Zille Swims in Burst Pipe “Lake” to Highlight Johannesburg Water Crisis

Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille took a break from the campaign trail this week to swim in what residents described as a “lake” formed by a burst water pipe in the suburb of Linbro Park, in north-eastern Johannesburg. The pipe had reportedly been pouring thousands of litres of clean drinking water into the streets for nearly a week.

In a video clip that you can watch above, Zille is seen in the “lake”, using the incident to spotlight the city’s failure to maintain basic infrastructure.

Speaking from inside the “lake”, Zille said Johannesburg residents deserve improved service delivery. She criticised the city for throttling water supply to households and accusing residents of excessive consumption, while allowing millions of litres to be lost daily due to ageing and broken infrastructure.

Rand Water, the bulk supplier to the city, has often attributed supply constraints to high levels of consumer usage when restrictions have been imposed.

Water sector analysts have, however, estimated that Johannesburg loses roughly a third of its water supply through leaks and damaged pipes.

The incident comes as the Johannesburg central business district remains without electricity almost a week after a substation fire cut supply.

City authorities are under growing political pressure ahead of the next local government elections, with water infrastructure emerging as a central campaign issue.

A poll conducted by the Social Research Foundation and published in The Common Sense shows that more than half of Gauteng voters and exactly half of all African National Congress voters nationally support the idea of Helen Zille contesting the Johannesburg mayoralty.