By Cllr Diane Bath – DA Councillor – Victor Khanye Local Municipality
Victor Khanye Local Municipality is crippled with a water debt of R111 million which has left residents without sufficient water supply for the last five months.
Residents of Sundra, Rietkol and Eloff have only had a few drops of water in their taps within the last 158 days.
The municipality’s Rand Water debt of R111million and the regulation of water supply has affected the service and left residents with dry taps.
We fear that supplies will be further reduced as the given deadline for the payment is today, (1 October 2019) because there is still no agreement payment plan between the municipality and Rand Water.
Prior to this, water officials came up with a temporary solution of building up the water pressure during the day and evenings; then starting the pumps in the early mornings so households can get some water in their taps.
However, not all taps are filled sufficiently and many residents rely on the Communal JoJo tanks situated at strategic areas.
These JoJo tanks are filled twice daily as there are many private residences and government institutions in the area.
The local communities have submitted a petition with nearly 3000 signatures to Provincial Treasury, the municipality and CoGTA MEC Mandla Msibi requesting for help, but nothing has been done so far.
The residents of Victor Khanye deserve answers as to when will Rand Water be paid, and when will the water supply re-instated to 100 percent?
Water is a basic human right that is a necessity for all who live in South Africa.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Victor Khanye will continue to fight for answers on behalf of the affected communities. We will continue assisting all affected to the best our ability. The people of Victor Khanyile deserve to be treated with dignity and for quality services to be delivered.