IFP writes to Sisulu to urgently intervene as some KZN municipalities enter third week without water

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal has said that it will write a letter to Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, requesting that the minister “urgently” intervenes as some municipalities enter a third week without water.

IFP MP Xolani Mashimane Ngwezi said the party would request Sisulu to “ensure the swift delivery of water” to these municipalities.

Ngwezi said the affected municipalities and wards are:

Mthonjaneni 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Nkandla 6,12
Umfolozi 7,8,9,10,11,12, 13,15
Umlalazi 10,17,21, 22, 23, 24, 25
uMhlathuze 31 32, 33

Ngwezi said the residents of these municipalities, which are under the King Cetshwayo District, have been without water for the past two weeks “and the wait for water is now entering week three, as residents continue to suffer without access to clean drinking water”.

“Socio-economic, health and infrastructure conditions within the municipalities which make up the district are extreme as is and adding water woes simply compounds the problems.

“It is unacceptable and shameful that the delivery of water to these areas [has] not been prioritised nor have any promises been fulfilled in ensuring that during the Covid-19 pandemic local municipalities will benefit from relief efforts,” said Ngwezi.

He said the party had also requested Sisulu to investigate the reasons why no permanent water infrastructure nor any temporary water tankers were earmarked for the above-mentioned local municipalities.

“We cannot fight a global pandemic and save the lives of our people if we do not put their most basic needs for water, shelter and health first.

“The struggle for water is not new in [King Cetshwayo District]. Residents are fast becoming uneasy with the situation and the possibility of protests must be avoided at all cost, in particular as this may go against health efforts to maintain social distancing.”

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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