POLOKWANE – “2018/2019 has not been a good period for Polokwane in terms of water supply.” These were the words of Polokwane Mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng when asked about the water situation in Polokwane.
Nkadimeng says she, along with other councillors, met with the board of Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) recently to express its dissatisfaction with regards to insufficient water supply to the Polokwane Municipality.
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“The board was able to tell us that 62% of its infrastructure is old and is running around 17 years beyond its lifespan. That, in turn, results in constant breakdowns and a need for repairs,” she explained.
She further added that not enough funding is available to repair the aged infrastructure. “We are literally in a fix and what seems to worsen the situation is that government has gazetted that we receive 20% less water due to climatic conditions and no rain.”
Nkadimeng says LNW is supposed to supply Polokwane with 90 mega-litres per day but are only supplying around 67 mega-litres. “Due to the gazette issued by government, we will receive less and that forces us into water restrictions,” she concluded.
