The Democratic Alliance (DA) is insisting that Emthanjeni municipality prioritises the procurement of basic water repair material, as parts of De Aar flood and residents continue to go without water.
Numerous water leaks in town and along the main lines have been reported repeatedly in recent weeks.
Last week the reservoir at the De Aar hospital was leaking. A stream of water flowed past houses in Makepeace and Smouspoort Streets, all the way to Visser Street, leaving houses in its midst with no water in their taps (see pic here). Other leaks, from a rusty pipe in the vicinity behind Midas and in Station Street, were spilling for the whole week despite being reported numerous times (see pic here). A water leak in Rantsig, even ran dry due to water wastage (see pic here).
Reliable sources indicate that the municipality does not currently have sufficient stock to carry out necessary repairs. To aggravate the situation, the new vehicle allocated to the Waterworks Department is also not operational, further diminishing the department’s operational capacity and contributing to the backlog of unrepaired water leaks. This is very worrying given the already fragile state of the Emthanjeni water infrastructure.
Since raising my concerns with the Municipal Manager on 21 October, I have not had a response in relation to the lack of critical supplies. This is despite short term plans for procurement of water repair material being notarized at a meeting on 28 August. Plans made provision for the procurement of critical tools for the maintenance team. This included the procurement of valves for which funding was allocated. The procurement of supplies, such as bearings, line shaft, nuts and bolts, was also scheduled for November. Fawzia Rhoda, Constituency Head of Bo-Karoo, also raised this matter two weeks ago, during the recent oversight inspections conducted by the legislature’s portfolio committee on COGHSTA.
As we enter the month of December, the municipality remains silent and under-resourced while tanks run dry prompting desperate residents to repair leaks themselves, with insulation tape and wire. (See pic here).
The poorly managed water crisis in De Aar cannot be allowed to continue as is, placing an unnecessary burden on residents.
The DA will provide an update of the situation to the South African Human Rights Commission, after recently taking a hard stance against the municipality’s failure to address water related issues.
Residents of De Aar are entitled to a clear implementation plan, regular and honest communication, and immediate interim interventions to stabilise and restore the water system.