- Water is sold from water tankers contracted with eThekwini municipality.
- The driver of a tanker owned by Multi Solutions Trading illegally sold city water.
- A director at Multi Solutions Trading declined to comment.
Water is being sold by water tanker drivers owned by private companies bidding to deliver free water on behalf of the eThekwini municipality, a GroundUp investigation has revealed.
At least two drivers employed by Multi Solutions Trading sold water in the Adams Mission area.
In October 2023, MultiSolutions won a successful tender to supply water tankers and drivers to deliver municipal water to eThekwini residents in areas with limited or no water supply. The company is one of seven companies to do so.
In February 2024, a resident sent GroundUp a photo of a driver selling water from an unmarked truck in Adams Mission.
The resident, a community leader in the area, requested anonymity due to safety concerns.
GroundUp reporters were alerted to a second truck, and residents said the driver was selling water.
GroundUp tracked the tanker around the Adams Mission area and observed the driver filling water containers for residents. After the truck left the area, GroundUp residents spoke to us and said they had paid for the water.
GroundUp obtained the driver's number from one of the residents and called him. He admitted selling water and said he charged R500 for 5,000 liters.
Official vehicle registration documents show that Multi Solutions Trading owns both of these vehicles.
When GroundUp sent evidence of Multi Solutions Trading drivers selling water from water tankers to residents, eThekwini city spokesperson Gugu Sisilana responded: “Thank you for bringing this issue to the attention of the city.'' “This matter has been reported to the relevant departments and will be reported in the future.” he investigated. ”
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According to the eThekwini Municipality Tariff Tables 2023/2024, there is no water charge for the first 6,000 liters consumed by residents. After that, the charges will increase according to your consumption.
However, Sicilana said the municipality does not charge any fees for the water supplied to residents by tankers.
“Water from water tankers is for emergency intervention in areas without water. It is not for sale. Residents can report such crimes to the City Health Investigation Department on 0800 20 20 20.”
According to official company registration documents, Multi Solution Trading's current sole director is 72-year-old Themberile Mzimela. On the app Truecaller, which helps identify the owner of a phone number, she calls herself “Gogo her Mjimera” (Mjimera grandma).
However, Mzimela told GroundUp over the phone that he has nothing to do with running the business. The company is run by his son Simphiwe Mzimela.
Simphiwe Mzimela was the sole director of the company when it was founded in 2015, but resigned at the end of 2019 and his mother was appointed as the sole director.
Mzimela did not respond to GroundUp's questions. In his letter, he said, “For the record, [your] The motive and intent to release confidential information related to trade secrets, customers, personnel, and resources utilized in day-to-day business operations is extremely alarming and shocking. ”
He also requested a reason why the question needed to be answered.
He said: “Unsubstantiated claims of illegal activity, without a case number or specificity, are a hoax and, if they have any merit, will be brought under investigation by the SAPS involving state institutions. We should,” he said.
He directed GroundUp not to contact Multi Solutions employees or agents and threatened court action “with punitive costs” if GroundUp continued to seek information about Multi Solutions transactions and the Mzimela family's business. threatened to apply for an injunction.
Many Adams Mission residents confirmed to GroundUp that water sales occur regularly.
All residents GroundUp spoke to said they would only comment anonymously because they feared for their safety.
The supply of water by private companies in eThekwini has been the subject of extensive investigation by Amabhungane, with four of the other companies supplying water under contract owned by the controversial Nykel family. It turned out that
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The extended Nykaa family comes despite two of its companies, X-Moor and Aqua, being accused of collusion by the Competition Commission over a R342-million bid for Johannesburg waste management company Pikitpu. It leases water tankers and heavy equipment to the government for billions of dollars. , 2016.
Competition Commission spokesperson Siyabulela Makunga said the matter will be heard in court in November this year.
(Our investigation did not suggest that Naicker-owned trucks were involved in water sales).
Competition for eThekwini water contracts is fierce, an investigation by Amabungane has revealed.
In February 2022, Amos Ngcobo, a senior manager at the water department, was shot dead at the city's Springfield office, according to Amabungane newspaper.
Two months later, Pumzil Kasa, who was in charge of allocating water trucks, was shot and killed outside a supply depot in Ottawa.
Then, in November 2022, another water department employee, Sidney Kwabe, was shot multiple times and killed inside his car.
Both Kasa and Kwabe reportedly expressed concerns about their safety.