No relief for a dry Belfast
Belfast residents are with their backs against the wall and face blow after blow of ongoing water interruptions, with little help offered by the Emakhazeni Local Municipality.
Water interruptions have been the norm for the community since last year, and a local business owner, Mr Manie le Roux, says there is little improvement for the industrial area, which has relied on water tankers since January.
Mr Le Roux, who owns H&H Truck and Trailer Repairs and Truck Wash, has already placed his business on the market after he retrenched 12 employees and suffered more than R500 000 in damages during April due to the water crisis.
He explained that the industrial area’s water comes from two large JoJo Tanks, but the water pump that runs the tanks has been out of order since January.
With the pump being out of order, the municipality uses mobile water tankers to fill the tanks every second day.
He further told www.mobserver.co.za that municipal workers at Emakhazeni don’t receive overtime or work on weekends, which means that on some weekends the industrial area is left without water altogether.
According to Mr Le Roux, the fact that municipal officials are mostly unaware of interruptions in service delivery only piles on the frustrations of residents, “The other day, I contacted the manager of the Department of Water and Sanitation and she wasn’t even aware that the pump is out of order.”
He added that complaints to management remain futile.
These water interruptions are nothing new, and it was previously reported by www.mobserver.co.za that the crisis led to the closure of Belfast Academy in May.
Even the Belfast Hospital had to rely on provisions made by water tankers.
While schools, businesses and residents alike showered www.mobserver.co.za with complaints about the water crisis, the former Municipal Manager, Mr George Mthimunye, assured the journalist there was no crisis.
Www.mobserver.co.za tried to reach the Emakhazeni Local Municipality’s Communication Office, but no response was received before publication.
The complaints were referred to Mr Bosman Grobler (DA), a member of the Provincial Legislature, who added that he would raise the issue on a provincial level.
