Amid Joburg's ongoing water crisis, Mayor Dada Morero is facing mounting anger from civil society and Parliament after admitting that R4bn meant for Johannesburg Water was diverted to other municipal expenses.

On 18 September, Joburg Mayor Dada Morero attempted to address residents at a community meeting in Coronationville, but he was drowned out by chants of "We want water".

Residents, some of whom have gone weeks without a consistent supply, told of carrying buckets late at night, elderly neighbours struggling up stairwells, and children missing school because their uniforms could not be washed.

"The so-called emergency allocation for high-rise pipes offers too little, too late," said the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), a coalition of residents and activists, last Thursday. "As the city prepares to host G20 dignitaries, its own citizens suffer without basic services. The silence from the Presidency is equally unacceptable."

Parliamentary showdown

The following day, Friday, 19 September, Morero was grilled by the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation over the diversion of R4-billion from Johannesburg Water.

DA MP Stephen Moore challenged the mayor, "Why was R4-billion taken from Joburg Water at this critical time, when communities are going without water for weeks? What other...