Sabotage of water supply lines
‘Bay won’t be held ransom by systematic sabotage’
THOUSANDS of households were left without water in Kwazakhele, Zwide and New Brighton at the weekend after the alleged sabotage of half a dozen supply line valves. Nelson Mandela Bay executive director for infrastructure and engineering Walter Shaidi showed the media yesterday how the saboteurs would have had to use a special crowbar key to laboriously winch closed a main line valve on the corner of Mbilini and Mavuso streets in Kwazakhele.
Having done the dirty work under cover of darkness on Thursday night, they stuffed a rock into the hole and covered it with soil.
Speaking at the site, mayor Athol Trollip said the incident was unacceptable.
“These incidents are happening in the townships and northern areas, apparently to promote the narrative that this municipality does not care.
“In fact, it is the opposite and this municipality is moving heaven and earth to keep the lights and the taps on for all.
“When you have to locate an important valve and, using a highly specialised piece of equipment, turn that valve 38 times to shut if off – you are acting maliciously.
“Five or six valves were found closed in this area [on Saturday]. This is one more example of the systematic sabotage of our city. But we will not be held ransom.”
Shaidi said when they inserted their key onto the Mbilini Street valve, they knew immediately they were onto something.
“There was no vibration. The pipe was silent. We realised there was no water at all moving through it.
“As soon as we started to open it we felt the vibration as the water came flowing through.”
Trollip said the sabotage of municipal infrastructure had been happening ever since a dispute about overtime started.
“Absolutely, we believe these saboteurs are a group of municipal employees. With their vindictiveness, they are inconveniencing tens of thousands of people.
“It is an honour to work for the municipality. These people don’t deserve to.”
Nomaxabiso Mlindi, 27, of New Brighton, said they had been forced to ask for water from neighbours whose supply had not been cut.
She believed the cut had occurred because the municipality was trying to save water due to the drought.
“The most frustrating thing is we are not told what is happening.”
Another resident, Ntombizanele Mangala, 20, also of New Brighton, described the last few weeks as a struggle.
The owner of Young Vibes hair salon and car wash on Aggrey Street, Vusi Mavela, said he lost at least R800 each time there was an outage.
“I run two businesses entirely on water and if there is none I have to close, affecting me and my staff.”
Mayoral committee member for infrastructure and engineering Annette Lovemore said the culprits clearly had knowledge of the electricity and water system and an intention to cause maximum chaos.
“Industrial action against an overtime policy is one thing but this is criminality,” she said.
DA PR councillor Mbulelo Manyati said a telltale sign of sabotage was that, each Monday, outages that had surfaced at the weekend were suddenly rectified, although no leaks had been found or repaired.
Trollip said while the city was finalising its case against the saboteurs, teams of retired former employees who knew the city’s water and electricity systems would be appointed, to ensure the speediest possible tracking and repair of problems.
The municipality was offering a R25 000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of one of the saboteurs, he said.
Suspicions of or acts of sabotage can be reported to (041) 506-3348.