North West municipality promises to work with community to solve water and electricity woes

North West provincial authorities have been forced to engage the community and other stakeholders to find solutions to the water shortage and electricity cut-off in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

For several days this week, the municipality was engulfed by protests by disgruntled residents in Lichtenburg, the municipal capital and Coligny. The protesters blocked the streets and barricaded the main road between Coligny and Klerksdorp with burning tyres and other materials.

“It has been a long time since we had no water in Ditsobotla, we want the government to stop just promising us service delivery, we need something visible on the ground,” said Tumelo Molefe, a resident of Coligny.

Residents have also complained about crime in the area and demanded that the municipality work with the police to address the lawlessness.

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The senior management of North West Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs led by head of department, Dr Ben Bole, committed to finding a lasting solution to the crisis. The department organised an urgent meeting with representatives of the Ditsobotla Service Association on Thursday to find solutions to the prolonged electricity outages and water shortages in the municipality.

Bole believed the partnership with stakeholders is key to addressing the service delivery hiccups in all municipalities, particularly at Ditsobotla.

While the municipality claimed to have restored power, many residents were still complaining about having dry taps on Sunday.

The meeting identified the need for technical expertise needed to address the service delivery logjam in the municipality. The collaboration will focus on developing a sustainable and efficient solution to the long-standing infrastructure problems faced in the municipality, particularly the electricity and water systems.

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Bole promised to continue collaborating with stakeholders and to engage the provincial treasury to resolve the crisis in the interest of “improving good governance and recovery of efficient financial systems”.

“We are committed to work together with all relevant stakeholders towards a lasting solution that will transform the service delivery landscape and improve the quality of life for residents of Ditsobotla,” Bole said.