Mgungundlovu District Municipality is deporting a water truck driver who was caught selling water.
The Mayor, Mr. Mzi Zuma, said that they no longer want to see this project operating in the suburbs of Pietermaritzburg. The work was hired by a company that supplies the municipality with water vehicles.
Zuma said he told municipal officials to tell the company that hired the worker that he is no longer needed in Pietermaritzburg. This worker was caught selling water in Maqongqo, under the Mkhambathini Municipality.
When he was caught selling water, he should have been supplying water to areas under the Richmond Municipality.
Maqongqo and Richmond are more than 60 KM apart and these areas are separated by areas under Msunduzi Municipality. The driver was caught pouring water on a special people’s house.
Zuma said that if a person wants to have water poured into his home, he must buy water from the municipality and the municipality will send a car to deliver the amount of water he bought.
He said the homes that were being supplied with water by the driver had not bought water from the municipality. Zuma said that drivers who sell water cause people to end up not getting water because the drivers take it to those who have already bought it.
“There are people who don’t get water. When I talked to people, some said they haven’t had water for two weeks. You have your own homes that are getting water. When people see a water truck, they come out with drums and buckets, you pass them because there are homes that are getting water. The whole community doesn’t have water, these homes that your mother loves get water.”
Zuma said that the action of this project caused the municipality to lose money.
“You are running your business. We are the ones who bear the costs of your business. We pay the money and you run your business. We pay for the community to get water, you deliver water where you know you are getting money.”
Zuma said that this driver will cause people who do not get water to be angry with the municipality.
“You are being waited on in Richmond but you have made your own plan on how you will work. We will be insulted by people in Richmond, you are being waited on in Richmond. You are skiing all this way. This car you are traveling in has a tracker. Your employer will want us to pay you a lot of money if he looks at the distance you have traveled. You have been sent to Richmond and you go where you want. Again, you did not come here to help people, you will run your own business.”
Zuma said the company that hired the worker will have to find him a job elsewhere.
“We don’t want to see you again here in Pietermaritzburg. This is not a place to be naughty.”