Leaders inherited a poisoned chalice and need help

Trucks carrying bottled water rolled into Makhanda on Wednesday to bring relief to a city caught in the grip of a major crisis. Desperate residents queued at various collection points to get their share of what has become a scarce commodity in recent days. The donation by disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers brought respite for some residents – albeit just for a day.

The ominous Day Zero arrived in parts of Makhanda more than a week ago.

The town’s predicament is partly due to Mother Nature, but is largely a man-made problem.

The east of the city was plunged into a crisis more than a week ago, leaving some with no option but to plead to good Samaritans to donate water to vulnerable citizens.

The problem? The James Kleynhans water treatment plant does not have the capacity to purify a sufficient amount of water to supply the denselypopulated Makhanda East.

The situation to the west of the city is just as alarming. With dams drying up, the already incapacitated JK plant will now be forced to perform double duty to supply both the east and west.

Drought relief measures have been implemented.

The water crisis in Makhanda is symptomatic of an inept administration and could easily have been averted had some foresight been applied and infrastructure maintenance and development occurred.

The new leadership of the Makana municipality has inherited a poisoned chalice from its predecessors who have failed to address historical problems.

New mayor Mzukisi Mpahlwa faces a magnitude of challenges and he will need support from the provincial government if he is to turn the situation around.

Makana is in dire financial straits. It owes its 10 biggest creditors in excess of R160m while business, residents and government owed it more than R400m. Despite its salary bill consuming 43% of its budget, it has a chronic shortage of technically skilled workers.

Sadly, Makana’s issues are not unique. Hundreds of thousands in municipalities across the province are suffering the same affliction of bad governance, one which needs urgent intervention.

Drought relief measures have been instituted. The water crisis in Makhanda is indicative of ineptness