LIMPOPO – Sekhukhune Mayor, Stanley Ramaila declared Day Zero in Sekhukhune last week.
Water levels in the district have now reached levels that make it difficult to source enough water to serve the communities.
Day Zero was declared at a mayoral performance held at Lekgotla at Ga-Nkoana, which was aimed at discussing the state of service delivery based on reports received from the district’s four local municipalities.
Ramaila said the communities of Moutse East and West had long been dependent on water tankers or own means to get water because the Mkhombo Dam was drying up, and that Lepelle Northern Water had reported that the Spekboom River in Burgersfort had stopped flowing.
Ramaila added that Nkadimeng Dam was silting at a fast pace and that the Department of Water and Sanitation imposed water supply restrictions at Flag Boshielo Dam and Olifants River.
Vergelegen Dam in Jane Furse was also drying up.
“The drought situation has reached disaster levels in the district,” he said.
The Lekgotla community raised concerns around the inability of the district municipality and other local municipalities to take, implement and execute decisions pertaining to the delivery and availability of water for the district..
Planning, they said was the only solution to curb rollovers, under-spending and irregular and fruitless expenditure.
To that effect, the Lekgotla community resolved that in the spirit of renewal, only a “patriotic” workforce will be welcomed in Sekhukhune. Mayors presented supported intervention by the National Treasury, and parliamentary portfolio committee on local government in terms of VBS investments.