The Msunduzi Municipality has confirmed that it is investigating water quality issues at the Liberty Midlands Mall.
This as customers and tenants were left fuming over the weekend as the city cut supply to the mall, affecting those who wanted to use the ablution facilities or order a cup of coffee.
A restaurant manager said their establishment was affected as they could not serve any hot drinks.
“Customers got up and walked away because they did not want to eat if they could not have a cup of coffee, especially in this cold.
“It is quite frustrating as our expected turnover was not reached and it was supposed to be one of the busiest weekends with everyone celebrating Mother’s Day,” said the restaurant manager, who asked to remain unnamed.
The Witness was told that supply to the Midlands Mall was stopped after city authorities launched an investigation into the quality of water at the mall.
The municipality will not provide the details of the investigation as it is ongoing.
It has also instructed Midlands Mall to cease all water-saving initiatives until the investigation has been finalised.
Contacted for comment, Ursuhla Govender, the communications manager for the mall, said she would only respond to questions after the response has been vetted by her head office.
Irate tenants and employees who spoke to The Witness said they operated for the normal working hours although the ablution facilities were unavailable.
“When a school or even the court houses have no water, they close, yet we were forced to work for long hours without being able to drink tap water or go to the loo,” said one of the tenants.
She said the staff at their store were forced to purchase bottled water to drink and wait until they returned home to use the toilet.
“We had so many customers complain about the issue as it was Mother’s Day weekend and the mall was extremely busy,” she said.
It is believed the water supply had been cut off on Thursday and only returned on Sunday.
Suhaifa Imam, who visited the mall over the weekend, said she was “highly frustrated” as most restaurants said they could not serve coffee, among other beverages, as there was no water.
“It was Mother’s Day weekend and the mall was packed with shoppers and people wanting to take their mothers out for a meal or for coffee,” Imam said.
“Surely the mall could have made some plan and supplied water, especially for the ablution facilities that were left in a disgusting state.”
Spokesperson for Msunduzi Municipality Thobeka Mafumbatha said the water authorities were investigating the water quality issues specifically related to the Liberty Midlands Mall supply.
She confirmed that the municipality had stopped the supply to the mall so that the investigation could be conducted.
