Households’ access to water declines by 60% in Thaba Chweu

Thousands of kilolitres of water are lost in distribution through leaking pipes, taps and illegal water connections. Mpumalanga and Limpopo are the only two provinces in South Africa in which the number of households with access to water has dropped by an alarming 60%. Lydenburg (Thaba Chweu Local Municipality) and the greater Limpopo area are at the centre of this decrease.

The DA recently released the findings of the provincial overview report on water and sanitation services, together with the Department of Water and Sanitation.

The report states that the water supply infrastructure is old and built out of asbestos, which can easily burst and leak. This places a significant strain on the water supply and results in high water distribution losses that affect municipalities in the province.

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According to a 2018 presentation to the Portfolio Committee of Co-operative Governance, Mpumalanga’s local municipalities lost R1.099b in the 2016/17 financial year because of water leakages and electricity theft in the various municipalities.

Also read: Lydenburg home engulfed in flames

“With over half of its water supply infrastructure being old and crumbling, Mpumalanga is losing millions of litres of fresh drinking water, while municipalities fail to meet the residents’ demand for clean water. The DA is requesting a plan of action from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on how municipalities will curb this unnecessary expense in the coming years, and to also discuss the possibility of ring-fencing a portion of the local municipalities’ budget to provide for regular maintenance,” said Trudie Grové-Morgan, member of parliament and DA spokesperson on Cogta.

Themba Sibiya, TCLM’s media and marketing manager, said the municipality was aware of the water losses and is working to address the problem daily.