Load shedding and water supply still in limbo

Eskom moved the load shedding schedule to stage 6 only increased the frustration amongst taxpayers and non-paying residents alike.

When no water pump can work as a result of load shedding, it takes roughly one to two hours for the purified water to be pumped into the town’s reservoirs after load shedding has ended, said Peter Moloto, municipal spokesperson.

The problem, however, is that the treatment works also cannot operate during load shedding and it takes roughly half an hour for raw water to be purified.

“Everything demands electricity. The municipality is pushing daily to at least fill up the reservoirs to 50% capacity. Anything below 25% will cause issues,” he said.

Moloto stated that there are no water restrictions in place.

“We appeal to the community to use water sparingly until load shedding finally ends. People must not use it excessively during load shedding times, because this will affect the entire town.”

Urgent negotiations are taking place between the municipality and the provincial treasury to acquire eight backup generators.

These generators are meant to, in the event of power failure, power the necessary infrastructure for the town to have water. Funding will be allocated from the treasury for the generators for R4,9 million, as per the new municipal budget.

Moloto said it is best for the municipality to own these generators, instead of renting them.

The new budget took effect in July, but no generator was since purchased.

In the meantime, a DA-led delegate visited the office of Basikopo Makamu, Coghsta MEC, in Polokwane on Tuesday 20 September, to hand over a petition of demands.

The petition details a list of outstanding service delivery issues, complaining that the Bela-Bela Municipality has not fulfilled its mandate to residents. The DA claims that due to new and older service delivery failures, residents and businesses are suffering economic losses.

The outcome of the handover was not made public at the time of going to press.
Jeedee Cloete, VF plus councilor, said that even if the DA’s action is considered commendable, it is best to stay on the ground in Bela-Bela since load shedding is a national crisis.

“There is no doubt that load shedding is the main cause of everything going wrong at this time. It is literally out of anyone’s control.”

Should the country be downgraded to Stage 3 load shedding, I believe we will have fewer to no issues with our water supply. The generators should have been bought months ago, and pushing them to get them here is now necessary. Once we have it, the town will be more prepared for the next power interruption.