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Calm restored in Tswelelang after 2 days of protest over water outages



Tswelelang - Calm has been restored in Tswelelang township after residents protested over water closures which they say lasted for weeks


Frustrated community members took to the streets on Monday morning (21 September 2026) to voice their concerns over continuous closure of water in the area which lasts for weeks. They used empty and dry buckets to highlight their plight

They called for the Maquassi Hills Mayor, Mzwandile Feliti and relevant officials to come and address them, however, non of the municipal officials were avaliable

Officials sent a message that water will be available in the evening of Monday between 7 and 8pm, but it was never restored 


 Calm was restored for the evening of that day and the main N12 road passing through Tswelelang was reopened for traffic. Residents then made a promise that if water was not released on Monday evening (21 September 2026) they will head back and shut the streets down again 

The Maquassi Hills Municipality and Magalies Water informed residents of a planned water shutdown due to pipe maintenance between Buisfontein and Tswelelang township on Sunday, 20 September 2026

They said planned maintainance was planned to last a day, however, water was restored on Sunday. The municipality released images to residents showing damaged pipes, instead, residents criticised the municipality and the water entity on their continued and endless weekly pipe maintenances 

"The SAHRC should have a look within the Hills municipality,they have been violating the rights of the Hills residents for far too long.
It is just a matter of time then an email will be forwarded to them" - Sam Galie

"We've been without water for weeks in Makwassie even when there's no problem with the infrastructure. It's a normalized anomaly for us in Makwassie and Lebaleng, Mr Mayor" - Shakes Sekati



Tswelelang residents then intensified their protest on Tuesday morning and afternoon of 22 September 2026 by blocking the main N12 and R505 roads again with burning tyres and rocks , preventing the motorists to pass-by

The Bloemhof Public Order Police officials were up in arms in defusing the situation by using rubber bullets to disperse the protesters since midday of Tuesday, however, community members vowed to continue to mobilize until their concerns relating to prolonged water outages are addressed by the Maquassi Hills Mayor and relevant municipal officials 

Police have arrested several minors in the late afternoon of Tuesday at the Tambo 2 infomal settlement. Community leaders have criticised the management of the municipality of failing to account to the residents on issues that requires their attention and responsibility 

"The municipality has really failed us, they even fail to come and address us on issues that requires their attention, when ever there is an issue they need to account to, which relates to the community - they hide, they keep on hiding to avoid taking accountability. We first need to fight in order for our service delivery concerns to be heard. We voted them into power and now they failed to come and address the problems we have with them" 


A community activist, Kagiso Sejamoholo Phutiagae, released an information, detailing how much the Maquassi Hills Municipality receives to tend to the water systems

"Funds for water exist. The Maquassi Hills Bulk Water Supply Augmentation project cost “about R158 million”. In 2023, the Department of Water and Sanitation handed over the “R118 006 349,65 Bulk Water Supply Scheme” meant to benefit over 12 700 households. Yet in January 2023 the Minister of Water and Sanitation visited Maquassi Hills because communities in Extension 13, 17, 18 and 19 “have been facing water challenges for the past three years" - Community Activist, Kagiso Phutiagae 

Some Maquassi Hills communities are still experiencing water challenges as some areas do not have installed water taps in their yards and proper sanitation   

In this regard, the Maquassi Hills Municipality and Magalies Water have restored water to various sections in Tswelelang 

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