The Democratic Alliance has launched a petition to put pressure on Tsantsabane Municipality to address the pervasive water shortages and water quality issues experienced across Postmasburg.
Not only does water provision continue to regress, but the quality of the water has also been red-flagged following a notice issued by Tsantsabane Municipality instructing residents to boil water due to contamination.
This is not surprising given that sewerage has been running in some areas for years, with leaks left unattended.
The water and sewerage challenges persist despite clear recommendations from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for Tsantsabane Municipality to implement interim sanitation and water-delivery solutions to mitigate the impact on residents while permanent solutions are put in place.
Four months down the line, however, water supply in some areas remains so unreliable that residents cannot wash their clothes, while mineworkers and schoolchildren struggle to wash properly, contributing to absenteeism. Schools are sometimes forced to close or dismiss learners early. Families are also facing additional and unnecessary expenses as they are forced to buy bottled water because of concerns about the safety of the water supply.
Frequent electricity outages and cable theft disrupt the infrastructure needed to keep the water system operating. The crisis is further aggravated by the municipality’s failure to address illegal connections and bypassed pipes, which place additional pressure on the system. The failure to repair a growing number of leaking pipes and water meters compounds water insecurity, as does inadequate sewerage management, which risks contamination of the water supply.
A DA-led local government will make effective water management a priority. This would include urgently repairing leaks and publishing information on where faults have been reported, how long they have remained unresolved and how quickly they are being addressed. Greater transparency would help hold the municipality accountable and ensure that water losses are urgently addressed. Reducing water losses would also mean recovering revenue that is currently lost through the system. A DA-led municipality would work to ringfence this water revenue for reinvestment in water infrastructure, maintenance and repairs.
The DA in Postmasburg will continue gathering signatures for our petition and putting pressure on Tsantsabane Municipality to give this crisis the attention it deserves.
Lasting change, however, requires residents to use their vote on 4 November to vote for a government that will prioritise reliable, clean and sustainable water provision.