CAPE TOWN – In an effort to address persistent water issues, scores of Nyanga residents converged at Nyanga Arts Development Centre for the launch of Nyanga Water Action Committee (NWAC) on Friday 14 November.
The committee’s objective is to preserve and educate people about the importance of water in life.
NWAC chairperson Dumisani Makhanya said the event is part of a water awareness campaign, adding that residents saw the need to establish the water action committee to represent the community.
“Our aim is to have a formal structure where people will report their complaints pertaining to water. Currently, we have people who can’t afford to pay their water bills because they are unemployed, and those people need assistance,” Makhanya pointed out.
“Other people are on the verge of having their water cut off by the City of Cape Town, because they don’t pay. Also, there is an issue of deduction for water bills from the prepaid electricity that we also need to look at.”
The NWAC is working with its mother body African Water Commons Collective (AWCC), a collective of water campaigners mobilising against water privatisation and cut-offs, and supporting self-organising for water access and water justice in and beyond South Africa.
“As the community, we need to take responsibility as well. We are intending to have community sessions with people from different areas within Nyanga where we want to tell them to stop wasting water. They must report or close any water leakages from their water pipes,” Makhanya stated.
Speaking on behalf of AWCC, Faeza Meyer said their role is to assist the communities to establish their water action committees for them to be organised. She stated that they also trained the committee members in order to be able to deal with social issues.
“We have representatives of water action committees from various areas who are here today to support the launch of Nyanga WAC. Some of them are coming from Makhaza, Hillview, Elsies etc. Water is life. Without water we can die. You can live on the street, but you can’t survive without water,” said Meyer, adding that they were part of the organisations that they fought with the City against day zero.
She stated that they are mostly working in a so-called disadvantaged community.
Resident Mlandeli Mbiko described the event as informative. He stated that their voices will be easy to hear.
“Almost everyone here is complaining about water or electricity. But, the problem is that we are not united and no one is listening to our voice. Now, we will report to this committee, and they will refer our complaints to the relevant stakeholders,” said Mbiko.
