The ongoing water tanker saga in Letsitele and Tzaneen appears to have finally reached some semblance of progress. Last week a decision was taken to lock all fire hydrants in Letsitele to prevent the continuous illegal drawing of water from the municipal hydrants by private truckers from the outlying areas.
The police and municipal traffic department were informed that they now have the powers to arrest anyone illegally drawing water (without a permit in other words) and charge them with damage to municipal infrastructure.
***Editor’s note: Bulletin has been reporting on the water tankers plaguing our local municipalities since 2017 and the story seems to change each time we attempt to gain clarity on the matter from the municipal spokespeople. We are still trying to determine who is paying who and why, who is policing these water tankers and why the municipality does not own enough water tankers to deliver water to the affected areas themselves instead of using contractors who they maintain are not contractors. Locking fire hydrants ARE NOT THE ANSWER and will lead to potentially more complications and damage to municipal infrastructure. Actually believing that the police and especially the municipal traffic officers will approach and reprimand anyone drawing water from a hydrant into a JoJo tank on the back of a truck, is naïve.
The Agreement in 2021
In 2021 the Greater Tzaneen Municipality allegedly entered into an agreement with these private truck owners, who formed a group calling themselves the Group of Private Water Tankers (GPWT).
Before his resignation in September this year, former Municipal Manager for the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Thapelo Matlala, drew up an agreement between the municipality and this group of water tanker owners back in June, to allow them to draw water from the municipal fire hydrant in Koedoe Street at a cost of R16.50 per kilolitre.
The agreement stated clearly that the water tankers needed to provide proof of payment to the municipality before they were permitted to draw water, and that all other hydrants around the residential areas of town were strictly off limits. The details of the trucks which were to be doing the water drawing, were also to be provided (license and registration) so that a database could be compiled.
“Any truck found to be drawing water form the municipal supply lines without adhering to the above conditions, will be doing so illegally and will therefore be subjected to a fine” read the contract which was signed by Matlala and Benjamin Mathebula.
We sent an inquiry to the municipality’s spokesperson, asking how the conditions of the contract was being enforced given that the trucks were spotted drawing water from hydrants all over town; specifically in King Edward Street. We wanted to know (as we have asked in three previous correspondences) how the volumes of water being drawn by these tankers were calculated and how the truckers were being billed.
The answer we received was vague. “As it still stands, water tankers are only permitted to draw water from the hydrant in Koedoe Street. Residents are advised to report water tankers drawing water from any other hydrant,” explained Vutivi Makhubele. “Lastly they are not tasked by the GTM to assist in providing clean water, they are doing it independently.”
Different in 2022
So, according to the municipality at the time, the GPWT were not contracted by the GTM but were acting “independently”. Interesting. Especially considering that the response we received from the GTM this week, told a different story.
According to spokesperson Vutivi Makhubele, illegal water tankers do not have contracts with the municipality to supply rural areas. “GTM tankers and contractors don’t sell water but supply water to rural areas for free and they don’t draw water illegally they are authorised to supply water. GTM condemns the illegal drawing of water from hydrants, we have partnered with SAPS to take legal action against the illegal water tankers going forward.”
This does not answer any of the questions. We want to know how much these truckers are being paid by the municipality to deliver water to the outlying areas, who these tankers are and how to identify them, and why the story has changed once again.
Contractors or Privateers?
Last year the water tankers were being charged per kilolitre as per an agreement with the GTM. This year, they are no longer paying for the water but are indeed being paid to draw the water. Last year they were not contracted, they were privateers and this year they are contractors and everyone else is drawing water illegally.
What happened to the agreement that the trucks are charged per kilolitre between the GTM and the GPWT? And in all of this, why did the GTM deny that the truckers were contracted to them? And why does the GTM only have one working water truck of their own?
We have received reliable information from residents in the rural areas that these water tankers are selling the water to villagers – a fact that even the manager of the water and sanitation department at the GTM, Tedia Molewa, is apparently also aware of according to this resident.
So, if the agreement is in place and there are in fact two groups of tankers, one group private and one group contracted to the GTM, then the following is true; the GTM is paying truckers to draw water and deliver it to the rural areas whilst they are also invoicing truckers to draw water and take it to the rural areas.
In both scenarios the question remains; who is monitoring them?
***Editor’s comment: At the time of going to print we had not received an answer to our question into how much the contracted water tankers are being paid to deliver the water to the rural areas. We are convinced that the amount would far exceed the cost of the GTM purchasing a fleet of water tankers, employing a driver and assistant, and delivering the water themselves. We thus do not support the idea of locking the hydrants and handing a set of keys to the fire department as this would lead to a number of new problems such as people breaking the hydrants to draw the water; grinding off the locking mechanisms; and territorial disputes among the various groups of private and contracted water tankers. It makes sense that the privateers make far more money than the contractors and one wonders how long it will take them to realize this.
Alternatively, what prevents a contractor from also being a privateer and making money on both ends by being paid by the GTM on the one hand and selling the water at a massive profit margin on the other hand? Because there is no policing of the bylaws and therefore the locking of the hydrants is a flawed system from the start.
