The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality to provide the full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Kuruman by-pass road on the R31, instead of only the feasibility study that has repeatedly been presented to the relevant committee.
While the DA acknowledges that a by-pass road around Kuruman could bring significant traffic relief and economic benefits to the town, serious concerns remain about the potential impact the project may have on critical water infrastructure.
A major pipeline that supplies water to Kuruman’s reservoir runs beneath the proposed route of the by-pass road. Since October, large volumes of gravel have been used to build up sections of the road. However, since this work commenced, the reservoir dam that supplies Kuruman has been unable to reach levels above 50%.
The pipeline running beneath the road is an ageing asbestos pipe that was never designed to carry the weight and pressure associated with large-scale road construction without proper protective infrastructure. To date, no such protection has been installed over the pipeline. This raises serious concerns that continued construction and increased pressure of traffic on the pipe could damage the line and disrupt Kuruman’s already strained water supply.
In addition, there are also no access points being constructed over the pipeline, like culverts, that would allow the pipe to be easily serviced without damaging the road surface. This could make future maintenance extremely difficult and disruptive to traffic.
This risk is particularly alarming given Kuruman’s ongoing water crisis. Residents in higher-lying areas frequently experience water outages, numerous leaks across the town remain unattended for months, and some pump stations still have to be manually switched on and off by technicians, often leaving residents to wake up to dry taps.
The DA has therefore submitted a formal request to the Municipal Manager, Martin Tsatsimpe, to urgently release the full EIA for public scrutiny and to ensure that all potential risks to water infrastructure are properly assessed and mitigated before any further construction continues.
Kuruman residents cannot afford another threat to their water supply. Transparency and proper environmental oversight are essential to ensure that infrastructure development does not come at the cost of the town’s already fragile water security.