District’s failure to pay for water leaves town fuming
Phalaborwa gets by with drops for weeks as council seeks solutions
Cash-strapped Mopani district municipality’s failure to pay its bulk water supplier has left Phalaborwa residents scrambling for water for almost two weeks.
Life has become extremely difficult for residents and businesses in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, as the district municipality which some towns fall under has failed to honour a payment agreement with their supplier.
Water stopped flowing from the taps on May 9, and since then residents have to wait for “erratic” times at night where they have water at less pressure available for about an hour.
Pule Shayi, Mopani mayor, said Lepelle Northern Water, which provides bulk supply to the district, is being owed millions of rand by the council.
He said the district municipality pays Lepelle R60m per quarter to settle its historical debt and cater for current water consumption. However, the district could only pay R10m for the last quarter, which resulted in them getting limited water access.
Andrew Molyneaux, one of the residents, said it has been a struggle doing the most basic needs in his home.
“I have to collect water from the pool to bath and flush the toilets. For food, I have to open the kitchen tap and wait for some drops to come out but for most of the time, there is no water,’ Molyneaux said.
Another resident, Jannette Lubbe, said it has been extremely difficult to live without water.
“We cannot bath at all. We dip a cloth into the little water we have and wipe ourselves.
“The water comes at night for about an hour, so we feel the pots just for us to cook. But you have to understand that not all households can be at home to wait for the water because they work in the mines.
“My children have not bathed since last week. They are in grade 3 and pre-school.
It has been frustrating to send them to school without a bath,” Lubbe said.
A doctor at a private clinic in Phalaborwa, who asked not to be named, told Sowetan that the situation had become unbearable.
She said she spends R250 a day buying water just to continue treating her patients.
“We use that water to clean, flush toilets and to provide drinking water to patients. Our staff has to make sure that they clean our facility every 30 minutes just to make sure that we reduce the risks of infections,” she said.
In accepting responsibility for the crisis, Shayi said: “The problem is between us and Lepelle because we did not pay them the required amount. We paid them R10m about three weeks ago. They wanted the rest but we explained our cashflow challenges. That is why they have imposed water restrictions.”
Shayi said the debt is currently at about R300m, and that it dates back to apartheid years. He did not elaborate on the latter.
Meanwhile, residents are planning to march to the local municipal office in Phalaborwa to demand restoration of water supply in the mining and tourism town on the Kruger National Park border.