The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to assist Kai !Garib municipality to restore functionality to its water system after its failure to heed flood warnings caused the pump to become submerged in the Orange River.
The municipality chose not to act on repeated flood warnings issued by the farming community and the Kakamas Water Users Association, ultimately rendering large parts of Kakamas community without water, as temperatures rise.
This includes the areas of Fase 4 and Hash Valley. The informal settlement in Ward 3 is also largely impacted. It is dependent on contractors, who earn hundreds of thousands of rands to clean and fill their tanks. The current situation has worsened the already poor level of service provided by the contractor.
The Kakamas Interest group has subsequently sought an intervention from the Director but he is not providing answers. The DA is also not receiving cooperation from the municipality, which is dismally failing to mitigate this self-made disaster.
This is not the first time that the Kakamas area has ended up in a similar situation due to its failure to secure infrastructure amid rising water levels. In 2022, a similar situation occurred, resulting in the pump floating down by the bridge in Marchand.
Water infrastructure and resources allocated towards water provision, must be fiercely guarded to prevent residents right to sustainable access to clean water from being violated.