The Summit, held under the theme ‘Sustainable water provision for improving the livelihood of society’ was initiated by the Mayor Peter Matlou in a bid to find sustainable solutions for the area which is experiencing severe water shortages.
The municipality was further prompted to hold a water summit because of constant service delivery protests as a result of water shortages.
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The summit resolved to: Accelerate the process of attaining Water Service Authority Status currently held by the Mopani District Municipality (MDM); Work closely with MDM to conduct feasibility studies to check underground water availability, test and equip existing boreholes and develop new water infrastructure before the end of the year.
In order to deal with the unavailability of spares for borehole repairs, the summit resolved to request the MDM to decentralize stores to satellite offices and allocate sufficient budget to keep stock levels as per the critical spare list.
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The summit further resolved to enhance security measures by fencing water infrastructure and conduct awareness campaigns on by-laws; appoint traditional leaders as agents to operate and monitor the infrastructure; appoint ward committee members to oversee the status of water infrastructure and establish water units within ward committees to improve water management practices. The summit also resolved to develop legislation as well as building technical capacity to ensure the proper management of water resources and service delivery.
The Mayor, Matlou said the approach adopted at the summit will ensure the municipality performs its basic responsibility to ensure access to safe and drinking water for all. He further said the summit laid the foundation to strengthen working relations with other stakeholders particularly the MDM while ensuring radical improvements in water service delivery.
Matlou called for sensitization on the institutional roles and responsibilities of all sector players within the water sector so as to address the prevailing challenges and ensure harmonized relationships thus avoiding unnecessary conflicts.
He emphasized that while safe clean water is a fundamental right, it remained elusive in most parts of various areas because of budgetary constraints needed to set up infrastructure, amongst others.
