Panyaza Lesufi’s tone deaf comments about the week’s long water crisis angered residents, prompting a quick rollback on his inappropriate comments
Four weeks into the persistent water crisis residents of several Johannesburg suburbs finally took to the streets to express their unhappiness about the absence of the scarce resource.
The party is expected to be severely punished in upcoming local government elections by angry residents in cities like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni, Knysna, and elsewhere, many of whom have been without water for several weeks.
And as expected, government ministers, the premier and the mayor rushed into the Ground Zero areas at the eleventh hour to try to control of the narrative.
Unfortunately, as with any rushed public relations exercise, government messaging was not always on point.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi angered residents by saying that everyone is suffering. At the briefing, Lesufi told the media that he and his family are also without water.
“People think that when there is no water, we and our families, we have special water, we don’t. We also go through the same. In some instances, I had to go to a certain hotel so that I could bathe and go to my commitments.
”We also go through the same inconveniences like any other people; there’s no special water or special pipe that is designed to service other people and not service other people. Our families, our relatives, ourselves, our constituencies, they suffer the same pain,” Lesufi said at the. media conference. On Thursday Lesufi and his media team tried very hard to rollback the comments, but the damage was already done.
One angry resident forced his way past to meet with Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, telling the mayor he would not be leaving the press conference until he gets answers.
Meanwhile, rolling protests have taken place in some of the more affluent areas of Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, with residents voicing their happiness about government’s lack of action despite it accepting the crisis facing Johannesburg. And in a show of community support, Muslim vendors have come forward to bolster the inadequate water supplies by tankers from the city.
Experts are blaming the crisis on a lack of planning and investment in infrastructure, breakdowns and governing issues.