eThekwini water crisis leaves northern areas without supply, DA says

Scrolla | 11.03.2026 22:06

By Celani Sikhakhane

  • DA councillor Yogis Govender says only 20 of eThekwini’s 90 water tankers are on the road, leaving wards without water.
  • The DA says eThekwini has spent tens to hundreds of millions of rands on tankers while the water network stays broken.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) took to the streets on Wednesday as part of a Provincial Blue Wednesday protest against water crises in KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.

DA councillor Yogis Govender, who sits on the executive committee of eThekwini Municipality, challenged Mayor Cyril Xaba’s claim that leaks and bursts are repaired within 24 hours. She called it a grotesque distortion of reality.

“Across Durban, residents endure repeated, prolonged outages, unreliable tanker deliveries, and collapsing infrastructure while official rhetoric pretends that the crisis is under control,” Govender said.

She said millions of litres are wasted daily while households go without safe water for days. The result, she said, is contaminated storage, ruined livelihoods, closed classrooms and a growing public health threat.

Govender said the northern areas of eThekwini, including Inanda, Ntuzuma, kwaMashu and Phoenix, are in operational collapse.

She said the tanker fleet should have about 90 vehicles, but only around 20 are on the road. About 30 are unlicensed and the rest are broken down or parked at depots.

“Many households wait up to three days or more for water, and some receive no tanker at all for extended periods,” she said.

DA caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa said vandalism and deliberate sabotage of water infrastructure have made the crisis worse, with pipes and pump stations repeatedly targeted.

The City of eThekwini said water supply remains stable across most areas with infrastructure. It said rising demand due to urbanisation, extreme heat and a reduced supply from uMngeni-uThukela Water, which was dealing with algae problems at Reservoir 2 of the Durban Heights Treatment Works, had put the system under pressure.

Pictured above: DA members protesting over the water crisis in the city.

Image source: @DA_KZN