Elderly struggle with water shortage
There has been no reply from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the mayor, the municipal manager, or the South African Human Rights Commission.
Residents of Mtwalume‘s Ward 7 have gone almost a month without water.
According to Etienne Naudé, what began as a temporary inconvenience has now evolved into a persistent issue.
“This community has endured multiple 21-day water outages in the past year, and the responsibility for water service delivery lies with the Ugu District Municipality. The residents of this mostly elderly community have been grappling with water shortages for an extended period.
“Their ordeal began on Thursday, October 26, when their taps ran dry. While this instance may seem like a standalone event, it is merely the latest episode in a series of recurring water shortages. This has become an alarming routine during weekdays. In the past year, the community has weathered multiple 21-day water outages,” explained Naude.
He said that it is not an inconvenience but a potential infringement upon their human rights.
“The right to life, dignity, equality and access to water is enshrined in South African law under the Water Services Act 108 of 1997. The lack of consistent access to clean and safe drinking water threatens these rights, and the Mtwalume community is feeling the effects acutely. Ugu is responsible for ensuring these rights are upheld.
“There has been no reply from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the mayor, the municipal manager or the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Their pleas for assistance have seemingly fallen on deaf ears, intensifying the community’s frustration and suffering,” he added.
According to Ugu, it is aware of the challenges faced by some communities of Mtwalume due to high turbidity from the river, resulting in frequent desludging of clarification from the plant emanating from the recent rainy weather conditions.
In a statement received on November 9, the municipality stated that it is working around the clock to rectify this. “Plans include prioritising pumping to Elysium Reservoir to increase the inflow and storage capacity to push more water to Mtwalume Reservoir to allow pumping to Koelwater Reservoir.”
Ugu said thereafter it expects to see an improvement in supply to these communities.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
