A desperate situation is unfolding at Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal, where patients are being treated under unhygienic conditions due to the lack of water. There is not even enough water to flush toilets or for staff to wash their hands after medical procedures, raising serious health and safety concerns.
Residents have expressed their outrage over the ongoing service delivery failures, particularly the lack of clean water. Many call the conditions at Jubilee Hospital a disgrace, as patients and health workers are forced to endure the daily stench and unhygienic environment.
Since 2016, we’ve been drinking dirty, brown water with faeces in it. We feel like we’re fighting for our basic human rights, starting with clean water,” said one resident.
City of Tshwane spokesperson, Selby Bokaba attributed the current water crisis in Hammanskraal to problems at the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“The Temba Water Treatment Plant had to shut down because the water coming from Rooiwal was sewage. The Temba plant isn’t equipped to handle sewage, so the water was contaminated. We had no choice but to stop supplying it to residents,” Bokaba explained.
However, Bokaba reassured the community that Hammanskraal’s water woes will soon be resolved. A new water treatment plant has been constructed, and water will be supplied in stages.
“There will be four phases: the first starting at the end of October, the second by the end of February, the third at the end of April, and the final phase at the end of June. By then, we’ll be able to do away with water tanks,” Bokaba said.
In May 2023, Hammanskraal was hit by a deadly cholera outbreak that claimed 30 lives, underscoring the urgent need for clean water in the area.
