Drought roadshow debate a major success

uThukela District Municipality participated in the Ukhozi FM live debate show that was held in the early hours of Friday morning at Ladysmith’s Civic Centre Hall. 

The radio talk show is one of a series pre-arranged by the KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Department and Department of Water & Sanitation.

It seeks to highlight the plight brought on by the drought in the province, and how the districts are responding to the challenges posed by the drought. 

District Mayor Dudu Mazibuko, uThukela Area Engineer Thabiso Mngoma and CoGTA Portfolio Committee Chair Nomagugu Simelane were part of the panel.

The mayor started by highlighting the impact of the drought in the district. She said that about 4000 jobs are at stake because many businesses need water to operate. However, as a municipality, some interventions have been made to assist businesses to keep them active during this trying time. 

In response to a question asked about the Woodstock Dam situated in Bergville (but also supplying the Gauteng province with water), the mayor clearly said that all the dams belong to the Department of Water & Sanitation. “We have no control over the dams as the municipality, as they are owned by the Department of Water & Sanitation.

As the municipality, we only get permission to use water from the department,” added the mayor. She also emphasised the issue of water recycling, which can assist in water conservation. Mr Thabiso Mngoma clarified the issue of water levels in dams across the district from a technical perspective. He mentioned that water levels have dropped in the dams drastically.

Ladysmith is now relying on one source of water, which is Spioenkop, as the Klip River is completely dried up. 
“At Indaka Municipality, the Oliphantskop Dam has dried up in such a way that the pumps have been switched off.

Water tankers have been deployed in the area to supply the community with water,” said Mr Mngoma. Mr Mngoma also touched on the issue of refurbishment of aging infrastructure. He told the audience that plans are already in place to undertake such a project. He, however, warned the public to desist from vandalising existing infrastructure, as this practice regresses development. CoGTA Provincial Portfolio Chair Nomagugu Simelane told the audience that government has made some interventions to assist affected districts, including uThukela. 

“It is a known fact that there are eight districts which are worst affected by the drought in the province, including uThukela. Government has come on board to assist the affected districts with the purchase of water tankers,” said Ms Simelane. 

Ms Simelane also mentioned some challenges posed by illegal water connections, stating that this practice has a negative impact in terms of water supply. She said sometimes you find water spilling into the streets as a result of these illegal connections. She urged people to desist from engaging in this unlawful practice. Ms Simelane also encouraged the public to harvest rainwater as a means to conserve water. 

Members of the public were generally pleased with the way uThukela District has handled the drought crisis. One such person was Mr Mthethwa, an emerging farmer from Indaka Municipality, who commended uThukela for trying its best to tackle the crisis head-on by dispatching water tankers to supply them with potable water.

Mr Mthethwa urged other government departments like Agriculture and Economic Development to come on board as well and play meaningful roles going forward.

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