‘Water tanker mafia’ in Free State making a killing from desperate residents

Water tanker operators, dubbed “the tanker Mafia”, are pulling in big money in Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State because the local council fails to provide a consistent supply of water to residents.

In 2020, the Mail & Guardian reported that locals in Phuthadit-jhaba — also called QwaQwa — were lining up buckets outside their homes to collect rainwater. This year, residents wait for water tankers to drive through the streets and fill Jojo tanks supplied by the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality.

This is despite three potential water sources, Metsimatsho Dam, Fika-Patso Dam and the Sterkfontein Dam, being available for use.

The council service is highly inconsistent, with taps sometimes dry for a week and the water often dirty. As a result, many residents have turned to private suppliers. Others rely on standpipes.

An employee of Q-Water, a shop that supplies filtered drinking water, also pointed out that the tankers come during the day, meaning that residents who are not home are not supplied. The worker asked not to be named.

Businesses that require large quantities of water are taking strain. Phuthaditjhaba pig farmer Jill Weaver has 6 500 pigs that need about 65 000 litres of water daily to drink. She said she has not received municipal water for a year and has to buy water from private suppliers, paying between R900 and R1 400 for 10 000 litres a month.

Sink or swim: A business in QwaQwa sells filtered drinking water. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)