WATCH | 'We've had enough': Fed-up Westbury residents block roads over water outages

“This government is frustrating us. We’ve kept quiet and adapted to this, but now we’ve had enough.”

Those were the words of Westbury resident Aiya Alister on why they, together with the community of Coronationville blocked several roads in the early hours of Wednesday morning, protesting against what they called prolonged water outages.

Alister said Joburg Water has frustrated them for many years and they decided to frustrate the system in return by ensuring that the roads are impassable.

“It’s been like this since last year. Water goes off the whole day, then only comes back around midnight and goes off again at 3 or 4am. We’ve had enough. This government is frustrating us, so today we are going to frustrate the system,” Alister said.

Another issue Alister had was that the nearby informal settlements have consistent services while their area continues to struggle.

“Why does the squatter camp have water and lights while we don’t? It feels like our human rights are being violated.”

In Coronationville, 51-year-old Malcolm Jacobie said his community has been without water for two weeks.

“Our infrastructure has been neglected for years. Projects are stalled and promises keep coming, but nothing changes. Old people have to walk long distances to carry buckets of water. Meanwhile, informal settlements nearby have a steady supply from the same reservoir. It’s dividing our community.”

Jacobie also raised concerns about billing.

“We’re forced to pay over R1,000 a month for water we don’t even get. If you don’t pay, when the supply does come back, they cut you off. It’s unfair and unsustainable. We want a proper project plan, not more empty promises.”

Residents said the water crisis has also affected schools, with some forced to close early due to the ongoing shortages.

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