POLOKWANE – To replace the city’s old and worn asbestos water pipes is one thing.
But when local businesses start losing up to R100 000 a day, it’s a different kettle of fish.
The municipality’s infrastructure replacing project had business owners in the CBD hot under the collar from last Tuesday until well into the long weekend due to either a total interruption in water supply or poor water pressure.
Even though some owners Review spoke to didn’t mind going on record, most owners preferred to stay anonymous for fear of victimisation.
The owner of a laundromat, Isaac Lekotla said the lack of water resulted not only in him losing an income, but, since most of his staff work part time, they too did not earn a cent.
“If we don’t do business, they don’t have work and subsequently, I can’t pay them. This means some people did not eat during this period, as they earned nothing, but this is something the municipality seemingly does not consider.”
Another business owner said losing R100 000 a day as his dry cleaning business came to a halt, is all but funny. It’s ironic, he said, since government is one of his biggest clients. “I lost a few days’ business.
Clients simply take their business somewhere else if we can’t provide a service.” “People want service, and if my business is unable to assist, the municipality is responsible for me losing an income. I have no guarantee that the clients I lost would return to do business with me. There is no way to recoup the income I lost,” he said.
Professional services too had been affected by the lack of water.
A dentist practice close to the CBD had to reschedule all procedures that require a steady supply of water. Patients who booked for check-ups were moved up in the schedule, instead.
“To have water is key in our industry, we can’t operate without it. We lost approximately R60 000 on the procedures booked for this period. Some of these patients endure a lot of pain and we had to refer them to other professionals,” the manager of the practice said.
She added that the business is looking into acquiring a permanent water tank to in future deal with similar eventualities.
Matshidiso Mothapo, Spokesperson at the Polokwane Munisipality, said even though many businesses had to endure this “temporary inconvenience”, the replacing of pipes would in the long run be worth it.
“The old pipes are replaced with PVC-pipes that can withstand contracting and expanding, that typically comes with seasonal changes in temperature.
“We ask residents to be patient in this regard,” he said.
He furthermore said the municipality uses pamphlets to inform residents of possible interruptions in water supply as a result of the project, in advance.
Meetings were also held with contractors to ensure that any foreseen interruptions in the water supply are reported for the municipality to timeously communicate this to residents.
“We use pamphlets to inform residents of any possible eventualities, as well as the media and internet forums. We do not foresee any emergency situations like that of last week, in the near future,” Mothapo said.
The municipality was confident that the contractors on the project are reliable and have a track record of good service.
Mothapo thanked residents for their patience, adding the municipality prioritises bringing excellent services to the people.
• In a recent report that the Polokwane Mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng presented to traditional leaders in the province, she stated that dilapidated asbestos water pipes as a major concern of the municipality.
Last year, Review reported that at least seven water pipe bursts were experienced per day at some point.
Three contactors were appointed to replace pipes in the CBD, Seshego and Annadale, at a cost of R540 million that is funded from the Regional Infrastucture Grant as well as income generated by the municipality.
In the 2016/17 financial year, R185 million was spent on the programme, while R202 miljoen will be appropriated in the 2017/18 financial year.
“The programme created 306 temporary jobs of which 113 were for women. Fifteen small businesses were furthermore involved, and a total of R4,3 million over the last six months was paid in compensation and spent on small businesses,” the mayor said.
She added that replacing the pipes would affect mobility in the city’s streets as well as entrances to residences and businesses.
“We want to ensure residents that the long term benefits will be far better than the current losses we experience in water losses and water supply in residential areas as a result of the worn asbestos pipes.”
