership programme over a period of three years to capacitate employees to optimise they work performance and also to create opportunities for their personal growth.

A total of 63 employees who are stationed at the various Johannesburg Water depots received their recognised qualifications in Water and Wastewater Reticulation Services and Water and Waste Water Treatment Process Control Supervision after been trained on water qualifications for the past three years.

The mission of the company is to provide all the people of Johannesburg with access to quality water and sanitation services and by valuing and developing its employees to build a sustainable capacity.

Majority of JW employees who were graduating, work in our Operations Department as General Workers, Operators and Process Controllers and do not have occupational qualifications. Many of them had not received formal training that is directly related to their area of work.

The Johannesburg Water Training and Development team is trying to remedy the situation by developing their skills and implementing programs that are in line with their day to day work, these include being efficient and being able to meet their daily targets.

In terms of equity, 14 of the learners are female and there were two people living with disability. Johannesburg Water is committed to provide a sustainable water and sanitation supply to all residents of the City and level 1 water restrictions are still in place and will be enforced by fines to consumers who contravened the Water Services By-laws. Consumers are urged to report noncompliance to the JMPD 24/7 hotline on 011 758 9650.

Ends

Media enquiries:
Mr. Isaac Dhludhlu
Communications Manager
011 688 1577
072 638 5346
Isaac.Dhludhlu@jwater.co.za

06 February 2019
Immediate Release

There is a burst pipe on Mastiff road in Midrand that is affecting water supply to Industrial Park and Jukskei View. This relates to a river crossing that washed away last week Thursday due to the heavy rainstorm. The damage is quite severe as we also need to replace some gabions to protect our infrastructure.

Joburg Water has appointed a contractor who will slip line a pipe through the damage section of the river crossing and link the original pipe again at the two valves we have installed. We expect to restore services late this afternoon to early evening if all goes according to plan.

We are working around the clock to finalize the problem and appeal for patience, Joburg Water is committed to provide services to all and residents are urged to check progress updates on the social media pages.

• Twitter: @jhbwater
• Facebook: Johannesburg Water

Stationery tanks and roaming water tankers are available for residents to use in the interim and are being constantly refilled. Those who still battling to access water are
encouraged to report and arrangements will be made to assist immediately.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused

Ends

Media enquiries:
Cllr Nico de Jager
MMC: Environment and Infrastructure Services Department
083 899 2127
NicoDe@joburg.org.za

29 January 2019
Release: immediate

Today, 29 January 2019, the City of Johannesburg, through Johannesburg Water, handed over ablution facilities to the Zamimpilo Informal Settlement community, effectively servicing 1 900 households..

Sanitation is a basic human requirement, which contributes to human dignity and quality of life. It is an essential tool in the fight against poverty and inequality. It is for this reason that I am proud to be handing over these facilities today.

This project came about as a result of Johannesburg Water’s Basic Services Programme, aimed at eradicating basic services backlogs in informal settlements.

R4 million was used to complete this phase of the project, which included connection to the existing sewer infrastructure and the installation of solar panels for lighting. Since the start of this project in June 2018, 30 labourers, 20 facilitators and 3 security personnel were employed from the community.

The handover of the first phase now allows for the completion of the second phase of the project in Zamimpilo, with a further 2 659 households to be serviced. This is due to be completed next month.

The savings achieved during the previous financial year have been redirected into bringing Diphetogo (real change) to communities like Zamimpilo by enhancing critical service delivery areas.

The budget for provision of basic water and sanitation services was increased to R75 million this financial year. And by the end of June, Johannesburg Water would have provided 4 834 households in informal settlements access to basic sanitation.

Providing all households in the City of Johannesburg with basic access to water and sanitation is crucial.

Over 72 000 households in informal settlements are serviced by Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets, individual connections or ablution blocks. Through these programmes, the City is working hard to eradicate the use of chemical toilets. By July, this backlog will be reduced by 2 000 households.

This pro-poor administration will continue to bring back dignity to our residents by tackling basic infrastructure backlogs, because an investment in infrastructure is an investment in the future.

These are evident in addressing our R170 billion infrastructure backlog through the maintenance of traffic lights and street lights, repairing potholes, the capacitation of key City departments, as well as informal settlement upgrading.

I ask residents to also take ownership of infrastructure in their communities and report all leaks to Johannesburg Water at 011 375 5555.

For media queries:

Isaac Dhludhlu
Communication and Marketing Manager: Johannesburg Water
011 688 1577
072 638 5346
isaac.dhludhlu@jwater.co.za

Or

Chantelle Fourie-Shawe
Media Specialist: Office of the Executive Mayor
081 546 1014
chantellef@joburg.org.za