EThekwini Municipality continues to face pressure to address water leaks and improve service delivery, despite reporting a sharp reduction in its backlog, as uncertainty remains over the status of plumbing contractors and their ongoing dispute with the City.
Last week Democratic Alliance (DA) staged a picket at the Ottawa Water and Sanitation depot on Friday, 9 October , to demand urgent action on the water crisis and hand over a memorandum to municipal leadership.
However, no senior official was available to receive the memorandum at the depot. The DA subsequently made alternative arrangements to deliver it to the office of Mayor Cyril Xaba.
The picket comes as residents continue to raise concerns about leaking pipes, water interruptions and delays in repairs, while questions remain about how the municipality’s revised contracting model is operating on the ground.
Contractors have been seen carrying out work, but it is unclear whether they are plumbers recruited by the five main contractors appointed under the city’s new model or members of the group that has protested against the revised arrangements.
The municipality has been asked to clarify the status of the contractors currently working, how many have been recruited and whether all regions have sufficient teams to respond to reported leaks.
Municipal marketing and communications spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila said the city was engaging with plumbers but could not disclose details while discussions remained sensitive.
“The eThekwini Municipality is actively engaging with plumbers through established internal and stakeholder engagement processes. As these discussions are ongoing and remain at a sensitive stage, the Municipality is not in a position to comment publicly on the details thereof,” Mzila said.
He added that the municipality was committed to ensuring that valid concerns were investigated and addressed in accordance with its policies, procedures and governance processes.
The dispute follows the city’s move to replace its previous contracting arrangement with a model involving five main contractors appointed through its Contractor Infrastructure Panel.
The transition sparked objections from former contractors, who raised concerns about outstanding payments, transparency and the requirement to work under the appointed main contractors rather than hold individual contracts with the municipality.
In July, water and sanitation contractors gathered at the Pinetown depot seeking answers about payments and their contracts.
In August, Mayor Xaba announced an agreement with plumbers on hourly rates and the removal of a 15% management fee previously deducted from their rates. The city also said the five main contractors would recruit from an existing pool of 1886 plumbers, with recruitment for the first shift of 712 workers beginning at the time.
The municipality has since reported progress in addressing leaks. In a statement issued in October, it said reported water leaks had fallen from 13 000 in July to 3900 after municipal teams repaired more than 9000 leaks. It also reported that non-revenue water, which includes water lost through leaks, bursts, theft and illegal connections, had declined from 58% to 55%.
Mayor Xaba said the reduction showed what municipal teams could achieve when their work was properly supported, but acknowledged that more remained to be done.
The city has attributed recurring infrastructure problems in some areas to vandalism and illegal connections, which it says place additional pressure on the water network.
While the reported figures indicate progress, residents continue to expect quicker repairs and reliable water supplies. The latest picket has renewed scrutiny of whether the new contracting model is operating consistently across the city and whether the remaining backlog is being addressed effectively.
The municipality has not provided further details about its current engagements with contractors or confirmed whether the plumbers observed working are all part of the new arrangement.
The outstanding questions include the status of the negotiations, the recruitment of contractors across all regions and the measures in place to ensure that reported leaks are repaired without unnecessary delays.
