Durban – Msunduzi Municipality City Manager Lulamile Mapholoba has assured Pietermaritzburg residents that the municipality is moving with speed to ensure that all burst pipes are attended so that everyone enjoys an uninterrupted water supply.
He said apart from this, there would be tighter security measures to ensure that the city’s water infrastructure is protected from any acts of vandalism.
Yesterday (Thursday), Mapholoba led a team from water services to inspect water infrastructure following a number of issues related to water supply within the CBD. There have been a number of burst pipes which led to water outages in parts of the CBD, suspected to be acts of vandalism of the water infrastructure.
"There are clear signs of sabotage and we are investigating the source as it seems well organised. This has compelled us to intensify security measures to protect the infrastructure in these critical areas,” the city manager said yesterday.
He added that they would have more staff in the water section and have looked at allocating more funds for upgrading the water infrastructure.
“We need to safeguard all our assets in order to be able to continue providing much needed services to the people of Msunduzi. As the city manager, I have also made it clear to staff that anyone tampering with tools of the trade or the infrastructure will be severely dealt with as it is tantamount to sabotaging service delivery,” Mapholoba stressed.
In recent days, water shortages in the Pietermaritzburg CBD disrupted operations of businesses and public entities, including the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and City Hall, forcing staff members to leave early.