The DA in Mpumalanga through their oversight visit is now aware of the harsh reality that might leave the residents of Chief Albert Luthuli and Msukaligwa local municipalities without water.
With this in mind, we call on the provincial government to declare a state of disaster in some of the affected areas.
According to information that was released by the Department of Water and Sanitation, it is evident that over the space of the past two months (7 August- 7 October 2024), the water levels in our dams steadily declined from 91.2% to 83.3%. Even more worrisome is the fact that just last year our dams were filled to 92.7% of their storage capacity.
Recently, the DA discovered that the:
- Lydenburg Dam is currently 45% below its capacity.
- The Botleng and Delmas reservoirs in Victor Khanye are at 46.4% and 22.5% of their capacity respectively.
- In Govan Mbeki, the Bethal Rand reservoir, Vanheerden reservoir and Emzinoni Ext 4 reservoir are at 0% capacity.
- Boesmanspruit Dam in Chief Albert Luthuli is nearly empty.
The Brummer Dam is nearly empty and the town is set to reach day zero on the 8th of November 2024.
Noting that these municipalities are fast approaching day zero, the DA expresses concern that Mpumalanga provincial government does not have a long-term plan to deal with the water shortages in the province in general and in the above-mentioned municipalities. A state of disaster will thus allow the government to streamline their finances and pool their resources together.
We have noted that there is growing frustration and a lack of confidence in the municipality’s ability to ensure a consistent water supply. Therefore, It is crucial to address these concerns promptly and transparently.
The truth of the matter is that our municipalities have failed in their mandate of providing basic services to residents. It cannot be business as usual while communities are confronted with water shortages.
With the dams being empty, we call on the provincial government to clamp down on our exceptionally high water losses, repair the cracks on the dams that are currently empty and extend them as a means to secure our future water security.