Sol mum on water plans

SANDI KWON HOO SANDI.KWONHOO@ACM.CO.ZA

SOL PLAATJE Municipality has refused to divulge any plans it has to address the city’s worsening water crisis, where residents were left without a trickle in their taps for extended periods this week.

Media enquiries were sent to the local authority regarding progress made to repair the city’s ailing water infrastructure, a year after the National Treasury and the Department of Water and Sanitation allocated the municipality R2 billion.

Questions included whether a service provider has been appointed to complete the repairs, timelines that must be met, the scope of the work and the value of the tender.

It is not known whether any of the funds made available to upgrade the water infrastructure had to be surrendered to Treasury due to non-implementation.

In the annual financial statement for the year ending June 2023, it was indicated that a deviation in procurement policies was approved for emergency water and sewerage infrastructure maintenance, where R8.7 million was paid to Blue Lounge, Mokoena Group, Kapa Koni and Trust Worthy Holding.

Siyavana Catering Enterprises was paid R178 985 for the provision of meals during the October 6-10, 2022 water shutdown.

A R3.1 million deviation was also approved to pay C-pack Pumps and Valves for the delivery and installation of 450mm and 600mm valves between Riverton and Newton.

Another R6.7 million deviation was permitted for the fixing of water leaks and bulk pipe repairs during the October 6-10, 2022 water interruption.

Sol Plaatje DA councillor Chris Whittaker believed that the municipality had made “little to no progress” on critical service delivery challenges during 2023.

“Funding granted to improve services is being misused and misspent, where much-needed money has to be returned to the national coffers,” said Whittaker.

He pointed out that the electricity losses amounting to 29 percent and the water losses of 64 percent exceeded national norms.

“While the municipality estimates that more than R275.5 million in revenue was lost, the auditor-general could not verify the extent of these losses. Poor management infects every aspect of the municipal administration.”

Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nocci) president Dudley Dally pointed out that the lack of water created a poor impression on visitors to the city, including Under-19 Cricket World Cup players and supporters who visited the Diamond Oval for matches.

“Businesses and schools are unable to operate, residents are prevented from bathing, flushing their toilets, doing laundry or washing their dishes for days on end.”

Dudley was not convinced of the municipality’s explanations outlined to correct the water problems.

“We were told that once the sludge from a clarifier at Riverton was cleaned, it would improve the quality of the water and that the new purification plant would meet the demand for over 100 megalitres per day.”

He indicated that the Newton reservoirs had the capacity to store about 240 megalitres of water.

“It seems as if the booster pumps that would be installed to assist in pumping the water to the surface are not in operation.

“The municipality is not sending out the correct information - first it is the water, then Riverton, next it is the reservoir, then human error. The real problem is mismanagement and no one is being held responsible.

“We request urgent intervention and actual reports. We demand to be allowed access to these facilities to locate the root cause of the problem.”

Meanwhile, Cope in the Sol Plaatje municipal district will hand out 25 000 pamphlets next week and launch an online petition calling for residents to express their dissatisfaction over poor service delivery.

Cope national chairperson Pakes Dikgetsi believed that Sol

Plaatje Municipality should be placed under administration.

“Council must be dissolved as it is derelict in its duties to provide basic services including water and sanitation,” said Dikgetsi.

“This unacceptable situation has been deteriorating rapidly. If our pleas to the national government fail, we will approach the court to compel the municipality to carry out its obligations.

“The premier and MEC for local government live and work in the city and cannot claim ignorance. The rot runs deep. There is no oversight from the legislature to hold the provincial and municipal executives accountable for appalling service delivery failures.”

Dikgetsi called on residents, business formations, trade unions, civil society groups and political parties to unite in order to “reclaim” the municipality.

“Those in power seem to have forgotten that they are accountable to residents.”

Sol Plaatje municipal manager Thapelo Matlala refused to respond to media enquiries.