WATCH: ‘Debt-ridden’ Emalahleni municipality’s water problems ‘a growing concern’

Emalahleni Local Municipality’s water availability has already been identified as a growing concern and the municipality has admitted it cannot meet the city’s water needs.

An oversight visit to Witbank Hospital by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 12 August again highlighted the problem affecting every household in the City of Coal.

“It was concerning to note that the hospital is still dealing with the issue of inconsistent water supply from the municipality,” said Ms Jane Sithole MPL and DA Mpumalanga spokesperson on health.

“Emalahleni Municipality can go for weeks without water and this has a severe impact when it comes to the hygiene upkeep of the hospital. For a tertiary hospital as big as Witbank Hospital, functioning without water could be fatal,” she said.

The JoJo tanks at the hospital often run dry because the municipality is failing to ensure consistent water supply to the hospital.

This problem is not only reserved for Witbank Hospital.

One just has to look at the WhatsApp groups for the different sectors and a grim picture paints itself. Not a day goes by that someone is not complaining about dry taps.

On these groups, leaking pipes and water meters are also reported time and again but to no avail as little is done about water distribution losses.

According to the latest Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) audit of municipalities (2018/19), Mpumalanga municipalities owe R1,915,000,000 to water boards for the provision of water as at 30 June last year.

Emalahleni owes a whopping R195 million.

According to findings by the DA, Emalahleni lost R123 million of the total water purchased.

DA spokesperson on the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) Ms Trudie Grove-Morgan said: “Given the exorbitant amounts which municipalities are owing to water boards and the fact that there are some municipalities which currently have their water supply throttled, the DA urges the provincial government to intervene and ensure that water losses are dealt with.”

She added a drop in the bucket when she said old and dilapidated infrastructure must be replaced and debt repayment plans must be put in place for struggling municipalities.

“There needs to be strict financial management, given municipal debt in our province and the fact that this debt is also increasing exponentially, alongside the Eskom debt.”

Sithole called on health MEC, Ms Sasekani Manzini to table a thorough report to the Provincial Legislature Portfolio committee on health on how her department is going to monitor the provision of water at Witbank Hospital.

She said the DA would be following this up very closely.

Water security is the foundation for food and energy security and overall long-term social and economic development.

The way the water situation is handled in Emalahleni is without a doubt having a ripple effect not only on households but businesses, hospitals, clinics, old age homes and schools too.

This article first appeared on Witbank News and was republished with permission.

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