DA takes to the street to highlight water woes

Lack of a stable water supply has been a bone of contention between residents and uThukela District Municipality since the beginning of the year.

Sweeping water disruptions have left hundreds of residents, businesses and organisations without water for weeks at a time.

During two meetings with the district municipality’s acting municipal manager, Bongani Mnguni, locals were told that ageing infrastructure, alleged sabotage and demand-outweighing-supply were the main causes of the water stoppages.

While running water to some areas has returned to normal, there are still residents who experience erratic water supply and rely on water tankers belonging to local relief organisations.

READ: Clinic runs out of water for patients

Residents in other towns have also been experiencing prolonged water disruptions.

On September 12, the Democratic Alliance (DA) organised a march in Ladysmith. DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers and DA Uthukela Constituency head Alf Lees led the march to the office of Mr Mnguni to protest against the constant water outages.

Residents and councillors joined the march along Kandahar Avenue to the uThukela District Municipality offices in Lyell Street, where a memorandum was handed over.

Rodgers accused uThukela leadership of failing the community, describing the use of tankers as a corrupt practice. “When you see a tanker, you know it is corruption at work,” he told residents.

DA Councillor Thys Janse van Rensburg said that water disruptions were taking their toll.

“This is posing a massive threat to the lives and livelihoods of residents in the municipality. Hospitals are also at risk, as they sometimes go for days without water. There are also allegations of water infrastructure sabotage that the municipality have not made any efforts to resolve,” he commented.

Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter