Dry taps, sewage spills point to utter failure by CHDM

Residents of Qumanco village in Engcobo have to walk or travel more than 25km to get water as their taps are bone dry.

DA MPL Jane Cowley said in a statement this week that in “yet another spectacular failure on the part of the Chris Hani District Municipality [CHDM]”, the taps in Qumanco Village were bone dry and residents had to use water from a nearby river or travel 25km to the town of Engcobo to buy water.

“All the infrastructure is in place, with taps placed strategically throughout the village and a reservoir on the hill to gravity-feed the taps. However, the taps cannot be opened and have seemingly been welded closed or dismantled so the villagers cannot open them,” she said.

Cowley said in the town of Khowa (Elliot), sewage still flowed freely from the sewerage works into the Slangrivier, which then flowed into the Xuka River and ultimately the Mbashe River.

“Thousands of villagers access this water for their personal use.

“Sadly, this phenomenon is common throughout all villages and towns in the ANC-governed Chris Hani district.

“To the extreme west of the district, Hofmeyr still has dry taps because the same district municipality has, almost a full year after the town made headlines for having no water in the taps, not resolved the water crisis there,” she said. Cowley said she would write to minister of water and sanitation Senxo Mchunu to request that consequence management be implemented against CHDM for its “spectacular failure” to provide essential services to the people of the district.

“It cannot be that they continue to fail residents with impunity and nobody is held to account. Citizens are tired of getting a bag of mielie meal, a mouthful of promises and a new T-shirt every five years. They want access to basic services, which is their right as enshrined in the constitution of our country,” said Cowley.

CHDM spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza had not responded to questions sent to her by the time of going to print.