Kicking the can down the road

There are few things more annoying in the early hours than waking up to use a toilet that doesn't have water to flush, or trying to get a drink at a tap as it runs dry.

- KYLE ZEEMAN

Night routines have been disrupted by water cuts in Johannesburg for months now, but government this week put a system to the madness.

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina on Monday announced that water would be shut from 9pm to 4am the next morning until reservoirs fill enough to properly provide the province with water.

This solution is nothing new.

Within the city, less affluent areas know precisely what time their water comes and goes every day. This exact cut has also been put on taps in Sandton for months.

The water department, Rand Water and Johannesburg Water need to stop blaming each other and kicking the proverbial watering can down the road.