‘We are really struggling’: Newcastle businesses on water crisis

The Newcastle Business Chamber is calling for urgent action to resolve prolonged water shortages, saying businesses are losing working hours and struggling to operate without reliable water supplies.

The Newcastle Business Chamber urges leaders to urgently address the ongoing water crisis in the area.

Taps in Newcastle West ran dry last month with some residents saying they have gone without water for more than 20 consecutive days.

The local chamber says the worsening crisis is now affecting people's livelihoods.

Chamber president Morné Seeman says some businesses are being forced to send their employees home when there is no water.

“In my case, I've sent my staff home [at] about 12 pm [or] 1 pm, so there's half a day that you can't do work.

“If your people can't drink water, if they can't go to the toilet, I mean, you can't operate. But I'm [an] IT business, and we can't carry on.

“So, imagine the restaurants, doctors, all those kind of people. We are really struggling.”

Seeman believes the crisis points to years of inadequate infrastructure maintenance, including burst pipes and problems at a major pump station.

He explained what the chamber is asking for.

“Firstly, transparency, and secondly, get qualified, experienced people in to find the problem [and] fix the problem.

“There are businesses, consultants and professionals in Newcastle that can definitely assist with the situation.

“The particular pump station that we are talking about, sometimes there's like 10, 15, 20 cars, fancy cars, and it seems like it's mostly business owners who [don’t] know really what's happening instead of having professionals there and people that can give a plan [on the way] forward.”

The municipality has blamed the water crisis on pump failures, burst pipes, vandalism, Eskom-related disruptions and low dam levels.

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Meanwhile, the Newcastle Residents Forum says locals are planning to hold a peaceful march against the ongoing shortages on Monday.

Meanwhile the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), along with the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, is investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses reported at Rhodes University in Makhanda and St Albans Prison in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The investigation follows reports of 111 cases among students living in Rhodes University residences and a further 23 cases at St Albans Prison, bringing the total number of reported cases to 134.

Wisane Mavasa, spokesperson for the department, says the department received a media alert about the illnesses at Rhodes University on Tuesday.

Mavasa says investigations have begun into possible sources of contamination at both locations, with preliminary findings suggesting that the problem may be linked to the internal water distribution systems at the university and the prison.

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